Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for January 30, 2025

Just turn the heater on.

Hey dad, first you need to open the damper.

His anger could light the wood, no problem.

But don’t forget, building a fire builds character!

This strip proves that Calvin has far more sense than his sperm donor!

Hey Calvin, you can tell him it builds character…

Mundane noodle!

Dad is great!

I burned wood for heat for many years. It DOES take some experience to do it easily and well, but it ain’t (usually) rocket science. Or even plumbing.

Needs more lighter fluid.

Dad’s not wrong, but he has no clue how to use a fireplace. Maybe if he was outside?

And a big “attaboy!” for Calvin for bringing the fire extinguisher on the double.

Dad’s a dumb a**.

Someone forgot to open the flue.

He obviously doesn’t know how to build a fire correctly.

Crack open the door to stsrt a draft with a newspaper torch stuck up te fle.

Yeah. Real cozy…

Just from block 1, it’s cuz that boy never learned HOW to build a fire so it actually lights.

In one West Wing episode, Sam and Josh, on a cold morning, tried to start a fire in an old White House fireplace, realizing too late that a plaque by the fireplace states that the chimney had been permanently closed off a long, long time ago. The resulting fire alarm (from the smoke) caused the President to be awoken.

Maybe your wood is wet.

Ya know… We DO have a thermostat… Hint, hint…

1) Open the flue

2) After you lay the fire, put a twist of newspaper up the chimney, light it at the bottom, and when it’s almost burnt (and its heat has started an updraft), then you light the tinder.

See daddy? This is why me needs to has a flamethrower see.

Remember, Dad! It builds character!

Obviously, Dad was never a Boy Scout. You start a fire with kindling, and then lay on the logs!

Our fireplaces run on natural gas and since our heat pump is undersized, the Warm Spots run often.

Where’s Crankshaft when you need him?

Calvin to the rescue!

Funny….I would think Calvin would be right next to his dad cheering him on!

I’m starting to see where Calvin gets it from….

Which is more worrisome, kids playing with matches or adults playing with matches>

Open the flue!

Dad’s right — under the proper circumstances.

We have all been there…

When we were very small, my dad taught us to self-hypnotize by watching the flames dance in the fireplace. Needless to say he lit a lot of fires throughout the winter months. (I still have trouble looking away from a candle flame!)

The damper must have been closed.

…..at lest Calvin did not call the FD……..yet?

I hope Calvin’s dad doesn’t make an ASH of himself!!

Little realized fact: while fireplaces warm the room they are in, they actually make other rooms cooler.

Stick to tinkering with your bike.

Those were the days…. Crumpling up my iPad whenever I want to start a fire is really expensive.

Hard to believe Mr. Outdoor Camping doesn’t know how to build a simple fire.

House we bought has fireplace, we tried, smoke drifts too much and chimney was clean.So we quit and just use furnace.

I like those little sketches in the word balloons that Watterson drew, where most cartoonists would just have inserted seldom-used punctuation marks. I wonder what depths of obscenity are concealed behind the missile, mushroom cloud, and skull and cross bones of the third panel.

Funny. All you need to start a fire is a few cotton balls smeared with Vaseline, and a Gobspark (Firesteel.com). We do a lot of camping via RV and starting fires anywhere, any weather is simple and easy.

You didn’t mind it when sharing it with Hobbes…

When our fireplace gets hot, a fan kicks in and circulates the heat throughout the house. Nice!

I was once the junior member of a construction team. As low man on the totem pole, it was my job to go into the shanty and turn on the gas heater in the morning and then join the rest of the gang for coffee.

One morning, I had difficulty lighting it. It finally lit with a flash and a “whoosh.” As I was walking towards the van that was selling breakfast, I noticed a gray powder on my arm. That gray powder used to be my arm hair.

Not only was I not burned, I never felt a thing.

It helps if you open the flue.

That’s a lot of paper to use for kindling…

Open the flume, clean it out, have patience, do it right EZ PZ . ;-)

I’ve seen fires in the fireplace before, and I especially recall the afternoon Calvin came home cold and wet, and Mom sent him to wrap up in a blanket by the fire with a cup of cocoa, and brought him Hobbes and a comic book. Methinks it’s Mom that’s the expert in starting the fireplace.

The fireplace where I used to live did not draw well, so we had a cast-iron stove, with its own flue, installed.

Now he will never forget to open the vent or clean the chimney!

Looks like he forgot to open the damper.

Love it, Mr Watterson. Thanks for a good laugh. I love the escalation of the swearing. Priceless!

nothing is cozier than having one, but getting there is Not half the fun

It’s even worse than The Old Man’s furnace!

atta boy Calvin!!

Dad should ask Jack London how to build a fire.

Anyone who believes “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” has obviously never seen some people try to light one….

He definitely wasn’t a Scout…

Where’s your pad Calvin? Looks like lots of good words to look up.

[snicker]

Panel 1: grumble…

Panel 2: d**n fire!

Panel 2: ****!!!

Gas logs.

Open the damper, Dad.

open the damper.

The increasing frustration is all too real. I love those symbolic word bubbles.

Did the Dad forget to open the chimney flue?

if there was another panel, it would be filled with coughs. he inhaled so much dang smoke