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This is a list of characters in the comic strip and cartoon show Garfield.

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Primary characters

Garfield

Garfield is the main central character in the Jim Davis comic strip Garfield. He is a lazy, selfish, overweight, orange tabby cat who enjoys eating, sleeping, stealing Jon's dinner, and tormenting Odie by kicking him off the table. He loves lasagna and enjoys entertaining (or annoying) an unseen neighboring audience on top of a fence in the middle of the night (and gets bombarded by various objects by the agitated audience for it). He hates spiders, and often splats them until they are as flat as a pancake with a rolled up newspaper. His first apperance was June 19, 1978. His first TV apperance was on Here Comes Garfield. His last was on the Garfield and Friends episode, The Ocean Blue.

Jon Arbuckle

Jon is the owner of Garfield and Odie, a total nerd, and a clumsy individual. He is the primary fodder and conversation partner to Garfield and is often the butt of his jokes. He makes his living as a cartoonist. This reference has not been seen in the comic strip since its early days, but the animated show Garfield and Friends does show him several times in his job as a cartoonist. Jon manages to make enough money to keep Garfield well fed — no easy feat. Often, Jon, as well as Garfield, gets bored, and comes up with "fun" ways to cure boredom (such as buying new socks, clipping his toenails, or playing "Guess the Burp" with Garfield). His full name has been revealed as Jonathan Q. Arbuckle (the "Q" might stand for "Quack") in a Christmas strip. He is played by Breckin Meyer in the Garfield films. His first television appearance was on Here Comes Garfield. Hist last was on The Ocean Blue.

Odie

He is a lovable but intellectually challenged yellow-furred, brown-eared beagle constantly panting with his very large tongue, and the only character without a "voice" as he was portrayed as a "normal" house dog. However, he was once shown to be thinking "I'm hungry". He also says "I don't know, I'm kinda scared," as a "mistake" in the cartoon episode "Mistakes Will Happen". More recently, he was seen actually speaking in one of Garfield's dream sequences. He also sometimes thinks like Garfield. He sometimes says minor things in episodes of the television series, such as "Ta-da!", "Huh?", or more commonly, panting "Yeah, yeah, yeah!". In the live-action films based on the strip, Odie was a real-life dachshund. Though he may seem stupid, in one strip, he was seen reading "War and Peace" and listening to Mozart. First appeared: Here Comes Garfield. Last appeared: The Ocean Blue.

Arlene

First Appearance: December 17, 1980

Garfield's female friend. She is a pink cat with a long neck and buck teeth. She once wished their relationship would take a few steps, but Garfield does not seem to notice. Garfield once quipped in the early strips that he and Arlene have an apparent love-hate relationship: Garfield loves himself, and Arlene hates that. Garfield loves to tease Arlene about the gap between her front teeth, which also infuriates her. She seems somewhat more clever than Garfield and repays his teasing with witty comebacks.

Although she never appeared on the animated series (with the exception of a cameo appearance in the fourth season), she appeared in the film version as well, where she was voiced by Debra Messing. Arlene, whom is never shown talking in animation, will possibly have a speaking line in the 2007 direct to video movie, Garfield Gets Real.

In the book Garfield's Judgment Day, it was revealed she was a stray cat, which she had never revealed to Garfield until emergency situations brought it to light.

Pooky the Teddy Bear

First Appearance: October 23, 1978

Pooky is Garfield's teddy bear and best friend that Garfield discovered stuffed in a drawer. Despite the fact that Pooky is a stuffed animal, Garfield acts as though he can communicate with him. At one point, Garfield pretended to teach Pooky how to jump through hoops then Garfield turned around to talk to Jon. When he turned back Pooky was on the other side of the hoop. Garfield is generally overprotective of Pooky. Once Garfield thought he lost Pooky so he turned into "The Caped Avenger", a repeating storyline, and tried to find Pooky. It turned out that Jon had just thrown him in the wash.

The strip shows Garfield searching through Jon Arbuckle's bottom drawer, finding Pooky, and adopting him as his own. Once, Pooky lost an eye for several comic strips. It was replaced the following Christmas. In addition, Pooky was over-squeezed by Garfield and had an inflated head. Afterwards, Garfield tried to squeeze him back but made his head thin and body thick. Then, Jon "completely restuffed" Pooky and made him fat on both ends. Also, Pooky had lost his arm on one occasion on the week of January 1, 1983, but was sewn back on. Garfield looks at Pooky as the only one that he can truly trust. Outside of dream sequences and the like, Pooky has never been "brought to life" (as in the case of Hobbes of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes) "on camera" in the strip, but on rare occasions, the possibility that Pooky is more than just a stuffed bear is brought up, though never confirmed or denied. (Garfield was pretending to teach him to jump through a hoop. Jon asked what was happening. Garfield looked away for a moment. Pooky appeared on the other side of the hoop). In the Spanish translation of the strip, Pooky was initially named "Doggy" ("perrito") but suddenly changed name to Pooky in further lines. In a few strips, he is referred to as "Pookie" but "Pooky" is clearly used more often.

