Calvin and Hobbes wasn't that great.

The candyass who wrote that probably still has his mom blow on his food for him.

Squadron7 said:

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So there is this guy named Lukas Shayo....who writes about comic books for a living and who has decided that the legendary (IMHO) comic strip Calvin and Hobbes has...well...just not aged well.

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Calvin and Hobbes is often considered a timeless comic strip. Any reader can still enjoy the strip the way Bill Watterson initially intended. The characters, setting, and circumstances always feel like something that could easily be replicated today.

There are some elements, however, that have not aged perfectly. After all, the strip ran from 1985 to 1995. Some of the relationships are too toxic for a modern setting, and some details simply have not added up for the modern age. In fact, some advances in science or changes in cultural perception have rendered some strips relatively incomprehensible.

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Toxic! That sounds bad.

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Calvin's parents are often busy taking care of the house or working, leaving Calvin with few opportunities for emotional support. There are times when his parents step in like when Calvin failed to save the baby raccoon but he is more often left to work through problems himself. It is a lot of pressure for a little boy and would not be considered socially acceptable parenting today.

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Five bucks says the author of this piece has been in therapy since he was 14.

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The fact that Calvin's parents have no GPS tracker on him, despite Calvin constantly roaming around the town, is unrealistic in the modern world.

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Please tell that this is not true, youg'uns. For, if it is, we are doomed.

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At times, Calvin's parents elected to leave him with a young teenager named Rosalyn. Their relationship did improve over the course of Calvin's time with her, but Rosalyn's behavior was initially extremely inappropriate. In the modern world, Rosalyn would be severely criticized for her actions.

After all, Rosalyn regularly threatens Calvin for even the slightest offense. Staying up late or playing too loudly often led to threats of violence or a punishment of solitary confinement.

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The horror......the horror.

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Bullying is a serious problem in modern schools, but no one does anything about it in Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin's bully, Moe, regularly threatens to beat him senseless, but no authority figure intervenes or cares. Calvin is often left to his own devices. Even his parents never comment on Moe's actions.

In the modern world, students would receive instant support in the face of bullying, especially if the bully is physically hurting them or stealing from them. Since Miss Wormwood never realized the issue or attempted to help him, Calvin was failed by his school. It would not be viewed in such a comedic way today.

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On the bright side, Miss Wormwood didn't insist on Calvin participating in her/his/xer personal psychodramas based upon her possibly numerous and even contradictory genders and sexual preferences. So there is that.

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Today, parents are chastised for not encouraging their children to socially engage with other students from a young age. Calvin's parents, however, rarely encourage him to speak with other 6-year-olds. Calvin's dad often tries to convince him to go outside, but he generally has him wander alone.

At his age, Calvin should be building his social skills with other children, rather than his imaginary tiger. He should also be spending much more time with his parents. The poor parenting in Calvin and Hobbes has not aged well, given that developing child-rearing theories encourage socialization and parental involvement.

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Remember when I bet five bucks that this author has been in therapy since age 14? I'm changing this to age 9.

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Most notably, Calvin is generally extremely sexist.

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Oh, FFS.

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Good lawd, he may have a male name but this beta ***** wouldn't have the first clue how to run a trotline or skin a deer to save his pathetic life. We're overdue for a catastrophic event to reset everything because easy times are producing too many soft men. It's past time we cull the herd.

ETA: Just to clarify, I was referring to the author of the article not you Squadron7.

C@LAg said:

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5 bucks that author was fed soy from a bottle since day 1.

and likely still drinks it via bottle to this day.

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Nailed that one C@LAG

C@LAg said:

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i wish we got that much snow/

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I grew up in winter that lasted with 5' of standing snow.

Ever been out shoveling snow in the middle of a storm to insure you only had to shovel 6" across a 3 car garage vs 15" in thr morning? I've done that. Sometime multiple times in a week.

C&H hits hard. Haters can boil in hell.

C&H is an American classic. It's the stuff that makes life so much better.

It was a little past my time. I grew up reading Bloom County in the cynical 80's and for you young folks, educate yourself on Reagan era Bloom County and you will get a glimpse as to why Gen X is Gen X.

Both of his dads probably raised him the way Peter Bootyjuice is raising his.

Calvin and Hobbs is the greatest cartoon of all time, IMO.

Calvin: Look at this day Hobbs. Not a cloud in the sky and the temperature is perfect and we have to go to school?? What a waste of a beautiful day!
Hobbs: What would you do if you didn't have to go to school?
Calvin: Sleep right through it.

Timeless.

Urban Ag said:

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C&H is an American classic. It's the stuff that makes life so much better.

It was a little past my time. I grew up reading Bloom County in the cynical 80's and for you young folks, educate yourself on Reagan era Bloom County and you will get a glimpse as to why Gen X is Gen X.

