Garfield has been a fixture of newspaper comic strips since 1978, so it’s probably safe to say the titular lazy, lasagna-loving cat has lived many more than nine lives.
Garfield lives with his owner, Jon Arbuckle, and Odie, a cheerful but dim-witted dog. Creator Jim Davis was inspired by his childhood cats — some 25 of them roamed his family’s Indiana farm — and named the cartoon after his grandfather, whom Davis has described as a “large, cantankerous man.”
Garfield was first published as Jon in a local Indiana paper in 1976; in 1978, it began its syndication in about 40 newspapers across the U.S. By the early 2000s, Garfield was read by an estimated 200 million people a day in 2,570 newspapers around the world.
The comic’s broad appeal has led to several TV programs and film adaptations over the years. Garfield’s hilariously cynical personality is centered in most of the comic’s funny, mischievous, or even mundane situations. The orange tabby frequently pokes fun at Jon and/or Odie, and devises elaborate plans to avoid making any effort whatsoever.
Despite his laziness, Garfield cares for his friends and occasionally displays a softer side — especially when it comes to his food or his teddy bear, Pooky. Here are 14 of the funniest quotes from the comic strip, all spoken by its namesake.
Television not only gives the eyeballs something to do, but it’s a socially acceptable excuse to snack.
You know you’re getting older when your favorite late-night show is the six o’clock news.
Just what is a Monday? Monday is a day designed to add depression to an otherwise happy week.
Life is a lot like a hot bath. It feels good while you’re in it. But the longer you stay, the more wrinkled you get.
All I ever do is eat and sleep, eat and sleep, eat and sleep. There must be more to a cat's life than that. But, I hope not.
If I ignore the world, maybe it will go away … Except for the lasagna.
Never confuse being lazy for being apathetic. We lazy people are not apathetic. Apathetic people don’t care about anything. Lazy people care, we just don’t do anything about it.
I’d like mornings better if they started later.
The only thing active about me is my imagination.
I wish there were something I could do about the aging process. I’d do sit-ups, but I couldn’t stand the noise.
A goldfish is an aquatic expression of beauty and grace that provides its observers with many hours of blissful meditation. It also makes a darn fine breakfast.
When the lasagna content in my blood gets low, I get mean.
I’m not always right, but I’m never wrong.
Featured image credit: RGR Collection/ Alamy Stock Photo
