List of Garfield characters

"Odie" redirects here. For the given name and nickname, see Odie (given name). For the footballer with that surname, see John Odie.

This is a list of characters in the Garfield comic strip, created by Jim Davis, organized by category and date of first appearance.

Main characters

Garfield

Main article: Garfield (character)

First Appearance: June 19, 1978^[1]

Garfield is Jon's orange cat. Some of his personality traits include laziness, cynicism, sarcasm, a hatred of Mondays, a tendency to be annoyed by Jon's dog Odie, a love for lasagna,^[2] and a hatred for Nermal.^[3]

In February 2017, a dispute arose on the talk section of the character's Wikipedia page regarding Garfield's gender. Although other characters have persistently referred to Garfield with male pronouns, owing to comments that the character's creator, Jim Davis, made in 2014 to Mental Floss, the matter of Garfield's gender remains ambiguous. He said, "Garfield is very universal. By virtue of being a cat, really, he's not really male or female or any particular race or nationality, young or old. It gives me a lot more latitude for the humour for the situations."^[3]

Jon Arbuckle

Main article: Jon Arbuckle

Jon Arbuckle is Garfield and Odie's owner.

First Appearance: June 19, 1978^[1]

Lyman

First Appearance: August 7, 1978^[4] Last Appearance:

• As a regular: April 24, 1983^{[citation needed]}
• Cameo in the tenth anniversary strip: June 19, 1988^{[citation needed]}
• Cameo in a newspaper: April 2, 2013

Lyman is Jon's former roommate and Odie's former owner. He was a main character along with Jon, Odie, and Garfield during the strip's early years. He was one of Jon's best friends from high school and was taken in by Jon when he needed a place to stay. Lyman, not aiming to trouble Jon too much, brought two things with him: a suitcase and Odie, much to Garfield's dismay. However, after the first few years of the strip, Lyman was gradually phased out of the main cast, mainly due to his role as the person that Jon would talk to being taken over by Garfield and Odie before disappearing from the strip entirely. His last regular appearance was in 1983 and he made a final cameo in the tenth anniversary strip. Lyman's fate was left ambiguous by Jim Davis, who offered a variety of often humorous explanations for Lyman's disappearance over the years. Lyman would eventually reappear in the online games Garfield’s Scary Scavenger Hunt and Garfield’s Scary Scavenger Hunt 2: Donuts of Doom in the early 2000s. In 2012, almost 30 years after his last main appearance in the strip, Lyman's true fate was revealed in the The Garfield Show episode "Long Lost Lyman" (season 3) where Lyman is revealed to have become a wildlife photographer who left Jon and his home to go to a country called Franistan. When Jon learns that Lyman disappeared while searching for a mythical Bigfoot-like creature called the Zabadu, Jon, Garfield, and Odie travel to the jungle to find him. Lyman is revealed to in fact be the Zabadu and used the guise of the Zabadu (the Zabadu mantle was passed to Lyman by its creator, an elderly retired doctor named Sam who had since passed away from natural causes who needed someone to take his place) to scare poachers away from the area and takes in Odie again, however, he realizes that Odie misses Jon, Garfield, and the rest of his friends and returns to Jon and Garfield's home to give Odie back to Jon. The episode ends with the quartet hanging out with each other and Lyman promises to visit when can. The "Long Lost Lyman" version of Lyman has round eyes resembling Jon's, rather than the dot-eyes of his traditional comics design, and is voiced by Frank Ferrante.^[5]

Odie

Odie is a yellow-furred, brown-eared dog (a beagle in the comics and most animated media and a dachshund in the live-action movies) that resides with Jon and Garfield and is, at times, Garfield's best friend. The name came from a commercial written by Davis, which featured Odie the Village Idiot. Davis liked the name and reused it.^[6] Odie's main characteristic is his general "lack of intelligence and naiveté", which allows for Garfield to triumph over him in their prankings.^[7][8][9] In "one glimpse at Odie's secret life", the dog is shown to be much more sophisticated when alone, and Davis lets "Odie get Garfield back every few months."^[8][9] While Garfield's "playful mistreatment" of Odie is a persistent element of the comic,^[8] some strips make it clear that "deep down he knows he loves the little scamp".^[9] Odie has been considered a "much-loved",^[8] "lovable and adorable" and "fan-favourite" character. Jessica Jalali from Screen Rant saw in Odie and Garfield "an iconic duo that made it hard to separate one from the other".^[9] Librarian and cartoonist Katy Kavanagh saw Odie as "the comic relief" used to create humor in opposition to Garfield, who is "represented as the curmudgeon".^[10]

In most of his animated appearances, he is voiced by Gregg Berger.

First Appearance: August 8, 1978^[11]

Pooky

First Appearance: October 23, 1978^{[citation needed]}

Pooky is Garfield's toy bear that was found in a drawer by Garfield. Garfield often carries Pooky around and makes him interact with Jon.

