Calvin and Hobbes is one of the best comic strips of all time. One of the reasons for the comic strip’s success is how perfectly it captured a range of childhood experiences. Calvin is a young boy who is discovering the world for the first time in many ways. From Calvin’s relationships with his friends and family to his daily adventures, each day brings new experiences for Calvin and hilarious scenarios for readers.
Readers connect with Calvin and Hobbes Because its creator Bill Watterson presented Calvin’s adventures in a way that resonated with his readers’ experiences. As the seasons change in Calvin’s world, his activities reflect those changes and take readers back to their own childhoods. Summer vacation is a staple of childhood, and Calvin’s summer adventures make readers long for the days of their own childhoods.
1:50
Related
15 Best Calvin and Hobbes Quotes
Bill Watterson has published thousands of Calvin and Hobbes comics, but a few essential quotes stand out. Dust motes and science jokes abound.
15 Calvin’s priorities are confusing
A standard cliché that Bill Watterson used a lot over the years was that as soon as summer vacation was over, Calvin would start to panic. You’ll see one of the most classic examples of this idea further down this list, but here we have another great example, as Calvin and Hobbes have a philosophical disagreement over the best way to spend the end of summer vacation.
Hobbes’ approach is to use the time he has left to the best of his ability, but Calvin would rather mope about the little time he has left for fun than enjoy the little time he has left.
14 Summer at a low price
Calvin, in general, was not a fan of swimming, but one recurring accessory that he always enjoyed during his summer vacations was the family inflatable kiddie pool. Over the years, Calvin attempted questionable stunts in his pool, such as trying to dive into it from the top of a ladder.
Here, however, we see how Calvin’s dad tries to save money by simply telling Calvin to use the kiddie pool rather than taking Calvin to the beach. This is basically Calvin’s dad’s version of “We have a McDonald’s at home.”
13 Hobbes mocks Calvin about their way of life
As you’ll see later in the list, Calvin often used his free time during summer vacation to taunt his father about how, as an adult, he could no longer live the carefree life of a child during summer vacation. Well, as Calvin learns here, revenge is in order, and while Calvin certainly has a much less stressful existence than his father, Hobbes has an even LESS stressful existence.
Hobbes has NO responsibilities, so he can just sit around and wait for Calvin to come home from school each day (and pounce on him for sports). This is an interesting example of how Watterson contrasts Calvin and Hobbes’ lives.
12 School is out for the summer
One of the most famous Calvin and Hobbes One of the most famous cartoons of all time is the one where Calvin explains to his teacher that he can’t be expected to remember every fact he learned in school because that brain space is dedicated to memorizing the names of all the superheroes on a superhero team.
Well, if you can imagine how much time he spent remembering facts DURING the school year, you can also see how ready he is to FORGET as soon as the school year ends and summer vacation begins. This comic strip perfectly illustrates how much kids like to turn off their brains as soon as vacation begins.
11 Calvin’s views on nature are amusingly ill-conceived.
Early in the comic’s run, Bill Watterson would suggest Calvin go on Cub Scout outings, but for some reason he didn’t think Cub Scout strips worked particularly well. Instead, during the summer months starting in the late 1980s, he would suggest Calvin and his family go on a camping trip for a week or so and run a number of strips from that setup.
Below you’ll see how Calvin reacts to his father’s interest in vacations in general, but more specifically, this comic shows how Calvin’s stubbornness can prevent him from enjoying a nice time in nature, because all he wants to think about is the TV shows he’s missing.
10 The days are just busy
In the winter, Calvin spends his time building elaborate snowmen. In the summer, his habits are less artistic and more destructive. Calvin loves to surprise people with water balloons (or at least he tries to). His victims can be his parents or Hobbes, but more often, Calvin is trying to get the better of his friend Susie.
In most cases Calvin and Hobbes In this comic strip about Calvin’s water balloon fights, Calvin’s plans end up backfiring, leaving him soaked instead of his intended target. In this comic strip, Calvin tries to be sneaky by planning an ambush. His words take the reader right back to summer vacation, with his innocent opinion that his childhood summer days are just plain busy.
9 Summer days are the longest
Calvin is an incredibly active young child and his parents give him the space to have adventures in his neighborhood and the surrounding woods. Accompanied by his faithful companion, Hobbes, Calvin’s summer days are filled with one adventure or game after another.
As people get older, time becomes more and more precious and they begin to feel that all time must be used in a useful or efficient way. This comic takes the reader back to a simpler time in life when an entire day could be used solely for imagination and play. Even then, the day would seem too short, but in a more satisfying way.
