Garfield has made readers laugh for decades, not just from hilarious one-off gags, but because the comic strip does an amazing job of fully immersing fans in the world of Garfield. Even in the short-form comic strip format, Garfield manages to tell a cohesive story detailing the lives of Garfield, Odie, Jon and the rest, Featuring new characters, growing relationships, and plenty of ongoing conflict.
The strong continuity and attention to detail makes the reader really care about the characters, which in turn makes the comedic moments even funnier. One such example is the introduction of Jon’s family, which happened almost exactly 40 years ago, like that moment in Garfield Canon is included in a package of the funniest Garfield Comic strips from August 1984 – and these are not the only ones. Here are those 15 Funniest Garfield Comics that just turned 40!
15
Garfield’s ‘Beach Day’ Is Interrupted by an Unwelcome Intruder (aka Odie)
Garfield – August 4, 1984
Garfield decides that he will spend the day at the ‘shore’, which is the bird bath in Jon’s yard, but turns when he sees Odie playing in the water. When Jon asks why Garfield doesn’t swim, Garfield says that the water was “Fixed“By Odi.
Did you know: Jim Davis initially intended the comic strip to focus on John Arbuckle, not Garfield
Although Garfield’s disgust with Odie is certainly true to form, this strip is even funnier when considering the ones that were published before it, as Garfield is terrorizing the birds trying to use the bird bath for days. And now, Odie has given Garfield a taste of his own medicine.
14
Garfield quickly decided that fame was not for him
Garfield – August 5, 1984
As established in the first Garfield Comic strip, Jon is a cartoonist, and one day, Garfield wanted to try his hand at Jon’s profession. Jon is amazed to discover that Garfield is able to draw a cat, at which point he goes on and on about how this will make Garfield rich and famous. They would be traveling around the world, and Garfield would be drawing hundreds of pictures. so, Garfield tore up the drawing, as the thought of doing that much work—even as a world-famous icon—sounded terrifying. To the fat, lazy cat.
13
Even Garfield is a slave to his primal feline instincts
Garfield – August 6, 1984
Garfield comes across a tree one day while out walking, and against his better judgment, he climbs the tree. Garfield makes it clear the whole time that he doesn’t want to, admitting that it was his feline instincts that forced him to to climb the tree. Indeed, climbing a tree is perhaps the last thing one would expect a lazy cat like Garfield to ever even consider doing, but it seems that even he is not immune to his own primal instincts – and his annoyance with the tree-climbing urges is Absolutely hilarious.
12
Garfield gets what he deserves after messing with the wrong bird
Garfield – August 7, 1984
Since Garfield was stuck up a tree, he decided to try to find a quick snack to pass the time. He comes to a bird sitting in their nest, and Garfield has every intention of eating them. That is, until the bird stands up to reveal its massive size. The next panel shows Garfield walking away from the nest, battered and bruised. While he was catching up, It’s impossible to feel sorry for Garfield in this instance, because he’s going to do a lot worse to the bird. – Too bad he chose the wrong one to mess with.
11
Garfield doesn’t stand for fat shaming no matter what
Garfield – August 9, 1984
After some time has passed, Garfield is finally rescued from the tree he got stuck in. However, the firefighter who climbed the ladder to get him is incredibly rude, commenting that he always stuck rescuing fat cats like Garfield. Garfield responds by knocking over the ladder, sending the fat-shaming firefighter crashing down to the ground. Of course, Garfield was still stuck in the tree, but for him, it was worth it to teach the incentive prank a lesson.
10
Odie is the reason behind another poor Garfield Monday
Garfield – August 13, 1984
Garfield famously hates Mondays, and based on the bad luck he always suffers on Mondays, it seems that Mondays hates him right back. In this comic, The reason behind Garfield’s unfortunate Monday is Odie, who sprints through his doggy door and runs right into Garfield.. Garfield even comments that this is simply another example of how Monday “Strikes again“, acknowledging that the Mantis are out to get him. And this time, Odie was like the ‘Malevalent Mantis’ let Garfield have it.
9
Jon apparently doesn’t have a very high opinion of Garfield (or any animal, for that matter)
Garfield – August 14, 1984
When Garfield notices that there is no food in his bowl, he approaches Jon and asks, “What’s wrong with this picture?“And Jon answers him by acknowledging that Garfield has no food. Garfield congratulates Jon on correctly answering the question, and as Jon gives Garfield his food, he says,I hate it when lower life forms are condescending to me“. While Garfield was infuriatingly condescending, it’s still a bit harsh for Jon to call him—and, by extension, every animal on Earth—a “Lower life form“Proving that he does not have a high opinion of them.
