Calvin and Hobbesis famous for its insanely accurate depiction of life through the eyes of a child, as it captures all the highs and lows of childhood in practically every regard - kind of likeJohn Mulaneyduring one of his comedy sets in particular. Mulaney once joked about children’s lack of agency, delivering the iconic (and highly meme-able), “I am very small and have no money”.
John Mulaney hit the nail on the head with that one, something thatCalvin and Hobbeshas done throughout the comic strip’s ten-year history. Indeed, Calvin often comments on his own lack of agency, becoming the living embodiment of Mulaney’s line, “I am very small and have no money”. In fact, in a crop of10 hilariousCalvin and Hobbescomics that just turned 30 years old, the comic strip captures that sentiment perfectly, proving John Mulaney is totally right about childhood.
10Calvin is an Anarchist Through-and-Through (Even During Children’s Activities)
Calvin and Hobbes- June 16, 2025
Calvin is working on a children’s activity, connect-the-dots, but he’s having some trouble. When Hobbes walks up to him, Calvin airs his frustration with the activity, saying that he’s not seeing a picture form, even after he’s connected all the dots. Hobbes then points out that Calvin needs to follow the numbering on those dots in order to get the picture. To that, Calvin frustratedly starts erasing the lines he already drew, muttering to himself, “Everything’s gotta have rules, rules, rules!”.
Calvin is famously a little anarchist, as manyCalvin and Hobbescomics have detailed, and this is just another example of that being true.Calvin is a proponent of free expression over structured rules, especially when it comes to games and activities, and he hilariously displays that in this strip.
9Calvin Hates Having No Say in When He Goes to Bed (or Anything Else)
Calvin and Hobbes- August 14, 2025
As Calvin is getting ready for bed, he’s complaining to Hobbes about how he has absolutely no say in anything he does - including and especially his own bedtime. Calvin says that there’s always someone controlling every aspect of his life, and now, Calvin is experiencing the brunt of it first-hand by being sent to bed before he’s ready.
This comic strip alone is a perfect example of what John Mulaney was talking about in his aforementioned comedy set.Calvin has zero control over his own life since he’s just a kid- he’s too small to make decisions for himself, and he has no money to support himself. However, that doesn’t stop Calvin from complaining about his lack of agency, even if this comic makes it clear that life as an adult isn’t much better.
8Calvin Has Zero Qualms About Throwing His Mom to the Wolves (or, In This Case, Tigers)
Calvin and Hobbes- June 14, 2025
In this comic strip, Hobbes is evidently feeling a bit more mischievous than normal, and Calvin is on the receiving end of it. Calvin is just walking home when he suddenly hears a noise in a tree above him, only to be attacked by Hobbes a moment later. Another instance of this is when Calvin is walking through the front door of his house, and Hobbes attacks him yet again, leaving Calvin a scraped-up mess after getting jumped by his tiger friend twice. So, before it happens a third time, Calvin decides to take some precautions by having his mom walk into his room before him.
Calvin has zero qualms about throwing his mom to the proverbial wolves (and literal tiger) just to save himself from Hobbes' wrath, something that’s typical of the six-year-old scamp, and utterly hilarious.
7Calvin Comes to Terms with His Lack of Agency During Bathtime
Calvin and Hobbes- July 15, 2025
When it’s time for Calvin to get a bath, he makes it known that he firmly opposes bathtime as a whole. Calvin shouts about staying true to his principles, and how he refuses to compromise them. However, his objections hold no bearing on Calvin’s mom’s decision to give him a bath, and Calvin ends up in the tub regardless of his personal belief system. Once in the bathtub,Calvin comes to terms with the fact that his own life is completely out of his control.
Calvin tries to make his voice heard when it comes to his deep-rooted opposition towards bathtime, but he’s just a six-year-old kid, so of course his parents aren’t going to listen. Unfortunately, Calvin is a bit more self-aware than an average six-year-old, making the realization of his own lack of agency hit that much harder.
6Calvin Comes Up with a Hilarious Excuse for Why He Didn’t Do His Homework
Calvin and Hobbes- June 19, 2025
After one of his parents asks him how his homework is going, Calvin reluctantly turns his attention to his math book. However, when he does so, Calvin finds that the book itself has come to life. The textbook eats his pencil, then it goes after his homework, before turning its attention to Calvin himself. In the end,Calvin has to break the book’s spine to stop its rampage, but, sadly, his homework didn’t make it. Obviously, his teacher didn’t believe any of this.
