10 Funniest Garfield Comics That Just Turned 30 (In August 2024)

There are few Garfield comic strips (if any) that aren’t utterly hilarious, but it could be argued that the many running gags in the series are the absolute funniest. The one-off gags are great, to be sure, but an ongoing story consisting of many comic strips building on the same joke is more than just funny, it’s a rewarding experience for the reader, as it allows them to be more fully immersed in the world of Garfield.

While Garfield has no shortage of running gags throughout the series’ extensive history, there’s one that easily stands out as one of the all-time funniest. And the best part? This running gag is included in a month’s worth of Garfield comic strips that just turned 30, meaning there’s no better time than right now to look back and enjoy how utterly hilarious it is. Plus, it’s far from the only strip (or series of strips) published in August 1994 that is worthy of fans’ collective attention. Here are the 10 funniest Garfield comics that just turned 30!

Garfield
has made the leap from comic strips to our screens with a series of movie adaptations:

Movies	IMDb Score
Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue (1990)	5,8/10
Garfield: The Movie (2004)	5,0/10
Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)	5,0/10
Garfield Gets Real (2007)	4,3/10
Garfield’s Fun Fest (2008)	4,3/10
Garfield’s Pet Force (2009)	4,1/10
The Garfield Movie (2024)	5,7/10

11 Garfield’s Ball of Yarn Hilariously Turns the Tables on Him

Garfield – August 1, 1994

Like all cats, Garfield enjoys the occasional ball of yarn. But, based on the type of play all cats have with yarn – Garfield included – it’s a safe bet that the yarn itself wouldn’t enjoy it very much if it were sentient. Unfortunately, most balls of yarn cannot fight back. However, Garfield decides to play with the one ball of yarn that can. In this strip, Garfield pokes his yarn and gets completely covered in it, then he says, “I had to provoke it“.

While it’s more likely that Garfield just covered himself in the yarn and blamed the yarn itself, it’s hilarious to consider that the yarn did actually attack Garfield, and by doing so, became a champion for every ball of yarn in the world that has ever been abused by playful cats.

10 Garfield Proves that He’s a Bad Influence on Jon

Garfield – August 9, 1994

Garfield famously loves to prank and criticize Jon, but this comic proves that Garfield is more than just a pain in Jon’s neck, he’s also a bad influence on him. As Jon is standing by the counter, commenting to himself about how much he needs to exercise, Garfield pops up out of nowhere with an entire tray of fudge and offers it to Jon. While eating a piece, Jon calls Garfield “evil” for tempting him with such a tasty and unhealthy treat.

In Jon’s first appearance, the author speaks directly to the reader, laying out the concept of his creation:

This comic becomes even more hilarious when readers consider that there’s no way Garfield – of all people – would share a plate of food with Jon if he actually wanted some. He only did it to mess with Jon after Jon said that he needed to exercise, proving that Garfield’s more than just a bad influence, he is, indeed, “evil“.

9 Garfield Takes a ‘Lunch Break’… During Lunch

Garfield – August 11, 1994

Everyone knows that Garfield is notoriously lazy and food-motivated. So, what happens when the ‘unstoppable force’ of food-motivation meets the ‘immovable object’ of laziness? Well, this comic strip solves that very quandary. Garfield leaves his food bowl half-empty while he and Jon are having lunch, a sight so strange that Jon comments on it. Then, Garfield walks back into the strip with a sandwich, explaining, “Snack time“.

This is truly Garfield in full-form, including and especially the aspect of this comic strip that’s utterly hilarious.

Garfield is so lazy that he has to take a ‘lunch break’ during lunch, and he’s so food-motivated that he spends that break getting something else to eat. This is truly Garfield in full-form, including and especially the aspect of this comic strip that’s utterly hilarious.

8 Garfield is More than Just Jon’s Pet, He’s also His Dust Rag

Garfield – August 12, 1994

Usually, it’s Garfield who is being absurdly disrespectful towards Jon. However, in this case, it’s Jon who is acting that way towards Garfield. When the lazy, orange cat is lying on the counter, minding his own business, Jon walks up to him and just starts rubbing Garfield’s body against the counter. When Jon’s done, Garfield asks a question he already knows the answer to, “Out of dust rags, are we?“.

Garfield is always mean to Jon, so when Jon sees an opportunity, he’s going to give the cat a taste of his own medicine

Using one’s cat as a dust rag isn’t great. Though in Garfield’s case, he kind of had it coming. Garfield is always mean to Jon, so when Jon sees an opportunity, he’s going to give the cat a taste of his own medicine. In this instance, that comes in the form of using Garfield as a dust rag – one of the more practical pranks of the whole series.

7 Garfield Finds Something More Captivating than Food: Himself

Garfield – August 14, 1994

One would be hard-pressed to find something that Garfield would find more captivating than food – good thing this comic does it for them. As Jon is trying to enjoy a bowl of soup, Garfield has stolen his spoon and is making faces at himself in the spoon’s reflection, and Jon is forced to remind Garfield that he’s trying to eat a meal with a firm “A-hem“.

