History TearJerker / CalvinandHobbes

* Some of the LittleKnownFacts that Calvin's dad recites are quite cruel. He claims that while most babies are bought from Sears, Calvin was a Blue Light Special at K-Mart. Also, he tells Calvin that he grew from a grub and pupated at age two.

* The fact that no one is ever happy during family vacations except Calvin's dad. Calvin's miserable by the end of it, Mom is a grump without her coffee and being woken up at dawn, and Calvin's dad can't even be given one week to indulge in his own passions.
* Stupendous Man never wins in any of his storylines. Calvin tries to claim that he gets "Moral victories".
** Also, compared to how Calvin normally behaves, in one arc he changes into Stupendous Man to try and pass a test at school. If he had simply told Miss Wormwood what it was, she may not have dragged him to the principal's office and gotten him into trouble since he technically never tried to cheat.

* Many of the heartwarming scenes between Hobbes and Calvin become outright devastating if you agree with the interpretation that Hobbes is only alive in Calvin's imagination, and that that's all he has.

* [[JerkassWoobie Poor Calvin's]] endless misery in school, especially considering that he's just in ''first grade''. Middle school and high school are going to destroy him. What makes it worse is that Calvin ''does'' enjoy learning, but can't handle the public education system, which is based on repetition, rote memorization, and test taking. (It also doesn't help that Miss Wormwood's boring teaching style would probably put most college students to sleep.)
** Many people who grew up with untreated learning disorders like ADHD, autism, and whatnot have commented that Calvin's school experiences remind them of their own. With that in mind, Calvin's behavior at school becomes even more heartbreaking: he's not acting out for the sake of it, he's ''trying'' to learn but just cannot function in a normal classroom. If someone actually took a moment to help him, he might do okay or even brilliantly, but everyone just thinks he's badly-behaved.
* Related to the above, [[https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/10/18 this strip]] is pretty sad, especially if you felt the same way in school. "We don't read about dinosaurs," indeed.

* A stray remark by Uncle Max, in his one sole appearance, when he asks Mom if she's not concerned that Calvin only has Hobbes for a friend and doesn't seem interested in playing with other children.
--> '''Mom''': Didn't you have an imaginary friend as a child?
--> '''Max''': Sometimes I think all my friends were imaginary.

* A pretty low-key one in [[http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1988/04/26 this]] strip. At a puddle, Calvin discusses with Hobbes the possibility that they're the reflection of the guy in the puddle. When Hobbes points out that [[CessationOfExistence if that were true, they'd disappear once the person in the puddle walked away]], Calvin spends the rest of the day looking at that puddle, apparently distraught at the thought of the person in the puddle ceasing to exist due to him.

-->'''Dad:''' At least he died safe and warm. We did everything we could but now he's gone.
-->'''Calvin:''' (sniffling) I know. I'm crying because out there he's gone, but he's not gone inside me.
** Calvin and Hobbes go to the woods where Dad buried the raccoon. Calvin laments how painful and unfair it all is.
-->'''Calvin''': He was just little! What's the point of putting him here and then taking him back so soon?!

** To be fair, they didn't expect Calvin to not have any common sense as he's always off in his own world. The previous strip has him acknowledging that the teams have switched roles, but Calvin dumbly stood around assuming someone would tell him if he's supposed to be doing something different. That, and he started bragging about how much of a "great athlete" he is after accidentally getting his own team member out. Calvin also doesn’t even admit to making a mistake or try to apologize for it, instead trying to play it off that “it’s just a game” and that they’re getting angry over nothing. This comes off as being hypocritical since Calvin himself is a SoreLoser who reacts angrily when losing to Hobbes in whatever game they play.

** To be fair, they didn't expect Calvin to not have any common sense as he's always off in his own world. The previous strip has him acknowledging that the teams have switched roles, but Calvin dumbly stood around assuming someone would tell him if he's supposed to be doing something different. That, and he started bragging about how much of a "great athlete" he is after accidentally getting his own team member out.

* The unofficial theme song, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L96tYnz_heI My tiger, my heart]]":
-->As sweet as a plum, as lovely as dawn, rolling its tongue over its gums:
-->My tiger and me, as happy as could be, sat out on the porch as the whole of the sky clouds quietly over.
-->And it starts to cry, softly, on my shoulder.
-->We don't want to grow up, but we have to grow up. As sad as I am, I do understand. I do understand, it just makes me sad.
-->My tiger, my heart -- We're growing apart. We're trying to be friends, but it's hard sometimes to be friends with something that eats butterflies and pencil sharpeners, and [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy I think it would be happier being free...]]
-->My tiger, my friend, my little godsend. I know someday we'll be happy again.

