Saturday, December 22, 2018

The Evolution of Jon Arbuckle: A Fan Study of The World's Most Loved Geek

Many longtime lovers of Garfield criticize the strip for repetitive humor, dumbing it down to appeal to kids, and for silencing storylines with Jon's new relationship. I don't necessarily agree and think that Garfield's world is as great as ever, although simple and repetitive at times. I will always love Garfield's simple world.




But there's one quandary in that world: the character of Jon Arbuckle.

He starts off actually pretty....normal. Most of the humor came from the cat himself. But as time went on, he got a little strange. So how did Jon dissolve and then revolve again (kind of)? Here's my theories.

All comics taken from GoComics and Garfield.com. 






In high school, Jon wasn't too popular. Perhaps farm life didn't produce very cool people (his prom theme was Daily Products for Strong Bones), because Jon was never truly that out of the loop and sometimes seemed to fit in, moreso than maybe even his parents. When Jon's parents came to visit his new city digs for the first time, his dad seemed shocked by Jon's indoor toilet and his mom confessed they hadn't left the farm since the 50s.

Jon was even nominated to the homecoming court as court jester. He also had his share of friends, as shown when former pal Wheezer came to visit. Still, many of those friends and classmates were just as geeky as he was.




And from peeking into his yearbook, we can see that farm culture produced quite a few geeks. But what do you expect from a place where people like Jon's parents hardly ever leave?





His brother Doc Boy shared some of the same dweeby habits as well. One Christmas look through the family photo album revealed a recent shot of Doc Boy dancing through the cornfields. On a visit to Jon's house, he was just as clueless, if not more so, on how to attract women. This dweebiness stuck with Jon and eventually molded him into who he is today. But Doc Boy wasn't the only one. Jon came from a whole line of wacky relatives.






A fresh college graduate, Jon moved near the city to pursue his dream of being a cartoonist, which we hear little about but is likely why he is home so much. He found a roommate called Lyman and they had a fairly typical relationship. Most of the humor in their comic conversations came from punch lines they had in seemingly normal chats...and from Garfield himself. Maybe urban life was having its effect on Jon.



Garfield Comic Strip for May 27, 1979

In his young adult years, Jon played the dating pool and made attempts to be a gentlemen. His farm upbringing didn't really help him and he didn't find a whole lot of success. The dates that did go well (he was able to pick up a few things from his new urban environment) usually ended up in him rejecting them, which is a far cry from the Jon we know and love today. Even Jon had standards and could realize when a woman wasn't a good match.






Garfield Comic Strip for July 27, 1979

One of these women was Dr. Liz Wilson, Garfield's vet. Jon would constantly flirt with her only to be shot down....however, Liz did accept once or twice back in the early years, once Jon got to the point and stopped acting like a dweeb. It seemed like the relationship did not work out, as Jon continued to date other women for years.


Garfield Comic Strip for January 17, 1989

But as time went on, Jon just couldn't find a suitable woman. He needed more maturity than the typical people he ran into, which could have fit in better on Jon's farm. This is one example of one of Jon's many bad dates. He failed to impress women with desperate attempts at humor, a lack of charm, and just being boring. These desperate behaviors caused many bad dates. It didn't help that Lyman had left for a while, leaving Jon with very few people to talk to...other than his cat.





In the 80s, Jon did continue to make friends when Lyman was no longer in the picture but had a harder time of it without a typical guy around to influence him. Jon was left alone with his own personality to rely on. They weren't very cool friends, but Jon had more in common with these people than he did with any of his current acquaintances. There has even been evidence of Jon having his own club...a club where men would gather to make fart noises, but a club nonetheless.




He could also be seen at parties, particularly in the New Year. At a high school reunion, he also enjoyed spending time with former classmates.



Image result for hello mister springtime

So Jon did fit in, on the farm, to a degree. Perhaps it was modern life where he didn't belong. Additionally,  these people grew up while Jon kept his geeky habits that he grew up with. After once having some stable relationships and then having those people outgrow him, he truly reverted back to his geeky ways. "Be yourself," right? He could often be happy on his own, an admirable trait. Sometimes he tried too hard to prove that he was a happy single. But sometimes this happiness led to him being looked down on, including by his own pets.










Jon stopped having the standards he once had and was willing to date any girl because of his loneliness. In fact, getting an email was so exciting that he would have to tell the world. This was a low point in Jon's life, but made for good humor for the rest of us.




On July 28, 2006, history was made. There is an idea that suggests the more you are around someone, the more you grow to like them. Perhaps using Liz' services paid off. It actually came about after Jon finally snagged a date with longtime love interest Ellen. Ellen had amnesia and couldn't remember anything; the date was going well, but Jon couldn't truly connect. Then Jon spotted Liz at the same restaurant on a date of her own. He went to talk to her, which made her date unhappy. But Ellen couldn't care less about who she was with, not being able to remember anything. So the pairs swapped dates and ended up having a good time. 



Garfield Comic Strip for September 06, 2009

Don't you worry; Jon still retained his geeky personality. Not only did he really not know any better, but he figured that Liz liked his personality. He wasn't quite as self-conscious, but Liz was, and despite enjoying her time with him was often embarrassed by his public behavior. Regardless, she still enjoys spending time with him, and why not? He's a nice enough guy, if not a bit bizarre. They've been together ever since that fateful night in 2006 and, while showing no signs of a coming marriage, show that they will be together for years to come. Of course, for being at least sixty-something, Jon is looking pretty darn good. So is Liz. So perhaps they still have plenty of time.


The special A Garfield Thanksgiving also poses something interesting. When Jon takes Garfield to the vet the day before Thanksgiving, Liz ends up accepting Jon's invitation to dinner which is the very next day. Does that mean that Liz had no plans with family? Was she just as lonely as Jon? Perhaps that is why the two ended up finding love. They are two lonely people who needed each other.


As Garfield put it...you can take the boy out of the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy. And I think that sums up Jon pretty well.

What do you think of Garfield? 

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