Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
- July 29, 2009
- From Beginning
- Previous feature
- Show Calendar
- Next feature
- Current
Tags: character building, camping, bored, leadership, Family Vacations. Add Tags

Register for a FREE GoComics account and get this plus any other comic strip delivered to your Personalized Comic Page, Daily. With a free account you will be able to build a Comic Page filled with the Comics you want to see each day.
With the largest collection of Comics and Editorial Cartoons online there is plenty to choose from. Upgrade to a Comic Genius account (Only $.99/Month) and have unlimited archive access to decades of comics.
Register for a FREE GoComics account and get this or any other comic strip daily emailed daily. Comics and Editorial Cartoons are updated everyday so there is always something new.
With a free account you will receive one comic from your Personalized Comic Page daily. Upgrade to a Comic Genius account (Only $.99/Month) and get all of your comics emailed daily plus receive unlimited archive access to decades of comics.
Tags: character building, camping, bored, leadership, Family Vacations. Add Tags
Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes has been a worldwide favorite since its introduction in 1985. The strip follows the richly imaginative adventures of Calvin and his trusty tiger, Hobbes. Whether a poignant look at serious family issues or a round of time-travel (with the aid of a well-labeled cardboard box), Calvin and Hobbes will astound and delight you.
© 2009 Universal Press Syndicate - All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2009. UCLICK LLC, All rights reserved. Terms & Conditions - Privacy Policy


Comments (45) Jump to Comments Form
Margueritem
said,
3 months ago
Because you’re much too young…
Richard said, 3 months ago
I will stick with Calvin, BTW, he did bring Hobbes.
Ivy0730 said, 3 months ago
step by step. Calvin, no rush!
annd, weird thing is : Mom’s quite quiet this time?
Ivy0730 said, 3 months ago
oh, I got it! Calvin said it all for Mom already! or she just agreed with Dad’s good-for-the-growing-of-kid idea?
Al said, 3 months ago
I think Mom likes camping…as long as it is nice out.
Gweedo Murray said, 3 months ago
Maybe Bill was in a hurry and couldn’t get dialog for her in time, or what other folks have said.
artybee said, 3 months ago
My grandfather who was an outdoorsman died right before I was born. My younger cousin and I have always felt we missed out on a lot by not knowing him. And I’m still not a camper.
Johanan Rakkav
said,
3 months ago
It may be because BW’s father was just like this (according to his own testimony) and he wanted to have the dialog focus on the fact.
vibjyor said, 3 months ago
Is Dad right when he says it builds character ? It seems it only made Calvin grumpy.
carpetinwater9 said, 3 months ago
Calvin’s got great expectations.
witewater said, 3 months ago
If I was Calvin, I’d be grumpy too! I don’t see any gear in the canoe. I guess Mom is gonna forage for food while Dad constructs shelter from the indigenous materials.
prasrinivara said, 3 months ago
Ok, now revealed that it is not the burglary thread (as wicky stated, Calvin brought Hobbes–where in the burglary thread Hobbes stayed home).
For Al, probably not–she’s just resigned to her husband’s love of camping (but it seems that she’s never been clear on the concept of “you boys go camping, I’ll stay home”).
JonD17 said, 3 months ago
Calvin, this is a lot cheaper than the casino version of “character-building”
derek britain said, 3 months ago
Just once in a while it would have been nice to see Calvins dad be kind ……kind of a d-bag.
4deerinmyyard
said,
3 months ago
Nono, Calvin’s dad is a grown-up Calvin. Where do you think Calvin gets it? Dad’s just as feverishly devoted to his own version of reality; he just has a different taste in reality from Calvin’s.
Dino-1 said, 3 months ago
This is probably their big summer vacation so that’s why Mom is going too. My Dad would get a couple weeks vacation at Christmas and a couple weeks in the summer. Our idea of camping was rent a camp with no television or phone and twice with an outhouse. On the way we got two weeks of groceries so we didn’t have to leave camp. It helped them unwind by cutting themselves off from the outside world. We all went swimming and Dad and I would get up before the sun, to take the boat out on the lake to catch fish for dinner. It kept me close with my parents. My Dad died when I was 18 so I’m glad we had those summer memories.
Macushlalondra
said,
3 months ago
I’ll take the condo but not the casino. Somewhere to swim would be nice. And nice restaurants and stores!
Thanks for sharing your memory of your dad Dino. It’s great you have such nice memories. I’m sorry he died while you were still so young.