--> '''Calvin''': It's nice to know there's so much to look forward to in life.

!! Meta
* The legal battles that Watterson had with his syndicate about merchandising Calvin and Hobbes, as he detailed in the tenth anniversary book. Although he could have used the money, he said that making Hobbes into a plushie or putting Calvin's face on a coffee mug would destroy magic of the strip. Especially sad since this resulted in those knock-off window stickers of Calvin urinating on things, which should have been a blatant trademark violation, being perfectly legal thanks to vagaries of US copyright law.
* Watterson having to fight for his comic to end on his terms.

* [[JerkassWoobie Poor Calvin's]] endless misery in school, especially considering that he's just in ''first grade''. Middle school and high school are going to destroy him. What makes it worse is that Calvin ''does'' enjoy learning, but can't handle the public education system, which is based on repetition, rote memorization, and test taking. (It also also doesn't help that Miss Wormwood's boring teaching style would probably put season college students to sleep.)

* A storyline has Calvin finding an injured baby raccoon and trying to save its life. He doesn't succeed.
-->'''Calvin''': He was just little! What's the point of putting him here and then taking him back so soon?!

** Hobbes and Calvin, while talking about it, promise that they're not going to leave each other.
** This story has a bit of RealitySubtext to it, as Watterson said it "just wrote itself" when his wife found a dead kitten one day.

** The strip where Calvin learns the raccoon died. There's no punchline. It's just Calvin crying while his dad tries to console him.
--> '''Calvin:''' I'm crying because out there he's gone, but he's not gone inside me.

* [[JerkassWoobie Poor Calvin's]] endless misery in school, especially considering that he's just in ''first grade''. Middle school and high school are going to destroy him. What makes it worse is that Calvin does enjoy learning, but can't handle the public education system, which is based on repetition, rote memorization, and test taking.
** Many people who grew up with untreated learning disorders like ADHD, autism, and whatnot have commented that Calvin's school experiences remind them of their own. With that in mind, Calvin's behavior at school becomes heartbreaking: he's not acting out for the sake of it, he's ''trying'' to learn but just cannot function in a normal classroom. If someone actually took a moment to help him, he might do okay or even brilliantly, but everyone just thinks he's badly-behaved.

* The fact that no one is ever happy during family vacations except Calvin's dad. Calvin's miserable by the end of it, Mom is a grump without her coffee and being woken up at dawn, and Calvin's dad keeps taking them to various islands for camping. (Bill Watterson later confirmed that ''his'' dad would do the same thing.)
** The last vacation story is arguably the worst. Prior to this, Mom and Calvin at least ''begrudgingly'' joined in on camping activities to spend time as a family, but at this point, they're not even trying anymore, and pretty much go out of their way to tell Dad how much they hate the trip AND his hobbies. The guy works his ass off in a boring white collar job day in and day out to provide, and his family can't even give him one week of mild discomfort to indulge in his own passions. Granted, camping isn't great if you aren't interested in it, but it's hardly the ordeal that Mom and Calvin acts like it is.
*** Though considering the utter disaster their first trip (where it continuously rained up until the moment they left) was, it's not entirely unsurprising. Hell, Dad's utter disregard for his wife and son's own feelings on this can be pretty mean on his end.

--> '''Calvin''': That sounds like work!

--> '''Calvin''': So when you're an adult, playing is ''worse'' than working?!
--> '''Dad''': [[{{Understatement}} Being a grownup is tough]].

* There's also the story arc when Calvin has to tell his father that he broke his binoculars, and Dad flies into a tirade lasting for almost an entire strip. [[ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2OJzukcyodA/T_-xb0A0ehI/AAAAAAAAAD4/JJRBaakLKAs/s640/You+Broke+the+Binoculars.gifAt the end of it, a tearful Calvin looks up at the man and says: "I have an idea. Let's pretend I already feel horrible about all this and that you don't need to rub it in anymore."]] [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone Even Dad looks heartbroken by that one.]]

* There's also the story arc when Calvin has to tell his father that he broke his binoculars, and Dad flies into a tirade lasting for almost an entire strip. At the end of it, a tearful Calvin looks up at the man and says: "I have an idea. Let's pretend I already feel horrible about all this and that you don't need to rub it in anymore." [[http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2OJzukcyodA/T_-xb0A0ehI/AAAAAAAAAD4/JJRBaakLKAs/s640/You+Broke+the+Binoculars.gif Even Dad looks heartbroken by that one.]]