Nermal

First Appearance: September 3, 1979

Nermal is a small gray kitten, self-proclaimed "The world's cutest kitten." He frequently makes unnanounced visits into Garfield's home, where he flaunts his cuteness and becomes the focus of Jon's attention for the entire duration of his visit, much to Garfield's dismay. Nermal especially does this on Garfield's birthdays to remind him of how he is getting older.

Nermal is a male kitten, but his voice actress in the cartoon (Desirée Goyette) and long eyelashes have led to some confusion over his gender. It is revealed in one strip that he is a model for cat calendars and greeting cards. He once mentioned that he is going to stay cute and small forever because he's a midget. ("I think small," he once quipped, "and the coffee and cigarettes don't hurt.") However, there is evidence that Nermal preserves his cuteness by mud packing his face. In exasperation and feelings of being degraded for ugliness and advancement in age, Garfield ultimately attempts to ship Nermal to Abu Dhabi. In later strips Nermal grows up and appears to be in what could be considered adolescence, but retains his vanity and continues to poke fun at Garfield.

The Spanish-dubbed version of the TV series changed Nermal's name to Thelma during some seasons. His first television apperance was on School Daze. His last was on Change of Mind. In Garfield: The Movie, Nermal is portrayed as an adult Siamese cat rather than a small gray kitten, and is voiced by David Eigenberg.

Mom

First Appearance: February 13, 1980

Jon’s mother lives on a farm and is known to be a great cook (she can make just about anything out of potatoes, proven in a 1980s strip when she creates five different kinds of potatoes(Scalloped, Whipped, Fried, Baked and Broiled.) She also always has the same expression on her face. Based on Jim Davis' mother Betty Davis, Jon's mother is also known for sending him and Garfield cooked meals in packages. Jon once got mashed potatoes and Garfield got gravy, which started to leak from the corner of the envelope. On one Christmas occasion, after Dad said, "Please tell me they were adopted.", her response was "I don't know, I was out at the time."

In A Garfield Christmas Special and the Garfield episode, Feeling Feline, she was voiced by Julie Payne.

Dad

First Appearance: February 13, 1980

Jon's father who tends the family farm. In his sole animated appearance, A Garfield Christmas Special, he was voiced by Pat Harrington Jr. and as proved in one strip has not been off the farm in a long time. Based on Jim Davis' father, James William Davis.

Doc Boy

First Appearance: May 17, 1983

Jon's brother who lives on a farm with his mother and father, and often fights with Jon, calling him a "city slicker". Hates being called "Doc Boy" and Jim Davis addresses in a strip once that he did not like the name since he started wearing pants. Based on Jim Davis' brother David "Doc" Davis, who's not nearly as goofy as his cartoon counterpart.

In A Garfield Christmas Special, he was voiced by David Lander.

Grandma

Jon and Doc Boy's grandmother. She is a Harley-riding, leather-wearing old lady who carves turkey with a chainsaw. She loves Jon, Garfield, and Odie, and occasionally makes appearances throughout the series. The most is revealed about her in Garfield's Christmas special, where it is revealed that her husband has died and she talks about her life with him. She is undoubtedly Garfield's favorite of Jon's family. In the strip, Grandma was originally depicted as a stereotypical elderly woman, wearing a shapeless, plain dark dress and her hair in a tight bun; her animated appearances outfit her as a more modern-looking woman. In A Garfield Christmas Special and Garfield's Thanksgiving, she was voiced by Pat Carroll. She also appears as the DVD seller on the DVD store on the Garfield website.

