Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for September 09, 2019

Tough being a target.

(Spoiler: there is nothing funny about this arc.)

I don’t think Calvin is happier at all.

Definitely one of the saddest and most brutally honest storylines of C&H, next to the baseball one.

Moe sure is a jerk.

Does Moe learn ANYTHING?

Where is Hobbes when you need him most?

All about the reality of school bullying. Got to show it to get people to talk about it, and hopefully motivate them to eliminate it from schools.

Twinkies don’t have backbones.

well ,well looks like calvin met his match!!

I suffered through a creep like Moe in grade school.

Kids need to have the confidence to tell people when this happens—-and the people they tell need to be empowered to actually do something to stop it!

I would love to see a Calvin/Fort Knox crossover where Betty Wu does the same thing to Mo that she did to Kurt.

I love the subtle use of lower case text in Moe’s lines. It really gives him a less intelligent feel.

I believe this story arc is the first time I heard the term, “Mandibles of death”. Go get ’em Hobbes.

Lovely how Moe’s “gentle persuasion” works on Cal! :D

There was a kid like this in my neighborhood and everyone hated him but I saw his home life because I lived across the street from him. His mom was usually passed out drunk and his dad was a mean drunk who beat him; his older brother would beat him and his older sister always had a different sleazy guy with her. Unfortunately, a lot of kids are products of their environment.

The first story arc I ever read. (My first C&H book was “Scientific Progress Goes ‘Boink’”)

Very much the same in my first 8 years of school, and that was 50 years ago

Poor Calvin. Too bad Hobbes wasn’t there.

A funny gag, but in the real world Moe would make a visit to the principle.

“Socialization” – it’s a magical thing

CEO in training.

Always convinced myself that I wasn’t going to sink to their level. Not that i din’t know how to fight, or was afraid to. Only time I fought back did not end well. It wasn’t until until I snapped one night, after being tapped by one of them while driving, that it ended. I ran him off the road. I had, the prior week, had already had encounters with two others of his ‘crew’. I saw him two days later. Told him I was glad he was OK. Then told him, that we were no longer on the playground. That I no longer had to answer to my parents or teachers. and that if he , or his friends, EVER bothered me or mine again, I would kill him. I was never bothered again.

Is “Moe” one of tRump’s online aliases?

Step 1: Act like you’re going to hand over the truckStep 2: Brain Moe with the truckFighting back is the only way to stop a bully.

This reminds me of someone….

Calvin – you need some self-defense help against that bully. Go watch Ralphie in the Christmas Story!

This arc is definitely some of Bill’s boldest storytelling.

No doubt Moe grows up to work for the IRS.

My experience w/ bullies was that they are far less verbal than in this example.

Fits right in with where our country is today.

I beat up guys like Moe when I was Calvin’s age. They’d pick on someone and I’d take them on. Being a cute little girl made the authorities disbelieve the “Moes” and then they would be the strap on top of it. Meanwhile, my mom would get after me for coming home with torn clothes. We superheroes can have it tough, sometimes. :P