8 Nothing on TV except reruns
Calvin and Hobbes The comics often highlight Calvin’s great love of nature, especially during the summer months when he can run around in the woods near his home and have adventures with his best friend Hobbes. Despite his comfort in a natural environment, Calvin is a child, and most children really enjoy watching television.
In this comic strip, Calvin begins by appreciating the beautiful summer day and how nice it is to be out of school and enjoying his free time. While everything he says is true, Calvin can’t help but see the negative side of summer: no new TV shows. Readers old enough to have basic cable know exactly how Calvin felt from their own childhood.
7 Unwanted family vacations
Every summer, Calvin’s family loads up a car and drives to a remote location for a camping vacation. Calvin and Hobbes The comedic stories about these camping trips are always hilarious and often touching, despite the fact that Calvin’s dad seems to be the only person who actually enjoys the experience.
Although he rarely has a good time, this comic shows Calvin dutifully showing up to his father and the trip he has planned. Although Calvin is rebellious by nature, he also loves his parents and tries to be a good kid. Calvin may complain about camping trips, but given the love of nature he inherited from his father, there’s a good chance he’ll appreciate this memory when he’s older.
6 Water Balloon Fights
Calvin and Hobbes The comics often show Calvin fighting with his neighbor and classmate Susie in one way or another. Although Calvin and Susie are friends, they are both young and Calvin is particularly immature, which makes him forget that his actions sometimes hurt other people, including Susie. In the summer, Calvin and Susie most often engage in water balloon fights.
In this comic series, Susie had to fight Calvin and Hobbes with water balloons. Calvin thought this would give him an advantage since it was a 2-on-1 fight, but since Hobbes is a toy, Susie simply took his balloon. Susie pretended that Hobbes was a double agent, which actually made sense considering how much Hobbes likes girls.
5 Do whatever you want
Bill Watterson is a brilliant artist, but most of the time, average. Calvin and Hobbes Comic strips were not a real test of his artistic abilities. However, Watterson would occasionally use a comic strip to showcase his illustrating skills, especially on Sundays when he had more space to work.
This strip is a great example of Bill Watterson’s most elaborate art. Watterson took all the space of the big Sunday strip and used it to create a single-panel image of the woods where Calvin and Hobbes are riding in their wagon. The strip is beautiful to look at. Plus, the punchline, that there is never “enough time to do all the nothingness you want to do,” resonates with readers who remember the summer vacations of their youth.
4 Calvin makes fun of his father
Calvin often gives his father a hard time. A recurring gag in Calvin and Hobbes In the comics, Calvin frequently presents his father with approval polls on his performance as a father. Calvin is also known to harass his father while he is trying to work, or to interfere with his father’s ability to get to work in the first place.
In this comic strip, Calvin mocks his father by telling him that he has a lot of time and freedom thanks to summer vacation, unlike his father, who is on his way to work. Older readers can appreciate this both from their childhood memories and the heartbreaking truth of Calvin’s words from an adult perspective.
3 Summer goes by too fast
Most people remember the relief of being on summer vacation after a full school year. The beginning of summer seems full of possibilities and the free time available seems endless. But as the summer passes, children feel the end of summer approaching. As a result, the imminent return of rules and restrictions tinges the pleasure of those same summer days with a hint of dread.
This Calvin and Hobbes The comic perfectly captures the feeling of impending dread as summer vacation draws to a close. Although there are still a few months left before school starts, Calvin is already panicking about how quickly summer is passing. Everyone can relate to Calvin’s feeling that the good times are passing too quickly.
2 What day is it?
A few Calvin and Hobbes Summer vacation comics show Calvin trying to have as many adventures as possible or wanting to spend the day indoors in front of the television. Calvin, however, also knows how to enjoy summer days in a quieter way, relaxing in the sun or under a tree with his best friend Hobbes.
Calvin and Hobbes The comics encourage readers to appreciate the simple things in life. Calvin not remembering the day of the week, which is a common occurrence that most people can relate to when they are on vacation. Calvin recognizes that this ignorance is a good thing. It also represents his freedom and relaxed state when he is surrounded by a beautiful day in nature.
1 A trip to the beach
For those lucky enough to live near a beach, summer vacations often mean family outings soaking up the sun on the sand. Kids are usually excited to go to the beach, but sometimes their expectations don’t match reality. Beaches are beautiful, but they’re not always as idyllic as they seem.
Here, Calvin and Hobbes were clearly excited about going to the beach. The couple cheered the news by running across the sand and jumping into the water. Both experiences proved to be painful life lessons for the duo as the sand burned their feet and the water was freezing. Calvin wanted to go home almost immediately, and readers can relate to both Calvin’s unease and his parents’ frustration.