Saturday, September 23, 2006

Stovepipe Cat


Garfield does have an aptitude for bending others to his will, usually by bullying, physical or otherwise. This is usually with little or no regard for how his actions affect those around him; joys of food especially prompt Garfield to lie, steal and hurt Jon, who rarely finishes a meal at home anymore without having his food violated or stolen from his plate. I like strips in which Garfield's scheming and gluttony combine as a force to be reckoned with but his tendency to overkill thwart his lowly goals in the process.
(like this, for random, recent example). In today's plot, Garfield's scheme to force Jon into ordering pizza isn't specifically foiled; the joke is primarily about his ability to intuit how Jon will respond to being unable to cook at home. Notice how in his supreme confidence in the plan, Garfield seems to have forgotten that he began the strip with a direct address to the audience, and happily, silently places his topping requests to someone who hasn't mentioned pizza, hasn't heard Garfield mention pizza, and cannot hear an animal's internal monologue about pizza.

Reason to Love Garfield #1 Million: Jon dresses up in full toque and apron to cook dinner every night. For his cat.

Autobiographical Note: I have done this practical joke to people. I did not get pizza out of the deal.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

I tried it too. All I got was electrocuted trying to take off the knobs.

:/

Anonymous said...

Could you spend some time on the sick dynamics of the Garfield/Jon relationship? Garfield stays with Jon obviously because he's the only smuck in the world who wouldn't have had him euthanized by now, but Jon just can't keep Garfield because he's lonely and wants company. Odie is there for him, and there are plenty of other pets that would be cuddlier and friendlier like a boa, porcupine, or pet rock.

By the way, when was the last time we saw Jon's parents, Doc Boy, and Grandma. They did show up in the strip occasionally. There were some funny Jon Visits The Farm weeks. It seems if they're going for a strip revamp the should include more characters from the Garfield universe that were prominent on the show and specials. Why did bring in Binky the Clown, Al G. Swindler, and the Buddy Bears?

If you disagree, it means that you are wrong.

Anonymous said...

I meant "why not bring in."

Anonymous said...

Chef's hat is a bit much, but it's one of those "visual clues" that they teach in art class 101. Like for instance, any time you draw a pregnant woman, she HAS to be holding her belly. If you went by art, you'd think pregnant women walked around holding their bellies ALL THE TIME.

Anonymous said...

Wow, I must be a complete idiot. I thought Jon was making pizza, but Garfield hid the stove knobs until he could get double pepperoni. Yeah.

Anonymous said...

If it makes you feel better, I thought Garfield hid the knobs because he wanted delivery pizza instead of homemade. That's what you get for reading fast, I guess.

Unrelated: I'm so glad this blog is back! I haven't been this excited about Garfield since I was ten.

Allen's Brain said...

If we eliminate Garf's thought bubbles in this strip, Garfield is responding to John's question by pointing to...
the light fixtures?
the roof?
The ceiling, where he has embedded them in the plaster?
This would make Garfield merely a troublemaker for the sake of causing Jon pain, rather than a schemer making an attempt at subverting Jon's cooking plans for Garfield's menu choice.

Anonymous said...

Re: Ben

This from a person with zero entries in his own blog. :)

Seriously. People have lives and things to do. If Stangl wants to update every day, that's his choice. If he doesn't, that's his choice as well. That something so laugh-out-loud funny is accessible should really be enough. I personally don't have the time to put such a brilliantly witty piece together; I'm just happy that someone else does - no matter how often posts may or may not appear.

Props to Garfield Perm. Monday,
LML

Anonymous said...

Personally, I demand my free entertainment PROMPT AND BRINGING THE FUNNY.

PM FAILS AT INTERNETS

Anonymous said...

Gabe, I would personally like to both A: apologize on behalf of everyone here, and B: direct your attention to Homestarrunner.com, where the rest of the ADD-riddled twelve-year-olds go to get their fix of hyper-active cartoon zaniness.
Run along, now.

Anonymous said...

Should we be worried about Mr. Stangl? The blog's heading proclaims "A Week of Garfield. Every Week. Until We Die." Somebody check the obituaries.

Anonymous said...

I already forgot what you said.

Ooh, shiny...

Anonymous said...

Don't you jut hate it when peoples' lives get in the way of their site updates?
Perhaps if we killed everything he holds dear except for the blog...

Chris Stangl said...

We are (read: "I am"; I like to pretend there's a bustling office of Per-Mon staffers) trying to catch up after a minor head cold. It's more depressing for me to skip a strip or to in the interest of staying current than to be so painfully behind. All should be right by the end of the week (?).

Nyperold said...

If he was planning on cooking one of the strange concoctions he sometimes attempts (at least in G&F), Garfield's actions are a little more understandable.