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Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, and The Far Side are the Gen X trifecta!

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Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, and The Far Side are the Gen X trifecta!

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These are timeless and multi-generational. I discovered The Far Side as greeting cards at a Hallmark store in the mall. I was laughing so hard that people were stopping to look and my wife left me in the store out of embarrassment. A few years later (early 90's) my 80-something crusty West Texas cotton farmer WW2 POW grandfather started looking through a Far Side collection book that one of my teenage cousins had left on the sofa. He laughed harder than anyone in my generation had ever seen. Even my youngest spent a gift card on Far Side and Calvin & Hobbes collections!



ETA - this was the first Far Side that I ever saw. It still makes me lol nearly 40 years later:

Critic appears to be a transman.

Time to mail that beta a bunch of these.

My personal favorite Far Side...still cracks me up
Awaiting some soy twerp to say this is "problematic"

my fav Far Side


second one

Now that the thread is derailed, best to just enjoy it. Does that guy have a travel Scrabble?

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for some reason this one left me incapable of speech for about 5 minutes when I first saw it.

for Calvin and Hobbes this might be my favorite

One of my favorites. Humorous standing on it's own, but I've always thought of this as a shot at the PETA/vegetarian/vegan types. If humans weren't supposed to eat meat, then why do we have canine teeth and a digestive system that produces enzymes that break down animal proteins?

Calvin and Hobbes is the zenith of American literature.

agent-maroon said:

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Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County, and The Far Side are the Gen X trifecta!

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These are timeless and multi-generational. I discovered The Far Side as greeting cards at a Hallmark store in the mall. I was laughing so hard that people were stopping to look and my wife left me in the store out of embarrassment. A few years later (early 90's) my 80-something crusty West Texas cotton farmer WW2 POW grandfather started looking through a Far Side collection book that one of my teenage cousins had left on the sofa. He laughed harder than anyone in my generation had ever seen. Even my youngest spent a gift card on Far Side and Calvin & Hobbes collections!



ETA - this was the first Far Side that I ever saw. It still makes me lol nearly 40 years later:

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Al Bula said:

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Calvin and Hobbes wasn't that great.

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Au Contraire, it's one of the greatest strips ever. Many, many life lessons and observations.
I own the entire collection, and yes, Far Side, also.

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"Calvin? Calvin, sweetheart?"

In the darkness Calvin heard the sound of Susie, his wife of fifty-three years. Calvin struggled to open his eyes. God, he was so tired, and it took so much strength. Slowly, light replaced the darkness, and soon vision followed. At the foot of his bed stood his wife. Calvin wet his dry lips and spoke hoarsely, "Did… did you…. find him?"

"Yes dear," Susie said smiling sadly, "He was in the attic. "
Susie reached into her big purse and brought out a soft, old, orange tiger doll. Calvin could not help but laugh. It had been so long. Too long.

"l washed him for you," Susie said, her voice cracking a little as she laid the stuffed tiger next to her husband.

"Thank you, Susie." Calvin said. A few moments passed as Calvin just laid on his hospital bed, his head turned to the side, staring at the old toy with nostalgia.

"Dear," Calvin said finally. "Would you mind leaving me alone with Hobbes for a while? I would like to catch up with him."

"All right," Susie said. "I'll get something to eat in the cafeteria. I'll be back soon." Susie kissed her husband on the forehead and turned to leave. With sudden but gentle strength Calvin stopped her. Lovingly he pulled his wife in and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips. "l love you," he said.

"And I love you," said Susie. Susie turned and left. Calvin saw tears streaming from her face as she went out the door.

Calvin then turned to face his oldest and dearest friend. "Hello Hobbes. It's been a long time hasn't it old pal?"

Hobbes was no longer a stuffed doll but the big furry old tiger Calvin had always remembered. "It sure has, Calvin." said Hobbes. "You… haven't changed a bit." Calvin smiled.

"You've changed a lot." Hobbes said sadly.

Calvin laughed, "Really? I haven't noticed at all." There was a long pause. The sound of a clock ticking away the seconds rang throughout the sterile hospital room.

"So… you married Susie Derkins." Hobbes said, finally smiling. "l knew you always liked her."

"Shut up!" Calvin said, his smile bigger than ever.

"Tell me everything I missed. I'd love to hear what you've been up to!" Hobbes said, excited.

And so Calvin told him everything. He told him about how he and Susie fell in love in high school and had married after graduating from college, about his three kids and four grand-kids, how he turned Spaceman Spiff into one of the most popular sci-fi novels of the decade, and so on. After he told Hobbes all this there was another pregnant pause. "You know… I visited you in the attic a bunch of times." Calvin said.

