For over a decade, Bill Watterson invited us into the world of a reckless six-year-old boy and his philosophical, stuffed-tiger-best-friend. Calvin and Hobbes wasn’t just a comic strip; it was a masterclass in balancing ridiculous, laugh-out-loud humor with moments of genuine, heart-tugging emotion. While the daily gags were always brilliant, Watterson truly shone when he stretched a story over several days. These story arcs allowed him to build deeper narratives, exploring everything from the joy of a snowy day to the profound sadness of losing a friend.
To celebrate the genius of this duo, we’ve ranked the very best Calvin and Hobbes story arcs. These aren’t just the funniest moments (though they are hilarious); they are the ones that stayed with us long after we turned the page, reminding us of the magic, the misery, and the wonder of being a kid.
10+ Calvin and Hobbes
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The Time-Traveling Homework Fiasco
Let’s be honest: no list of great Calvin and Hobbes moments is complete without acknowledging Calvin’s intense hatred of homework. But in this particular arc, his laziness reaches genius-level proportions. Faced with writing a creative story for school, Calvin decides the best course of action isn’t to write it, but to build a cardboard box time machine. His plan is simple: travel two hours into the future and get the completed assignment from his future self .
However, when 6:30 Calvin and Hobbes meet 8:30 Calvin and Hobbes, they discover the future version hasn’t done the work either. What follows is a brilliantly convoluted sequence involving multiple Calvins, a lot of finger-pointing, and a logic loop that would make a quantum physicist’s head spin. The humor comes from watching Calvin try to outsmart himself, forgetting that his future self is just as lazy as he is right now .
In the end, it’s Hobbes who saves the day by writing a story about the adventure itself. The irony is perfect: Calvin goes through all this trouble to avoid writing, only to have a story handed to him anyway. To make it even sweeter, Hobbes’s story—which subtly mocks Calvin and portrays the tiger as the brains of the operation—gets an A+. It’s a hilarious reminder that sometimes, the easiest path is the right one, and that our plans to cheat the system usually just make things more complicated .
The Tragedy of the Raccoon
While Calvin and Hobbes is known for its humor, Bill Watterson wasn’t afraid to break our hearts. This arc, often cited as the first time the strip showed its true depth, is a perfect example. It starts on a somber note when Calvin and Hobbes discover a baby raccoon that has been injured. Showing a side of him we rarely see, Calvin is immediately filled with compassion and insists on taking it home to help .
Calvin’s mom, ever the patient and caring parent, sets up a box in the garage with food and water, giving the little creature a safe place to rest. For a night, there is hope. Calvin goes to bed feeling like a hero, believing he has saved a life. But the next morning, the harsh reality of the world sets in. He runs to the garage only to find that the raccoon has died during the night. Watterson doesn’t shield us from Calvin’s grief; we see him struggle to understand why this had to happen .
This arc is ranked so highly not for laughs, but for the immense heart it displays. It shows Calvin’s mom sitting with him, talking about death as a natural part of life in a way a six-year-old can understand. It’s a quiet, sad, and beautifully human moment. By the end, Calvin finds comfort in the simple, warm presence of Hobbes. It reminds us that in a world that can be cruel and confusing, a best friend by your side makes all the difference .
The Birth of Calvinball
Organized sports are a nightmare for someone like Calvin. He doesn’t like being told what to do, and he certainly doesn’t care about winning. In this classic arc, Calvin signs up for recess baseball just to avoid being the only boy left playing with the girls. The results are disastrous. His dad tries to teach him how to catch, but the ball hits Calvin square in the nose, confirming his suspicion that sports are just a form of parental assault .
The real gut punch comes during the actual game. Calvin, confused and uncoordinated, accidentally scores an out against his own teammate. Immediately, his teammates turn on him. They yell, they mock, and they blame him entirely for their loss. Watterson captures the awful feeling of being the kid picked last, the one who ruins the game for everyone else. Calvin’s face, drawn in sheer humiliation, is heartbreakingly relatable for anyone who ever felt clumsy or out of place .
Out of the ashes of this humiliating defeat, something beautiful is born: Calvinball. As Calvin explains to Hobbes, it’s a sport that doesn’t require teamwork or skill, and you can’t lose because the rules change constantly. It is pure, unadulterated fun . This arc is a perfect blend of laughter and heart. It makes us cringe at the cruelty of children, cheer for Calvin’s resilience, and wish we could join in on a game where you must always play it, and you can never play it the same way twice.
The Snow Goons Attack
Leave it to Calvin to take a innocent winter activity and turn it into a horror movie. In one of the most beloved and creatively wild arcs, Calvin builds a snowman in the front yard. But this isn’t just any snowman. Tired of his inanimate creations, Calvin wills it to life. To his shock—and ours—it actually works. The snowman lurches to life and immediately begins chasing Calvin, hell-bent on its creator’s destruction .
Terrified, Calvin and Hobbes try to fight back, but their snowball attacks only make the monster worse. It packs on more snow, growing extra heads and arms, turning into a full-blown “Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goon.” Soon, the yard is filled with an army of these creatures, surrounding the house. It’s a brilliant parody of films like The Blob or The Thing, and Watterson’s artwork of the grotesque, multi-limbed snowmen is unforgettable .
Calvin’s solution is both simple and genius: he waits until nightfall and then sprays the goons with a garden hose, freezing them solid. The next morning, his dad runs outside, slips on the ice, and Calvin yells, “Run, Hobbes! Dad’s a Snow Goon too!” . It’s a moment of pure, slapstick genius. When Hobbes asks what lesson he learned, Calvin replies, “I like morals that don’t require behavior modification.” This arc is number one for its sheer creativity, its perfect blend of spooky and silly, and its reminder that Calvin’s imagination can turn even a snowman into an adventure.
The Final Sunset
How do you say goodbye to the two best friends the comics page has ever known? Bill Watterson did it not with a bang, but with a quiet, perfect whisper. The final week of Calvin and Hobbes is a story arc in itself, a bittersweet farewell that focuses on the simple joy of being alive. There are no big adventures, no time machines, no snowmen. It’s just Calvin and Hobbes, walking through a winter wonderland after a fresh snowfall .
The dialogue is philosophical, as always. They talk about why the world looks so new after a snow, and how the future is full of possibilities. There’s a sense of reflection, a quiet acknowledgment that things change, but the bond between them never will. Hobbes points out that the snow “makes the world into a blank page,” and Calvin agrees that it’s “a magical world,” a canvas for all their adventures .
This arc ranks high on the list because it represents the culmination of everything the strip stood for. It’s not about punchlines; it’s about presence. It captures the fleeting nature of childhood, the innocence of discovery, and the comfort of true friendship. When they sled off into the distance, leaving a trail of churned snow behind them, it feels less like an ending and more like a promise. They are out there, somewhere, exploring that vast and magical world, one adventure at a time .
Conclusion
Whether they were traveling to Mars, terrorizing Susie Derkins, or just pondering the mysteries of the universe from a backyard tree, Calvin and Hobbes made our world a brighter place. These story arcs represent the very best of Bill Watterson’s genius: his ability to make us laugh until our stomachs hurt, and then, in the very next panel, touch our hearts with a moment of unexpected truth.
Looking back at these tales, it’s clear that the magic wasn’t just in the dinosaurs or the duplicators. It was in the relationship between a boy and his tiger. Calvin’s boundless imagination gave us the laughter, but his vulnerability—and Hobbes’s steady, loyal friendship—gave us the heart. And that combination is why, years after the strip ended, their adventures still feel as fresh, funny, and important as that first fresh snowfall.