What’s interesting is that Jon isn’t just asking Garfield for his spoon back, he’s effectively bringing attention to the fact that he has food. Jon should know better than to bring attention to his food when Garfield is around, as the fat cat isn’t above swiping his meal. However, the thought didn’t even cross Garfield’s mind, as it seems he found the one thing more captivating than food: himself.

6 Garfield (& Jon) Cause Mayhem in Their House… with a Toaster

Garfield – August 21, 1994

A typical Garfield comic is usually pretty understated, with a few witty insults and maybe some off-panel violence. However, this comic is a standout in that regard, as it is utter chaos from start to finish. When Garfield is making some toast, he wonders, “I wonder if Jon fixed the toaster?“, implying that the worst thing that could happen is that he doesn’t get any toast. That is not the worst thing that could happen.

Garfield’s slice of bread gets shot out of the toaster and effectively chases both Odie and Jon around the house, all while Garfield ducks for cover. While it was Garfield who tried to make the toast in a toaster he knew was faulty, it was Jon’s job to fix the toaster, making both of them responsible for this mayhem.

5 Garfield Hilariously Suffers the Consequences of His Own Laziness

Garfield – August 23, 1994

It’s been pretty well-established that Garfield is almost impressively lazy, but his actions in this comic strip take the cake. Garfield decides that he’s going to try to hunt the birds at the local bird bath, but instead of doing any hunting of any kind, Garfield just walks up to a bird, opens his mouth, and tells the bird to hop in. Instead, the bird flips the bird bath on Garfield’s head, soaking him in the water and giving him a nice thump on the noggin before flying away.

One would think that if someone is too lazy to hunt, they just wouldn’t hunt – but not Garfield. Garfield wanted to reap the reward of hunting without actually doing any of the work, and in truly hilarious fashion, he suffers the consequences.

4 Garfield Learns the Meaning of the Phrase “Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover”

Garfield – August 29, 1994

In the first comic strip of the aforementioned running gag, Garfield walks up to a sign in a yard that reads “Beware of Dog”, only to find a tiny little pup even smaller than he is. Naturally, being the generally mean and insulting cat that he is, Garfield just starts laughing at the dog, as the idea that he should beware of him tickles Garfield to no end. However, moments later, Garfield isn’t laughing anymore.

While it happens off-panel, Garfield gets beat up by the ‘laughably’ tiny dog, forcing the mean cat to walk away with his tail between his legs and a number of injuries that he definitely needs to get looked at. It seems Garfield learned a very important (and painful) lesson in this comic, as he now understands better than ever the meaning of the phrase “don’t judge a book by its cover“.

3 Garfield Meets the 1 Bird He DOESN’T Want to Eat

Garfield – August 30, 1994

In the second comic strip of this running gag, Garfield returns to the “Beware of Dog” sign. Only this time, there isn’t a dog there for him to laugh at (and then get beat up by). Instead, there stands an extremely large bird who actually crossed out the word ‘dog’ on the sign and wrote ‘bird’ in its place. When Garfield questions whether he should actually beware of the bird, it regurgitates the collar of a very big dog, indicating that the bird ate the dog – and Garfield’s next.

After seeing that, Garfield is utterly convinced, and he will, indeed, beware of this particular bird. This part of the “Beware of Dog” gag is even more funny upon remembering that, only a few comics ago, it was Garfield who was trying to eat a bird. And now, he’s come across one that he doesn’t want to eat (mostly because he couldn’t).

2 Garfield Learns there’s More than 1 Reason to “Beware of Dog”

Garfield – August 31, 1994

In the third and final chapter of this running gag, Garfield returns yet again to the “Beware of Dog” sign. Except, this time, the sign actually lives up to its name, but still in a way that one would not expect. Rather than a tiny dog or a dog-eating bird, Garfield actually comes face-to-face with a large canine worthy of a “Beware of Dog” sign just by the sight of him alone. However, when the dog is rudely blunt to Garfield, the cat takes a closer look at that sign, noticing that it now reads “Beware of the Willing-to-Share-His-Feelings Dog“.

Based on what he said to Garfield, this dog certainly lives up to the reputation created by his sign, and – like every other installment of this “Beware of Dog” running gag – it’s a hilarious subversion of expectations. That’s why this is one of the 10 funniest Garfield comics that just turned 30!

1 Key Background

• Created by Jim Davis, the lasagna-loving, lazy cat was originally designed to poke fun at human habits and routines through the eyes of a cynical cat.
• Garfield’s personality quirks quickly became central to his character, reflecting his overall disdain for effort and excitement, like his hatred for Mondays and his love for lasagnas.
• In 1981, Jim Davis founded Paws, Inc. to manage all aspects of Garfield’s merchandising and licensing. Allowing him to have full control of his artwork.