# Do you find Garfield (comic strip) funny? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 23, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626 "2012-03-23T18:48:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![singular1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ba9def/32.png) [@singular1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/singular1)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/21 "2012-03-24T01:14:09Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > And in the early years, the strip was more consistently funny. Garfield used to walk on all fours, but then Davis had the bright idea of having Garfield walk on his hind legs like a human. > > One of the things that I like about the Simon’s Cat videos is that the Cat ACTS like a cat. There are some human behaviors (like wielding a baseball bat), but for the most part, the cat is a cat, and is motivated by what a cat wants, and what it doesn’t want. The Cat wants food, or doesn’t want to share its food, or it is puzzled by the snow. And it acts like a cat, not a little human in a fur suit. I love the Simon’s Ccat videos. They validate the existance of having a cat companion - they are delightful animals that provide hours of absurd entertainment, along with comforting affection. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/22 "2012-03-24T01:24:02Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > In the early years, cat behavior was common fodder for gags. Example? I’ve never seen any _Garfield_ strips where Garfield didn’t seem to be indistinguishable from a coffee-swilling office drone. Even _Catbert_ has more cat-like qualities. I look at a _Garfield_ strip and I get the impression that Jim Davis has never had a cat in him home. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/23 "2012-03-24T01:45:39Z")
> **[Garfield | Nick](https://www.nick.com/shows/garfield)** > > He’s selfish, sarcastic, lazy, yet surprisingly endearing – He’s Garfield! Take a look back at our favorite sarcastic cat! But that is thirty-four years old. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/24 "2012-03-24T02:12:43Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Someone linked this a few years ago - it’s brilliant. > > [Garfield Minus Garfield](http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/) Much more brilliant and hilarious is simply removing Garfield’s dialogue. [http://www.truthandbeautybombs.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4997](http://www.truthandbeautybombs.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4997) Unfortunately, a great many of the images at the link no longer exist. ☹ ETA: [more variants](http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/98877), including more (very good) garfield-minus-dialogue examples. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/25 "2012-03-24T02:20:49Z")
And more, with discussion of recontextualization in general, and an analysis of exactly why Garfield as published in the newspapers isn’t funny. (Basically, Jim Davis has a bad habit of overkilling the punchline, in a way, “explaining” the joke to the reader so it’s no longer funny.) [http://wondermark.com/the-comic-strip-doctor-recontextualization/](http://wondermark.com/the-comic-strip-doctor-recontextualization/) ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/26 "2012-03-24T03:22:58Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > Much more brilliant and hilarious is simply removing Garfield’s dialogue. [http://www.truthandbeautybombs.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4997](http://www.truthandbeautybombs.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=4997) > > Unfortunately, a great many of the images at the link no longer exist. ☹ > > ETA: [more variants](http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/98877), including more (very good) garfield-minus-dialogue examples. I wonder if Jim Davis now accounts for Garfield minus Garfield. In other words, writes and draws Garfield comic strips that will be funny also as Garfield minus Garfield comic strips. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/27 "2012-03-24T03:49:10Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > I look at a _Garfield_ strip and I get the impression that Jim Davis has never had a cat in him home. That may be because, once the strip became popular for the cat-like Garfield, Jim Davis stopped doing the strip in 1981 and turned over writing and drawing responsibilities to his “creative studio”/Garfield licensing company [Paws Inc.](http://pressroom.garfield.com/paws/index.html) 57 artists all working on “product,” attempting to maximize business revenue. Whenever you’re reading a Garfield now, you’re reading a committee-created “product” designed to be inoffensive and maintain the licensability (new word!) of the character. That said, there are some talented comics artists in the studio–some even make the rounds of comic book conventions–and even if the cat-ness of Garfield has been minimized, the writers do occasionally push through other creative or strip-changing ideas. And Jim is a pretty nice guy, both in personal and business life, whatever one may feel of the product. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/28 "2012-03-24T04:52:40Z")
I thought it used to used to be funny way back when, and then used to think it was terrible, but in the past three or so years it’s gotten better. Not as good as it was, but not, say, _Marmaduke_ bad, the way it was in the 90’s. > [@Munch](#): > > Someone linked this a few years ago - it’s brilliant. > > [Garfield Minus Garfield](http://garfieldminusgarfield.net/) There’s actually an aggregator of unusual takes on Garfield that’s it’s own strip called [Square Root of Minus Garfield](http://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/). Ironically, it also has declined in quality over time as all the really cool ideas were used, but it’s still funny and/or thought-provoking on a regular basis. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/29 "2012-03-24T05:59:53Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > That may be because, once the strip became popular for the cat-like Garfield, Jim Davis stopped doing the strip in 1981 and turned over writing and drawing responsibilities to his “creative studio”/Garfield licensing company [Paws Inc.](http://pressroom.garfield.com/paws/index.html) 57 artists all working on “product,” attempting to maximize business revenue. Whenever you’re reading a Garfield now, you’re reading a committee-created “product” designed to be inoffensive and maintain the licensability (new word!) of the character. Funny, but I actually had past experience with Paws, Inc. I was the demo artist/support tech for a couple of 3D animation programs, TDI Explore and Digital Arts DGS. I can’t remember which one Paws had (probably DGS) and I traveled to Fort Wayne to train a Paws artist. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/30 "2012-03-24T06:24:59Z")
