Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for March 21, 2021

Archie and Jughead used to scare the c&@+ out of me.

Hobbes looks so innocent…..

so what would they propose their son read instead that contains little to no violence?

The more imagination you have, the more you can get out of reading fiction. Calvin’s in the top 1% on that…

Ye gads! Hobbes scared the whoopee out of the kid. I don’t think his pants well ever dry.

Calvin actually reads those comics to calm himself down.

Wait until Calvin gets into graphic novels.

More proof that Calvin is all talk when it comes extreme situations.

Hobbes, hear me roar……heh heh heh.

Well no wonder! Just look at the title ‘Tales to make You Twitch.’

Hobbes, you rascal!

Hobbes: 1, Calvin: 0.

That Hobbes, such a kidder….

♬ In the jungle, the quiet jungle, the tiger stalks tonight… ♪♩

chortle

Why do the parents wear such baggy clothing?

If you have a tiger by the tail you can’t let go. If a tiger is tailing you it won’t let go. Tigers aren’t complicated. Kill, eat, sleep, repeat.

His mom and dad will never understand his wild and warped out imagination!

Probably shouldn’t let him read Itchy and Scratchy.

Playful tigers sometimes get painted by the same brush as man-eating ones.

Have there been any great artists doing comic strips since Watterson quit?

This is the strip that I have twice mentioned recently was due to be reprinted. As I pointed out, it shows that Calvin is all alone and then shows that Hobbes really has crept up on him as we see the stuffed version of Hobbes that characters other than Hobbes see.

I wasn’t quite convinced that Hobbes wasn’t part of Calvin’s imagination until a year later when I read the quotation from Watterson which I have mentioned about four times now. When he was asked whether Hobbes was real, Watterson replied “More real than any kid can make up, I think.”

Watterson expanded on this in The Calvin And Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book:-

“I don’t see Hobbes as a doll who magically comes to life when Calvin is alone or as an example of Calvin’s imagination at work. Hobbes’s existence is less to do with dolls coming to life and more to do with differing views of reality. Calvin sees Hobbes one way and the rest of the world see him another.”

Therefore, it isn’t that Hobbes sometimes pretends to be a stuffed tiger to act innocent but that other characters cannot see Hobbes the way that Bill Watterson and Calvin see him.

Never ever blame the comic books!

The artwork of Hobbes approaching Calvin is some of Watterson’s best.

Heh, when Hobbes makes that threatening face in the eleventh panel, I picture him making the sound of a domestic cat hissing. :P

Like JAWS with tiger.

I remember later on after this, we see a page of Calvin’s comics where someone gets a giant hole shot through their chest.

That’s the fiercest I’ve ever seen Hobbes – much more menacing than a playful bowling over.

I once came upon a mountain lion fifty feet ahead of me on a trail. I quietly turned around and we both went on our way. They don’t go looking for trouble but they don’t like surprises or sudden movements.

That last panel is hilarious: both art and Dad’s comment.

Childhood psychosis is really scary.

after sneaking up from behind our cats use to wiggle their butts before they pounced on each other.

The only comic book I remember getting as a kid, is “Little Lulu”, no violence I can recall. I think Lulu retired a long time ago.

Gotta love the totally innocent and harmless stuffed tiger lying at Mom’s feet.

‘Archie’ is pretty hair-raising.

Bungle In The Jungle

By Jethro Tull

Walking through forests of palm tree apartments

Scoff at the monkeys who live in their dark tents

Down by the waterhole, drunk every Friday

Eating their nuts, saving their raisins for Sunday

Lions and tigers who wait in the shadows

They’re fast but they’re lazy, and sleep in green meadows

Well, let’s bungle in the jungle

Well, that’s all right by me, yes

Well, I’m a tiger when I want love

But I’m a snake if we disagree

Just say a word and the boys will be right there

With claws at your back to send a chill through the night air

Is it so frightening to have me at your shoulder?

Thunder and lightning couldn’t be bolder

I’ll write on your tombstone, I thank you for dinner

This game that we animals play is a winner

Well, let’s bungle in the jungle

Well, that’s all right by me, yes

I’m a tiger when I want love

I’m a snake if we disagree, yes

The rivers are full of crocodile nasties

And he who made kittens put snakes in their grasp

He’s a lover of life but a player of pawns

Yes, the King on His sunset lies waiting for dawn

To light up His Jungle as play is resumed

The monkeys seem willing to strike up the tune

Well, let’s bungle in the jungle

Well, that’s all right by me, yes

I’m a tiger when I want love

And I’m a snake when we disagree, yes

Let’s bungle in the jungle

Well, that’s all right by me, yes

Well, I’m a tiger when I want love

I’m a snake when we disagree

Well, let’s bungle in the jungle

Well, that’s all right by me, yes

I’m a tiger when I want love

Nothing can be more soothing than a mother’s lap for a hapless kid. My salute to all mothers.

Not only is Watterson’s artwork superb, but the pacing is just fantastic. I can really visualize Hobbes slinking along. Great strip

It’s a legit rerun. Calvin and Hobbes Comic Strip for March 25, 1991

Fantastic drawing in this one. It evokes motion where technically there is none.

I like how Calvin’s saucer shaped eyes pop out of his skull. Classic! ;-p

Has it ever been revealed specifically what Calvin reads?