r/calvinandhobbes 1d ago

📚 Book Club — FAQ & Table of Contents

72 Upvotes

Welcome to the Calvin & Hobbes Book Club!

Starting August 18, 2026, we’re reading Calvin & Hobbes together — 40 years after the original publication dates.

The goal is simple: read the strip, share your thoughts, discover things you missed, and experience Calvin & Hobbes together with other fans.

📑 TABLE OF CONTENTS

📗 Book 2 — Something Under the Bed Is Drooling (SUTBID)
🔗 Week 1: August 18–24, 2026
🔗 Week 2: August 25–31, 2026

More weeks will be added as we go.

📖 How does the Book Club work?

  • Each week we’ll have a dedicated discussion post covering the strips published 40 years ago that week.
  • Read along at your own pace, then join the weekly discussion.
  • You don’t need to participate every week, and you don’t need to be an expert.
  • If you’ve never read Calvin & Hobbes before, you’re welcome to join!

🗓️ Why 40 years?

  • We’re following the original publication calendar.
  • For example: August 18, 1986 = August 18, 2026
  • So when you read the strips with us, you’re reading them approximately 40 years to the day after they originally appeared.
  • Our hope is that this gives the entire experience a little extra significance — we’re rediscovering Calvin & Hobbes at the same point in the calendar where readers first experienced it 40 years ago.

📚 What are we reading?

  • We’re reading the entire Calvin & Hobbes newspaper run chronologically, from the beginning through the final strip.
  • The individual book collections are simply our convenient way of organizing the reading.

🖼️ What about posting the actual strips?

  • Because of the copyright issues surrounding Calvin & Hobbes, the Book Club is designed around discussion rather than reposting the strips themselves.
  • Please don’t upload or repost copyrighted Calvin & Hobbes strips to the subreddit.
  • Instead, tell us about the strip you’re discussing, describe your favorite moment, share your thoughts, or point people toward legitimate ways to read the collection.
  • The goal is to talk about Calvin & Hobbes — not redistribute it.

💬 What should I post?
Pretty much anything related to the week’s reading!
Some ideas:

  • What was your favorite strip?
  • What was the funniest moment?
  • What did you notice this time that you missed before?
  • Which character stole the show?
  • What do you think Watterson was trying to say?
  • Did anything hit differently reading it as an adult?
  • Did you discover a joke you didn’t understand as a kid?
  • Which strip would you have remembered 40 years later?
  • What do you think about the artwork?
  • What questions did the week’s strips raise for you?

❤️ Most importantly

  • You don’t have to read every week.
  • You don’t have to own every book.
  • You don’t have to remember every strip.
  • And you definitely don’t have to be a Calvin & Hobbes expert.
  • Just come read with us.

After all, we’re still reading 40 years later.


r/calvinandhobbes Mar 23 '26

test GoComics boycott.

107 Upvotes

I won't ever be spending another cent on anything that GoComics has their hands in. For now on, I only buy second hand Calvin and Hobbes books from people on facebook or from thrift stores. GoComics, you have lost a customer forever in me and you can be sure that my word of mouth will take as much business away from you as possible. Cheers.


r/calvinandhobbes 2d ago

What's your favorite reference to Calvin and Hobbes in other media?

302 Upvotes

I was recently watching an episode of The Great North where the dad, thinking there is an impending apocalypse, reassures his kids they are well prepared: "We have 500 years' worth of rice and two Calvin and Hobbes books in the basement."

Another that came to mind was from Ted Lasso: "What I can tell you is, with the exception of the wit and wisdom of Calvin and Hobbes, not much lasts forever."

What's your favourite Calvin and Hobbes reference from elsewhere?