I remember really getting a kick out of Garfield. Then I turned 10. Seriously, as a young kid, I loved Garfield, thought the strip was great, etc. I still remember very vividly - I was born in 1981, so you know my age - in fourth grade, our teacher liked to put up comic strips she liked, or thought were clever. Often we’d be given short essay assignments on our interpretations of a particular strip. She used a lot of Calvin and Hobbes, so though I didn’t recognize its genius at the time, good on her. One time, a fellow student and friend of mine asked her, “Why don’t you ever use Garfield?” She blinked, then said, “Well, Garfield is always the same. He likes to eat and he’s lazy. Every strip is some variation on that. There’s nothing interesting in the same joke told over and over.” I remember this shocking me. “Teacher doesn’t like Garfield? Teacher _criticizes_ Garfield? But EVERYONE loves Garfield! …wait, but yeah, she has a point.” /I do still love the Garfield Halloween TV Special, but the strip can DIAF ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/31 "2012-03-24T07:04:44Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > Funny, but I actually had past experience with Paws, Inc. I was the demo artist/support tech for a couple of 3D animation programs, TDI Explore and Digital Arts DGS. I can’t remember which one Paws had (probably DGS) and I traveled to Fort Wayne to train a Paws artist. Hey, neat! Did you get any kind of feel for what the studio’s culture was like? ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/32 "2012-03-24T08:00:24Z")
I remember enjoying Garfield and I wondered if the reason why I stopped liking was because the quality declined. A quick trip to the archive was in order and I read a bunch of random strips and maybe 15 or so from the early 80s. No, looks like it was always crap that I would inevitably grow out of, just like most of the stuff I liked from my childhood. The recent comics were about the same as the old ones. The only one I found amusing was from 1995. (Cat sheds on man, man complains he’s covered in cat hair, cat thinks “join the club.”) I like how there’s a keyword search for the comics so you can quantify the lameness and repetiton. Gee, wonder how many strips are devoted to fat jokes? 329. Lasagna? 98. Coffee? A surprising 552. None, however, have all three. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/33 "2012-03-24T13:38:43Z")
I used to love Garfield comics and the cartoons. I think I just grew out of it when I was about 12 or 13 maybe. I used to even have Garfield comic strip wall paper. The only problem with it was that it had only three strips repeated over and over. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/34 "2012-03-24T13:42:42Z")
> [@An\_Gadai](#): > > I used to love Garfield comics and the cartoons. I think I just grew out of it when I was about 12 or 13 maybe. I used to even have Garfield comic strip wall paper. The only problem with it was that it had only three strips repeated over and over. And thus does decoration mimic art. ---
**Author:** ![LC\_Strawhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@LC\_Strawhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LC_Strawhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/35 "2012-03-24T15:04:16Z")
Haven’t looked at it in years but isn’t Garfield just a poor man’s version of Heathcliff? Garfield did have the full power of 1980s cross-promotional marketing behind it, so it got brainwashed into everyone’s subconscious right along with Pac-Man and WWF Wrestling. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2012, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/36 "2012-03-24T16:06:22Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Hey, neat! Did you get any kind of feel for what the studio’s culture was like? No, because all the training was done at the artist’s home. It was just two days, and I though I was supposed to be put up in a hotel, I wound up sleeping in the guys spare bedroom. So “cheap” seemed to be the operative phrase. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/37 "2012-03-28T23:53:54Z")
Looks like my friend was right, then. I’m one of a very few who find Garfield funny. I always thought it was one of the more popular comics. I guess I need to rethink all I thought I knew! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/38 "2012-03-29T00:48:12Z")
> [@](#): > > I always thought it was one of the more popular comics. I guess I need to rethink all I thought I knew! It probably is. There are a lot of people in the world who find comfort in the familiar, and are frightened by anything new and strange. When people like this open their comics section, they expect to see Garfield and BC and the Wizard of Id and the like, not because they’re funny, but because that’s what they’ve _always_ seen in the comics. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626/39 "2012-03-29T01:18:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It probably is. There are a lot of people in the world who find comfort in the familiar, and are frightened by anything new and strange. When people like this open their comics section, they expect to see Garfield and BC and the Wizard of Id and the like, not because they’re funny, but because that’s what they’ve _always_ seen in the comics. Exactly so. There are a lot of older people who read comics, as well as people who don’t like edgy humor, and those who see the comics they grew up with as a sort of comic-strip “comfort food”. I’d wager that most newspapers still keep a couple of well-past-their-prime strips on their comics pages specifically to appeal to those readers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-find-garfield-comic-strip-funny/616626.md?page=1)