Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for August 08, 2020

Just reminding him who’s the alpha.

Show him who’s boss, Hobbes!

you’re a wonder, Hobbes

Relax Calvin. He’s just looking for attention.

Yeah, too bad!!

He’s a no good tiger.

That’s why you don’t read comic books in the wilderness.

Tigers are mean! Tigers are fierce! Tigers have teeth and claws that pierce! Tigers are great! They can’t be beat! If I was a tiger, that would be neat! Tigers are nimble and light on their toes. My respect for tigers continually grows. Tigers are perfect, the E-Pit-O-Me of good looks and grace and quiet dignity. Tigers are great! They’re the toast of the town. Life’s always better when a tiger’s around!

Maybe Hobbes needs glasses.

I must be very suspicious, my first thought was …" What did you do to Hobbes this time"?

Calvin needs to remind Hobbes who controls access to the snack storage areas. Tame that tiger!

Better keep walking the straight and narrow, Calvin. The tiger is watching!

love that sneaky grin in the third panel!

Calvin is lucky, generally speaking, when tigers pounce, they never say “OOPS” right after.

That oops did not look all that convincing.

Poor kids never going to be any taller. These episodes can stunt your growth.

With imaginary friends like that, who needs enemies?

Yeah. I’ve seen guys like that when they get their hands on a knife or, more often, a rifle or pistol. Sometimes it ends badly.

“So you better be good for goodness sake…!”

Personally, I live in dread of the morning I awake to discover my lovable lil’ imp of a kitty has morphed into a 600 pound Siberian tiger.

Joking aside, there’s some truth to this, for it possibly explains why one of my life-long recurrent dreams involves living inside a house shared, usually, with several adult lions and tigers.

Calvin is never bored. Often frustrated, but never bored. So much going on in his over-sized head.

Gotta love how the “YAAH” in panel 2 could be applied to either one of them.

My cat does the same thing.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

People enjoy seeing Calvin and Hobbes being sweet to each other, but episodes like this remind us that Hobbes is abusive.

Hobbes can’t get Calvin every time. He has to save face.

I’m sorry, but introducing the word “snuffed” into a comic that kids could read is not funny in any way. There are other ways Calvin could have responded to make the “joke” less murderous sounding.

Hobbes did not spring upon him, as he has at other times (being a predator and a cat, both of which will spring up on things that look like lunch). Perhaps instead he was simply showing Calvin that he loved him by showing him that he could easily have pounced on him, as a predator, but chose not to…

That’s how I choose to see this.

The glass is neither half full, nor half empty, nor does it have a 100% over-capacity. The glass is a glass and nothing more.

That feline just wanted to grab that comic you were reading, Calvin. Comic books remains a treasure in this strip and in our childhood memories…

Actions like this are the reason why Calvin pulls so many pranks