Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for December 09, 2023

…and car chases!

Other days, it’s disasters.

Leave it to Hobbes to utter the sophisticated “tragedy or farce” line. . . And to Calvin to have it totally go over his head.

Where’s the stand up comedians?

Oooooh, more dancing girls! Sign me up!

Calvin and Susie are a little young for dance numbers.

That might work.

And a laugh track

Yes we need more dancing in life! Life should be a big musical like the Music Man or Oklahoma.

And at times, a half-time break for refreshments…….

Calvin is in the act of “the whining school boy, with his satchel and shining morning face, creeping like a snail unwillingly to school.”

Both.

When we are born, we cry that we are come

To this great stage of fools.

(Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, Act 4 Scene 5)

I’m also thinking that God is probably recording me right now.

God is a comedian, playing to an audience that’s too afraid to laugh.

Maybe a tragicomedy.

That’s never been more true!

Show tunes! Show tunes!

How did Shakespeare do so well then, when he didn’t have any of those, just the ‘day-to-day’ human tragedy that is life , humm, Calvin ???

That last panel describes the new movie The Marvels.

And common-sense like Hobbes.

And remember, this was before social media…so Hobbes’s words are even more true today!

I would welcome an intermission. Also a body double.

and Godzilla stomping on buildings

More cowbell.

Hobbes’ comment describes our world today perfectly. It is hard to tell if we are in a tragedy or a farce. Unfortunately it’s both. Fortunately this darkness will be lifted.

Like Marx said, history begins as farce and ends as tragedy.

truer words were never spoken

Shakespeare didn’t say the players were good, Calvin.

My humanities professor said the difference between a tragedy and a comedy was in the comedy, the person deserved it.

True, true Calvin… so true.

Deep, very deep.

Life’s but a walking shadow;

a poor player,

that struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

and then is heard no more:

It is a tale told by an idiot,

full of sound and fury,

signifying nothing.

-Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5

This is my all time favorite Calvin and Hobbes strip.

Watterson’s trees are the best since the Tiger strip.

Special effects, maybe. But I doubt that Calvin wants to dance with Susie.

This one is brilliant. Calvin is a deep thinker. So is Hobbes.

I’d like some more Hitchcockian suspense

Definitely more dance numbers!

Vaudeville.

I’ve thought for years that people should get at 2 lives… one for a dress rehearsal and one for “real”.

Calvin and Hobbes…. a regular Rogers and Hammerstein duo… ;-)

If we were in a Bollywood flick, at least we’d get musical numbers.

There’s no business, like show business, like no business I know.

We have enough explosions!!!

It’s improv, little dude. You either go with it or spent your life trying to find the script.

Tragicomedy.

I strongly suspect the answer to Hobbes question is all of the above.

Calvin and Hobbes still ahead of its time as always.

The profound truth of this strip left me breathless until Calvin’s last line overwrote it with nonsense. I wish Watterson had quit while he was ahead.

That’s what we got Bollywood for.

All the world is a stage,

And all the men and women merely players.

And there’s a lot of grubby people hogging the spot light.

‘The Seven of Ages Man’ by Shakespeare is truly timeless. Calvin may one day understand what he meant over 400 years ago.

It’s more complucated than that; there is a script (I write it) the problem is the boss is very insistent on method acting, so you have to be kept in the dark so you react naturally.

The actors milling helplessly—

The script is blowing out to sea

But what the hell, we didn’t even pass an audition

i agree on the dance numbers.

I’d say the problem is too many extras think they’re the director.