Stede_Bonnet said, 3 months ago
Kids today don’t want to build “character”… None of their idols or leaders have any. The don’t even know what “character” means. They just want shiny STUFF and to be surrounded by other brainless twits who are just like them. An entire culture populated by lazy, characterless idiots. I’ve really got to start putting more effort into my Hindi and Mandarin… अलविदा and 再见
LX013 said, 3 months ago
Holidays are saved, Hobbes is there!
sjoujke said, 3 months ago
I’ll bet Hobbes is enjoying the call of the wild. Hopefully he and Calvin will be alone at sometime during the vacation so he can set Calvin straight about the experience.
unemandarine said, 3 months ago
Oh Calvin, I understand you so well, although I would rather go to a SPA myself…
cleokaya
said,
3 months ago
My cousin took his two daughters on a week long canoe trip at Bowrin Lake Provincial Park in BC. It poured rain every day and their camping gear was always damp. Neither daughter has gone camping since.
N7326 Foxtrot said, 3 months ago
It scares me whenever I agree with Calvin, as I do today.
sm1969 said, 3 months ago
Calvin’s mom doesn’t say anything because she has already been through it with Dad. She knows there’s no arguing so she leaves it alone.
yyyguy
said,
3 months ago
my first camping experience was as an (almost) 11 year old, with a small group of classmates and a large group of the teacher’s family members. we had canoe and kayak rides in the river, hikes up to where there was a store on a lake above a dam to buy snacks and firecrackers, all sorts of experiences for four days. i don’t camp now, but still have wonderful memories of having done so.
Wildmustang1262 said, 3 months ago
Calvin, you cannot go in the casino somewhere because you are not over 21 years old.
RinaFarina said, 3 months ago
I was going to write this out myself, but @Macush said it all for me: “Thanks for sharing your memory of your dad Dino. It’s great you have such nice memories. I’m sorry he died while you were still so young.”
Silverpearl said, 3 months ago
I know of a cabin where people go to get away from it all. It has a full bathroom and a dishwasher but the TV only plays tapes and CDs. Too bad there is a telephone.
Comic-Nut said, 3 months ago
Well, it did build character … in Calvin over the course of another year … after that last camping trip. Now we get to see what lays in wait for him this trip.
Maybe Calvin will garner lots of new wild fantasies from this foray into nature. I know I always seemed to when I was his age when our family went camping.
bald 716 said, 3 months ago
this is the way to camp, too many people now take those greyhound bus sized campers with electric generators and satellite dishes and all the comforts of home to me that is NOT camping
Coffee-Turtle
said,
3 months ago
hope they are not heading for the falls! :-)
grazer said, 3 months ago
What a quiet, peaceful and serene setting…..
Waaay too quiet, peaceful and serene, huh Calvin?
fencingfoil101 said, 3 months ago
ugh, poor calvin…….i hate camping :P
ratlum said, 3 months ago
Hobbes did come so it wont be too boring
scribbler67 said, 3 months ago
Went camping on our honeymoon. Rained every day; tent leaked. We’re still married and still enjoy camping 40 years later.
canadaeh said, 3 months ago
Calvin’s dad wouldn’t let him help start a campfire i’m sure all the animals in the forest apprieciated that.
Calvinator said, 3 months ago
I camped all summer in Alaska next to a canney - 25 years ago - ate salmon cooked over an open campfire every day. Today - I still love to camp but hate salmon. The camping built character, the salmon gave me heartburn.
Wildmustang1262 said, 3 months ago
Calvinator, you hate the salmon becuz it made you having a heartburn! Hogwash! I love salmon to eat and never have a heartburn at all.
SQUIDBREAKER said, 3 months ago
Build character: buy Play-dough.
JanCinVV
said,
3 months ago
We didn’t camp much as a family, but we were all scouters, both boy- and girl-. Had a lot of fun on those campouts.
JonD17 said, 3 months ago
Stede_Bonnet said, about 15 hours ago
Kids today don’t want to build “character”… None of their idols or leaders have any. The don’t even know what “character” means. They just want shiny STUFF and to be surrounded by other brainless twits who are just like them. An entire culture populated by lazy, characterless idiots. I’ve really got to start putting more effort into my Hindi and Mandarin… अलविदा and 再见
If that is the case Stede, it is because that is what their parents taught them.
children do not come pre-programmed.
Ivy0730 said, 3 months ago
你好JonD17! 我在学德语,呵呵o(∩_∩)o…
Stede_Bonnet said, 3 months ago
JonD17 said, about 9 hours ago
If that is the case Stede, it is because that is what their parents taught them.
children do not come pre-programmed.
And where is the comfort in that? Lazy, characterless idiot parents programming lazy, characterless idiot children. As I indicated, it is the entire “culture” which is in decline. No one wants to work. No wants to excel. No one is willing in incur the slightest bit of discomfort in pursuit of a goal. They all just want to sit around in front of a CRT and be spoon fed everything.
Ivy0730Lcsq certainly caught on quickly… but predictably, he’s German, not American.
phillysteak said, 3 months ago
because they dont want him to have fun while building character
Destiny23 said, 3 months ago
Calvin hitting a casino? Now there’s a disaster waiting to happen!