Lyman

First Appearance: August 7, 1978
Last Appearance: June 19, 1988

Friend of Jon's who lived with him for a while and was the original owner of Odie. He first appeared on August 7, 1978. However, he disappeared from the comic on April 24, 1983 and his disappearance was never fully elaborated upon. His last appearance in the strip was a cameo on Garfield's 10th Birthday June 19, 1988 where he appears in the title panel seated between Jon's Dad and Liz, he also appears in a flashback panel within the strip. Recently, Davis was forced to directly address the issue of 'What happened to Lyman?'. According to Davis, Lyman's original purpose was to be someone who Jon could actually talk to and express other ideas—a role more and more taken over by Garfield himself. Hence, he was removed without explanation. The closest thing Davis has ever given to explain his absence is "Don't look in Jon's basement". In the Web game "Scary Scavenger Hunt", Lyman is shown chained onto the wall in the basement of a haunted mansion, as well as screaming in a bathtub upstairs (in a scene clearly referencing the "shower scene" in the film Psycho; even the screeching violins from the infamous scene are played here) and his head is also shown in a room under a blanket. In "Scary Scavenger Hunt 2", his head is found inside the kitchen oven. This "in the basement" joke was revealed by Mr. Davis to not be entirely true. In an interview he mentioned that the real reason that Lyman disappeared was that he joined the Peace Corps and was never heard from again. Lyman has appeared on the Garfield website as the seller at the bookstore.

Irma

First Appearance: June 9, 1979 (though not by name until October 19, 1979)

Waitress and owner of "Irma's Diner", a diner occasionally patronized by Jon and Garfield. Her first appearance was on October 19, 1979. The food, service, and mental stability of both Irma and her restaurant are all questionable. For instance, her idea of a "chicken surprise" is her coming up to the table wearing a rubber chicken mask and saying "SURPRISE!" She also referred to "your choice of potatoes" as "cooked" and "raw." However, this may be attributed to her operating the diner 24 hours a day with no help (though in other comics, she is shown to speak to other diner employees). Although her main and most memorable appearances took place earlier in the strip, in 1999 she appeared (updated to match the most recent style of the strip), once again doing wacky things at the diner.

Dr. Elizabeth Wilson

First Appearance: June 26, 1979

Garfield's veterinarian and long-time crush of Jon Arbuckle. She occasionally dates him, but these outings always become disasters, and Liz herself has little regard for Jon. She vainly tries to make him understand that she is not interested, but Jon is persistent in his efforts. In one strip, she revealed she had a (possibly entirely fictional) boyfriend named Nick "The Mangler" Scarlotti; however, he has never been mentioned again. The two appeared to have fallen in love after Liz admitted that she liked Jon, which means Liz has become Jon's girlfriend. She first appeared on June 26, 1979. In the live-action films, she became Jon Arbuckle's "girlfriend/partner". In animation, she was voiced by Julie Payne. On Garfield and Friends, she appeared occasionally in the first two seasons only. In the live-action movies, she is played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her first television apperance was on Garfield Goes Hawaiian. Her last was on Arrivederci, Odie!.

Jon and Liz shared their first true kiss on December 19, 1981, though Jon had previously managed to steal a kiss on October 6, 1979. In the past, Liz showed great dislike and little respect for Jon; her attempts to show him that she was not interested in him were generally futile, although she did deliver some pithy comments. During the week of her second appearance, Jon asked her what she would suggest for an animal who is madly in love (referring to himself), and Liz countered with "neutering." They didn't have a lasting relationship until after another kiss during slight dating fiasco on July 28, 2006. A third kiss was shared on September 3 of the same year.

From this point on, Liz has been Jon's girlfriend (she called him "Sweetie").

Herman Post

Jon Arbuckle's mailman. Garfield constantly torments him by ripping off his pants and leaving him shredded and scratched, and he perpetually tries to find a way to deliver the mail safely, but almost never succeeding (although the mail always makes it). In Garfield and Friends, the mailman was voiced by Gregg Berger. He first appeared on January 28, 1984. His first appearance on television was on Fair Exchange. His last was on Fill-in FELINE. In some of the comics, his hair is white instead of brown.

Neighbors

• Hubert and Reba are Jon's stereotypical "grumpy old neighbors." Hubert is mostly outside on his porch yelling "REBA!" when Garfield, Jon, Odie, and other characters are doing something crazy. Reba is mostly inside doing something unseen. In an earlier comic, Reba is called "Thelma." Their only Television appearance was on "Here Comes Garfield."
• Mrs. Feeny is another neighbor, who has never appeared in the strip. Garfield routinely torments her, her little dog, and Mr. Feeny (who have never appeared as well) and as such Mrs. Feeny is always complaining to Jon about Garfield over the phone, or occasionally, vent her revenge on Jon. But, Garfield isn't always bitter to Mrs. Feeny. One year, he gave her a homemade hairball for Christmas. In one strip it is mentioned that Garfield once glued her dog to a cross town bus. When called on this, he raises his paw to swear, only to notice that his coffee cup has become attached to him.
• Ellen is a local woman whom Jon often tried to go out with. Of all of the women Jon calls for a date and ends up getting rejected, Ellen is the most common. She was introduced as a blind date for Jon November 9, 1990 After 16 years, Ellen finally dated Jon in the comic on July 17, 2006 and appeared in person on July 20, 2006 after Jon convinced her to go on a date because she had amnesia and couldn't remember how much she despised him. She was persuaded to go on a date with him, and on July 20th, 2006, the strip finally showed her as a blond woman with a striped dress. For years she never appeared in the strip, but many strips focused on Jon phoning Ellen asking for a date. She usually asked him sarcastically to do something very stupid first, before refusing. Once Jon received a restraining order from her on November 22, 1996, but despite that has asked her out many times since then (to no success). Jon fell in love with Liz who admitted that she did like Jon - and Ellen, still having amnesia, went with the man that Liz initially dated that night.

