This reminds me of Bill Cosby’s album, “To Russell My Brother, Whom I Slept With.” Cosby was listening to a scary radio show about a mutant chicken heart…..got so scared, he started smearing Jell-o on the floor of his bedroom. The end result was not so different than the result in Calvin’s room
Yeah, you can tell this is a very old strip. What the heck? They laughed at the thought of leaving him home alone then actually left him home alone?! Even if he was an abnormal, well behaved trustworthy kid, at that age (Calvin is supposed to be six though I always felt he was more around 8-10) there’s many states that have laws against leaving kids at home before a certain age… the youngest being 8, the average being 12. Watterson really didn’t have a grip on the strip yetAt least we know by the newer reruns that the strip actually became good. The only thing I’ve learned from For Better Or For Worse reruns is that people have a ridiculously strong nostalgia filter for the strip and all the complaints about how bad it got towards the end are only justified because it was never actually good at all. :D
Xane, I think people’s “nostalgia filter” for FBofW comes partly from having read it when young. But I think it really did get a little worse, if only because it strayed further from the truth of Lynn Johnston’s family.As for C&H, I see its clumsy first year as being sorta like the Simpsons’ clumsy first year: still good enough to hint at how it succeeded.
Perhaps the whole point is that when parents are really desperate they will take a stupid chance and then live to regret it. Perhaps they had to attend a vital business function. A good lesson here for parents to take heed of.
I’m just as shocked as dad is that the house is, indeed, still standing after having left a kid like Calvin home all alone with absolutely no supervision whatsoever except that of a “stuffed” tiger! They got lucky . . . this time!!!!! The next time??? Maybe not so much!
Help! I was ‘deluged’ yesterday with comments about my suggestion that Calvin might watch a couple contemporary programs. I’m aware that this comic was from 1986. I might have mentioned that I was bringing him to the present time. Actually, I think that Dragon Tales is passe now. Anyway, thank you all for showing an interest in what I wrote.@jeffsxq,Thank you for your research. My comment to bmonk was intended to be mostly comical in response to what he had written previously. I favor positive changes in the language, but it seems that there has been some considerable deterioration. An English teacher with whom I talked (not who I talked to) recently expressed a thought similar to yours about the evolving language. We can agree to disagree on some aspects of the issue.I appreciate your enjoying my comments and encouraging me to keep them coming.
comicgos over 13 years ago
Someone is in a pile of trouble!
rentier over 13 years ago
Oh no, never he did!
rayannina over 13 years ago
It was a scary TV show, to be precise …
whims over 13 years ago
At least they’re safe from monsters underneath that blanket.
steve26 over 13 years ago
Home Alone IV – starring Calvin & Hobbes. Wonder what the rug is rigged with?
Rakkav over 13 years ago
What part of “co-ed cannibals” scared them, precisely?
Puddleglum2 over 13 years ago
Mom is ‘all wet’ questioning Calvin in an accusatory tone about watching scary movies.
Puddleglum2 over 13 years ago
It looks as if the pail says “EEP”. Could it be an alien force dumping on Mom? ‘Water’ you think?
Elaine Rosco Premium Member over 13 years ago
Just don’t understand leaving a kid like Calvin home alone!
GROG Premium Member over 13 years ago
What other treats await?
Good Morning, Marg, Mike & ♠Lonewolf♠!
Phapada over 13 years ago
of course … me too Don’t like movies Scary alway I will stun When I see movies Scary….. Like you Boy
Phapada over 13 years ago
@Arron Do you Live in The Farm ? Are they very nice weather ?
witewater over 13 years ago
This reminds me of Bill Cosby’s album, “To Russell My Brother, Whom I Slept With.” Cosby was listening to a scary radio show about a mutant chicken heart…..got so scared, he started smearing Jell-o on the floor of his bedroom. The end result was not so different than the result in Calvin’s room
lewisbower over 13 years ago
Where’s the rented VCR?
Xane_T over 13 years ago
Yeah, you can tell this is a very old strip. What the heck? They laughed at the thought of leaving him home alone then actually left him home alone?! Even if he was an abnormal, well behaved trustworthy kid, at that age (Calvin is supposed to be six though I always felt he was more around 8-10) there’s many states that have laws against leaving kids at home before a certain age… the youngest being 8, the average being 12. Watterson really didn’t have a grip on the strip yetAt least we know by the newer reruns that the strip actually became good. The only thing I’ve learned from For Better Or For Worse reruns is that people have a ridiculously strong nostalgia filter for the strip and all the complaints about how bad it got towards the end are only justified because it was never actually good at all. :D
cleokaya over 13 years ago
Ah…nothing beats a night on the town and coming home to a nice cold shower.
mrnathat over 13 years ago
How did Calvin get all the way up to the top of the door? Where’s the ladder?
rentier over 13 years ago
Rug is wet from crying!
Critic over 13 years ago
Guess who’s in trouble – BIG trouble…
Stephen Gilberg over 13 years ago
Xane, I think people’s “nostalgia filter” for FBofW comes partly from having read it when young. But I think it really did get a little worse, if only because it strayed further from the truth of Lynn Johnston’s family.As for C&H, I see its clumsy first year as being sorta like the Simpsons’ clumsy first year: still good enough to hint at how it succeeded.
Dry and Dusty Premium Member over 13 years ago
Love the look on Dad’s face in that first panel! Just love it!
JoanHelen over 13 years ago
Perhaps the whole point is that when parents are really desperate they will take a stupid chance and then live to regret it. Perhaps they had to attend a vital business function. A good lesson here for parents to take heed of.
bmonk over 13 years ago
Just note that Dad was right—Calvin had gotten into bed. And hidden under the covers.
ratlum over 13 years ago
The scary part for Calvin starts now.
Gretchen's Mom over 13 years ago
I’m just as shocked as dad is that the house is, indeed, still standing after having left a kid like Calvin home all alone with absolutely no supervision whatsoever except that of a “stuffed” tiger! They got lucky . . . this time!!!!! The next time??? Maybe not so much!
khpage over 13 years ago
If either my sister or I had done this, we would have been hospitalized from my mother’s reaction…
mac47 over 13 years ago
He will never sleep again.
patchoon over 13 years ago
got a taste of his own medicine.
LiviaBay over 13 years ago
That’s Calvin….. The adventure never ends.
Puddleglum2 over 13 years ago
Help! I was ‘deluged’ yesterday with comments about my suggestion that Calvin might watch a couple contemporary programs. I’m aware that this comic was from 1986. I might have mentioned that I was bringing him to the present time. Actually, I think that Dragon Tales is passe now. Anyway, thank you all for showing an interest in what I wrote.@jeffsxq,Thank you for your research. My comment to bmonk was intended to be mostly comical in response to what he had written previously. I favor positive changes in the language, but it seems that there has been some considerable deterioration. An English teacher with whom I talked (not who I talked to) recently expressed a thought similar to yours about the evolving language. We can agree to disagree on some aspects of the issue.I appreciate your enjoying my comments and encouraging me to keep them coming.
Wlasalle over 13 years ago
The couch smelled pretty bad to.
JTGAM over 13 years ago
Like Dad said, At least the house is standing!
hihigirl over 13 years ago
Booby traps everywhere!!! :O
AaronJOyster almost 5 years ago
How does such a short kid manage to prop a bucket of water on top of his bedroom door??