Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for May 02, 2024

You could blame it on peer pressure, but is Moe really your peer?

And so begins the painful experience that Calvin must endure.

Calvin, remember you’re an athlete…..

Maybe you could introduce everyone to Calvinball.

Baseball builds character!!!

This was a golden opportunity for Calvin to finally to finally slug that bully—and he chickened out!!

Is it a good idea to play a game where they give Moe a bat?

“Wow, Mo! You sure know a lot about dolls.” That is the proper response, Calvin.

Signing up just brings you closer to Moe…….

I am reminded of the Calvinistic author John Buchan who is best remembered for The Thirty-Nine Steps. When Britain and France agreed not to go to war against Nazi Germany over the invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1938, Buchan described it as “The lesser of two evils”. He would live long enough to see Britain and France go to war against Nazi Germany the following year and would die from an ulcer in 1940. In his final novel, Sick Heart River, the main character reflects on the outbreak of war against Nazi Germany and feels that, as with the previous war against Germany and the American Civil War, freedom will triumph against tyranny but many good people on both sides will be killed. He was right on both points.

I would’ve played dolls with the girls on the playground in my high school. My friends would’ve been amazed at the simplicity of how I could attract them.

How is baseball even a sport? When 90% of the time, 90% of the players are standing around doing nothing.

Would like to play with living dolls, not whimp, sometimes whipped.

Good point Calvin, don’t do it.

No one ever asked me to play baseball, the feeling was mutual.

I would like to see all these people as adults today.

Not sure how that last block applies to the strip.

Poor Calvin… Didn’t he try to get Hobbes to eat Moe once?

There’s no crying in baseball!

Hey! Just because Calvin’s not good at sports doesn’t mean he’s a sissy!

Discretion may be the better part of valor but it is hard to convince oneself that it is.

I signed up, and then decided not to show up. I have this weird attachment to my teeth and my eyeglasses.

Let Moe try and play a game of Calvinball and see how much of a sissy Calvin is.

Dang Calvin has it tough.

Because there’s fewer lost teeth that way, Calvin.

Path of least resistance = political survival

The real issue here is the predicament Calvin faces, which in many ways is the same predicament we all face.

Moe doesn’t seem like the kind of kid to see the value of a team sport

We have enough trouble with bullies in schools now. Let’s not glorify them in the comics

Why indeed. I know it’s very hard to resist that kind of peer pressure at Calvin’s age, but the fact is, being true to yourself rather than doing what’s expected is the route to happiness, and the earlier you learn that, the happier you’ll be.

Based on what I’ve observed of children in my family and circle of friends, it does seem like young kids these days are a bit quicker to learn that lesson than past generations, and a bit more live-and-let-live toward each other. I don’t see them in their natural environment on the playground, but they do tend to seem more enthusiastic about their interests and less self-conscious about what’s “cool.” It’s a marginal improvement but still beautiful to see.

In this arc, Calvin implies more than one kid teased him about not playing recess baseball with the other boys, but we only see Moe doing so. And Moe is ALWAYS teasing and bullying Calvin anyway, and gets away with it virtually every time!

Baseball is just Calvinball with some rules.

Hey, girls. Get out the baseball dolls to help Calvin.

Is nobody going to talk about the fact that Calvin’s head turns 180 when the bully comes up to him

Calvin, hit him back when he hits you. Let him know you do not fear him. He only bullies because he is insecure and it makes him feel powerful if he can make you fear him. Confront him and it will end.

Calvin need some football training, too.

Guys, there’s too much baseball hate now. It’s not baseball’s fault in this strip, it’s that no one taught Calvin how to play, and that the kids were jerks.

The secondary school I went to, it was Army Cadets that all boys were expected to join.Being the conformist that I am, I never did (/s).

I like Calvin and Hobbes but it’s not really fun seeing Calvin getting bullied into doing something he doesn’t want to

I was thinking this was not one of Watterson’s better arcs, to me at least. It also got me thinking of an article I read online a few weeks ago about some parts of the strip that have not aged well. Calvin not socializing with other kids was one of them. At least this time, he was trying to make an effort to do so.

Moe.