Dr. Liz Wilson

First Appearance: March 14, 1979^{[citation needed]}

On Garfield and Friends, Liz was voiced by Julie Payne, occasionally appearing in the first two seasons and once in the fourth season. In the live-action/animated movies, she is played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her first, albeit brief, television appearance was on the second TV special, Garfield on the Town.

In The Garfield Show, she is once again voiced by Julie Payne.

Nermal

First Appearance: September 3, 1979^{[citation needed]}

Nermal is a small grey male tabby cat with thick eyelashes. Despite being an adult cat, he is smaller than most and prefers to call himself "the world's cutest kitten". Nermal was first introduced as Jon's parents' kitten.^[12] A recurring theme is Nermal's persistent annoyance at Garfield, which usually results in Garfield retaliating, mostly by attempting to mail Nermal to Abu Dhabi, which he has done over 74 times.

In Garfield and Friends, he is played by Desirée Goyette. In Garfield: The Movie, Nermal is portrayed as a Siamese cat in the neighborhood, and is voiced by David Eigenberg. Nermal is voiced by Jason Marsden in The Garfield Show, as well as in the films Garfield Gets Real, Garfield's Fun Fest, and Garfield's Pet Force.

Arlene

First Appearance: December 17, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Arlene is a pink cat with thick eyelashes, large lips, and a gap between her two front teeth. She is Garfield's main love interest and his official girlfriend since 2017 (Jim Davis confirmed in February 2017 that the two were in an official relationship).

In the Garfield film, she appears as a (purple shade) Russian Blue cat, voiced by Debra Messing. In Garfield Gets Real, Garfield's Fun Fest, Garfield’s Pet Force, and The Garfield Show, she is played by Audrey Wasilewski.

Squeak

First Appearance: October 30, 1984^{[citation needed]}

Squeak is a house mouse who is one of the many mice who live in Jon, Garfield, and Odie's house. He and the rest of the mice in Jon's house are close friends of Garfield's, with Garfield even being the one to give Squeak his name. Garfield and the mice often assist each other with their problems, Garfield often keeping them safe from Jon and other cats and the mice often helping Garfield's various schemes

Squeak is replaced as Garfield's main mouse friend on Garfield and Friends, by a mouse named Floyd (voiced by Gregg Berger) and in the 2004 film by a mouse named Louis (voiced by Nick Cannon). Squeak appears fully in The Garfield Show, voiced by Berger.^[13]

Arbuckle Family

Mom

First Appearance: February 13, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Jon's unnamed mother who runs the Arbuckle farm with Jon's father. She is based on Jim Davis' own mother. She most commonly appears when Jon, Garfield, and Odie visit Jon's childhood home/the Arbuckle family's farm.

Dad

First Appearance: February 13, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Jon's unnamed father who runs the Arbuckle farm with Jon's mother. He is based on Jim Davis' own father. In The Garfield Show, he is voiced by Frank Welker.^[14] He most commonly appears when Jon, Garfield, and Odie visit Jon's childhood home/the Arbuckle family's farm.

Aunt Gussie

First Appearance: August 14, 1981^{[citation needed]}

Aunt Gussie was a relative of Jon's who he and Garfield would occasionally visit. Although portrayed as a stereotypical old woman, Gussie often indicates that she lives a less-than-reserved lifestyle, such as teaching slamdancing for extra money. She is often mean towards Garfield, at which Garfield comments that Gussie used to double-date with Lizzie Borden. Gussie also harbors a crush on John Travolta.

Grandma

First Appearance: January 25, 1982^{[citation needed]}

Jon's grandmother appears in Garfield's Thanksgiving and A Garfield Christmas Special, in which she is voiced by Pat Carroll.

Doc Boy

First Appearance: May 17, 1983^{[citation needed]}

Doc "Doc Boy" Arbuckle is Jon's younger brother (and only known sibling). He is named after and based on Jim Davis' own younger brother Dave "Doc Boy" Davis. In his first appearance, his mother mentions that Doc Boy recently moved back in with his parents and works on the farm as a hired hand. In The Garfield Show Doc Boy is shown to have moved out and now has his own farm, with a comic appearance in 2022 implying that he still now lives alone (Doc Boy appears in a video call with Jon, Odie, Garfield, & Liz, Arlene, Nermal, Squeak & Guido, and his and Jon's parents on his own camera, implying he no longer lives with his parents as they appear on a separate webcam). He also starts dating another woman named Gloria.

In both A Garfield Christmas Special and The Garfield Show, he is voiced by David Lander.^[15].^{[citation needed]}

Garfield's family

Garfield's mother

Garfield's mother first appeared in the animated specials Garfield on the Town and Garfield: His 9 Lives. She has since made several cameos in the comic strip, including a December 1984 story that is a loose adaptation of Garfield on the Town. She also appeared once on Garfield and Friends, in an episode called "The Garfield Rap." Sandi Huge provided her voice in the specials.

Garfield's grandfather

First Appearance: November 10, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Garfield's grandpa first appeared in the strip on November 10, 1980.