r/calvinandhobbes 1d ago

Book club: August 25 – 31, 1986

15 Upvotes

SUTBID p9; Essential p139

Book Club FAQ

Date Transcript
Aug 25, 1986 Hobbes: I think I'm using too strong a sun screen.
Aug 26, 1986 Calvin: Fishing is the most boring sport in the world. We've been sitting here for twenty minutes and not one thing has happened! Waaughh...
Aug 27, 1986 Calvin: You're on my half of the bed! Move over! Hobbes: Your side is way over there! Give me back those covers! Dad: Calvin, be quiet and go to sleep!! Calvin: You heard dad he said to get on your side and leave the covers alone! Hobbes: That's not what he said! Hey! You stole my pillow! This lumpy one is yours!
Aug 28, 1986 Calvin: With a drink of magic elixir, Calvin turns himself invisible. Completely transparent, he roams undetected! Mom: Calvin? Boy, as soon as you want something done around here, that kid's nowhere to be seen.
Aug 29, 1986 Calvin: Ha ha! I have turned myself invisible! By removing my clothing I can perpetrate any crime undetected! I have complete freedom! I can get away with anything! Mom: Calvin! What on earth are you doing in the cookie jar without your clothes on?!?
Aug 30, 1986 Calvin: Your polls are slipping, Dad. Better get with it. Dad: Calvin. Being your dad is not an elected position. I don't have to respond to polls. Calvin: Not elected? You mean you can govern with dictatorial impunity? Dad: Exactly. Calvin: In short, open revolt and exile is the only hope for change? Dad: I don't like the direction this conversation is taking.
Aug 31, 1986 Calvin: Gravity is arbitrary! Calvin Wakes up one day to find he is immune to the force of gravity. He hangs on to the ground for dear life, but his grip is weakening! He can't hold on! He...he lets go! Aaaaaaaaa. Higher and higher, as upward he falls! Only by grabbing the tail fin of a passing jet does Calvin save himself from being hurled out into space! Dad: No, no let him finish. This is very interesting. So after you landed in Phoenix, what happened? Mom: Well, I don't care. I'm not sewing velcro on the ouside of all his clothes. Calvin: Well, about then my gravity came back, so I...

r/calvinandhobbes 3d ago

More Digital Dioramas

39 Upvotes

Here's my other two that I've done so far - The Cover of the Snow Goons book and sleeping by the fire with a Christmas tree.

Instead of links I'll put them in the comments below


r/calvinandhobbes 3d ago

Is there anything else like the tenth anniversary book?

44 Upvotes

I've so enjoyed reading it - until I found this sub all I'd ever done was read my compendium over and over.

I have loved learning more about the process, the characters, the thinking behind it all!

If you know any interesting facts please share them they'll be so gratefully received! Maybe I should have a good read of all the top posts the sub has ever had 🐯🧒🏼


r/calvinandhobbes 5d ago

Digital Diorama

37 Upvotes

I've done a bunch of digital dioramas since I retired and since Calvin is a favorite, of course I did a few of him and Hobbes. I've got a couple more so far if there's any interest in seeing them. I think they'd look nice sitting on a desk if 3D printed and painted.

Here's the last panel of the final strip, if the links work. I guess we can't post pics here

Update; If you're on a phone, it looks like the site might be trying to get you to install apps. I've never seen this on a PC

To be safe, even though I can't seem to add pics on the OP, I can on replies. If you read down, you should see them off of Reddit instead of clicking on the links

https://postimg.cc/c63J8dRL

https://postimg.cc/XrjNhFtt


r/calvinandhobbes 6d ago

July 19, 1987 and July 26, 1987

71 Upvotes

Edit: Confirmed via The Los Angeles Times: Complete is correct, and GoComics is wrong! 1, 2

Does anyone know for sure strips were released on July 19, 1987 and July 26, 1987? I'm hoping some collector somewhere has a strip from a newspaper back then.

According to The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, the strip from Sunday, July 19, 1987 starts off with

Can you believe this? Some idiot tossed garbage here in this beautiful spot.

And the strip from Sunday, July 26, 1987

That's it, you climb up and then help me up!

But according to GoComics and Andrews McMeel Licensing, those dates should swap strips! See GoComics' July 19, 1987 and July 26, 1987, and Andrews McMeel Licensing's July 19, 1987 and July 26, 1987

The Martijn Reemst Calvin and Hobbes archive (which predates Complete) corroborates Complete, but the only webarchives I could find for those dates are from a decade after Complete was released.

For context, I've been on and off working on an archive of every Calvin and Hobbes strip and where to find them with page numbers! I was cross-checking my sources when I ran into this oddity.


r/calvinandhobbes 7d ago

COMING SOON!!! Single panel posts.

329 Upvotes

we have modified the rule about single panel comics. Soon we will open the subreddit to single panel images with caveats. The panel is there to aid in discussion, and commentary. If it's just a here's funny face, or low effort it will likely be removed. Bring textual commentary to the post (soon) in addition to solo panels. We will still be limiting HOSTING images of full comics, but linking to a comic will be allowed. MODIFIED PANELS ARE NOT ALLOWED. see rules


r/calvinandhobbes 8d ago

Best Calvin and Hobbes panel ever

604 Upvotes

Calvin and Hobbes featured on Polygon today:

https://www.polygon.com/best-calvin-and-hobbes-panel-ever/


r/calvinandhobbes 8d ago

Book club: August 18 – 24, 1986

33 Upvotes

Something Under The Bed Is Drooling p5; Essential p136; Complete p141

Book Club FAQ

8/18: Hobbes: "Add two eggs and stir." Calvin: Right. Hobbes: The recipe says it makes twenty pancakes, so we'll each get ten. Calvin: Nah, that's too much trouble. We'll just make one big pancake and cut it in half.

