The funniest Garfield comic strips of all time are visually stimulating, hilarious in their scripting, and are extremely relatable. The Garfield brand isn't far off from celebrating its 50th anniversary, with just a few years before the comic strip that cartoonist Jim Davis created in 1976 notches yet another achievement in its impressive legacy. Garfield is one of the most widely recognized and ubiquitous comics characters in the world, with countless spinoff movies, games, TV shows, toys and other merchandise based on the character. Yet the most rewarding Garfield content continues to exist in its original medium: the comic strip.
Although single-panel comics such as The Far Side have also stood the test of time, Garfield perfected its three-panel structure to deliver gorgeously designed visual gags accompanied by excellent, witty, sarcastic dialogue. Most of the comic strip's conflicts involve Garfield butting heads with owner Jon Arbuckle and other various foils, but there is something very real about the laziness and oftentimes grumpiness of the titular feline that speaks to readers in an honest way.
10 Giving The Dog Coffee
Garfield and his dog sidekick Odie have quite a love-hate relationship. Well, Odie seems to love being around the titular cat, while Garfield himself finds plenty of ways to distract the canine and get him out of his fur. This comic features that relationship in action and hilariously demonstrates how Garfield cleverly gets one up on his owner, Jon.
Perhaps even the best Garfield voice actors couldn't portray the smugness in Garfield's voice that comes across on the page when it's revealed that he's been giving Odie coffee in order to get him out of the house early in the morning. His long leash idea is a stroke of genius, with the comic showing that despite often being idle, Garfield does have some deviously intelligent moments.
9 Donut Disaster
Food and Garfield are common companions throughout Jim Davis' comic strip run. The cat is constantly finding ways to fill his stomach, no matter the implications. It's rare that such a decision is portrayed in this way in Garfield though, but the notion that the very foods that he wants to consume have thoughts of their own is hilarious.
The classic imagery of an angel and a devil giving advice has been a mainstay of iconic comic strips from the '80s and beyond. Here they take the form of donuts, who attempt to persuade Garfield on whether he should eat the tasty treat in front of him. The fact that he ends up eating all of them shouldn't come as a big surprise, considering the cat's track record.
8 Big Boasts
Garfield's love life isn't often explored. In fact, it's usually the job of Jon to provide humor within the dating field. However, the fan-favorite feline has had his fair share of moments, and this comic puts him in the unfortunate position of coming up short when trying to make some big boasts to impress a potential love interest. They really don't pay off though.
Famous comic strips like that of Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes have produced great explorations of this field before, but this Garfield entry plays upon the themes of the character, with his idea of what's impressive linking back to everything he can eat. The notion that he thinks he won't get caught out for his hyperbole makes him all the more silly.
7 Jon's Had Enough
Garfield and Odie are the banes of Jon's life. Their poor owner is constantly taking the brunt of their jokes, and he runs around after them, attempting to look after his pets as well as he can. This comic shows Jon finally at his limits, which is funny considering in Garfield canon it's not very often that he gets removed from the situation, as is the case here.
This great Garfield comic is sure to cheer anyone up with a case of the Mondays, as the unexpected conclusion hits hilariously hard. After Odie and Garfield raid the house of all its food, Jon is finally dragged away from the house, unable to cope anymore. Odie and Garfield of course seem unaffected by this change in their owner, ironically not realizing that they need him to supply the food.
6 Garfield's Sofa Solution
Sometimes moments from Garfield comics strangely work best out of context, but what really allows the strip to sing is when the visual gags speak for themselves. Fans of the run will be mostly used to seeing the comics written out with numerous speech bubbles, the dialogue doing some of the heavy lifting when it comes to crafting humor.
But in a very relatable pose, which would probably get a big laugh in one of the big screen Garfield movie adaptations, the protagonist has had enough for the day and decides to stick his head inside of the couch. It's a great piece of comic imagery that could be used in any situation by itself. The sign of a great comic strip is often that a single panel can still get laughs.
5 Jon's Got Jokes
Jon and Garfield are always playing up to one another, with Garfield usually cracking jokes at the other's expense. It's rare that Jon truly gets a punchline of his own. It's not that he isn't funny, but the audience is usually laughing at him rather than with him. This comic turns that idea on its head, and acknowledges it in quite a meta way.
With Jon asking Garfield if he remembers when he said something funny, the classic setup of a punchline which diverts the audience's attention, a trick that can be found in the best newspaper comic strips, plays out here with Garfield not referring to a specific instance but rather suggesting that Jon has never said anything funny. That in itself is a joke, making this a pretty well-crafted piece of dialogue for only 3 panels.
4 Bath Time
Cats hate water so it's far from a surprise to see Garfield comics playing up to the character's feline tendencies and thus trying to avoid bath time at all costs. As previously discussed, it isn't often that Jon is portrayed as someone who will think his way out of a problem, which is why it's so shocking to see the comic conclude with a funny payoff from Jon himself.
The owner knew his pet well and understood that he would try to escape. The highly relatable cartoon character tries to get out of the situation so quickly that he doesn't look out for any oncoming dangers. The surprise bath that's hidden beside the table catches out Garfield, allowing Jon to get one up on his pet in a joke that's funnier because of that rarity.
3 Jon's Dating Record
Jon doesn't have a fantastic dating record. Garfield often acts as the agony aunt, usually listening to his owner's problems in a display of how pets can often act for those who need some support. It seems like every week to Garfield that Jon comes back with a display of stupidity that only he could muster, as is the case here.
This is a largely dialogue-heavy comic, which comic strips like Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts often tried to avoid. But it pays off here, with the Jim Davis' creation allowing its characters to sell themselves to the audience in a slightly different way, the matter-of-fact delivery demonstrating the absurdity of Jon's dating techniques in a somehow relatable manner.
2 Peanut Hunt
Food and Garfield make a combined appearance once more, with this comic strip indicating the lengths that the cat might go to, to fill his stomach. His owner Jon, chokes on a peanut, but the lazy Garfield doesn't even flinch; as if he would be able to help in this situation regardless. The imagery itself certainly parallels the dead stares feline friends usually give to their owners.
With Jon announcing that he should have been assisted, the only thought that comes to Garfield's mind is the reveal that there are peanuts in the house. With food jokes almost becoming the catchphrase of the cartoon character, the comic uses the bait-and-switch technique once more, and it really works here, with readers finding it hard to stay mad at Garfield since he's just so consistent.
1 Puppy Surprise
Not much changes in the Garfield household. The pets are the same, the love interests are the same, and the dynamics are the same. That repeated setup usually makes an appearance in all the best cartoon and comic strip structures, with the formula making way for further comic potential. The premise to break up that monotony is funny in itself.
The comic shows why Jon is so ridiculous as a personality and perhaps irresponsible and quickly changes the status quo significantly, with the announcement that new puppies will be entering their lives. The combination of Garfield and a bunch of puppies feels like the sort of movie plot that audiences would have loved as kids, with the overhaul of the household clearly terrifying the titular cat.