Family

• Sonja: Garfield's mother, Garfield's most influential family member. His mother is a stray, and he hardly sees her. But when they do meet, such as in the television special Garfield on the Town and a loose adaptation that ran in the strip in December 1984, she showers him with the love that she can rarely give. She also appeared in the television special Garfield: His 9 Lives, and in the November 5, 1994 strip, in which she's the only one watching Garfield's representation on the fence. Sandy Huge provided her voice in the specials.
• Garfield's grandfathers have both appeared. His maternal grandfather, Wilfrid, is a strict, demanding stray, who insists (with extreme futility, of course) that Garfield must become a mouser. His paternal grandfather, Garfield I, is a cynical, bitter and sarcastic character with a habit of telling long (and often completely made up) stories. He holds his grandson in mild contempt and threatens Jon with physical harm when he claims to see a family resemblance.
• Other relatives have included Uncle Harry, Aunt Bernice, Uncle Hubert, Aunt Reba, Uncle Barney, Aunt Evelyn, Uncle Nick, Aunt Edna, Uncle Roy, Uncle Bob, Uncle Morty, Garfield’s brother Raoul, and Cousin Sly. Most have been unseen characters.

Pests

• Mice - Jon's house is also inhabited by mice, Most of whom are unnamed, though one was named "Squeak" and anothe was named "Herman Vermin". The mice enjoy a quite full social life—to much annoyance of Jon. Garfield, however, cannot be bothered to chase them, and according to him they tend to either bribe or blackmail him to stay so. In the cartoon show, there was a significant mouse with a similar role named Floyd, who could be told apart by the fact that he was drawn with oval eyes, like the other regulars, had a pink nose (an animation goof in "Good Mousekeeping" shows another mouse briefly with Floyd's nose), and was voiced by Gregg Berger. A running gag with Floyd was his annoyance with the fact that he didn't appear often (he often says he wishes he'd be on more than once a season; it's unclear whether Floyd really does only appear once a season).
• Spiders - also appear in the strip regularly. They sometimes walk around the house or dangle from the ceiling-or get squished by a newspaper weilded by Garfield. This, of course, leads to several attempts by the spiders to get back at Garfield, which are unsuccessful in most cases. Garfield does occasionally obtain help from the spiders, such as to get rid of an annoying fly. The spiders were initially drawn with six legs, although now they are generally drawn with eight.
• Fleas - have been important characters too. Once a flea nurse asked if Garfield would like to contribute for a blood drive, but Garfield catches on. In a comic from 1989, the fleas are having a rowdy party on Garfield’s back. Garfield sprays bug spray on his back, but the fleas continue to party, making Garfield frustrated with the spray he used. The first week of fleas is in 1980, when Garfield gets them from Odie. When Garfield looked up fleas in the dictionary, it said, "flea (flē) n. a small wingless,bloodsucking parasite… also see: brother-in-law."

Household Appliances

• Three household appliances in the comic are the talking bathroom scale, the alarm clock and the TV. The three objects have quite different personalities: The scale, sometimes known as RX-2, usually allows itself to be quite cynical and crude about Garfield's overweight state. But sometimes when it does so, it gets smashed or thrown into a trash can. A cover on one of the Garfield paperbacks show Garfield putting a toe on the scale and it heaving with agony. The clock usually retracts from ringing loud and waking Garfield, since he tends to smash it into pieces, and was once flushed down a toilet because it woke Garfield. The TV also speaks to Garfield by itself on occasion, usually trying to persuade Garfield into continuing to watch it or turning it off. Once, when Garfield fell asleep in front of the TV, the TV yelled at him to turn it off. On an episode of Garfield TV show there was a Twilight Zone-like episode with Garfield trapped in the TV set.

