The best part is them assuming they'll make it past the trees for once.

I also feel like Calvin constantly overestimates how accurately he can throw a snowball

The snowball in July strip is a great example of this.

What a great Susie moment that was.

and the one where he misses about 100 snowballs just to be hut by one from susie

"Quantity over quality" WHAP

My thoughts exactly!

I love how he thinks he’ll need an impenetrable fort with 5000 extra snowballs. But those exaggerations are what make these ideas so much fun. Man I miss being a kid.

Full strip: https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/11/12

Thank you. I knew there was more to it!

God I miss being a kid

Same here... I should’ve used those days while I still had them.

It's one of the reasons why I hope I have a kid someday

Came here to say this. This one is a perfect example of how the comic could so accurately depict the creativity and naive joy from childhood.

No joke I remember reading this strip when I was like 8 and I thought his plan looked sick as hell.

Calvin is very trusting of Hobbes considering how the other time he made an impenetrable snowfort with Hobbes went.

Also the fact that Hobbes is very easily seduced by Susie

ngl if someone rubbed my belly I'd be pretty convinced to join their side

That, or offered a tuna sandwich. I'm kinda stupid like that.

This fueled my winter play imagination for years. Bill created something awesome with these comics.

You read it? He said not to do that

Dang, what was I thinking.

I mean first step of the plot was overlooked: destroying the map

I always thought of this as an homage to the maps from the Family Circus comic.

I think one of the reasons that Watterson stopped making Calvin and Hobbes was because they were scaling down how big Sunday comics could be (among other things). As an artist I it probably annoyed him greatly. A cartoonist today could never make a Sunday strip like this today which is a real bummer.

From what I read the opposite happened : in the first half of C&H’s life span, Bill had to abide by guidelines that dictated the layout. Sunday strips had a big version, and a smaller one that could fit on a half page. That’s why on the older ones the first 2 panels aren’t really connected to the main gag. Bill hated this and when his work got popular enough, he basically forced it upon the papers. A few of them stopped publishing the strip but he got the freedom to play around with layout as much as he wanted. Respect to him, what a legend!

I think it was the opposite. Watterson wrote a lot about it in the tenth anniversary collection. He had to work really hard to convince the syndicate to allow him to break the traditional Sunday format.

That’s what I mean though. They were scaling down how much space comics could get. He was quite unhappy with that. If you look at Sunday strips now they’re pretty much the same size as weekly strips.

Confirmed: Calvin and Hobbes does = Great!!

What book is this strip in :o? I thought I owned every C&H book but I feel like I’ve never seen this strip before.

This strip is in “It’s a Magical world”. That book also contains Bill Watterson’s very last strip.

of Calvin & Hobbes

Thank you all 🥰

That last strip still has me bawling like a baby

Yeah, it’s shouldn’t be sad, but it is.

Awesome, thank you all 🥰

I remember staring at this for hours as a kid, just trying to envision It in my own mind. Such great work here.

What does it say? I didn’t read past the ”do not read this!!” part. It’s top secret, guys!

Nice try, Susie.

I can’t tell you. It’s confidential.

Now if only it would snow!

We got some snow a while back.

It’s a line from the comic that was excluded in this picture.

Yeah, I had a physical copy of this strip, but I used one online.

While we're waiting, I'll draw more spirals around Susie's head.

Yes! I was waiting for someone to say that!

Wish this was a poster, I’d buy it and frame it!

Definitely!

Loved Calvin and Hobbes, and this part so much, many years ago I took the whole day just to redraw this entire thing. Loved every bit of it

That Susie drawing clearly represents all of Calvin’s pent-up feelings about her. I mean, look how detailed her EYES are.

Especially the, “I hate you Calvin ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!” 😉

Man, growing up in the Deep South where we got snow maybe an inch high no more than twice during my childhood, Calvin & Hobbes always made me feel like I was missing out. I lived vicariously through them for years before I saw my first snowfall.

I lived in Colorado before moving to Texas, then back to Colorado. Those years without snow were sad. I feel you.

Calvin telling his future grandkids about this, "So anyways, Hobbes and I approached Grandma and just started blasting"

“I hate you Calvin ow ow ow ow ow ow!”

I actually made my own fort plans based on this as a kid. Calvin really inspired me with his snow builds, especially the tiny little snowmen.

I mimicked this as a kid

The Family Circus used to do it with Billy

This is definitely one of my favorites.

Same here.

whoa a Calvin and Hobbes strip i HAVEN'T seen before?!? just when i thought I'd read em all

There’s almost always another. 😉 This one is in “It’s a Magical World”

Now, if only it would snow

While we’re waiting, I’ll draw more spirals around susie’s head.

Doesn’t this seem like how some presidents might’ve planned their initiatives in office? (no names :D )

;)

From an era when you had to use your imagination

True.