In Garfield on the Town, a different-looking, rougher maternal grandfather is seen living with Garfield's mother. Whether the comic strip's version is Garfield's paternal grandfather has not been explicitly clarified.^{[citation needed]}

Minor recurring characters

Herman Post

First Appearance: July 19, 1978^{[citation needed]}

Jon Arbuckle's mailman is a character seen in the first four seasons of Garfield and Friends. In "The Mail Animal", he is fired because his boss, the postmaster, perceives him as being weak-willed. However, Garfield treats the postmaster even worse, resulting in the postmaster begging Post to return to work.

In The Garfield Show episode "Mailman Blues", he goes on vacation to Hawaii. Before Post goes on vacation, he warns his replacement, Stu, about Garfield, describing him as a "monster". While Herman Post is on his vacation, Garfield torments Stu. However, Stu quits, and Herman returns early only after receiving a raise. He reveals that this has happened every year for 13 years.

In Garfield and Friends, the mailman is voiced by Gregg Berger.^[13]

Irma

First Appearance: June 9, 1979^{[citation needed]}

Binky the Clown

First Appearance: September 17, 1986^{[citation needed]}

A television personality noted for his extremely loud and piercing greetings, most notably "HEEEEEEEY, KIDS!" He appears to be a parody of Bozo the Clown, and in the cartoons shares an exaggerated raspy voice with the Bob Bell portrayal of Bozo. He is often compared to Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons, who is also portrayed with an exaggeratedly raspy voice, based on Bell's.^[16]

The character first appeared in the animated TV special Garfield's Halloween Adventure.

He was first mentioned in the comic strip on March 13, 1985. Other clowns are seen prior to this mention, but appear to be different characters. Binky was first seen in the comics on September 15, 1986, then appeared in person on September 17, 1986.

The Big Vicious Dog/Luca

First Appearance: September 12, 1995^{[citation needed]} A large guard dog who lives in Garfield's neighborhood who despite often coming into conflict with and harassing Garfield, is shown to be friendly with him. In the 2004 movie, he is a black Doberman Pinscher named Luca and voiced by Brad Garrett and has the same frenemy relationship with Garfield that he does in the comic.

Hubert and Reba

Hubert and Reba are an elderly couple who live near Jon. Hubert is often portrayed as an older man, while Reba is often either unseen or tending to household chores. The couple made an appearance in Here Comes Garfield. In the animated cartoon, Hubert is portrayed as hostile towards Garfield and Odie, after Garfield tore up their yard and knocked flowers and dirt on Hubert's head. He calls the animal shelter personnel to remove them. In the strips, Hubert is less hostile towards Garfield.^{[citation needed]}

The Buddy Bears

A trio of bears that sing and appear in multiple episodes of Garfield and Friends. They are named Billy, Bobby and Bertie Buddy Bear. Their appearances usually involve them trying to educate their viewers and other characters, such as agreements, friendship and sweetness, but they are usually disturbing and contradictory at best. They have their own in-universe TV show called the Buddy Bears Show.

References

1. Davis, Jim (June 19, 1978). "Garfield by Jim Davis for June 19, 1978". GoComics. Retrieved November 6, 2022.
2. Oguri, Austin (August 11, 2022). "The Simplistic Charm of Garfield: An In-Depth Analysis of this Cool Cat's Success Story". Hollywood Insider. from the original on November 27, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
3. Feldman, Brian (March 1, 2017). "Congress Has Entered the War Over Garfield's Gender". New York. from the original on November 13, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
4. "Garfield by Jim Davis for August 07, 1978 | GoComics.com". GoComics. 1978-08-07. Retrieved 2023-08-04.
5. "Garfield: Episodenführer der TV-Serie (3.Staffel)". fernsehserien.de. 2012. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
6. Character profile (click on Odie) 2007-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
7. Bellomo, Mark (2010). "Comic-Strip King: Garfield". Totally Tubular '80s Toys. Krause Publications. ISBN 978-1-4402-1282-6.
8. Booker, M. Keith, ed. (2014). "Garfield". Comics Through Time - A History of Icons, Idols and Ideas. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9798216063285.
9. Jalali, Jessica (2023-10-20). "10 Funniest Garfield Comics Starring Odie". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2023-11-22.
10. Kavanagh, Katy (2013). "Incorporating cartoons in an academic library: Spicing up LibGuides graphically at East Carolina University". College & Research Libraries News. 74 (7): 358–373. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
11. Davis, Jim (2005). Odie Unleashed!: Garfield Lets the Dog Out. Ballantine Books. p. Introduction. ISBN 0-345-46464-8. Odie was introduced into the Garfield comic strip on August 8, 1978
12. . Garfield by Jim Davis. Archived from the original on September 1, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
13. "Gregg Berger (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
14. "Frank Welker (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
15. "David L Lander (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved June 17, 2022.
16. Joe Rhodes (October 21, 2000). "Flash! 24 Simpsons Stars Reveal Themselves". TV Guide.