Television personalities

• Binky the Clown is a television personality noted for his extremely loud and piercing greetings, most notably "HEEEEEEEY, KIDS!" He was first mentioned on March, 13, 1985 in the comic strips.In Garfield's Halloween Adventure, the character made his first animated appearance and was given a voice. Binky was first seen in the comics on September 15, 1986. On Garfield and Friends, Binky became more of a regular, and would modify his greeting to suit who it was he was greeting, such as "HEEEEEEEY, CAT!" He also had his own segment on the show during the second and third seasons, called Screaming With Binky, in which he showed up in the midst of a certain activity and performed his trademark greeting, ruining said activity. Most of these segments were cut in syndication, but have been restored for the DVD releases. Like Jon, Binky was voiced by Thom Huge. His first television apperance was on Peace and Quiet. His last: The Feline Philosopher.
• Uncle Roy is another television personality and the rival of Binky. He remains an unseen character.

Toys

• Stretch
  • First appearance: June 19, 1984; acquired his name the next day.
  • Last appearance: December 31, 2000
  • Stretch is Garfield's rubber chicken, who was given to Garfield on his 6th birthday. It only appeared for a week after, yet makes cameo appearances from time to time, mainly used as a weapon against Jon. Stretch was last seen on December 31 2000.
• A recurring plot in the strip is Garfield eating Jon's various pet fish, which causes Jon to get mad. In an attempt to prevent Garfield from eating his second pet fish one week, he lets Garfield name it. Ironically, Second Helping (the fish Garfield named) lasted to the end of the strip, an event very rare in a Garfield comic. Another time, he named a fish Sushi. It is mentioned that Jon owned 323 fish. Garfield thought it was 321, but then remembered that "two died of natural causes".
• An Electronic Pull-String Toy Cat was given to Garfield on October 6, 1982. Garfield hated it because it was so cute so he suggested to go play with Jon’s power tools. The next day, Garfield finds out “He does have a certain charm” because the toy says, “Feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me, feed me”. The toy seems to be intelligant when Garfield pulls the string. He says “Practice of the Aristotelian Mean would have a significant positive effect of the world institutional envorment”. Garfield respones as, “Oh, shut up”. On October 10, Garfield destroys the cat by stomping on him.
• The Attack Thug-Dummy is a dummy Jon constructed so Garfield can be trained to attack on July 22, 1980. Garfield tells the dummy his mother wears combat boots. On the last day of the 3 strips, Garfield attacks Jon because he thinks he’s a dummy.

Objects thrown at Garfield

• The SPLUT!s are slapstick-comedy flying pies which strike Garfield on random occasions, making the sound "SPLUT!" when they hit. Typically the Spluts are used for shock humor or as a running gag ('Garfield: (checks the calendar) "Yep... it's 'Splut week.'"). The SPLUT!s have not appeared in the strip for several years, however.
• Garfield's Fence Hecklers are usually known to be unseen characters. The very first strip to show Garfield on a fence had an irate old man in a nightshirt toss an alarm clock. However, in later strips, many of the (normally unseen) throwers are implied to be dogs. Sometimes, Garfield is hit with a SPLUT! while on the fence.

Food

• The contents of Jon's fridge have been left alone for so long that many of them have evolved into sinister intelligent lifeforms. The most sinister of all was the Mystery Meat, which attempted to embark on a plan for world domination. Some were not sinister or intelligent, and simply became life forms (Bacon grazing on lettuce, etc.)
• When dieting, Garfield often has hallucinations. One common hallucination features walking food which encourages Garfield to eat it.

Friends

• Wheezer is Jon's old school friend. He calls Jon "Carp Face". Wheezer visited Jon at his house April 23, 1990 through April 29, 1990. He asked Jon if he remembers the "Reptile", which is a dance they did together on the floor. Wheezer and Jon did silly noises like Booga, Honk, Whoop, Yadda, Wheedie, Ooga, Nyahh, and Hoogie. Later in the comic, Jon saw Wheezer at his high-school reunion. Wheezer often brings up embarrising moments in Jon's high school career at the wrong time. While Jon was talking to the girl of his dreams, Wheezer yells "HEY CARPFACE!" and brings up the memory of Jon blowing his nose on the American flag. He also stole Jon's pants at the reunion and threw them into the girls' locker room.
• Aunt Gussie is Jon's aunt. She first appeared August 14 through August 15, 1981, baby-sitting Garfield while Jon took a vacation. She didn't know Garfield left. She later appeared on November 8 through November 12 1983, when she became mean and had glasses. She was supposed to baby-sit Garfield on the week of April 25, 1988 while Jon was having his tonsils removed, but she did not show up. She has a crush on John Travolta.
• Mrs. Lillian is an extremely near-sighted old lady, who Jon has hired as a pet sitter to go out on a date with Liz. First Appearance: March 27, 2007 In one of her comic strips, she mistakes an orange, and a pineapple for Garfield and Odie.

