Frazz by Jef Mallett for June 10, 2014

Grossing out girls – A cherished part of childhood!

Remember No Pest strips? They were great for collecting “raisins”…..

A tribute to Bill Watterson! Well, hello there Calvin….

I think this goes beyond a Watterson tribute and ranges dangerously far into the realm of rip-off. He even has spikey blond hair. Susie never had a ponytail though… Must have been a slow creative day and the deadline approacheth.

Maybe it IS Watterson. He just did 3 guest strips @ Pearls.

Jef Mallet is one of the cartoonists interviewed about resemblances of his strip to C&H in Dear Mr. Watterson. Stephan Pastis and Berkeley Breathed are also among the guests.

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1986/11/24

While “Calvin and Hobbes” raised the gross-out lunch to an art form, I don’t think Bill Watterson invented the gag, and I don’t see any reason that other cartoonists can’t do their own take on it from time to time.

Maybe Jef is just jealous Pastis got Watterson to pen Pearls for a week and he’s trying to suck up with a tribute ;-)

This is totally Calvin & Suzie. He’s even got the spiky yellow hair.

From the Calvin and Hobbes search engine 05 Dec 1985

Script

Hi Calvin. Mind if I join you for lunch?

Yes.

I have soup today. What do you have?

A squid eyeball sandwich.

You do not! Don’t be disgusting.

I like to suck out the retinas.

Miss Wormwood!

Care for a bite? Or were you leaving?

http://michaelyingling.com/random/calvin_and_hobbes/search.php?phrase=lunch

That comic strip is almost 30 years old, but clearly many of us here remember it very well.

Kid. Don’t you know to save the icing on your raisin bread for the last grouping of bites.

The reason I come to this comic is to fill a void left by the absence of “C&H.” Apparently, Watterson has no problem with the strip. I’m glad someone came along who can fill that hole in the comics page.

I see no reason to condemn Mallett for his strip.

Can’t find that raisin bread with the icing here in Columbia, SC Food Lion store. My dad misses it, too and lives in Huntersville, NC. Any leads from Frazz followers?

No, it’s not a rip off, because this is a standardized situation. The website ComicsIDontUnderstand even has a “synchronicity” tag for comics using similar gags on the same DAY. What’s remarkable is that we remember the C&H version so clearly so many years later.

Here’s a direct link to the C&H strip I mentioned above on this GoComics site: http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/12/05#.U5dH4CimU1I

There’s something worse than bugs that resembles raisins….…as any one familiar with rabbit-keeping would know…

Remember pimento loaf?

I think of it as an homage.

Calvin & Hobbes much? Enjoyed the tribute… LOL.

@jnik

the interesting girls were the ones who could gross out the boys

I remember Calvin telling Susie his sandwich was “mouse loaf” and offering her a whisker. This isn’t a ripoff, it’s just fun.