Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for July 14, 2021

Calvin, just be happy it isn’t your street or he will be more than the “school bully.”

Moe isn’t in his mood today.

Finally got in trouble, Moe?

That’s because his information is sewn into his clothes.

His parents were hoping for so much less from him.

Good call Calvin, not mentioning that while Moe was in earshot.

That makes Calvin a genius, is it?!?

Calvin’s lucky Moe didn’t hear him say that!

It’s stitched into his cloths!

“That means he knows on which street he lives!”

Calvin returns home to his mom exclaiming, “Hey, Calvin, you’ll never guess who’s moving INTO our neighborhood!”

Moe has no class

I can barely remember what coutry I’m in

This is one of my favourite early Moe strips. As I said recently, I thought that it was the first one. It was certainly the first to make an impression on me. As I’ve said before, I began reading this strip in 1987 and then bought the second collection of strips and then the first collection. It quickly became my favourite comic strip.

This is certainly an early example of Calvin and Moe. As I said earlier, Moe is still a general bully and hasn’t started seeing Calvin as his favourite victim and Calvin is more cautious with Moe than he will later be. He is still respectful of Moe to his face but poking fun at him behind his back. In later strips, he is often knocked down for standing up to Moe.

♫♪

Well, since Moe’s baby left him

Well, He found a new place to dwell

Well, it’s down at the end of Lonely Street

At Heartbreak Hotel

♪♫

I remember one of the bullies I had to deal with; my brother ended up marrying her sister, who is still one of my favorite people on earth (Happy birthday, SIL).

Don’t speak too loud, ‘Calvin’, he might hear you and revisit your immediate area of occupation ! ! ! !

And if he didn’t, he probably would intimidate (or beat out) the information from his victims…

He knows where to get a shave and haircut for 2 bits.

He lives on “Oak”.

No, wait. It’s “Elm”.

“Easy Street”, I expect, because nobody stops him…

Outside the school the bully is a cow.

Where’s Schmoe today?

Notice Calvin’s pause in panel three.

Better hope he does’t know your street!

The smile on Calvin, escaping through wafer thin chance of getting bashed, is charming.