Animals

• A recurring plot in the strip is Garfield eating Jon's various pet fish, which causes Jon to get mad. In an attempt to prevent Garfield from eating his second pet fish one week, he lets Garfield name it. Ironically, Second Helping (the fish Garfield named) lasted to the end of the strip, an event very rare in a Garfield comic. Another time, he named a fish Sushi. It is mentioned that Jon owned 323 fish. Garfield thought it was 321, but then remembered that "two died of natural causes".
• A big, vicious dog often enjoys barking at Garfield. His rear end is rarely seen. He is almost always seen next to a "Beware of Dog" sign. Garfield isn't usually afraid of this dog, and makes fun of him and even chats with him. Once in a while, he'll be afraid of him. There are several regular "Beware of Dog" dogs; the main one has either brown or blue fur.
• Biff was Garfield's colleague intern that he taught how to be a good cat -according to Garfield's standards.
• A little chick that looks up to Garfield and calls him "Daddy" (it was originally "Mommy" until Garfield explained to the little guy what gender was). He is a nuisance to Garfield who, oddly enough, is reluctant to eat the little guy (for some strange reason, the thought just never crossed his mind). The chick doesn't like lasagna. At the end of the week long strips, Garfield has a tear rolling down his eye.
• Snails have been in the strip more recently (in the 2000’s). The strips feature Garfield asking questions about snails.
• Guido and Fluffy were a cat and dog who help Garfield escape from the city pound in a comic strip of January 1981.
• Lyle is Garfield's pet ant. Garfield later squashed him for eyeballing his lasagna.
• Loretta is one of the Mouse's sisters. Garfield was going to fight her. When the Mouse called her name, Garfield didn't want to fight her. She was a Giant Mouse.
• Garfield loves to eat sparrows, and has many attempts to catch them (most of the time failing), most notably his "barbecue bird bath" and his various bird disguises.
• There's occasionally a dog who usually pops up at the final panel of a strip and harming Garfield in the process, always exclaiming, "____ DOOOGGGG!" with the blank word being his way of entrance. He is dressed in a pilot's cap, a cape, and a shirt that reads the initials of his name, which varies between his appearances. Examples include, "Trapdoor Dog", "Slingshot Dog", and "Bungee Dog".
• Herbie was Jon's pet frog, but was later inevitably eaten by Garfield. He appeared in 1980. In a October 30, 1994 strip, all of the pets Garfield ate were in one of Garfield's nightmares. Herbie is there underneath a white blanket that represents a ghost. He has never been heard from again.

