Garfield: An Analysis

[Nate]

From my Livejournal:

I'll be up front and say it now. As an adult, I've never liked Garfield. I'm talking about the comic strip; the cartoons on TV are actually still fairly amusing (aside from that US Acres crap). Garfield was fine as a kid; it had the tired old gags and slapstick comedy kids love. But as an adult, I grew to love more intelligent humor, hence why Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, and Dilbert quickly became my favorite strips. Garfield is still pretty much the exact same comic as it was when I was a kid. It hasn't grown or become more intelligent, and so it's just a comic that more or less takes up space now...still better than Family Circus; but then again, watching paint dry is better than Family Circus.

Anyway. This is until one young man had a bright idea. Remove all of Garfield's thought bubbles from the strip. To a person inside the comic strip, Garfield's thoughts cannot be heard (although there have been strips that contradict this assumption, but aside from those oddities it is safe to say no one can hear Garfield). Removing Garfield's thought bubbles not only makes the strip more realistic in a sense, but also gives it new life. Some of the strips are amusing simply because we can only imagine what Garfield is trying to say; some are not funny at all, but make us feel sympathy for Jon, a pathetic loser whose only companion is a cat.

I thought I'd share four or five of my favorite strips and analyze them. Four or five because I know clicking links is annoying.

http://home.comcast.net/~tembre/gar5.jpg

This is a great one, as we can only imagine what's going on that has made Jon angry. We can assume it is some sort of prank Garfield has played. But perhaps more, this is a glimpse at ourselves. We have a bad day, we come home, and we're not in the best of moods, and our cat/dog/whatever is there, and we shoot it a menacing glance. It has not wronged us, but we still may look upon it with disdain. The pet in question however, probably could care less, as evident in Garfield's unchanging expression.

http://home.comcast.net/~tembre/gar10.jpg

Another example of Jon's lousy life. In the original, Garfield probably made some sort of biting remark, that Jon isn't supposed to be able to hear. To a kid, though, they probably read it and assume Jon can hear Garfield, and it is amusing because Jon is sighing to Garfield's amusing insult. In this version, it merely shows how crappy Jon's life is, that not even his pet wishes to listen to him.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b369/jazzpirate/Garfield%20dada/ga0404271.gif

This isn't amusing at all, really. Another glimpse into Jon's life, no deeper meaning, nothing. Just a man eating his dinner while his pet looks on, probably thinking nothing more than "I want that food." Without Garfield's thought bubbles, it becomes deeper, to me, more interesting and thought provoking.

http://static.flickr.com/32/97599577_8433efaf7f_o.gif

A personal favorite. Garfield probably makes an amusing remark in the end; but in this version, all we see is a broken man, asking for answers from his pet. I can empathize, both with the situation and the questions. This strip, more than any other, shows to me how much better this comic can be without Garfield's thoughts (though that defines on your definition of better; if you want cheap jokes obviously this wouldn't fit the bill).

Finally, this one proves why Garfield fails as a comic on its own, and how editing improves it:

http://www.whereaminow.org/jon/ga060111edit.gif

In the original, in the last panel, Garfield says, "Roast dummy takes time to prepare." This statement adds nothing to the comic, and devalues the punchline. The punchline is that Jon has a chicken on his head! THAT'S THE JOKE! You don't continue telling a joke after the punchline, that makes it pointless. The strip is perfect without dialogue, the look on Garfield's face in the last panel says more than the not-so-funny statement ever could. In fact, three panels aren't even necessary. An even better version of this strip would be just the middle panel.

The last one:

http://www.alienripper.com/images/garf13.gif

Another example of how sometimes, no dialogue makes it funnier.

If you want the link to the place I got these from, feel free to IM me and ask. I'd rather not post it publicly; later on in the thread these are in, people complain because apparently some famous guy linked to the thread on his blog, and caused the forum some downtime from all the traffic. It has a lot more ones I thought were great, but didn't share here because I wanted to keep this fairly concise.

Anyway, your thoughts?

[taboo]

I've seen that before. XD It never fails to crack me up. I think that the lack of speech on Garfield's part makes it a better strip because it really does make you think about the situation more.

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/723/garfkh2.gif

[Tenshi no Ai]

You know, I've never really thought about that all before... I grew up with Garfield but never really... realized that Jon can't even hear his cat-talk (of course Odie and the rest can of course). Very interesting how you can break down something simple like that and dig deeper^^

[Fish and Chips]

Yeah, Garfield has definitely lost his touch today. These edited drafts were actually pretty funny, though.

[Nate]

You know, I've never really thought about that all before... I grew up with Garfield but never really... realized that Jon can't even hear his cat-talk (of course Odie and the rest can of course). Very interesting how you can break down something simple like that and dig deeper^^

Well, in the cartoons, everyone WAS able to hear Garfield's thoughts, hence why I guess the belief is that everyone can hear his thoughts in the comic strip too. However, this isn't the case...SUPPOSEDLY. But there are strips like this that knock that theory down:

http://home.comcast.net/~tembre/gar15.jpg

The ONLY way that strip could make sense is if somehow he can hear Garfield's thoughts. Unless it's possible to point sarcastically...which I doubt. So like I said, Jon isn't supposed to be able to hear Garfield...unless the joke wouldn't work without it.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Yeah, Garfield has definitely lost his touch today.

I haven't actually read the new new stuff. When I was into it, it still had some pretty good stuff in it^^ The first ones though were ... The art made him looking like a blob of a cat :/

[Alice]

Some of them definitely would be funnier.