8
Garfield hilariously learns the meaning of “be careful what you wish for”
Garfield – August 15, 1984
Garfield is in the mood for some popcorn, but there’s only one kernel left in the bag. With nothing else to eat, Garfield decides to pop it anyway, even though he wished he had more.
With nothing else to eat, Garfield decides to pop it anyway, even though he wished he had more
On rejection The kernel in the paper explodes into a giant piece of popcorn, shocking Garfield with an extremely loud “POP!“. While Garfield got a bigger snack, it came at a hilarious price, teaching Garfield the meaning of the phrase, “Be careful what you wish for“.
Garfield – August 18, 1984
While Jon is eating at the dinner table, Garfield is sitting by his legs, asking Jon to pick him up. Then Joking asks, “Too fat to jump on the table, huh?“, and Garfield didn’t like that one bit. Garfield shreds Jon’s leg with his claw, and although fans didn’t see it happen, they saw the result, as well as Jon regretting making that comment. No one commenting on Garfield’s weight is safeNot firefighters and certainly not Jon.
6
Garfield has the world’s most hilarious superhero origin story: Boredom
Garfield – August 20, 1984
One day, while walking around his house wearing a red cloth, Garfield complains about being incredibly bored. And then, he comes to a fan, at which point, he wears the red cloth as a cape, and says that this moment marks the return of the Caped Avenger. Becoming a ‘Superhero’ from Boredom has a very hilarious origin storyAnd one that is very well suited for a lazy cat like Garfield.
5
Garfield may be a superhero, but he certainly isn’t heroic
Garfield – August 22, 1984
When Garfield patrols his house as the Caped Avenger, he makes it clear that he’s willing to do whatever it takes to conquer evil and save the day. But, after passing through a dark room, Garfield then clarifies that he will valiantly take on evil forces”As long as it’s not in dark scary places“. While he’s just playing pretend, it doesn’t seem as though Garfield’s Caped Avenger would be a very effective superhero, as villains tend to lurk in dark and scary places, which are exactly where he swore to avoid.
4
Garfield tries to prank Jon, and it backfires hilariously
Garfield – August 26, 1984
If there’s one thing Garfield loves to do more than anything else (besides eating lasagna, that is), it’s pranking Jon—which is exactly what he tries to do in this comic strip. Garfield climbs his feet to the ceiling, hoping it will blow Jon’s mind to see his cat seemingly defying gravity.
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however, Jon doesn’t notice, and he even goes to bed without noticing, leaving Garfield hanging there all night.. Honestly, that’s what Garfield gets for trying to prank Jon, and the way it backfires is absolutely hilarious.
3
Garfield finally introduces Jon’s parents
Garfield – August 28, 1984
After roughly a decade of Garfield Fans get to know Jon, the comic strip finally introduces his parents, and the experience is hilariously relatable. Jon excitedly greets his mom and dad, and they do the same. However, as Jon points out to Garfield, they do this without using his real name, just childish nicknames that Jon has been called since he was a child. Jon’s mom and dad are quintessential parentsAnd these Garfield The comic strip that introduces them is a major milestone for Jon’s character development in the series.
2
Jon and his brother have a classic sibling dynamic
Garfield – August 30, 1984
August 1984 not only introduced Jon’s parents, but also his brother Doc Boy. In this strip, Jon is hanging out with his brother when he casually calls him ‘Doc Boy’, even though it seems that Doc Boy doesn’t want to be called that. Jon’s brother finds it offensive, comparing it to if he started calling Jon ‘City Slicker’. After they both agreed that they didn’t like being called either name, the two brothers simply started yelling at each other in a Classic case of sibling squabblingWhich is as relatable as it is hilarious.
1
Garfield Could Never Handle The Life Of A Barnyard Cat (For 1 Hilarious Reason)
Garfield – August 31, 1984
The introduction of Jon’s family reveals that Jon grew up on a farm, and after talking to Garfield, it’s clear that the orange cat is happy that he moved to the city. Jon goes over all the things Garfield learned during their trip to Jon’s family farm, like how bacon is made and where milk comes from. After asking Garfield if he wants to know where eggs come from too, Garfield replies, “I would like that to remain a mystery“.
This comic confirms that Garfield doesn’t know where his favorite food actually comes fromAnd preferably kept in the dark about the whole thing, which means that he would never make it as a barnyard cat. And that’s why this strip is one of the 10 funniest Garfield Comics that just turned 40!