Miscellaneous

• The Caped Avenger is Garfield's alter ego, a superhero who fights with only a cape (his blanket). He once had a sidekick named Slurp, (Odie) and also once lost his blanket and became the "Paisley Avenger." Some early strips show his superhero name as "Freedom Fighter". In one episode he refers to Jon as his archnemesis "The Infamous Doctor Dweeb".
• A tree is always trying to encourage Garfield to climb him, always ending in Garfield falling for its "same old lies". In the beginning, he sits on a tree branch, but more recently finds himself gripping the branch by his front paws and dangling. Once while stuck up a tree, he meets a cat named Ed who was raised by squirrels and had never walked on the ground before.
• Mondays are another nemesis of Garfield's. Often, they are shown off-panel but causing things to happen in-panel (such as throwing a pie at Garfield). When they are shown, they are drawn as ugly monsters. The most prominent theme was "The Monday That Wouldn't Die", in which every day in the month after a certain Monday was also Monday.
• Santa Claus is portrayed as a real, rather than fictional, character in the Garfield strip. This is a rarity as most newspaper comics do not show Santa as someone who actually exists. Belief in Santa is unquestioned, both Garfield and Jon believe in him and Garfield has witnessed him flying in his sleigh, coming down the chimney, and distributing presents. Somehow despite all of the trouble that Garfield gets into he remains on Santa's nice list. On Garfield's first Christmas Eve (December 24, 1978), he received 20 pounds of lasagna, a request which Santa notes nobody else in the world asked for.
• The Stump is where Garfield once went in August 8 to August 14, 1982.He heard strange noises in the stump. Garfield threw a stone in the stump and a bone came out. Garfield saw that a mouse live in the Stump. Garfield was about to attack the mouse for scaring him, But was attacked by the mouse's pet human,Guido. When Garfield left he heard the noises Guido made in his bed and food dish.
• The Sludge Monster is a monster made of mudlike goo. He is never seen in the comics, but Jon and Liz often go out to see "Sludge Monster" movies at theatres. The Garfield cartoon "Sludge Monster" is all about him. The creepy motel owner calls him "Maurice." There is a song about him that Jon sings to Garfield and Odie. He is only seen at the end of that episode and suggests the motel needs cable TV. There is a huge amount of Sludge Monster movies in the comics.
• Vermin Man is a character that was mentioned in Garfield comic strip in April 25,1980.He Starred in a Movie called "The Sluge Monster meets Vermin Man" when Jon took Liz on a date to a Drive in Theater.
• Garfield's conscience is an entity whose job is to "make you feel bad about the things that make you feel good." He is described as resembling "everyone's mother." When not working, he shares Garfield's sense of humour. He told Garfield to back up a little, and Garfield fell of the table. He is quite annoying, to the point that Garfield bottled him. Jon unfortunately took the cork out, wherupon he was told to "get a haircut". He has been shown as Garfield's bed, food dish, clock and a bottle. The cricket from television may be one of his forms, or a different conscience.
• is also a character Garfield can “think” too. The yarn talks back to Garfield, although it is not a hallucination. The first one talked January 19, 2001. The yarn humor has included the yarn shampooing itself, going in a hot tub and shrinking, and Garfield taking it for a walk (which let itself loose).
• The sock is another superhero alter-ego of Garfield. His sidekick Stinky (Odie with smelly socks) is shown to be worst as Garfield can realise.
• Clive is Garfield's invisible friend. He is another way through which Garfield plays pranks on and irritates Jon and Odie.

Television series only

Cactus Jake

Cactus Jake is the foreman of the Polecat Flats ranch, and a friend of Jon. He was seen only in the TV series and had a habit of saying Garfield's name wrong. Whenever Garfield wore a cowboy outfit, Jake always believed that he really was a cowboy named "Shorty" (Jon would always recognize "Shorty" as Garfield, however). Jake's voice was provided by Pat Buttram. First appeardd: Polecat Flats. Last appeared: The Multiple Choice Cartoon. Last appearence (mentioned): Stairway to Stardom.

Dr. Garbanzo Bean

Dr. Garbanzo Bean is a mad scientist who invented a mechanical Odie dubbed the "Robodie." This proved popular enough for him to return in a sequel, appropriately enough called "Robodie 2." He was voiced by Frank Welker.

Al G. Swindler

Al G. Swindler is, as his name suggests, a Confidence trick, often conning Jon whenever he can, not to mention mispronouncing his last name. He only appeared in the TV series, usually getting outsmarted by Garfield shortly after tricking Jon enough times, and at the end of the episodes he was in, he would usually say, "It's getting tougher and tougher to make an honest buck these days." He was voiced by Carl Ballantine. He first appered on the episode Lemon Aid.

The Buddy Bears

The Buddy Bears are a trio of annoying singing bear cubs who encourage viewers to "always agree with the group" (similar to The Get-Along Gang). Their names are Bobby, Billy, and Bertie. In the episode "5 Minute Warning" the DVD subtitles mistakenly gave Bertie's name as Brady. The only disagreement they've ever had was over pizza toppings, which supposedly no one can agree on. Their show once replaced Binky's, and Roy Rooster from U.S. Acres has twice been stuck as their fall guy. Garfield has remarked that he "hates Buddy Bear episodes". In the episode "The Garfield Opera", the bears' full names are revealed to be Robert, William, and Bertram respectively. In one episode, they are accompanied by their sister, Betty Buddy Bear. In another episode, the Buddy Bears are hired to provide factual explanations for everything Garfield does, i.e., appearing spontaneously to say "Bananas are a very good source of potassium" when Garfield mentions bananas. Eventually Garfield tricks them into leaving by asking them about "gazorninplats," which they know nothing about (since Garfield made it up), and, admitting defeat, they leave. The trick backfires, however, when a TV producer notifies Garfield that he is so taken with the name "Gazorninplat" that he is going to replace Garfield's show with new Gazorninplat show. They first appeared on Binky Gets Cancelled, Again!.

Madman Murray

Madman Murray is a caricature of the type of ecstatic salesmen seen advertising used cars on television. Somewhat like Swindler, Madman is continually conning Jon out of his money. However, Madman's appearances on the show do not typically end with Garfield outsmarting him. He is voiced by Gregg Berger. His cartoons were Guarenteed Trouble, Rolling Romance, Jumping Jon (cameo) and Madman Meets His Match.

