Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for August 30, 2009

Kind of sad..yet wonderful at the same time.

Ghosts, imaginary friends, real friends, who cares, let’s have fun.

And sometimes, even though there were plenty of kids around, I would find myself standing alone and wishing there was someone who wanted to play with ME.

To all you who joined in yesterday’s geography, thanks! It was great to get an idea of where we all come from - widely diverse in place, language and culture but all united in the fascinating adventures of Calvin and Hobbes.

Real friends reduce the number of ghost players, but may increase the number of disagreements, especially if the rules change as frequently as they do in Calvinball.

It is also interesting, as I recall, the amount of imagination decreases as the number of “real” players increases.

Yukoner - That was a good idea of yours. We here at gocomics cover the world.

Calvin should know by now that you can’t outsmart Hobbes.

Whats even worse, and we forget this sometimes, is Calvin is really playing by himself. threlfallm , this is regular baseball. I haven’t seen Calvinball in a while. Now that game had some odd rules, or perhaps no rules.

Good Sunday Morning Marg, Cleo, Yukoner, everyone. Sorry, I missed the Geo. sign-in yesterday; representing Connecticut, USA here

Are we the only species to have imaginary friends?

I’m not sure if anthropomorphic stuffed tigers having imaginary friends count.

threlfallm said, about 13 hours ago: I thought there were 10 types of mathemeticians. Those who understand binary and those who don’t.

Excellent.

Yukoner: I agree whole heartingly that it was a great idea yesterday with the geography day sign- in. I was surprised too but shouldn’t have been where everyone is located. It was fun to see! PatPiano: My Mom was a perfectionist! She vacuumed and dusted everyday! To answer the question of why iron the bed linens – she said it was just in case someone saw them wrinkled then she’d be embarrassed. That’s all I could get out of her as an answer when I was a kid. She’d also iron my Dad’s boxers and I just decided not to persue that line of questioning! Somebodyshort: Love the sign-in name and great parenting with the imaginary baseball game! rohitjoshi- I like your profile photo of Calvin. Just to let you know they also refer to it as an Avatar. In case you’re looking for more they have some good ones for free on: avatars.jurko.net

How do they keep track of all the ghosts?

Calvin … so smart but so lonely in real life. No where bored though in his own little world.

Ghost empire!

BigGrouch & threlfallm - This is pre-Calvinball. This strip was first published in July ‘88, Calvinball wasn’t created until May 1990 when Calvin was playing Baseball at school and got an out for the wrong team.

Hobbes always has last word!

Hi all; I’m a day late and a dollar short today…meaning I went to bed last night before the comics arrived. I won’t make that mistake again! I loved the Geographical sign in and was surprised to see a couple from Vancouver Island. I’m in Victoria, but am a transplanted Montrealer. I’ve been dreaming about visiting the Yukon since my Montreal days and one day I’ll get there. We have a Harley and my husband and I would love to ride up there, but lately family obligations have had us riding to his hometown of Edmonton.

excellent humour, but I’d find this strip way funnier if it only consisted of the second line of panels.

Hobbes’ face in the sixth panel is wonderful. He seems to expect no objections.

Hobbs would have lost in Calvinball.

When will Calvin learn, he’ll never win, no matter what he plays with Hobbes.

But would things be any different if he did have real friends to play with?

Great punch line though.

Loved yesterday’s geographical sign-in.

Aw Poor Calvin, he always loses out.

You do have another friend, Calvin, Susie!

Susie? bah!

Love Hobbes’ sanctimonious expression in panel 6… he would make for a great guru (actually is, for Calvin)

hobbes going in calvin,you better follow him,he’s going to read you comics while you’re outside

Thanks for that great idea, Yukoner.

Know where you’re coming from. In grade school when choosing up sides for a game, guess who was last to be picked…only for that captain to grooooaan. Coordinated I wasn’t.

Nothing like feeling alone in a crowd of people. But, that was then.

But poor Calvin…I’ll bet he could start a fight on an otherwise empty elevator car.

Ghost Outfields is brilliant!

tobacco juice

that’s how i felt as a kid. no friends in the neighborhood. i’m glad that i’m more sociable now.

this is a GR8, comic!

Rules made up as you go!!!

Remember: Hobbes is only as real as those ghosts!