But the whole point of Garfield is that the cat has his whole philosophy. (Mornings, mondays, and mailmen are bad, etc. Food, teddies, and sleep are good, etc.)

I agree with you that it would be more mature, and more subtle, with a no-words Garfield, but that's not the point of Garfield. The cartoonist can't change his forumula now, even though a lot of people outgrow it, and would rather see it dropped from the newspaper's comics.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I've never liked Garfield much and now I realise part of the reason. Nate, your observation is genius: often less is more, and you provided proof of that.
On a side note: Calvin and Hobbes is great!

[taboo]

Calvin and Hobbes was like... a breakthrough in comics.... Bill Watterson had to fight tooth and nail to prevent capitalism taking his creation and turning them into a cartoon show or plushies. xD He succeeded too, that's really amazing. <3 My favorite artist <3 Luann isn't that shabby either. Or Mutts... and Zits. I always imagined Jeremy from Zits was like Calvin when he became a teenager.

[Joshua Christopher]

i think its becuz really the best comic ever made is marmaduke

[Fish and Chips]

i think its becuz really the best comic ever made is marmaduke

You're joking me, right?

Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side, for great justice. Dilbert isn't too shabby either.

[K. Ayato]

Some Garfield strips still make me laugh.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

You're joking me, right?

Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side, for great justice. Dilbert isn't too shabby either.

Those three for the win.

[silver_wolf454]

Hmm...after reading this thread I had to laugh. Every one is so serous about the newspaper comic strips lol This is one of the reasons why I love this place.

[taboo]

Hey now, it's a legitimate business! xp Serious artists make good strips

[goldenspines]

Hmmm....when I think about it more, perhaps there are deeper meanings that the cartoonist (Jim Davis, I believe) was trying to portray in his cartoon strips. Perhaps he hid the real message of the strip behind Garfield's thought bubbles, then hoping someday, somehow, some intelligent person would discover the secret within the strip. Then the world would be at peace again.

Or he just wanted us all on the floor laughing.

Thanks for posting these, Nate. ^^

[Tenshi no Ai]

The ONLY way that strip could make sense is if somehow he can hear Garfield's thoughts. Unless it's possible to point sarcastically...which I doubt. So like I said, Jon isn't supposed to be able to hear Garfield...unless the joke wouldn't work without it.

There is actually others... I went through my 2 Garfield comic collections last night, and there was one where Jon asked Garfield a question, walked away, Garfield made some smart remark, and then there was a bubble coming from Jon saying "I heard that!" So it only seems to be sometimes they can "communicate".

Oh, and also while looking through some, yeah Garfield doesn't necessarily NEED the last comment in. Because like you mentioned, the punchline has already been made and then he has to add in something that really doesn't add in too much more of the joke :/ I guess sometimes it helps a little, but not always.

[Smilemon]

As a person who enjoys analyzing things, I really appreciate your analyzation of Garfield, although I may not agree with your opinions.

Of course, the most influential and popular comic of the modern times is probably Peanuts.

[Radical Dreamer]

You're joking me, right?

I'm pretty sure he is. XD

Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side, for great justice. Dilbert isn't too shabby either.

The Far Side and Dilbert are my all-time favorite comics. XD I also like Luann, Fox Trot, and Peanuts, but I never really got to read Calvin and Hobbes, so I can't say much about that.

Anyways, I already made a relatively lengthy comment on this at LJ, so I'll keep my response short: Garfield was funny when I was a kid, and it's not anymore. These comics are pretty clever, though. XD

[ShiroiHikari]

http://www.dougshaw.com/garfield.html

Check that out. It's loads of fun.

[Radical Dreamer]

http://www.dougshaw.com/garfield.html

Check that out. It's loads of fun.

Some of those come out to be pretty funny. XD Good find!

[uc pseudonym]

You and I have very similar tastes in comics, Nate. Though I have some sympathy for anyone who has to try to think of something every single day, a great many are simply never funny. Unfortunately, we've lost a number of good comics over the years and there haven't been many new ones to fill the gap. If Dilbert ends I may no longer have a good enough reason to glance at the comics page.

At random, my favorites: Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Dilbert, Fox Trot, Get Fuzzy

[quote="Nate"]still better than Family Circus]
It continually frustrates me by its existence. Along with a number of other comics sometimes it makes me stop and think "How is there anything remotely funny about this?"

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I really enjoy Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, Dilbert and Zits.
I don't think I've read Fox Trot, and even heard of Get Fuzzy.

[Nate]

I got this one from the Randomizer, and found it amusing.

[rocklobster]

no. He's too boring.

[Tenshi no Ai]

Yesh the randomizer can be fun an amusing^^ Like this one:

[Radical Dreamer]

Yesh the randomizer can be fun an amusing^^ Like this one:

I find the last two panels particularly amusing. XDD

[Tenshi no Ai]

I find the last two panels particularly amusing. XDD

I really think that the last panel can almost be stand-alone^^ It's like, nothing more has to be added, because it's already quite funny^^

[RedMage]

Calvin & Hobbes was the greatest comic strip of all time, bar none.

[uc pseudonym]

Is there an easy way to port the randomized comics off the site? I got a few funny ones last night but I was too busy to get them via Print Screen or anything very complicated.

Yesh the randomizer can be fun an amusing^^ Like this one:

I agree. That one struck me funny as well.

To be fair, you could probably do this with a great number of comics. In one of Gary Larson's books he tells a story about how a newspaper accidentally switched the captions for two comics and the results were actually pretty good (in a typically bizarre way).