7 Funniest 'Calvin and Hobbes' Comics About Calvin's Mom and Dad

They may not have names, but they’re great characters

Calvin’s Mom and Dad, who have no names beyond that, each have their own individual dynamic with Calvin. Calvin’s Mom is often exasperated with him, as she’s the one who does the most direct parenting in her role as a homemaker. This leads to a lot of funny comic strips where Calvin drives his mom nuts. As for Calvin’s Dad, while Calvin drives him bonkers too, there’s another dynamic where the dad will sometimes tell Calvin ridiculous things just to see if his son will believe them, which he often does.

Calvin’s Mom and Dad also have their own comedic dynamic as well, even if it's featured less frequently in the comic strip. Their relationship, at least what we see of it, mostly revolves around the two of them commiserating over Calvin’s rambunctious behavior. As the two people on Earth who have to live with this wild, imaginative kid, only they know what it's like, and that’s where most of their humor comes from. Here are seven Calvin and Hobbes comics starring both of Calvin’s parents together and where their dynamic as an exhausted comedic duo really shines.

7 Regret

In this comic strip, Calvin’s Mom asks Calvin’s Dad if he regrets having a child. Before answering, Calvin’s Dad asks her if she regrets it. It’s obvious that both of them are waiting for the other to give their answer, until the dad finally explodes, saying “All I know is that I offered to buy us a dachshund, but no, you said…” Their relationship here is a little bit sweet, a little bit funny, and pretty darn realistic.

6 Calvin vs. Rosalyn

This comic strip is great because it’s just one big funny image. It’s not a setup followed by a punchline, it’s just all punchline with Calvin giving both his parents a hard time over being babysat by Rosalyn, another Calvin and Hobbes character who deserves more credit as a funny nemesis for Calvin.

5 Calvin’s impression

In this one, Calvin snags his dad’s glasses and does an impression of him, saying, “Calvin, go do something you hate! Being miserable builds character!” That’s funny on its own, but the last panel here is what’s really the funniest part, with Calvin’s Mom laughing so uncontrollably that she fell out of her chair.

4 A potential day off

In this Sunday comic strip, Bill Watterson showed how good he was at the slow burn. Throughout the whole strip, Calvin’s Dad is wondering if he should call out of work and enjoy a peaceful day at home. He’s just about ready to call out when he encounters Calvin running away like he’s done something wrong, followed by Calvin’s Mom shouting, “You get back here and pick every one of those dead bugs out of my shampoo!! I mean now!” Finally, the punchline is a silent panel with Calvin’s Dad at work, having obviously decided that’s the more peaceful place to be.

3 Babies

This comic strip builds upon Calvin’s relationship with his dad, and adds his mom into the mix. In many comic strips, Calvin’s Dad would just make up something and tell Calvin just as a way to amuse himself. In this one, when Calvin asks where babies come from, Calvin’s Dad says Sears, the once ubiquitous department store chain. Calvin’s reaction is horror, but Watterson added another punchline when Calvin’s Mom shouts from the other room, “Dear, what are you telling Calvin now?!” Clearly, Calvin’s Dad has done this before and it’s been Calvin’s Mom who has had to clean up the mess.

2 Where’s Hobbes?

And just to prove that Calvin’s Parents aren’t always at odds, here’s a more tender one which features them looking for Hobbes after Calvin’s left his tiger outside.

1 A really good question

Finally, this is the best-ever comic strip featuring both of Calvin’s parents and they don’t say a word in it. In the single-panel weekday strip, Calvin simply asks them, “What assurance do I have that your parenting isn’t screwing me up?” It’s a funny thing for a kid to say, but the best part about this strip — which really serves as the punchline — is the blank expression that is on the faces of both of his parents. Perhaps I’m reading too much into this here, but to me, their faces aren’t just registering surprise that their child would ask such a thing, but it’s also conveying a sense of confusion from them, like it’s a really good question and they honestly have no idea what the answer is. It may just be one panel, but any parent reading this one knows there’s a lot going on here.