Any further introduction I could write has already been done better by the guys at Progressive Boink (a Web site whose name was, in fact, inspired by a classic Calvin and Hobbes strip). Check out their list of the top 25 C&H strips of all time. Needless to say, it's friggin' hilarious. You can thank me by buying me a double-Jim Beam when we next meet. (Which, obviously, will be at a bar. You think I want to come to your house?)
Here's a personal favorite at which I LOL'd upon reading for the first time in, like, a long time an' shit. When a parent asks a dumb question, what do they really expect? How about honesty?
Progressive Boink also produces The Dugout, a personal favorite.