Kevin Wong's saved articles

I read the Dad a little different. He’s essentially an older Calvin who has given in to conforming to societal roles, or at least given in the minimum amount to conform. The Dad is taking off his work suit, clothes he doesn’t want to wear, but is required to, rattling off vague platitudes that every single boy gets… Read more

As someone who didn’t have a father, I was terrible at sports when I was young. It was so bad, at recess when they would pick teams, I wouldn’t just be the last one picked. The team forced to pick me would actually offer to play a man down if the other team would take me instead. When I started playing sports as an… Read more

Kevin, I’m not gonna lie. I come here for video game stuff mostly (Obviously), but your articles analyzing stuff like Calvin and Hobbes and Peanuts are some of the best things I read on the internet. Keep them coming! :) Read more

I had a similar experience signing up for football in middle school. I was never, even once, taught the basics of the game by the coach or anyone else on the team, and was always chastised for not just divining the knowledge from the ether. None of the formations were ever explained, my position in the line was never… Read more

We tried as best we could to support our sons doing what they wanted to do, not what we wanted for them. That’s not to say we were always successful, but we tried and kept that goal in mind. Honestly we only ever tried pushing one of our sons into things because he seemed content to simply sit and do nothing. Still… Read more

The depressing part is, each of the characters is also in the same predicament Calvin is in: they are expected to know how to act by society, and flub it. Calvin’s dad feels like he’s expected to teach his kid baseball (and wallops him in the nose). Mr. Lockjaw feels like he’s expected to oversee and enforce the… Read more

I can relate. I never end up developing an interest in sports because my experience has been more similar to Calvin. Read more

That’s the worst thing about sports: if you refuse to play them (especially as a boy), you’re told that you’re bad at teamwork and human interactions in general. You start associating one with the other, although the connection is tenuous at best (unless you consider the army to be the model for intimacy and… Read more

I hated playing baseball as a kid. My parents thought I needed to play a sport and signed me up for baseball. Outfield was where they stuck the kids they knew either didn’t want to play or couldn’t play well, and much like this comic strip, no one took the time to actually teach fundamentals. Time was devoted solely… Read more

Hi Kevin!
I remember I caught a ball in gym. Once. I was so stunned, I didn’t know what to do with it and I completely overshot the guy I was supposed to throw it to. Calvin and Hobbes was a big deal for me in the 80s, since his experiences mirrored my own so horribly well. I still hate sports. And team activities...… Read more

I read all of those collections, too. Over and over. Here’s the last one I personally still own.

Jesus that’s depressing. I’m glad it at least had a vaguely happy ending. Snoopy seemed to evoke the kind of real-life guilt we feel for our pets when things go wrong for them. And I remember this series, my Grandma collected old comics. I never would have seen the depth that this article presents though. What a… Read more

You are very welcome! Looking forward to reading more of your superb articles. Read more

There’s not a lot on Kotaku that aligns with my interests but the moment I see one of your Peanuts (and C&H) articles I click on it immediately, and forward the link to my husband and (grownup) daughters as we basically brought them up on anthologies of both. Read more

Awesome, thanks so much! Read more

I know of the times there was a destruction of Snoopy’s doghouse because of the Peanuts fan wiki. It’s not necessarily the most reliable, but it certainly gives out quick hits of trivia people do miss. All good stuff. Read more

Just make sure you have very clear and open channels of communication, with the principal, teachers, and especially the lunch, gym, and recess folks (where a lot of the bullying tends to happen) and make sure you talk with your kid OFTEN - so that situations don’t become chronic, repetitive, or prolonged. (nip it in… Read more

I love your Peanuts articles, thanks for these. Read more

One thing: Read more

My child is biracial. At the start of junior high, I was concerned that maybe being at a new school, she might get picked on by older kids Read more