Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for July 25, 2012

So true….

Calvin is too young to appreciate that.

LOL! Anywho…to start trouble: some authorities believe our fascination with superheroes bespeaks our desire for a savior. (Ducks and runs…)

I still want to hear a 6-year-old talk that way.

Stay good!

Love it.

"Playboy"s for prepubescents! I always knew I liked Wonder Woman, even though I wasn’t quite sure why back in the 50’s.

Cat Woman sure squeezes into her suit!

@margueritem sure they do.

Of course, you have to look good when you’re getting your kidneys punched out with an I-beam.

Who else but Captain Steroid?

Spaceman Spiff

For a 6-year old, he has a wide vocabulary.

That was MY line. Damn it:/

The graphic novel that is the Walking Dead provides social commentary. What do you guys think of it?

I rarely post polemics and I go on GoComics too early to read the later comments, but today I read yesterday’s comments and I must say (not to name the commenter) that I have always felt that Hobbes (the commenter, that is) has always had very insightful comments that I’ve always enjoyed reading.Thanks for the statistics as well as the comic examples you bring to us, Hobbes. His annual religious retreat must surely recharge his spiritual values, but I miss his comments during those times.

escapist fantasy . . . of course . ,

Super-heroine comics – preparing today’s youth for tomorrow’s porn, and providing today’s girls with the most provocative poses.

Thanks, Arye Uygur. I always appreciate the positive comments from people here, not for egotistical reasons, but because I want to make a difference in people’s lives. Whether that means giving someone a laugh, causing someone to think about what is truly important in life, or setting a good example for a child, we all have a great opportunity to do those things right here for a highly diverse group of readers. Calvin and Hobbes has lived on, partly because of Bill Watterson’s timeless humor, and partly because of the timeless topics that he addresses. This group is a continuation of his legacy.

But I am four and a half, remember.

I’ve been looking for a girl like that on Amazon…

Actually, some comics do attempt to address real-life social issues. []For example, when Devil’s Due had the rights to G. I. Joe, issue 15 of the “Front Lines” spinoff – http://www.yojoe.com/comics/frontline/frontline15.shtml – had an Army Ranger named Lonzo “Stalker” Wilson attempting to confront the fact that, in his absence due to frequent mission assignments, his oldest boy started hanging out with a local drug dealer. []Not only did Stalker have to deal with the realization that he’d missed a lot of his boy’s life, he also had to try and figure out just how to handle the dope fiend that was corrupting the kid and poisoning the neighborhood.[][spoiler alert – although Stalker could easily whack the guy at his leisure due to his Army training, he instead decides to take the moral high ground. He waits until the dealer gets his next shipment in from Mexico, then ambushes the dealer and his gang. With some help from his son, Stalker knocks everyone unconscious; with the bad guys detained and the evidence secured, the pair await the local police.]

comics are social critiques… like, batman and joker, maybe?

Ahhhh comic books . . . giving boys unrealistic expectations of women since 1933. Kind of like romance novels for girls . . . but with more punching.

I hope this link works. If not, try googling TvTropes. It’s a nice page about C&H sayings that I think most people here will enjoy, and for newcomers it’s a nice introduction and catch-up.

TvTropes.org : Calvin & Hobbes page

Amazon Annie?!

Yeap. I squeezed myself into some capri’s this morning. They don’t look too bad either.

@Luscious,“They don’t look too bad, either.”One might say you look Luscious!

Amazon girl may be trying to squeeze that figure into a tiger suit. Hobbs’ fantasy huh?

Well… it’s more of a critique today with more gay comic characters (although when this was written, they had more black characters than they did 20 years earlier and more political figures). Although most of the characters with “girl” or “boy” in the name don’t tend to be as “developed” as “woman” or “man” to fit into those tight little suits. ;-)

sure…!!! comics book..

I’d like to know too.

Rwoooooor!Hobbes loves the girls don’t he!

That is one horny tiger. His track record regarding “smoochies” is well known. Go get ’em Hobbes.

Mom cant figure how those super gals get into their uniforms to.And she would really like to.

Just so. My daughter took to anime on quite a grand scale & I have received many lectures on the subject. Fate laughs at me on a daily basis. :)But I still think Kafka and Vonnegut do a much better job of it.

