Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for December 23, 2012

Maybe you’ll get an extra present!!!!

Oh Calvin, here’s your handbasket, you are going to heck!

In today’s strip, Calvin hits the nail on the head, even though it seems like a snow job.He raises the basic question of whether we are all alike in terms of our evil inclinations and our abilities to resist temptations, and therefore whether we should all be judged equally. Now, there’s a topic for discussion.Today, Calvin is trying to justify himself by saying that he has a stronger innate inclination toward evil than some other people (presumably he thinks that he was born that way), and therefore that he shouldn’t be judged as harshly as others. But in a strip two years earlier, Calvin was trying to justify himself by saying that he hadn’t done things that were as bad as what other people had done, and therefore that he shouldn’t be judged as harshly as others. Calvin wants to have it both ways.Many of us tend to be like Calvin. If we feel that we are worse than other people, we want to look for reasons that our behavior might be beyond our control, or at least more difficult for us to control. But if we feel that we are better than other people, we want to think that it is something that we have accomplished on our own and therefore something for which we should receive credit. Like Calvin, we want to have it both ways. And like Calvin, in either case, we try to justify ourselves by comparing our behavior to that of others.Part of what makes Calvin and Hobbes such an enduring strip is Bill Watterson’s incredible insight into human nature, and his ability to express it in ways that readers can relate to, while he is simultaneously entertaining them at a high level.Today’s strip is from December 1992. Here is the earlier strip:Click here: Calvin and Hobbes (December 23, 1990)

Click here: Peanuts (December 17, 1959)

Click here: Garfield (December 11, 2002)

Click here: Pearls Before Swine (December 22, 2006)

You’re a dead man again, Calvin!

Hi Night-Gaunt49. Calvin isn’t an average character, but he’s definitely a character.

As long as Susie is around and you cant take Hobbes advice,forget all these good points.Your going to blow it.

Welcome back Hobbes, missed you buddy!

Hi Dogsniff. From the looks of your avatar, you may need a skin graft as well.

Hi Thirdguy. You’re the third guy I’m replying to. (Sorry, very old joke.) Glad to see the regulars are still here at this ridiculous hour.

Calvin is hopeless. LOL

@Dogsniff: It was a Thirdguy and a Wiseguy.

Thanks, Sebastian Pho, and welcome to GoComics.

Calvin, I think your logic is faulty. If anything, Santa should give a little tough love in response to your acts. It’s the only way to mend you of your evil ways and avoid the lumps of coal in future stockings.

WB Hobbes! You’ve been missed.

Calvin,oh Calvin,WHY do you continually invite The Pounding?

Naturally, Calvin!

Hobbes, we didn’t hear you for aeons!!

ahhh Clavin..the age of relativism is upon us

I want to be judged by effort in this matter, too! Who of us can say we are truly “good”? Some go to great lengths to appear good just so they can appear good…is that really good?-Welcome home, Hobbesy-Baby! Every day I’ve wondered when you would return and if you were all right. Good to see you, buddy!

I read somewhere that all men are created equal. It’s obvious that’s total hogwash!

I’m jealous, Calvin’s snow is always suitable for snow balls and snow men. He never gets that dry powdery stuff.

Calvin wanted to put a rock in the snowball, but didn’t. That is worth a lot Calvin!!!We had a president that smoked pot but didn’t inhale and he got all kinds of good stuff. The bad goes with the good I guess.

As it is written:

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless;there is no one who does good, not even one.” “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.”“The poison of vipers is on their lips.” “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know.” “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:10-18

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:12

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:9-11

I think that Puddleglum has some competition!

This what Calvin needshttp://www.hammacher.com/Product/83409?source=CMPSHOP&cm_ven=CompShop&cm_cat=Nextag&cm_pla=Nextag&cm_ite=83409&zmam=36352540&zmas=1&zmac=2&zmap=83409

If Calvin can negotiate this deal, then Congress should be able to negotiate the fiscal cliff deal. Just sayin’

if calvin can throw a snowball, with that much force and speed, then imagine if it was a baseball.

This is the problem with the performanced based Santa type concept. You can never know when you’ve been “good enough”. I’ll take the free gift, no fine print, no strings attached, regardless what I’ve done, I’m still loved.

@Burnside217: I like your comment. It’s definitely “good enough.” :>) Unconditional love is an incredible thing.

Now that Hobbes is back in the picture Calvin had better sleep with one eye open cause Hobbes is going to swipe all the good stuff and replace it with broccoli, spinach, sprouts and other good nutritious stuff!!!!

I think you’re sunk, Calvin. It’s a stocking full of coal for you!

Oooooooh, Calvin!

Tut Tut…. I’m too shocked to think of anything to say.

LOL xxx

Does anyone like being good? Or do they like the result of being good? (Sorry if someone already mentioned this, I didn’t read all the comments.)

Dang, a rock would be really harsh. Of course, he’s also tried to order deadly weapons for use on Susie. Calvin’s unprovoked spite goes beyond the norm for mere cootie fears. Maybe it’s displaced aggression.

Calvin has a crush on Susie and saves his snowballs only for her. Susie likes Calvin but is not about to take his abuse, so she shows him that it has consequences. Love at that age is so backwards. I predict an intense romance in High School and many children when they grow up.

@Thirdguy and Hobbes,“Is this the person to whom I am speaking?”

Welcome back Hobbes, It’s good to see your comments again.

Don’t you learn Calvin? You’re just going to get beat up again.

A rock would have been worse.

@calvinsfriend110: Give the other strips a chance — some of the other kids on Calvin and Hobbes really enjoy the extra strips, and over time, you may discover that you do to.The other comics are related to the theme of today’s Calvin and Hobbes, and I post other comics periodically because a lot of the adults here enjoy them. With today’s selections it may be harder to see the connection with the Pearls Before Swine strip, but I chose that one because of the line, “save us from ourselves,” and just because it is a very funny Santa-themed strip. Sometimes the Peanuts strips that I post show some of Charles Schulz’s influence on Bill Watterson, since Schulz came first. Today’s strip with the precocious Linus is a good example, drawn by Charles Schulz in 1959, 26 years before Bill Watterson created Calvin and Hobbes. With other strips, since they came after Calvin and Hobbes, sometimes you may see some of Bill Watterson’s influence on later cartoonists.

Thanks to many of you for the nice comments. I’ve been extremely busy and haven’t read the comics for the past two or three months, so I’m trying to catch up during the holidays. Some of you know that sometimes I stop posting for many weeks at a time, and at other times I may do a dozen postings in one day (today, for example). My approach to life is very non-routine, so for those who are used to routine, I tend to keep a lot of people guessing. Anyway, it’s great to see so many familiar “faces” when I return, along with some new ones. I hope everyone has a great holiday season.

Welcome back Hobbes, we’ve missed you.

You can philosiphise all you want, but the bottom line is "Paybcak is a B#!@%! And Susie is planning her payback!I think the ultimate payback would be to marry Calvin!

NOT putting a rock in the snowball that he just hit Susie with, like he originally wanted to? Gee, how many presents IS that sort of thing worth? (LOL!)

Calvin, you talk of being good and then throw a snowball at susie what is up.