Calvin famously has trouble focusing on math, and this is far from the first time he’s let his mind wander into an epic fantasy rather than solving the math problems. But even so, this excuse for not doing his math homework is pretty creative (and very gutsy).
5Calvin Has Even LESS Freedom with His Babysitter
Calvin and Hobbes- June 14, 2025
When Calvin’s parents are out for the night and have his babysitter, Rosalyn, come over and watch him, Calvin is less than pleased. Calvin calls Rosalyn “the babysitter from the black lagoon”, and pouts that he has to be watched over at all. While Calvin and Hobbes briefly laugh about how they’ve pranked Rosalyn in the past, their fun comes to a swift end when Rosalyn tells Calvin to go to bed before his bedtime.
Hobbes attributes this to Rosalyn wanting revenge for past pranks, but the bottom line is thatCalvin has even less freedom with his babysitter than he does when his parents are home. Calvin has such little say in his own life that even someone like Rosalyn can boss him around, he has no choice but to follow her direction - yet another stark reminder of his own lack of agency.
4Calvin Gets Exactly What He Prays for While Watching TV
Calvin and Hobbes- June 09, 2025
Calvin is in front of his television one day, but he’s not just watching it, he’s praying to it as if the TV set is some kind of god. Calvin refers to the TV set as the “great altar of passive entertainment”, and asks it with the utmost respect and reverence to “bestow upon me thy discordant images at such speed as to render linear thought impossible”.
In other words,Calvin wants to zone out to some mindless television, and as the final panel shows, he gets exactly what he prays for. Calvin knows his favorite shows are mind-numbing trash usually meant to sell him something (toys, comics, merch, etc), but he doesn’t care in the slightest. In fact, that’s exactly what he prays for when he turns on the TV.
3Calvin Refuses To Be a Complacent, ‘Picture-Perfect’ Kid
Calvin and Hobbes- July 01, 2025
Calvin’s dad is trying to take his picture. However, Calvin’s dad knows who he’s dealing with, so he not only asks Calvin not to make a funny face, he also pretends to take the picture a couple of times by making the “click” sound with his mouth. But, Calvin’s no sucker, and he knows exactly when his dad is about to actually take the picture. And, at that moment, Calvin makes a funny face at the camera.
As anyCalvin and Hobbesfan knows,Calvin is anything but a ‘picture-perfect’ kid, and this comic strip is a hilariously literal example of that being true. He may not have much control over his life, but Calvin can certainly decide how his face is going to look in pictures, and it’s the opposite of what many parents (his included) would consider ‘nice’.
2Calvin Has No Money, & His Plan to Get Some Fails Hilariously
Calvin and Hobbes- July 27, 2025
Calvin is screaming at the top of his lungs about how no one shows him the level of attention or affection he requires, claiming his needs are not being met. So, his mom walks up to him and offers him a big hug. To that, Calvin counters, “Could I have 20 dollars?”, a request which his mom promptly refuses. In response, Calvin goes right back to his previous tirade, saying no one cares about him since his mom refused his request for free money.
Just asJohn Mulaney pointed out in his set, kids have no money - and Calvin is no exception. While that doesn’t stop him from trying to get some money through heavy-handed emotional manipulation, that tactic sadly did not work in this instance (though it was still hilarious to watch him try).
Calvin and Hobbes- June 17, 2025
Calvin and Hobbes are standing on the sidewalk, waiting for Calvin’s school bus to arrive and take him to school for the day - which Calvin is complaining about. Calvin says that it’s too nice outside to waste an entire day in school, butwhen Hobbes asks him what he’d do with his morning if he had the freedom to stay home from school, Calvin answers, “Sleep right through it”.
Calvin knows that he has no choice but to do what kids are supposed to do: listen to their parents and go to school. He doesn’t like it, and he complains about it constantly, but that’s the way it is. However, as shown in this comic strip,at least Calvin is honest about what he’d do with absolute freedom if he had any, and that at least counts for something. But more than anything, this and the rest of the 10Calvin and Hobbescomics that just turned 30 prove that John Mulaney is totally right about childhood.
Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes was a satirical comic strip series that ran from 1985-1995, written, drawn, and colored by Bill Watterson. The series follows six-year-old Hobbes and his stuffed Tiger, Calvin, that examines their lives through a whimsical lens that tackles everyday comedic issues and real-world issues that people deal with.
