i figured this was the only place to reach a large enough group who cared about the little things in life to settle this dispute:
Was Nermal a girl or a boy?
you know, the cute one always pestering garfield and then he would send her to abudhabe (spelling very questionable, at any rate, a large city in the middle east)
In the strip at least, Nermal is a boy. On the TV show, it’s hard to tell. Nermal has a female-sounding voice.
Boy according to http://www.garfield.com/comics/meet/gang.html
I’d go with the ‘boy’ designation for both the comic and TV.
Abu Dhabi, BTW, was the destination of choice.
I would re-check your information. Although Abu Dahbi had been established for more than a century before his partial term in office, I can find no reference anywhere that Garfield sent any diplomats there. If he had, it is certain that the ambassador was a male, as women in government service were scarcer than hen’s teeth in the 1880s.
Hope this helps.
Apart from the other explanations, Nermal would pretty much have to be a boy 'cause a big male wouldn’t be allowed to beat on a small female in a tasteful cartoon. Abusing another guy, especially an annoying one, would be ok.
Off to Cafe Society.
bibliohage
moderator GQ
Nermal was a boy cat. Abu Dahbi is a real place. It is the capitol of The United Arab Emirates. Garfield sent Nermal to Abu Dahbi many times, but someone always sends her back.
If I remember, one of the reasons Nermal is send back is because of unsufficient postal payment. I mean, Garfield doesn’t weight Nermal and sends him with the proper charge.
Wow. Believe it or not, I was just thinking about this the other day. I remember suddenly noticing one day that they referred to Nermal with male pronouns, and being very confused.
On a similar note, I somehow got it into my head that Roo from Winnie the Pooh was a tomboyish girl. Didn’t figure out that he was male until I read the books.
Ah, I loved the old Garfield cartoon. Does it still come on anywhere? This thread is bringing back memories of the Abu Dahbi musical number: “A-bu Dah-bi, the perfect place to be / For a cute kitten who’s annoying me!”
kingofspain, you have given me hope.
There is no evidence of a cat being sent as a diplomat to Abu Dhabi during the Garfield administration. Why did we elect a lazy cat as president back then, anyway?
I remember seeing Garfield talking about shipping Nermal to Abu Dhabi on the show, but in the strip, I only remember the gag once, and then it was to the North Pole. How many times has it shown up in the comic strip?