Garfieldis one of the most iconic franchises in history, and it’s so widely popular and massively successful because of one thing:Garfieldis hilarious.Garfieldgot its start as a newspaper comic strip back in the late ‘70s, and that comic strip is still going strong to this day. Throughout that time,Garfieldcontinuously evolved, changing its sense of humor to keep from becoming stagnant and boring. Here’s how.
In a 2018 interview withThe Guardian, Jim Davis discusses his career as a cartoonist, and explains how Garfield went from being a side character in another comic strip to becoming one of the biggest pop culture icons to date. Before creating theGarfieldcomic strip, Davis worked as an assistant cartoonist while workshopping ideas for his own original comic strip. One ofDavis’ early comics wasGnorm Gnat, but after realizing readers had a hard time identifying with a bug, Davis pivoted to another comic strip:Jon.
Jonfollowed the titular Jon Arbuckle, telling the story of his life through a series of clever gags and hilarious jokes. TheJoncomic strip series was also where Garfield made his debut, though at the time, he was simply Jon’s cat, and got very little time on-panel. But, when Davis wanted to focus on a more marketable character than Jon, he decided a cartoon cat was the way to go, which elevated Garfield from a side-character in Jon’s comic to the lead in his own - and that was just the beginning of Garfield’s journey.
Jim Davis: The first two or three years I got all the obvious cat gags out of the way. Now I can take advantage of the fact people know him, the familiarity is much higher. You always expected to see Snoopy lying on the doghouse, for Charlie Brown to miss the football. There are certain things that make you feel warm and fuzzy, that have happened that way all your life, like telling an old joke over again. For some of us, it just gets funnier.
Davis reveals that, at the beginning of theGarfieldcomic strip, he really leaned into the fact that Garfield was a cat, creating gags that embellished common traits and activities associated with cats. But then, afterGarfieldbecame a mainstay in homes around the world, Davis moved away from ‘cat gags’ to instead focus on fully-original ‘Garfield gags’.
Garfield Has Some of the Most Iconic Running Gags in Comic Strip History
Garfield’s Love of Lasagna & Hatred of Mondays Have Nothing to Do with Being a Cat
Garfield came a long way from his origins as a side-character in the Jon comic strip, but that was far from the last time the character underwent changes. As Davis said himself, Garfield started off as a narrative vehicle of endless ‘cat gags’, but those were then replaced with gags unique only to Garfield. One of the most famous running ‘Garfield gags’ is his hatred of Mondays, something unique to the character (though relatable to many) that has nothing to do with the fact that Garfield is a cat.
There’s alsoGarfield’s famous love of lasagna, his crusade against spiders that enter his home, and the fact that he’s a notorious prankster. Garfield may have started off as a cat that only did ‘cat things’ for entertainment, but Davis quickly evolved the humor of the series away from that to create original gags, situations, and jokes that only Garfield could tell. Jim Davis even compares Garfield to the likes of Snoopy and Charlie Brown, using those characters as examples of exactly what Davis was trying to achieve with Garfield at the start of the series.
Snoopy lying on his doghouse is intrinsic to the character, as is Charlie Brown missing the football when Lucy holds it for him to kick. These gags have nothing to do with the fact that Snoopy is a dog and Charlie Brown is a kid, they are simply running jokes and situations that fans are familiar with. And, once Garfield reached that level of familiarity, Jim Davis was free to follow in Charles M. Schulz’s footsteps - and he’s done so masterfully.
Garfield’s Humor Has Changed Over the Years, but 1 Thing Has Stayed the Same
Garfieldis Timeless Because of 1 Rule Jim Davis will Never Change
Jim Davis may have changedGarfield’s humor over the years to maintain a level of unique familiarity with readers, but that doesn’t mean every part ofGarfield’s humor has experienced changes. From the very beginning of Garfield’s career until the final comic strip Davis will ever draw, one thing will always remain the same:Garfielddoesn’t get political.
Davis has maintained thatGarfieldshould never deal with topics involving politics or era-specific social commentary. For one thing, Davis has admitted that the newspapers in whichGarfieldis published simply tackle those topics better than he ever could, so he does his thing while the journalists do theirs. And - most importantly of all - Davis’ decision to keep Garfield away from such topics ensures the franchise’s timelessness and relatability. Aside from his unique running gags, Garfield mostly tells jokes about sleeping and eating, which is something everyone can and will always relate to and find humor in.
There’s a Simple Reason Garfield Is a Cat. Sorry, Dog Lovers!
Garfield being a cat was once totally up in the air at the start of Jim Davis' career, and the reason why he made him a cat is surprisingly simple.
While the standing order of ‘no politics’ is something that will never change inGarfieldcomics, other aspects of the iconic orange cat have grown and evolved over the years. A franchise cannot survive by being stagnant, nor can it thrive by making too many drastic changes. Jim Davis has mastered the balancing act of keepingGarfieldfamiliar while also allowing the character to grow over time - and that began with getting all the ‘cat gags’ out of the way early.
Source:The Guardian
Garfield
Garfield is the central character in Jim Davis’s comic strip, which officially began in 1978 under the same name. Garfield is an orange tabby cat with a love of lasagna and a disdain for Mondays. He tends to torment his owner and dog while trying to secure more food - and quiet.
