Summary
Garfieldis obviously the star ofGarfield, but he’s far from the only main character, as the fat orange cat also shares the spotlight with his two roommates: Jon and Odie.Jon is clearly a standout character in theGarfieldcomic strip,especially when it comes to his hilarious back and forth with Garfield. However, on more than a few occasions, Odie actually proved to be the real star over both Jon and Garfield.
Odie originated as the dog ofJon’s best friend, Lyman, who briefly moved in with Jon back in the ‘70s. From that day on, Odie was a constant presence in Jon’s life, and after Lyman re-homed Odie with Jon (and then effectively disappeared), it’s been that way ever since - much to Garfield’s dismay. Most of the time, Odie spends his time inGarfieldcomics getting bullied by the titular cat, but sometimes, Odie is the one who comes out on top, and it’s always hilarious. Here are10Garfieldcomics that prove Odie is the secret MVP of the strip!
Garfieldhas made the leap from comic strips to our screens with a series of movie adaptations:
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)
5,8/10
5,0/10
4,3/10
4,1/10
5,7/10
15 Funniest Garfield Comics That Just Turned 30 (In July 2024)
Garfield is famously a mischievous scamp, especially when it comes to how much he pranks Jon, and these 10 hilarious comics from July 1994 prove it!
10Garfield Spends Odie’s First Month Bullying Him, & the Pup Hilariously Gets Him Back
Garfield, 8-20
As previously mentioned, Odie originally belonged to Jon’s roommate, Lyman, and that first month when Odie and Lyman moved in was utter hell for Garfield - and he made sure to take out his frustrations on Odie. Any chance he got, Garfield would bully Odie in increasingly cruel ways, including just beating him up for no reason. Then, one day,Odie decides to get Garfield back by barking at him incredibly loudly when the fat mean cat wasn’t expecting it- and it was perfect.
Odie got Garfield right as he was explaining how the saying “nervous as a cat” isn’t accurate, effectively proving him wrong.Plus, it allowed everyone to see that cats don’t always land on their feet, as Garfield jumped high into the air and landed right on his side (and it served him right).
9Even Garfield is Impressed by Odie’s Improved Bark (After that 1st Scare)
Garfield, 11-13
It seems there were no hard feelings between Garfield and Odie after the pup used his bark to scare Garfield. In fact, quite the opposite. In this comic, Garfield is standing next to Odie as the dog prepares to let out a powerful “woof”, and when he does just that,Garfield - after being initially startled yet again - actually pays Odie a compliment by asking, “Have you been lifting weights?”.
Of course, the joke lies in the absurdity of Garfield’s question, as no amount of weight-lifting could increase the volume of a dog’s bark. However, absurd or not, this question proves thateven Garfield isn’t above paying Odie a compliment when one is due, which is fairly big of Garfield, given that that was the same bark that scared him so thoroughly back when they first met.
8Odie Finds a Way to Make Garfield Warm Up to Him (Ironically, with His Bark)
Garfield, 10-31
It’s pretty ironic that - especially after getting scared by it in that earlyGarfieldcomic strip - it’sOdie’s bark that actually makes Garfield like the pup, and the reason lies in how Odie’s bark is utilized. As Jon is trying to enjoy his steak dinner, Odie comes up behind him and lets out a loud bark. While Jon fusses at Odie, Garfield sneaks to the other side of him and snags the steak.
As Garfield is eating Jon’s steak, he’s leaning on Odie as one would do with a friend, and he tells the dog, “Stick with me, kid. We’ll go places”. While this temporary partnership doesn’t keep Garfield from messing with Odie every chance he gets,it certainly makes Garfield like him a bit more than he did (at least, in the short term), and that’s all because of the pup’s big bark.
Garfield: The Evolution of Jon and Liz’s ‘Relationship’ in Comics Explained
Jon and Liz’s relationship has become as essential to Garfield lore as Garfield himself. How did that romance initially blossom? Here’s how…
7Odie Cannot Be Trusted with Christmas Decorations
Garfield, 12-18
As Garfield is decorating the Christmas Tree, Odie stands behind him and begins to whine. The dog wanted to contribute, and in a moment of inconceivable generosity, Garfield lets Odie hang the final ornament on the tree. But, unthinkingly, Garfield walks away before Odie hangs it, and he soon sees how grave that error truly was. While Garfield and Jon are sitting together,Odie runs towards them with the Christmas Tree on his back, completely tangled in the lights.
Odie destroyed the entire setup, which is a hilarious situation that easily stole the show in this strip
Garfield slams his head on the table at the sight of this, while Jon cannot believe his own eyes.All Odie had to do was hang a single ornament on the tree, something he was literally begging Garfield to let him do. But instead, Odie destroyed the entire setup, which is a hilarious situation that easily stole the show in this strip.
6Odie Hilariously Gives Garfield a Taste of His Own Medicine
Garfield, 2-19
In an effort to come up with a way to openly mock Odie to his face, Garfield suggests that the two of them act like each other.At that point, Garfield starts acting like an exaggerated version of Odie, assuredly to show the dog how stupid Garfield thinks he is. However, what Garfield didn’t count on was that Odie would take his role as ‘Garfield’ very seriously.