"l know."

"But I couldn't see you. All I saw was a stuffed animal." Calvin's voice was breaking and tears of regret started welling up in his eyes.

"You grew up old buddy." said Hobbes.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry I broke my promise! I promised I wouldn't grow up and that we'd be together forever!!" Calvin broke down and sobbed, hugging his best friend.

Hobbes stroked Calvin's hair, or what little was left of it. "But you didn't."

"What do you mean?"

"We were always together…. In our dreams."

"We were?"

"We were."

"Hobbes?"

"Yeah, old buddy?"

"I'm so glad I got to see you like this… one last time…"

"Me too, Calvin. Me too."

"Sweetheart?" Susie voice came from outside the door.

"Yes dear?" Calvin replied.

"Can I come in?" Susie asked.

"Just a minute." Calvin turned to face Hobbes one last time.

"Goodbye Hobbes. Thanks… for everything…"

'No, thank you Calvin." Hobbes said.

Calvin turned back to the door and said, "You can come in now."

Susie came in and said, "Look who's come to visit you."

Calvin's children and grandchildren followed Susie into the room. The youngest grandchild ran past the rest of them and hugged Calvin in a hard, excited hug. "Grandpa!!" screamed the child in delight.

"Francis!" cried Calvin's daughter, "Be gentle with your grandfather."

Calvin's daughter turned to her dad. "I'm sorry, Daddy. Francis never seems to behave these days. He just runs around making a mess and coming up with strange stories."

Calvin laughed and said, "Well now! That sound just like me when I was his age."

Calvin and his family chatted some more until a nurse said, "Sorry, but visiting hours are almost up."

Calvin's beloved family said goodbye and promised to visit tomorrow. As they turned to leave Calvin said, "Francis. Come here for a second."

Francis came over to his grandfather's side, "What is it, Gramps?"

Calvin reached over to the stuffed tiger on his bedside and held him out shakily to his grandson, who looked exactly as he did so many years ago.

"This is Hobbes. He was my best friend when I was your age. I want you to have him."

'He's just a stuffed tiger." Francis said, eyebrows raised.

Calvin laughed, "Well, let me tell you a secret."

Francis leaned closer to Calvin. Calvin whispered, "If you catch him in a tiger trap using a tuna sandwich as bait, he will turn into a real tiger."

Francis gasped in delighted awe. Calvin continued, "Not only that he will be your best friend forever."

"Wow! Thanks grandpa!" Francis said, hugging his grandpa tightly again.

"Francis! We need to go now!" Calvin's daughter called.

"Okay!" Francis shouted back.

"Take good care of him." Calvin said.

"l will." Francis said before running off after the rest of the family.

Calvin laid on his back and stared at the ceiling. The time to go was close. He could feel it in his soul. Calvin tried to remember a quote he read in a book once. It said something about death being the next great adventure or something like that. His eyelids grew heavy and his breathing slowed. As he went deeper into his final sleep, he heard Hobbes, as if he was right next to him at his bedside. "I'll take care of him, Calvin…"

Calvin took his first step toward one more adventure and breathed his last with a grin on his face.

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Al Bula said:

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Calvin and Hobbes wasn't that great.

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As the proud GenX-er I am... I offer you this:


"But your mom sure was"

Far Side and dogs.

techno-ag said:

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taxpreparer said:

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Should make him read my complete collection of Li'i Abner. It would make his head explode.

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"We have seen the enemy. And it is us!"



At least, I'm pretty sure that's Lil Abner.

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I think that was the Pogo strip?

I think you're right.

Counterpoint article from a Millennial that gets it:

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Like Stephen King, a creator with whom he otherwise has little in common, Watterson remembers the exotic, often bizarre textures reality can take on for the very young.

He also remembers that childhood is not, as J. M. Coetzee once put it, "a time of innocent joy, to be spent in the meadows amid buttercups and bunny-rabbits or at the hearthside absorbed in a storybook," but in large part "a time of gritting the teeth and enduring." Being six years old has its pleasures, to be sure, but it also comes with strong doses of tedium, powerlessness, and futility, which we tend not to acknowledge as adults. Calvin and Hobbes showed me, as it's shown so many young readers, that there's a way out: not through studiousness, not through politeness, and certainly not through following the rules, but through the power of the imagination to re-enchant daily life. If it gets you sent to your room once in a while, that's a small price to pay.

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https://www.openculture.com/2024/04/why-the-short-lived-calvin-and-hobbes-is-still-one-of-the-most-beloved-and-influential-comic-strips.html?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us

The Legend

Some numbnut actually feels the need to critique the comic strip "Calvin & Hobbes" in word vomit form?

Come to think of it, that's probably extracted from a PhD dissertation at a woke college.