WOW we seem to over analyze this which can be fun. Calvin is playing the way many well adjusted children play when there isn’t another to add to the game. As was told above kids have to fill in the gaps with ghost or as I did imaginary runners. I don’t see this as sad at all. Unlike many kids today Calvin is able to use his imagination to keep himself occupied when other kids aren’t available. He never said “I wish I had a friend” he does say “I wish I lived in a neighbor hood with more kids”. My over analyzing tells me he wants more friends not that he doesn’t have any. Another thought in this digging really deep is that Calvin will make a lot of money being a writer or inventor of some kind. Don’t feel bad for Calvin. He will use his imagination and be more successful that the rest of us. If he remembers how he was as a young boy he will relate to his children that much better and be a great father. Don’t read to deep into the small window of Calvin’s life we are given, it might amount to no more than 5 minutes in the day of Calvin & Hobbes.

Calvi and Hobbes is good. Aw, who am I kidding, IT’S GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it my imagination or are Calvin and Hobbes living in a fantasy world??

; )

Hahaha!! Calvin’s face in the last 2 panels Lmao

It’s just your imagination, Grazer.

Somebody Short, I read with fascination and delight your story about your first-grader son playing through more or less an entire half-inning by himself.

missed out on yesterdays geo also, representing MIch.

I can remember playing with imaginary runners when there weren’t enough players. That tree is first base, the clothesline pole is second and the bush is third. Home plate is the trash can lid. And before we start is a ball hit over the back fence an automatic out or a home run. If there were enough players, you could send the littlest one over the fence to run down the ball just in case. Thinking back, it’s amazing I never broke windows (ours or the neighbor’s). I guess the big pine tree at the back of the yard helped slow down the ball enough.

4deer: I can certainly understand why you took off at 19 - I would like very much to believe things were better for you later on in life.

Dino: Had to laugh, - your mom sounds a lot like mine. She ironed sheets, underwear, handkerchiefs, tee shirts, whatever - if it got washed, it got ironed, that simple (and that is two adults and seven kids worth of washing every week, with an old wringer washer and a BIG clothesline)

Just caught up on yesterday’s comments - I am in the wilds of Northern California, and to fill in a couple of missing commenters, I know “yyyguy” is somewhere in Canada, and I believe “fritzoid” is from San Francisco, my old stomping grounds.

hi ushindi: i tagged myself on to the back end of yesterday’s comments but will repeat. I live in beautiful downtown Bramalea, ON (an oxymoron if i’ve ever heard one, since it’s a suburb on the northwest edge of Toronto). it IS beautiful, however (IMHO) which is why i still live here 46 years after first moving here.

I missed out on yesterday’s comments. When I grew up you did your own chores no money, no electronics, and made up your own games. Wichita, KS Playing baseball like that with only your imgination can get confusing and lonesome/tiresome.

Kids have great imaginations

TX

What do you mean? Bill Watterson ain’t no kid.

Missed the “geography day” sign in. For what it’s worth [if anything] I was born and grew up in Wisconsin, and now live in Arizona. In between, I’ve lived in California [several times], Oregon, New Mexico, British Columbia [Canada], and Utah. Have spent time in Guatemala, Philippines, Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales. Will be in Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary next summer. So what? As broadcaster Edward R. Murrow once remarked, “Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn’t mean your are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.”

I had an invisible dog when I was little my Mom told me but I don’t remember it . When my friends were and weren’t around I’d do voices for my action figures, hand puppets, and dolls so I’d say that counts as invisible friends.

BLAH - BLAH - BLAH!!!

STILL AN AWFUL LOT OF UNRELATED, USELESS DRIVEL HERE!

But then, maybe I’m attempting to have a senseless battle of wits with unarmed competitors.

I’ll make a deal with you; I’ll read the comic and leave those of you, to whom this applies, to ramble on amongst yourselves in the comment section.

Well, Groversfather, welcome to the club as you certainly appear to have the aforemention quite well mastered.

Well written EarlWash, only Groversfather is worse because he just keeps repeating himself.

You’re out!!! Hobbes quit, and now a paper tiger quits. “Paper Tiger! Paper Tiger! You paper tigers are all alike; Your bark is much worse than your bite. - Sue Thompson “Our Town” will have to get along without Groversfather. Now there will be one fewer “useless drivel anyway. I wish him well. He can’t be all bad. He likes Calvin and Hobbes “comic. Earl Wash said, “Coordinated I wasn’t.” Well, he is, now!

I smell a troll.

LOL< Groversfather said he was having a “senseless battle of wits with unarmed competitors”. Perhaps they are unarmed because they HAVE sense that you don’t.

Of course the crowd was against Calvin - they were playing in a ghosttown… he got homered!