Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for September 01, 2019

Let Spaceman Spiff enjoy his moment of glory.

No one likes a glory hog

Probably the teacher was asking synonym for calamity.

The planet has pretty good architectural buildings.

just like Ralphie.

It’s a good thing he didn’t have to spell Metropolis.

Nope, he’s going to spend the rest of the day standing up.

“Good morning, Miss Shields…!”

He got lucky.

Zounds! I like the way he uses comic book language.

Enjoy it Calvin. Success is far and few in your young life.

And he said he was looking forward to going back to school…

It could have been disaster without Calvin’s lucky guess.

I see Gork has been colonized by McDonalds

The lady backed up into the propeller, disaster!

First Calvin and Hobbes I ever saw was a Sunday strip of Spaceman Spiff unsuccessfully dodging frapple rays and going down on an alien planet. It came as packaging with something I had mail ordered (remember when you did that) back in the 80s. Went out and bought a couple books because it would be a couple years till our paper started carrying it.

Talk about a lucky break.

He saves the day, great!

See. Miss Wormwood? He knows how to spell – you just have to give him the right words…

Spaceman Spiff does it again!

He came out of a day dream spelling and got it right. Spaceman Spiff deserves his praise for, indeed, pulling it out in a pinch.

I always liked this one when I was younger.

Success at school! Obviously he heard the words “spell disaster”. This is the only time I can recall he did something right!

“Hmm… the engine is making funny noises.” Maybe the funniest line I have heard all week!

Spiff rules!!!!!

Spiff Sunday strips were pure genius.

I added Spaceman Spiff to my name tag on my USAF flight suit. :-)

that’s a very small interstellar travel vehicle!

I’ve always been amazed at the extent of Calvin’s education. I could never have spelled a word like that in first grade.

Surprised he spelled it right.

However, ‘disaster’ is Calvin’s by-word…

What does “zounds” mean, anyway?

In primary grades, I was so incredibly bored! But I found a small fix in high school: In history class (the perfect definition of boring) I would read a paperback that I placed inside the text so as to make it hard for the teacher to see from up front. Alas, by the middle of the first semester, she had me figured out, but instead of doing something useful with that knowledge, she just took my book! At first, I could get it back after school, but when she threatened to return it only after the end of the school year, I rolled over and suffered for the remaining eternity.

My grandson, who had much the same experience in grade school has hit the jackpot in HS: He’s going to some kind of “oddballs who are smart” program where he can study at whatever pace he pleases (as long as he covers all the required bases each year) and in the last 3 of 4 years, he may take “advanced” classes that both meet HS spec and also garner Jr. College credit, so he can conceivably graduate from HS with a 2 year degree from the local Jr. College. Look out world!

This was exactly me when I was a kid

YO