Summary

• Calvin and Hobbes captures childhood perfectly, from imaginative play to struggles in school and at home.
• Bill Watterson's art style in Calvin and Hobbes is iconic, showing his creativity with styles like cubism, which is showcased in one of these strips.
• Another comic features Hobbes being opposed to time travel, unless snacks are involved - one of the many hilarious comic strips that just turned 30!

There are few comic strips more beloved than Calvin and Hobbes nails every aspect of the childhood experience.

Created by Bill Watterson in 1985, Calvin and Hobbes not only tells a fantastical and heartwarming non-linear story about a boy and his best friend, but the series does so in the most creative and imaginative ways possible. In fact, within a crop of Calvin and Hobbes strips that just turned 30 as of July, there’s one comic in particular that stands as one of Watterson’s most creative of all time. Here are 10 of the funniest Calvin and Hobbes comics from July, 1994!

10 1 of Watterson’s Most Creative Calvin and Hobbes Strips Features Cubism

Calvin and Hobbes - July 24, 1994

Bill Watterson's art style with Calvin and Hobbes is utterly iconic, and immediately recognizable to even the most casual fan. However, the cartoonishness and simplicity of it may lead some to think that Watterson can only create art in that particular style - and that is far from the truth. In fact, Watterson is an amazing artist with the ability to capture a plethora of styles, including a specific one that's brought to this comic strip: cubism.

The writing is hilarious, but the artwork is the true standout, as it's one of Watterson's most creative

When Calvin starts to see things from his dad's perspective after an argument, he begins to see his entire reality from a different perspective. Calvin's world effectively molds into a Picasso piece, forcing the six-year-old to close his temporarily opened mind to restore his reality. The writing is hilarious, but the artwork is the true standout, as it's one of Watterson's most creative.

Calvin shared his first with his dad and last with Hobbes released on November 18, 1985.

9 Calvin Having a Loose Tooth is an Experience Any Kid (or Parent) Can Relate To

Calvin and Hobbes - July 1, 1994

Every kid can relate to having a loose tooth. It's an exciting and kind of scary time, as the inevitable pain of having the tooth pulled is a near-constant source of anxiety, but the excitement of having the Tooth Fairy come and leave money under their pillow is exhilarating. Plus, there's an inherent sense of growing up with every tooth that's lost, which is something that every kid is all-too excited to do.

And then, there's Calvin, who's more intrigued by the gross-out factor of his loose tooth than anything else, as he shows how close it is to falling out to his parents and - of course - to Hobbes. This, also, is a relatable part of the comic, but for parents, who have to endure the disgusting sight of a bloody, toothless gum in their child's mouth.

8 Hobbes is Opposed to Time-Traveling Dinosaur Adventures… Unless There are Snacks

Calvin and Hobbes - July 12, 1994

Calvin and Hobbes go on no shortage of adventures together, most of which take place entirely in Calvin's imagination. On the cusp of one such voyage, Hobbes objects to Calvin's planned mission of going back in time and snapping photos of dinosaurs (which they'd then sell to the highest bidder). Hobbes has had enough of dinosaurs, and has no interest in going back in time to see them. At least, until he learns that Calvin brought snacks along, anyway.

Snacks have always been Hobbes' weakness in Calvin and Hobbes. Indeed, luring Hobbes back to his house with food is how Calvin befriended Hobbes to begin with. This is just another example of that being the case - and one of the more extreme, at that.

7 Calvin and Hobbes Prove They Wouldn’t Last a Second in Jurassic Park

Calvin and Hobbes - July 16, 1994

After Hobbes is successfully lured into the time machine with the promise of snacks, he and Calvin proceed to the Jurassic era, where Calvin doesn't waste any time in snapping photos of dinosaurs. Initially, Calvin and Hobbes encounter a herd of Stegosauri, which Calvin is overjoyed to take pictures of. However, while Calvin is only focused on the herbivores, Hobbes spots one of the most dangerous carnivores in the dinosaur catalog: the T-Rex.

The funny (and tragic) part of this whole experience is that Hobbes has no idea what kind of danger he and Calvin are really in. Hobbes sees the T-Rex's teeth and says, "he's smiling", not understanding that the beast is about to use those teeth to consume them both. No danger awareness or even general awareness of their surroundings? Calvin and Hobbes wouldn't last a second in Jurassic Park.

6 Calvin Misses the Chance for “Stupendous Man” to be an ACTUAL Hero

Calvin and Hobbes - July 17, 1994

Stupendous Man is one of Calvin's superhero alter egos who has the same basic power set as Superman and who uses those powers for the betterment of humankind. At least, allegedly, since the majority of what Stupendous Man does is for the benefit of only one member of the human species: Calvin - and that's shown hilariously in this comic.

he answers as Stupendous Man before quickly taking off to 'rescue cookies that are being held captive'

When Calvin's neighbor knocks on his door, he answers as Stupendous Man before quickly taking off to 'rescue cookies that are being held captive'. After essentially slamming the door in her face, it's revealed that his neighbor came by to ask if Calvin's family had an egg they could borrow, meaning Stupendous Man actually had the chance to save the day by giving them an egg - and he blew it.

