Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for June 25, 2023

I hope that plunger is used exclusively for cooking.

You see a lot of things, Calvin.

This comic was my first introduction to the concept of shrunken heads as a kid.

My brother didn’t know what they were, so he told me they were goblin heads.

octopus, gasoline, pickled shrunken head, weed killer, two cans of paint… yeah, that sounds not very appetizing

looking at what’s on his plate, I’m with Calvin.

She cooks like Andy

One wonders what it really is, instead of Calvin’s disconnected from reality viewpoint.

That reminds me that I’ve run out of shrunken heads. I’ll need to pick up a jar next time I go to the supermarket.

Wait until you see some of those cooking shows, Calvin!

This year’s Master Chef winner.

That would be my response to ANY canned veggies as a kid. What I loved was my mom’s slow cooked greens. She was raised in Southern Maryland (Calvert County) and learned how to cook ‘em from my mom-mom (grandmother). Mustard greens? Not for me! Collards and kale? Yes please, as long as they’re cooked with plenty of bacon!

Calvin should ask his mom to teach him how to shrink heads.

One of the all-time classic C&H strips.

Wait, aren’t you the same kid who eats worms?

yummi….octupus salad…. I can decipher some of the ingredients: garlic (shrunken head), mayonaisse (paint), vinegar? (gas), pepper (weed killer)….

Mom’s cooking reminds me of the lunches Mrs Tonnatinni prepared for Tino in “The Weekenders.” I kind of understood why there was no Mr Tonnatinni anymore.

In the first panel, it seems that the octopus is helping to look for something in the fridge.

And then, Mom does THAT to him??

I’m gonna notify the SPCA!!

Everybody knows that you use red paint with octopus, not white!

Picky, picky, picky.

Does it have raisins?

It has a subtle medley of flavours.

She forgot the cilantro

Actually I would have thought Calvin would have been all for it knowing his lunch boxes. Maybe it’s because Suzie is not present..

And this was WAY before Xenoblade Chronicles 2!

Darn kids

She went a little heavy on the weed killer for my taste, but what the heck…

The wonderment and imagination of young boys gives hope our nation is still sound.

Just invite Susie.

Well, on the positive side, she seems to have cleaned up most of the toxic chemicals and rotten stuff around the house for easy disposal. I can’t even imagine what that particular piece of imaginary culinary experience is.

Calvin’s Mom: “I spent over an hour fixing this!”

Calvin: “Well keep trying, ‘cause it’s still broken!”

My brother’s favorite line was " I will eat it, but I won’t say grace over it".

Those ingredients look like something Calvin would find interesting.

Wonder how Cal would get along with Emeril or any of the modern tv chefs?

You’d think this would be his perfect meal.

Seafood Surprise? See “food”? Surprise!

That was your imagination, Calvin. I’m sure Mom is a much better cook than you think.

I don’t know… I think every little boy had that same view.

Looks like Who-Hash! ☺️

I suppose part of why Watterson retired the strip was that he could only so much with Calvin hating his mother’s cooking.

This is one of the few C&H strips I’ve never seen before. I’d have remembered that octopus…

The first image is already very funny (Mom whistles while taking the giant octopus) and the others that will follow are hilarious. What a cooking recipe ! lol

Since when is he so choosy about what goes in his mouth?

My mom back in 1940 called Tapioca Fish eyes & glue.

Who is the fourth plate for?

LOL… Calvin’s parents need to watch him, very carefully. As always, he hates most green colored foods.

Calvin’s idea of what that green glop the Mom often serves for dinner is made of! It’s like a suicide food!

The Mom’s disgusted reaction to dropping the shrunken head into the pot is especially funny!

When it comes to cephalopods, I don ’t eat anything that grabs the plate and holds on.

I hope the octopus was fresh

I hope that’s unleaded gasoline, Mom. Wouldn’t want to stunt Calvin’s development!

Calvin’s imagination is obviously working overtime. What you need for squid is a heavy, tenderizing hammer. I think he would have enjoyed seeing that. :)

I had this kind of reaction to mom’s squash

He’s right the proper recipe uses fungicide, not weed killer.

Look at the garbage on their plates if that is reality. Can’t they draw food better than that?

Takomaki!!!!! OISHII

I guess this was thought to be clever back in the day. But I begin to tire of Calvin, and quickly.

Brilliant! Art! Theme! Funny!…

i remember when these great cartoons first came out in the papers (remember news papers?) and everyone laughed and talked about how funny c&h was- but now every reader has to dissect each of them, like a frog in high school biology lab and make comments which totally take away the humor.—so sad

This is the same kid who uses disgust on others like Suzie.

We always asked, “What’s in it?” My mom would answer, “I’ll tell you after you taste it!”

Meatballs stuffed inside green bell peppers. Boiled monkey heads.

Chicken soup with rice. That is not rice, those are boiled maggots.

I still remember, as a kid, how my wild imagination of what mom was putting in the pot, made me not want to eat some of her meals. I think it was mainly something new she was trying. However, most of her meals were not bad. She doesn’t cook anymore and I miss those meals with the family around the table.

Great, green gobs of greasy, grimy gopher guts…

Hey! How’d she get my recipe!

Why are so many American meals broken? That can be the only reason cooks are “fixing” them.Why not preparing? Cooking? THAT is what is done to food, not repair work. Although in some cases the “fixed” food needs repairing

it seems like calvin would love that food. whenever his dad tells him it is toxic waste he seems to love it.