Mr. Burnside

Mr. Burnside is Jon's next-door neighbor, who is constantly annoyed by Garfield stealing his food. Early on in the sixth season, he was pushed so far as to rent his house out. Shortly after moving, Burnside found out that without Garfield stealing his food, he and his wife were getting overweight, so they agreed to move back. He is voiced by Gregg Berger.

Penelope Pussycat

Penelope Pussycat served as another love interest for Garfield, appearing only in the show's last three seasons, quickly becoming a regular even with only three episodes being labeled by their titles as "Penelope episodes". She lives in an Italian restaurant, which is no doubt the main reason that Garfield goes out with her. The fact that Garfield enjoys eating more than being with her annoys Penelope, but she willingly goes out with him anyway, because as she says, "It doesn't matter what we do so long as we do it together." She is voiced by Victoria Jackson. Penelope was not a character creation by Jim Davis or 'Garfield & Friends' writer, Mark Evanier. Penelope was a conception of Dallas, TX resident and Garfield fanatic by the name of Chris Miller. Penelope was included as part of a spoof newspaper submission to Paws Inc in 1989. Because Miller did not have his creation copyrighted or trademarked, Penelope was fair use for the Garfield shows. Another character of Miller's named "Gwendolyn" appeared in an episode of the series.

Ludlow

Ludlow is a young sparrow who appeared during the last two seasons, and who sounded somewhat like Augie Doggy. Being young and impressionable, he believes that Garfield is his friend, and as a result, Garfield cannot bring himself to eat him. Ludlow's dad distrusts cats, and therefore is aggressive to Garfield. He was voiced by Don Messick. His cartoons were Sweet Tweet Treat and Catch as Cats Can't.

The Singing Ants

The Singing Ants are a group of black ants who showed up to ruin Jon's picnic in the season five episode "The Picnic Panic". They are referred to as the Singing Ants because they make their appearance announcing what they do, which is to steal food from picnics, by way of song ("we're the ants who ruin your dinner"). The ants proved to be so popular with viewers that two seasons later, the ants reappeared in the aptly-titled "Another Ant Episode". This time, though, they were red ants, and they had come to steal all the food in Jon's house. At the end of their second episode, Jon's house was destroyed by the exterminator, Mr. Leo Crater's robot. The ants sang "We'll be back after you rebuild here, cause by then it'll be time for a Third Ant Episode". But because of the show's cancellation, there never was a third one. They also made a cameo in "A Vacation From His Senses". The Ants are perhaps the only antagonistic characters whom Garfield cannot succeed in outsmarting.

Ichabod Cricket

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Ichabod Cricket served as Garfield's conscience in the Garfield and Friends episode, "A Matter of Conscience", based on Pinocchio. Throughout the episode Garfield was annoyed by the cricket, and at the end of the episode Garfield squahed him. Garfield said the cricket was in the original book, but not in the Disney film (referencing the fact that Jiminy Cricket was not in the book, but was in the Disney film). Later after Ichabod left Garfield, he went on to make sound effects (he did cricket chirps). He showed up in the next episode, "Half-Baked Alaska", as Jon's conscience. He told Jon to dump salad on his head, spill lasagna on the fat guy's (Jon's boss) lap, and hit the cartoonist in the face with a cake. The end of the episode features Garfield, Jon, and Odie chasing the cricket, because he told Jon to give him all his money.

Esmeralda

Esmeralda is a clumsy fairy godmother that grants wishes to cats and dogs. Appering in the episode, “The Fairy Dogmother”, she granted Odie’s wish to go to the Hound Dog Harvest. Later she appered on the episode, “Dogmother II”, when Garfield wished he could get revenge on Rootie the Dog. She forgot what Garfield wished for, so she granted whatever anyone in the Arbuckle house wanted. For example, Jon sings “I wish I were in Dixieland, hooray, hooray”, and he was, only to find himself without anything but a shower cap on. He is arrested and he wished he was back home, and he was, in his bed. Later, Esmeralda’s boss told her she did a good job on the wish Garfield wanted, so right before Garfield is going to drop a 1956 Studebaker on Rootie, nothing happens, making Rootie chase him. These two episodes were called A Garfield Fairy Tale.

A Large Bully Cat

A Large Bully Cat is shown on several episodes of Garfield and Friends. This cat is often with a female cat that Garfield falls in love with, and the cat often beats Garfield up. Some examples are Bonzo from Beach Blanket Bonzo and Brick from The Idol of Id and The Perils of Penelope.

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