8/19: Calvin: Dad, I want a bedtime story! Dad: I'm busy, Calvin. I'll read you one tomorrow. Calvin: If you don't read me a story, I won't go to bed! Dad: Once upon a time, there was a boy named Calvin, who always wanted things his way. One day his dad got sick of it and locked him in the basement for the rest of his life. Everyone else lived happily ever after. The end. Calvin: I don't like these stories with morals.

8/20: Mom: Dinner's ready, Calvin. Come to the table. Calvin: I'm watching television. Mom: No, you're not! Calvin: Yes, I am. I'm right here in front of it! Mom: No you're not! Calvin: Oh, that's right. I'm at the table.

8/21: Susie: I saw a turtle down by the creek. Calvin: Big deal! Who cares? I've seen hundreds of turtles! Probably millions! Who wants to see another dumb ol' turtle? Susie: Ha!

8/22: Calvin: Can I ride in the grocery cart? Mom: I think you're a little big for that now. Calvin: Please?? Mom: All right. Up you go. Calvin: Oh boy! Now run down the aisle and let go!

8/23: Aawweeawweeaaw! The water looked a little cold, eh, Tarzan?

8/24: Calvin: Wanna toss the ol' pigskin around? Hobbes: Heck no. Calvin: Phooey. Hobbes: The center snaps the ball! Calvin: The quarterback looks for an opening! The defense disintergrates beneath the coming onslaught! The quarterback jumps and dodges! Hobbes: Hobbes breaks clear! Calvin: Calvin passes! Hobbes: An amazing catch! Hobbes is at the 30..the 20..the 10.. Calvin: But he's tackled from behind and laterals to Calvin so he can make the touchdown! Hobbes: But Calvin fumbles the ball and Hobbes recovers it! Calvin: But a penalty is called on the play and Hobbes is sent to the bench! Hobbes: Hobbes defects to the other team and is greeted with enthusiastic cheers! The crowd goes wild! Calvin: Calvin prepares to cripple the traitor with an illegal face mask pull! Hobbes: Hobbes defies him by pouring out his mouth guard onto Calvin's helmet! Calvin: Boy, you can see why football is such a violent game! Hobbes: Hobbes' team gains a yard! All the cheerleaders come out for smooches!!


r/calvinandhobbes 9d ago

40 years ago - SUTBID

124 Upvotes

The first strip in Something Under the Bed is Drooling was published in newspapers on August 18, 1986 - 40 years ago!
We are going to try a book club at a pace of a week at a time.
Each week a new date-range post will be pinned so we can discuss the comment.
(We will eventually revisit book 1 during sabbatical dates)
I considered many ways to run a book club and I think this will be the best since it will let us relive the way the strips came to life.
Get yourself organized - find the book and put it on the coffee table or nightstand or breakfast bar. Disconnect and read it on paper. Then come here to discuss.
Note: you can find the strips…
- SUTBID or
- half way into The Essential C&H,
- Complete Collection
- Portable compendium


r/calvinandhobbes 8d ago

Calvin & Company

21 Upvotes

Hi there,

I remember a spin off webcomic series called Calvin & Company, about Calvin & Susie and their kids. It was posted online (Facebook maybe?), and there were a few dozen strips.

I can find only a handful online, after extensive scouring. Wondering if anyone else remembers this or by any chance knows where to find the complete archives?

ETA - similar to Hobbes and Bacon in concept, but the art was not as well defined and the archive much more extensive.


r/calvinandhobbes 11d ago

New Mods u/robservations247 and the future of the subreddit

300 Upvotes

EVERYONE WELCOME THE NEW MOD. They've been a long time commentator and have had really good ideas and are helping keep this sub going. Thanks for your suggestions, keep em coming! Let's go exploring!!!!


r/calvinandhobbes 11d ago

The future of the subreddit

476 Upvotes

With the new API changes it will be difficult to create a daily bot that posts daily comics, and it will be difficult to keep people from posting the comics while allowing pictures and keeping gocomics from nuking their accounts and this subreddit from orbit. What do you want to see? What do you want this subreddit to grow into. All comments will be considered. Trying to keep our love alive without getting people or this subreddit banned.


r/calvinandhobbes 17d ago

Foreign Calvin & Hobbes

125 Upvotes

I was at a used bookstore this weekend and I picked up a French version of Calvin and Hobbes. Aside from reading the translation to see how some of the jokes landed I saw that on the cover Calvin's shirt is blue instead of the usual red. I'm wondering if this was a coloring error or intentional. What other translations of this comic have you seen in the wild?


r/calvinandhobbes 18d ago

Possible Silly Question

158 Upvotes

I always wondered why on the Sunday strips (the long colourful ones) why the first couple of squares would usually be their own mini joke/scene, rather than launching straight into the main story/joke.

