Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for May 18, 2022

But is it a Pulitzer for fiction or for reporting breaking news?

What did you do with your noodle?…..

“Worst assignment ever!” How many is that so far, Calvin?

why is it called “creative writing” anyway, Calvin?

I would like to know the details of the noodle incident. We kept getting teased about it…..

The infamous noodle incident. How could that not be an A?

The infamous noodle incident!

Is this the only time the “noodle incident” is mentioned

Noodle incident – silly noodle incident!!

Instead of a Pulitzer, I think he deserves a howitzer… as in being fired… out of a cannon… into the sun. (My apologies, I just started re-watching season one of Futurama yesterday.)

Now I want to know what the noodle incident was…….

The Pulitzer for telling fibs (The Porky?) for 2022, must surely go to the Russian Government.

Working title: ‘Not invading your neighbouring country, and then achieving the opposite of your stated goals’.

Nominated by: Finland and Sweden.

Someone please tell me—just WHAT is the “noodle incident”??

Apparently, I missed that one.

When Calvin grew up, he finally wrote his account of the noodle incident, under a pseudonym. He called it Remembrance of Things Pasta.

See here https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/418.html

Given your “Spaceman Spiff” stories, how about a science fiction writer?

I have my own “noodle incident.” My dog owned a beat up Bronco II Truck. Officially, the vehicle was registered to me, but I was not allowed to drive it unless he was in it with me.

The dog and I went everywhere with that truck. Mostly I used it for errands. One day, I came out of the store to find him sitting in the driver’s seat behind the wheel. I opened the door and said, “Move over, I’m driving. The last time you drove, it wasn’t pretty.” The woman getting into the car next to me lost it.

My daughter lived for assignments like this. She’s now in college, majoring in Creative Writing & minoring in Psychology.

Oh Calvin, thou doth protest too much…

Extemporaneous truths are the trademark of inventive youths. [And those who inhabit the Potty on the Potomac]

Well, I suppose writing a quick short story will be easier now that I think about it. Just tell a lie in the first sentence and then justify it for a few paragraphs and then trace a sad kitten for illustration.

Wait – they want him to do a comic strip/book???

If this is the story arc that I think it is, readers are in for a treat. And that’s all I’m going to say about it!

Calvin, you get to make stuff up! This should be your favorite assignment of all time.

That is SOME WORLD that Calvin lives in!

Ironically, Calvin goes on to become a Nebula Award winning SF writer.

Whatever the Noodle Incident was, it must have been a doozy. Cal always gets so defensive when it’s mentioned. The NI is another example of Watterson’s brilliance. He never sold out and gave any details.

Twisting and morphing the ‘unvarnished truth’ is how Jean Sheperd made his living.

Qualified to be a modern journalist.

This is a wonderful story arc. It begins mid-week, lasts two full weeks and then finishes in its fourth week. It contains two separate strips where we see a living Hobbes without Calvin.

Things are about to get really, really hilarious…

Perhaps, something about tigers?

“And besides, no-one saw me…”

Calvin, you’ve got plenty of Spaceman Spiff and Tracer Bullet stories ready to go. But I understand if you feel like those belong to you, and belong to your imagination, and are not meant to be shared with others who just wouldn’t value them like you do. And even though inventing stories is one of your favorite pastimes, I understand that things become much less fun when you’re doing them because someone else is requiring it of you.

Pulitzers are given to nonfiction….

Is “unvarnished” a southernism? I grew up hearing it. The guest co-host on Live with Kelly and Ryan this morning was giving Ryan a hard time this morning for saying “unvarnished” to describe their show vs American Idol. She didn’t seem to think it was a term to describe something. Then I find it used here today. :)

Pretty soon, just saying “Noodle incident” will become a trauma button for Calvin!

He could use his math homework. That also counts as creative writing.

Yay! The infamous “noodle incident”!

Ah, the infamous “noodle incident”. I believe that it may refer to Calvin making noodles to resemble a brain. When Calvin gave an oral report, it didn’t go over that well. (I could be wrong, however.)

I wonder if any noodles were harmed in the Noodle Incident. I hope not.

Part of me wants to know what, exactly, happened during the noodle incident.

However, more of me is pretty darn sure we’re better off not knowing.

One of my favorite sequences from “C&H”.