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No. 2954: Garfield's Birthday Rant

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Garfield's Birthday Rant

First | Previous | 2017-06-20 | Next | Latest

Permanent URL: https://mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=2954

Strip by: Jacob Huller

{Logo box: Garfield, Jon and a birthday cake}
{Garfield walks into a room}
Garfield: Hey, today's my birthday!
Garfield: Why isn't anyone celebrating it?
Garfield: Oh, there's that logo box, but that's about it.
{flashback to Monday}
Garfield: {in flashback} I can't remember why I walked into this room.
Garfield: {in caption} I know this is supposed to be a conclusion to that continuity arc we did this past week...
{the last panel of the 2016-06-19 strip: Garfield holds a piece of paper at arm's length}
Garfield: {in caption} But THIS is the best punchline we can think of???
{flashback to the 2016-06-18 strip}
Jon: {in flashback} How does that look for your birthday cake?
Garfield: {in flashback} I have one slight change.
Garfield: {in caption} ALSO, the strip just before this one wasn't even related to that line of strips so what was the point?
{flashforward to the 2016-06-20 strip}
Jon: {in flashforward} I'm eating cereal straight out of the box!
Garfield: {in caption} And yes, that Sunday strip was the conclusion to that gag, since the day after goes back to the usual.
Garfield: Let's talk about how STATIC this is for a *Sunday* strip.
Garfield: The layout is uninteresting, the background colors are drab...
{flashback to Garfield's birthday in 2011}
Garfield: {in flashback} YES!
Garfield: {in caption} Compare this to the last time my birthday was on a Sunday, back in 2011.
Garfield: By the way, Liz was in that one. Remember her?
{flashback to 07-26-2011 strip}
Jon: {over the phone, in flashback} Hi Liz, it's your boyfriend!
Liz: {in flashback} Ooh, which one? I have so many!
Garfield: {in caption} When she got together with Jon, the strip felt like it had new life breathed into it.
Garfield: Like the rest of the supporting cast, they've mostly forgotten about her.
Garfield: So happy birthday to me. I hope you have something better for my 40th.

The author writes:

Garfield's birthday in 2016 was SO disappointing. It's not only a waste of a Sunday strip, but a waste of a Garfield's birthday strip. If they wanted to conclude the running gag of Garfield not remembering things, here's what I would've done: Garfield walks into room, forgets why he came in. He sees Jon and Odie smiling with the birthday cake. He eats the cake, and then leaves the room, still completely forgetting that it's his birthday, as Jon and Odie do their standard Aside Glance. BOOM. There's your punchline. C'mon, Paws Inc. and Jim Davis! We know you can do better than this.

[[Original strips: 2016-06-19, 2011-06-19, 2011-07-26, 2016-06-18, 2016-06-20, 2016-06-13.

[Ed: It could be worse, Garfield. They could have completely forgotten about your birthday and ended up only running a strip acknowledging it the day after.]]]

Original strips: 2011-06-19, 2011-07-26, 2016-06-13, 2016-06-18, 2016-06-19, 2016-06-20.