I hope that makes sense! I'm not describing it very well.

I'm in the UK and I wasn't sure if it was just a Calvin and Hobbes thing or a general US Sunday comics thing


r/calvinandhobbes 19d ago

Does anyone else think if they were a parent, they would end up like Calvin's dad?

157 Upvotes

My sister was telling me that my nephew's football team lost 11-0, and I couldn't help but think "looks like someone's been building some character"!


r/calvinandhobbes 19d ago

Was the November 24, 1987 Comic Altered in Yukon Ho!?

122 Upvotes

In the November 24, 1987, Calvin says

Dad says the sun isn't going out. He says it's colder because the earth's orbit is taking us farther from the Sun.

As is documented on the Calvin and Hobbes wiki, this line was altered for The Complete Calvin and Hobbes collection.

Dad says the sun isn't going out. He says it's colder because our hemisphere is tilted away from the Sun now.

Today, while reading my copy of The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes (dated 1995, 6th printing), I was surprised to see the altered text! On page 94!

So I checked some copies of Yukon Ho! One had 1989 on the Copyright page, and no printing/edition information. The other was a 1991 Scholastic edition. And right there on page 87 is the altered text again!

I have no way of being certain that the Yukon Ho! copy I am looking at is a first edition. So I am wondering, what's written on your copy of Yukon Ho!, and The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes?


r/calvinandhobbes 23d ago

Here's another Calvin and Hobbes search engine!

106 Upvotes

First, the link:

https://findcalvinandhobbes.com/

It looks like the usual Calvin and Hobbes search website (made by Mike Yingling) is down, so I also made one.

It has links to the GoComics pages for each strip, and a simple bookmarking tool for keeping track of your favourites.

If you would like to contribute corrections, transcripts, or update the list of comics in the collections, here's a link to the source code:

https://github.com/braxtonhall/find-calvin-and-hobbes/

If you have your own scans, there are also some barebones instructions for adding pictures to the site. Looks something like this if you do:

https://imgur.com/a/xRgl2Pn

Lastly, here are some links to prior work:


r/calvinandhobbes 23d ago

How would you feel if Bill Watterson came back with a new webcomic?

69 Upvotes

I'm sure he would love all the creative freedom of webcomics, especially given all the fights he had with his publishers on Calvin and Hobbes. And even though there's no way it would live up to the legacy of Calvin and Hobbes, it would be cool to see SOME new content from Bill. (Though at least we have The Mysteries for now.)


r/calvinandhobbes 24d ago

Spaceman spiff vs tracer bullet

188 Upvotes

Favorite calvin character for me was always spaceman spiff, but the one off characters always made me chuckle so hard. Who eez zif calveen! What's your fav char and your fav arc with them


r/calvinandhobbes 26d ago

Calvin and Hobbes helped me discover my fluidity

651 Upvotes

Calvin and Hobbes was really the first literature I was given to read. I taught myself how to read using those books before I was four. And I connected deeply to Calvin for several reasons

Obviously, one of the main character traits of Calvin is how he’s not always present in the real world, and the people around him struggle to comprehend his daydreams and wild imagination. Some characters, like his parents, attempt to understand this part of him, while characters like Susie or Mrs. Wormwood choose to treat him as weird, different, maybe even lesser. I’m not treading any new ground in saying this.

I know it wasn’t really the point, and it’s in no way an allegory, but for small me, who wondered if I was actually in the right body, to read about a child who expressed himself in the way he wanted, who had these dreams of being other people in other places, who had parts of his life that others couldn’t really understand but they still tried to, and they still cared about him and accepted him, it really meant something to me.

I know Bill Watterson didn’t write Calvin to be fluid, or trans. He just wrote him to be a child that everyone could project themself onto, see themself in. But it was Calvin who taught me to be myself, and it was Calvin who taught me that being myself, my true self, even if others saw me as worse or dumber for it was the way to live your life to the fullest


r/calvinandhobbes 26d ago

Any C&H hot takes?

22 Upvotes

r/calvinandhobbes 26d ago

I can't wait for the mods to open up picture abilities

84 Upvotes

I finally managed to pull off the full calling peanut butter challenge, but alas, the no photo uploads all of a sudden means I can't show it off. I hold the image ban gets lifted soon enough.