* [[JerkassWoobie Poor Calvin]]'s endless misery in school, especially considering that he's in ''first grade''. Middle and high school is going to destroy him. What makes it worse is that Calvin does enjoy learning, but can't handle the public education system, which is based on repetition and test taking.
** Many people who grew up with undiagnosed learning disorders like ADHD have commented that Calvin's school experiences remind them of their own. With that in mind, Calvin's behavior at school becomes heartbreaking: he's not acting out for the sake of it, he's ''trying'' to learn but just cannot function in a normal classroom. If someone actually took a moment to help him, he might do okay or even brilliantly, but everyone just thinks he's badly-behaved.

** An earlier strip had the same theme, where Moe punches Calvin and knocks him into the mud for no reason, then leaves laughing, leaving a miserable Calvin to remark "People who are nostalgic for childhood were obviously never children"
** Yet another strip begins with Calvin angrily complaining about having to go to school even though he hates it, only for Dad to tiredly tell him that in that case, HE can go to work all day to provide for the family, with the only reward being the griping of a whiny kid. Cut to Calvin standing at the bus stop with a sour look on his face.

* A stray remark by Uncle Max, in his one sole appearance, when he asks Mom if she's not concerned that Calvin only has Hobbes for a friend and doesnt seem interested in playing with other children.
--> '''Mom''': Didnt you have an imaginary friend as a child?

* In one strip, Calvin asks Dad why grown-ups never play outside, and Dad answers that growups have to justify "playing outside" by calling it "excersize", rating and scoring it, and doing it whenever they'd rather not.

--> '''Dad''': Except you dont get paid.

* One Sunday strip features Calvin getting ready for a day at school one rainy morning. That's it. No dialogue, no ImagineSpot, no wacky hijinks...and the last two strips feature Calvin staring at the clock, bored and miserable, while Hobbes stares out the window in the rain. Of the three characters (Calvin, Hobbes, and Calvin's Mom) nobody smiles once.

* [[JerkassWoobie Poor Calvin]]'s endless misery in school, especially considering that he's in ''first grade''. Middle and high school is going to destroy him. What makes it worse is that Calvin does enjoy learning, but can't handle the stifled public education system, which is based on boring repetition and test taking to churn out mindless worker drones.

** Also, compared to how Calvin normally behaves, in one arc he changes into Stupendous Man to try and pass a test at school. If he had simply told Miss Wormwood what it was, she may not have dragged him to the principal's office and gotten him into trouble since he technically didn't cheat.

* Poor Calvin's endless misery in school, especially considering that he's in ''first grade''. Middle and high school is going to destroy him. What makes it worse is that Calvin does enjoy learning, but can't handle the stifled public education system, which is based on boring repetition and test taking to churn out mindless worker drones.

* A storyline has Calvin finding an injured baby raccoon and trying to save its life. [[spoiler:He doesn't succeed.]]

** Calvin's dad has to break the news to him. He's not happy about it, especially when Calvin starts to sob loudly and says he just [[spoiler:can't believe the raccoon is gone.]]

** The strip where Calvin [[spoiler: learns the raccoon died]]. There's no punchline. It's just Calvin [[spoiler: crying while his dad tries to console him.]]
--> '''Calvin:''' [[spoiler: I'm crying because out there he's gone, but he's not gone inside me.]]

** Many people who grew up with undiagnosed learning disorders like ADHD have commented that Calvin's school experiences remind them of their own. With that in mind, Calvin's behaviour at school becomes heartbreaking: he's not acting out for the sake of it, he's ''trying'' to learn but just cannot function in a normal classroom. If someone actually took a moment to help him, he might do okay or even brilliantly, but everyone just thinks he's badly-behaved.

* Calvin's life in general, probably even moreso than [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown]]. At least Charlie Brown had friends like Linus who were generally nice to him. Calvin is just a complete misfit.

* Calvin's life in general, probably even moreso than [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} Charlie Brown]]. At least he had friends like Linus who were generally nice to him. Calvin is just a complete misfit.

* Some of the LittleKnownFacts that Calvin's dad recites are quite cruel. He claims that while most babies are bought from Sears, Calvin was a Blue Light Special at KMart. Also, he tells Calvin that he grew from a grub and pupated at age two.

** The last vacation story is arguably the worst. Prior to this, Mom and Calvin at least ''begrudgingly'' joined in on camping activities to spend time as a family, but at this point, they're not even trying anymore, and pretty much go out of their way to tell Dad how much they hate the trip AND his hobbies. The guy works his ass off in a boring white collar job day in and day out to provide, and his family cant even give him one week of mild discomfort to indulge in his own passions. Granted, camping isn't great if you aren't interested in it, but it's hardly the ordeal that Mom and Calvin acts like it is.