Calvin tries his best to keep his identity secret to everyone else (except for Hobbes), though everyone can tell it's him.

5 Calvin Makes His Summertime Boredom His Mom’s Problem (& Pays the Price)

Calvin and Hobbes - July 10, 1994

Given that this crop of Calvin and Hobbes comics came out in July, the release dates actually coincide with Calvin's in-world summer vacation. This means that Calvin has nearly endless amounts of time to goof around with Hobbes or play pretend in any number of ways. However, when Hobbes is in the wash, Calvin has no one to play with, and he brings his boredom to his mother's attention.

According to Bill Watterson, Calvin's mother never received a name because she was only important to the storyline as Calvin's mom.

Calvin's mom suggests doing something creative with his time until Hobbes is ready to play again. So, in true Calvin fashion, he gets a bucket of water and throws it on his mom, soaking her completely as she's trying to paint a chair. Obviously, Calvin is punished, as he pays the price for making his boredom his mom's problem.

4 Calvin Conducts a ‘Best Dad’ Poll to Extend His Bedtime (It Doesn’t Work)

Calvin and Hobbes - July 26, 1994

In an effort to ambitiously extend his bedtime to midnight, Calvin conducts a poll to determine what makes a dad the 'best dad'. Apparently, the measure of a 'great dad' depends an awful lot on their child's bedtime (go figure). So, Calvin explains that by extending his bedtime to midnight, his dad could propel himself to the position of the best dad ever! Needless to say, the scheme doesn't work.

Calvin is a smart kid, this comic alone proves that, but he is hellbent on using his intelligence to scheme and grift

The funniest part of this strip is that Calvin's dad doesn't even outwardly refuse Calvin's request, or scold him for suggesting it, he just asks, "How long did you spend making these charts?". Calvin is a smart kid, this comic alone proves that, but he is hellbent on using his intelligence to scheme and grift, and he's not smart enough to pull that off quite yet.

3 Hobbes is Excited for School to Start Again - To Get Rid of Calvin

Calvin and Hobbes - July 27, 1994

When Hobbes is just trying to have a quiet day to himself, one where he's free to lie on the ground and simply do nothing for a little while, Calvin approaches him and starts spewing a bunch of nonsense relating to Hobbes' fur coat in the form of a weird poem. After Calvin is done annoying Hobbes, the tiger rolls over on his back and thinks to himself, "I wonder when school starts", and it's clear that he isn't wondering that because he wants to attend, but because he wants Calvin gone.

What's even funnier about this is that Hobbes exists in Calvin's imagination, so if he wants Calvin to go back to school, that means Calvin secretly does too, as the boredom of summer has seemingly taken hold.

2 Calvin’s Dream of Becoming a Surgeon is Destroyed (Along with the Vacuum)

Calvin and Hobbes - July 29, 1994

It seems Calvin has big dreams of one day becoming a surgeon, which - in his mind - means he needs to start practicing dissecting things right away. And what better way to do that than to break apart the family's vacuum cleaner? Calvin takes a pair of scissors to the dust bag, utterly destroying it while his mom screams for him to stop. While enduring his punishment for his destructive actions, Calvin maintains that he was just practicing being a surgeon, stewing in the fact that his dream - like the vacuum cleaner - had just been destroyed.

Like some of the previous comic strips, this one shows that Calvin's 'summertime boredom' is in full-swing, and that he secretly longs for the structure of school to save him from himself - and it's clear his parents (and even Hobbes) couldn't agree more.

1 Calvin Pretends to be a Songbird, & His Parents Have Had ENOUGH

Calvin and Hobbes - July 31, 1994

This comic strip opens with a beautifully drawn sparrow gracefully landing on a tree branch, preparing to sing an assuredly lovely song. However, this 'beautiful' sparrow quickly becomes overwhelmingly obnoxious, and the comic eventually reveals that this sparrow wasn't even a sparrow at all, but rather Calvin pretending to be a songbird - and that was the last straw for his parents.

He's bored, and time and again, he makes everyone around him suffer because of it

Calvin is literally thrown out of the house by his parents for being annoying, which is the accumulated result of Calvin's behavior all summer. He's bored, and time and again, he makes everyone around him suffer because of it. And, in this case, Calvin's parents finally had enough, which is absolutely hysterical. And that's why this is one of the 10 funniest Calvin and Hobbes comics that just turned 30.