Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for February 22, 2021

Like any six-year old gumshoe, I need the dough for booze and cigarettes.

I know the culprit, ma’am, but I don’t want to spoil the readers’ interests.

It was Hobbes!

Tracer Bullet! I love the Tracer Bullet arcs, shame there weren’t more.

yay ! Tracer Bullet !

Always looking so innocent, isn’t he?

The only thing I could hear slapping is mom’s hand on your butt.

Who wants to be a detective?

Calvin has Sam down, spades.

A good private eye knows how to create work.

The hammer is going to come down on the little cretin, again!!! Let’s see what excuse he has this time!!

Tracer Bullet! With all the film noir lighting effects!

Calvin makes a good Sam Spade!

You and both of your eyes are dead meat when she finds out.

Love the monologue… it reminds of “Detective Guy Noir” in Prairie Home Companion.

Sam Spade did – notice Calvin’s resemblance to Sam.

Here’s Bill once again showing his wonderful drawing skill.

It wasn’t a GOOD lamp anyway.

oooh my favorite… Tracer Bullet, Private Eye!

of all the charactors in this strip, tracer bullet is my favorite!!

How many possibilities could there be, mom? I mean, beyond Calvin, Calvin and Calvin.

Calvin has so many alter egos …. it could have been any one of them ….

I love these Film Noir strips! :D

I love Watterson’s attention to period detail. How many items can you spot?

I’m assuming her question is rhetorical.And love the Bogart impression!

He’s got his cards laid on the table.

Tracer Bullet!

He’s dead because he’s also the culprit.

Guess.

And little did the little gumshoe know, he was his own suspect…lol

Just a guess but it´s not going to be greenbacks slapping his palm ……

It’s a lot easier solving criminal mysteries when you’re the criminal causing them. I heard of a fire inspector in California who did just that. …sad.

She has to ask who did it?

Well, it wasn’t Dad.

OMG, if this strip was written today, imagine the angst. He is smoking and there is a gun on the desk? The snowflakes would be out in force.Thankfully, i only see the humor.

love Watterson’s noir drawings

I always found it interesting that Watterson’s in using Calvin to spoof film noir, he didn’t shy from the more grown up aspects of the genre.

Easiest case he ever cracked.

The private eye speech was always impressive to me.

I think the slapping will not involve money.

It looks like an inside job to me.

Tracer Bullet! Yay!

A great way to kick off a Tracer Bullet story arc!

That’ll make the situation better – call her a “dame”

I assume that’s a rhetorical question

Notme did it. (Oops, wrong comic)

Does anyone still know who Mickey Spillane is?

Tracer’s best payoff could come from analyzing the behavior of mild mannered Calvin, and figuring out how to keep him out of trouble!

I mean, if you’re a woman whose husband is at the office all day, and you only have 1 child and no pets, and something’s broken, it makes no sense to ask “Who did this?” You know who did it.

Screaming Dames was the name of our punk rock band in high school.

Wonder if the dogs Heard that

Why does Mom even bother to ask “Who did this?” Who ALWAYS does it?

hey is it just me or do the comic repeat

Tracer Bullet is a great detective. He already knows who did it.

It was Calvin,,in the living room,with the Lead Pipe. I am today’s CLUE winner.

Kinda think the answer to mom’s question is obvious.

This femme fatale is about to become, quite..

“Who did this?!”

This is a rhetorical question, right?

The private eye is misreading mothers next step.

Ah… Tracer Bullet. These are always good. It’s too bad that Bill Watterson never did more of them. Oh well….

Sherlock Holmes ain’t got NOTHIN’ on Tracer Bullet!