Well I don’t think he’s going to convince his mom there good!

@Sandy Shore: Thanks for you thoughtful comments. Rogue53 has a mixed personality, and I have complimented him on his positive side several times in the past, including recently. I have also told him a couple of times that I would like to be his friend. And even though he misunderstands my motives, he sincerely believes what he says and feels that he is doing the right thing. But he is not fully aware of how he comes across with his negative language, and he does need to work on that, as Vonne Anton pointed out today. We do not do him a favor by letting that go unchallenged. Nevertheless, he has been improving in that area, especially compared to a year ago. And we all have things that we need to work on improving.But you have touched on a root issue on this site. There are some people who enjoy predictability each day within relatively narrowly-defined limits, whereas others like every day to be different and unpredictable, with very loosely defined limits. The two groups can never be fully compatible.I am a member of the second group, but I am an extreme member. I may skip posting for a few days, and then post fifteen times in one day. I may post nothing but comic strips for a few days, and then write a long “dissertation” the next day. I may do trivial jokes one day and discuss deep issues the next. I may be gone for two months and then bombard the group with a flurry of postings the week that I return.The nature of my own creative process, together with my enjoyment of spontaneity and variety, does not allow me to fit into the mold of posting a small, metered dose each and every day within narrowly-defined limits. Some people enjoy my unpredictability, but others do not. And I enjoy the unpredictable posters more than I enjoy the predictable ones.You seem to fall somewhere in-between the two groups, sometimes going a bit “off-topic” with your postings, but not wanting to go too far in that direction or discuss issues that are too in-depth. Perhaps this makes you a good moderator between the two groups.

I have to say I’m out of my element here for sure. Comic books never interested me—and being a girl, I wouldn’t be able to identify with Calvin here anyway. :) The “Peanuts” gang was my first love, followed by Harry Potter when I was about eight, and finally, Calvin and Hobbes. More recent fictional “crushes” have been Edward Elric of the anime “Fullmetal Alchemist” and The Phantom of the Opera. So……never a comic book kinda kid. :P

The suits come back from the dry cleaners a bit shrunken up…it happens all the time….

@nerual53: I used to wonder that myself, but I ruled it out long ago. :>)I do happen to think like Bill Watterson sometimes, which is why I enjoy Calvin and Hobbes, but I’m not him. He has moved on with his life and I doubt that he ever reads these comments.

Nerual53, I think you’re Bill Watterson & you are using misdirection! Cunning, but your cards are marked now.

@The Snoopster: Oh well, records are made to be broken. At least you were “king for a few days.” I’m still the youngest poster here, at age 3…….

As a little 6-year-old boy who positively hates girls, I’m completely shocked and surprised that Calvin would even be interested in a female superhero squeezing what must be a very shapely figure into a very small costume!!!!! Shouldn’t he be finding that visual idea absolutely “G.R.O.S.S.” and disgusting?!?!?!? ;-)

Alright kids…there has been way too much !%#?*& talk about #%#%^& civility! Knock it off! Quit being NICE! C’mon, mix it up! Grrr-grrowww-grrr-grrowallllll-grrr (that so Hobbesy can follow this comment…smiles, peace…and don’t let me catch any of you youngins using the Shift-uppercase-number symbols or I’ll wash your mouth out with soap!

Body paint…

Yesterday’s posts ended with a discussion of sex education in schools, and I would like to throw a penny into that subject: The problem most people of faith have with sex-ed in schools is that it comes without morality. This is like teaching gunmanship without morality. (And before any purists think this is a silly comparison, remember that both sex and guns carry the responsibility for life, a great power that requires morals to guide the use of.) But…really, isn’t that the parents job? To teach both sex and morals to their children? I believe sex-ed should be required for ADULTS so they are qualified to teach their children accurately at home and inputing whatever morals they want their children to have and demonstrate. A parents influence is – in my experience – greater than a teachers (and many teachers have awesome influence!).No one gave me a penny for my thoughts, so I ante’d that up myself. If you read this, it cost you more than me.

Very good.

Probably Captain Napalm.

Shoot….I liked being fourth youngest….

I’ve always wondered why super heroes have such tight suits

Really? I’m just curious how did you find out? : )