Calvin and Hobbes/Heartwarming



"Calvin: I know. I'm crying because [the raccoon]'s gone out there, but he's not gone inside me."
 * So, so many Heartwarming Moments in C&H. A wordless Sunday strip where Calvin's dad has too much work to do to play with Calvin, then looks outside and then at his papers, and then joins his son outside to have fun in the snow. *sniffle*
 * Not to mention the final scene from that comic ended with Calvin's dad doing his work at night, while Calvin kisses him on the head before bed. Awwwwwww.
 * I may be in the minority, but This Troper finds the strips right at the end and after the Raccoon Story line to be some of the most heartwarming things he's ever seen in the newspaper.
 * This line is either this or Tear Jerker.

"Calvin: I wish I had more friends, but people are such jerks. If you can just get most people to leave you alone, you're doing good. If you can find even one person you really like, you're lucky. And if that person can also stand you, you're really lucky.
 * Not actually from the strip, but this picture just makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.
 * Okay, that made this troper cry.
 * Same here.
 * Did anybody else think that girl looked like Calvin and Susie's kid?
 * Which just adds even more Heartwarming on top.
 * Know what would have made it even better? The name "Watterson" scribbled in the corner.
 * And on the subject of heartwarming that's not actually from the strip but set in the future.
 * This strip:

Hobbes: What if you find someone you can talk to while you eat apples on a bright fall morning? (which is exactly what they're doing)

Calvin: Well, yeah... I suppose there's no point in getting greedy, is there?"

"Calvin: Mom said Hobbes wouldn't be stolen because he's not valuable. *Sniff* Well, I think he's valuable."
 * Then there was the story line where Calvin comes home after a trip to find his house broken into, and the only thing he can think about whilst in tears is finding Hobbes. Not to mention him earlier asking his mother if he can use the hotel phone to call him.

"Calvin: I've got an idea, Dad. Let's pretend I already feel terrible and you don't need to rub it in any more."
 * This troper can totally relate to Calvin because if anyone ever broke into our house when I was younger, the very first thing I would have done was make sure our family pets were alright.
 * There's one where his dad rants and raves about breaking the binoculars (see Berserk Button), and the last panel is Calvin in tears, saying the following:

"Propped against him [Hobbes] on the rug,/ I give my friend a gentle hug./ Tomorrow's what I'm waiting for,/ But I can wait a little more."
 * Calvin's dad's face in the last panel of that strip works as well.
 * The baby raccoon arc. We never actually see the raccoon, but Calvin's reaction no doubt mirrored the reactions of many a reader.
 * One strip has Calvin depressed that he has to go to sleep, because he won't be able to play with Hobbes. Then he and Hobbes realize that going to sleep doesn't have to mean being apart, because they can still play together in their dreams. It becomes even more powerful when you realize that Watterson wrote the strip because his cat -- the thought-model for Hobbes in many respects -- had just died, and what made him feel better was realizing that they could always be together in his dreams.
 * There was that one Christmas Eve strip. It was an enormous single panel with an image of Calvin and Hobbes sleeping by the fire (Hobbes sprawled out, and Calvin laying against him) and a long poem describing the surroundings from Calvin's point of view. While not overwhelmingly heartwarming on its own, the last four lines definitely qualify:

"''Rid of the pest,/I now can rest,/Thanks to my best friend, who saved the day."
 * This troper had this poem memorized at an early age. It's particularly heartwarming for her, as it comes from the collection that started her love for C&H, if not comic strips altogether.
 * The Rosalyn-Plays-Calvinball arc was fun, and funny, but it was also great closure. Remember that Rosalyn is Calvin's Big Bad (and vice versa!), so having them make peace via the "Not So Different" trope is a wonderful way to wrap up that Myth Arc. There's a reason it's Roz's last appearance in the strip: the conflict has been defanged and from now on she's probably going to be Calvin's favorite babysitter. But that's not so bad, is it?
 * At the beginning of one comic anthology, there was a poem narrated by Calvin speaking about his fear of a monster hiding in the dark waiting to devour him. At one point Hobbes wakes up and the monster -- realizing there's a tiger with the kid it was going to eat -- retreats. Calvin goes back to sleep snuggling Hobbes while finishing the poem.

"Calvin: Uh, Hobbes?...I forgot to get you a present. I didn't even make you a card... I'm sorry, Hobbes. I didn't mean to forget.
 * The first Christmas strip, where Calvin looks so woobie-ish about being unable to get even a card for Hobbes.

Hobbes: It's okay, little buddy. I didn't get you anything either. (hugs Calvin) But here's a tiger hug for being my best friend.

Calvin: (smiling) Not so hard, you big sissy. You squeeze my tears out.

Hobbes: Merry Christmas."


 * Not to mention the "Lazy Sunday" Christmas strip (which this troper religiously reads every year): "MOM! Santa didn't bring Hobbes anything!... Well, here's a present from me, anyway. *Hugs Hobbes* Hope it fits." "The best presents don't come in boxes. I'll treasure this one forever."
 * The "dead bird" Sunday strip. Waterson initially feared the comic would spark controversy, given the semi-graphic nature of the first panel; to his surprise he received several moving letters from people who had recently had loved ones pass away.
 * This picture for a t-shirt is unusually sweet. The smile of sleeping Hobbes probably has something to do with it.
 * One strip featured his mom chasing him around the house, seemingly angry (which was common, as Calvin frequently fled baths, homework and his babysitter), but ended with her massive attack of the Tickle Monster.
 * She'd planned to tire him out and make it easier to put him to bed, but then she got carried away playing with her son. Calvin notes how her plan backfired, though, in the he was now all wound up and she needed to be put to bed.
 * During the baseball story arc, Calvin learns from Susie that he is the only boy who didn't sign up to play baseball during recess. After his obligatory Girls Have Cooties moment, the next strip shows him riding the see-saw with Susie, talking to her in a very non-Calvin way. Really, this more than anything emphasizes that, no matter how much they may hate each other, Calvin and Susie really are best friends.
 * The final line of the final strip of Calvin and Hobbes: "It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy... Let's go exploring!"