“One Ordinary Screwdriver,” and Other Funny Stand-Alone Panels From “Calvin and Hobbes,” By Bill Watterson

Posted on 10 May 2025 by RobertLovesPi

This is one example of an unusual feature sometimes seen in Bill Watterson’s Calvin and Hobbes — a single panel from this cartoon can be presented alone, without being the punch-line at the very end, and actually be funnier, by itself, than the original full comic strip it came from. Here’s the full original comic from which the above image was taken. And yes, Calvin, it is amazing.

Here’s another example of a C&H first-panel-only cartoon being funnier than the strip from which it came. (Side note: also, it’s Saturday right now.) =D

Keep an eye on social media’s image-cycle as they bring this single panel up again every time Saturday happens. (I do my part with this.) The full comic strip is actually harder to find than the striking single panel.

Here’s one more — one of my favorites.

This single panel above is, to me, one of the funniest things ever created on the subjects of death and mathematics. Here’s the full strip it came from. Note that, in this strip, the stand-alone panel is the second one, rather than being the opening panel, as this pattern is usually seen in C&H.

This pattern didn’t dominate Calvin and Hobbes; it was simply an occasionally-reoccuring form which helped make the strip unusual, for most comic strips relied on a punchline at the end of the strip. Here’s an example of a different writing-pattern in the same strip which relies primarily on the entire sequence of events in the strip, and the way the panels interact as the strip progresses.

The single-panel-alone technique was used effectivelly by Watterson, but it did not dominate the strip, as was the case in a few other comic strips, most notably Gary Larson’s The Far Side.

Calvin and Trump

Posted on 24 November 2017 by RobertLovesPi

calvin and trump

Presented with apologies to Bill Watterson.

Calvin and Hobbes, and Election 2016

Posted on 24 July 2016 by RobertLovesPi

The current American election cycle was predicted, with amazing accuracy, in the late 20th Century, by Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes. Evidence will follow. We’ll start with ignorance and apathy, both of which are certainly involved in American elections.

Not wanting to vote and not being allowed to vote are, of course, two different things to Calvin.

While he’s being ignorant and apathetic, Calvin is, at least, honest. Honesty is something which we definitely need, and currently do not have, in American politics, from the left or the right.

If only this fictional duo qualified under the Constitution, we’d be facing this choice, which certainly seems better than the choice we actually have:

Watterson understood, well, the corrupting role of money in politics.

The big issue politicians do not talk about enough is the environment. Why do they not devote more energy to that? Money, of course. The love of money drives people to do harmful and irrational things, and this includes things with obviously-negative environmental impact.

He also created numerous cartoons about pollsters and lobbyists, taking them every bit as seriously as these people deserve to be taken.

America has a lot of single-issue voters. They are not safe from Watterson’s satire. This cartoon is as on-target today as it was when it first appeared.

For what purposes was Calvin willing to do research? Could his spray-painting ambitions include negative campaign ads?

I certainly think so.

The next cartoon applies equally well, in my opinion, to the words and actions of both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.

If the next cartoon doesn’t remind you of the Trump-or-Clinton choice we face, and what an amazing waste of time and energy it is to have to make such an absurd “choice,” please read it again.

Finally, here’s Calvin’s invention of the perfect bipartisan slogan for this campaign season, and its nausea-inducing choice between bad (Clinton) and worse (Trump).