As ‘Garfield’, Odie ate all the fat cat’s food in a single gulp before kicking Garfield (as Odie) in the rear-end and then going to sleep. Garfield was trying to make fun of Odie by pretending to be him, but in reality, he gave Odie the upper hand in this exchange. By taking advantage of the rules of the game,Odie had the perfect chance to give Garfield a taste of his own medicine.
5Odie Takes a Trip Through Time and Space When Garfield Kicks Him into Next Week
Garfield, 6-29 & 7-2
In one of the most hilarious and widely knownGarfieldgags of all time,Garfield gets so fed up with Odie eating his food that he literally kicks him into next week. Then, after the week had passed, Garfield is struck by a falling Odie, as the dog lands right on top of the orange cat as he’s trying to sleep in a hilarious example of karmic justice.
One of the reasons this Garfield arc is so popular is because of the hilarious implication that Garfield can somehow bend the fabric of reality by shooting Odie through time and space with a single kick. Plus,readers are then forced to imagine Odie flying through a time-displacementwormhole to eventually land on a future Garfield moments after feeling the wrath of the past-Garfield’s god-tier power. The whole thing is absurdly hysterical, and easily one of Odie’s best.
10 Funniest Garfield Comics Where Garfield Loses
Garfield is usually the one irritating those around him for his own enjoyment, but sometimes the opposite is true. Here are 10 comics where he loses!
4Odie Steals the ‘Superpower’ of Garfield’s Alter Ego, Supergarfield
Garfield, 1-13
While Garfield doesn’t really delve into the ‘costumed hero’ genre very often, there are moments when he suits-up and jets-off to fight crime as Supergarfield.Garfield even recruited Odie as his sidekick, whose superhero moniker is Odieboy. Well, that was before Garfield assuredly dropped Odie as his sidekick, not because the dog was caught sleeping on the job, but because - by doing so - Odieboy effectively stole Supergarfield’s superpower: sleeping.
It seems as though asserting Supergarfield would go out and fight crime as a costumed hero was a bit of an overstatement, as this comic confirms nothing could be further from the truth. Garfield just likes to dress up as Supergarfield sometimes before taking a nap, thereby flexing his ‘superpower’. However,Odie totally stole the show in this comic - and he did so by literally stealing Supergarfield’s powers.
3Garfield & Odie Prove They CAN Get Along (& It’s Heartwarming)
Garfield, 5-23
This comic strip is one of the sweetest in the entireGarfieldcatalog, especially when considering it features all three main characters at once,allowing each of them (including Odie) the chance to shine simultaneously. It’s a simple scene that takes place over the course of multiple panels, featuring Garfield, Jon, and Odie all asleep together on Jon’s bed, totally content. Jon even wakes up to find Garfield on his head and Odie on his chest, only to smile before going right back to sleep.
This comic proves that Jon means more to both of them than even he realized, as Garfield and Odie’s love for Jon allows them to tolerate sleeping in the same bed without a shred of conflict or bullying. It seemsOdie and Garfield can get along after all, and their shared love for Jon proves it.
2Garfield Even Admits that He Enjoys Being Around Odie (Sometimes)
Garfield, 5-11
Every now and then, Garfield flexes his meta ability to break the fourth wall. He speaks directly to the reader, or he uses cartoon-logic powers (like kicking Odie into next week), or he makes a comment that indicates he knows he’s a comic character - and this comic is one of those times.Garfield tells the reader directly that, sometimes, he actually enjoys being around Odie, proving that he does have a soft spot for his long-time frenemy. And Odie feels the same way.
Odie somehow sees the words in Garfield’s thought balloon, and reacts by giving Garfield a big hugto show him that the feeling is mutual. It seems Odie didn’t just prove to be the MVP in this comic, but also in Garfield’s life, as the orange cat finally admits his true feelings for his fellow pet.
The Evolution of Garfield’s Character Design Over the Decades
There are few cats in the public eye as recognizable as Garfield. But despite this, many wouldn’t recognize Garfield’s very first appearance.
1The Only 2 Words Odie Ever Spoke Proves He & Garfield Aren’t So Different
Garfield, 6-15
Odie famously never talks in theGarfieldcomics, as he only ever said two words in his entire history. Obviously, that makes Odie the clear star of this particular comic strip,but it’s not just the fact that he speaks that’s significant, but what he said- and what those words mean to his wider character. The two words Odie says are: “I’m hungry”. That’s a pretty on-the-nose statement for a dog, but it also proves that Odie and Garfield aren’t so different after all.
The fact thatOdie has only ever said two wordsgives those words greater significance, and because they were “I’m hungry”, they have aligned his character with Garfield, who is notoriously food-motivated. It’s an interesting detail thatputs Odie directly in the spotlight, and makes him closer to Garfield than he’s ever beenbefore or since, making this one of the 10 bestGarfieldcomics where Odie is the real MVP.
In Jon’s first appearance, the author speaks directly to the reader, laying out the concept of his creation:
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.
