How to Fix Garfield

As I said in my last Garfield post about the evolution of Jon Arbuckle, I still like this comic strip no matter how simple it gets. That's part of the charm of the strip: they live in a simple world with recognizable characters and charm. Maybe it's too simple for some people who claim the comic strip loses appeal as they get older. But you know? I will never stop loving Garfield.

But even I have to admit that, as much as I love it, the strip has faltered a bit over the last 5 or so years and is almost becoming the fan art it's so good at selling. How could it be improved to its original charm? I have some suggestions.

Add more weeklong storylines

Whatever happened to the days when Garfield and Jon would visit their family on the farm? I miss those days. Adding more storylines would help with the lack of stories and text that have been occurring lately. They could go visit Irma at the diner, or Garfield could do a show on the fence. Take Jon on a golf outing. Keep readers wanting to find out what happens next sometimes. The strip even broke barriers to do a spooky, existential plotline for Halloween at one point, and that was really cool.

Do a longer storyline once in a while, too. Remember the one where Garfield ran away from home and joined the circus? Remember when he reunited with his mother? Storylines make the comic more than just a witty (or these days, even cliche) quip. 

...with the exception of the spider smashing

Yep. Just dump them. There's nothing funny about finding out you're about to get a week's worth of comics featuring all different ways Garfield can kill a spider. Or rather, a week's worth of items that Garfield can use to smash a spider.

Have things happen

I probably should have started with this one. There is so few dialogue and action in so many strips these days which is probably one of the main reasons I feel it's not quite as good. Some of the dialogue and gags are very bare-bones. Some of the time, it is a joke we've heard before all over the internet. Take a recent strip: Garfield says that life has ups and downs. He then looks at Pooky, his bear, and says that Pooky is an "up." Not a lot of humor or charm or laughter; we all know Garfield likes his teddy bear. I like the simple world, but it is sometimes too simple, like saying something about how he likes Pooky. This is especially true in the past 2-3 years.

The events don't have to be real events, either. Another thing that could be done is having Garfield return to his lively imagination. Remember the weeklong story where he was Amoeba Man? Or the Caped Avenger? Sometimes he could even get sort of philosophical. Garfield's imagination really helped to give him some personality.

A little less of Jon; more of Garfield

We all know Jon: that lovable geek that only got geekier over the years. It's not that he's not entertaining, but he does often take the focus away from Garfield with antics that to some may be too over-the-top. He's got a girlfriend now, we can probably make him a little more sane. Let Garfield's quirks take center stage more often. In the older days, Jon wasn't nearly as goofy as he is now, and the strip still worked very well.

Bring back old features of yore

There are some things that modern Garfield just doesn't mention anymore. Remember his sunbeam? Remember nights spent dancing on the fence? Remember Jon going on vacation or golfing? Remember him sucking up to Arlene? We don't even see the love of lasagna too much these days. These are good, vintage gags we need more of. EDIT: I actually did see a fence instance not long ago. Still, we need more of these things that made Garfield Garfield. 

Also, bring Lyman back. For those of you who don't know, Lyman was Jon's roommate back in the comic's infancy. A reunion would be a fantastic idea, even if only for a week or two. It would also add a great storyline! 

Don't be afraid to up the humor... once in a while

In the younger years Garfield wasn't afraid to not try too hard to appeal to a certain age group. Nowadays, many strips seem mainly for young kids. They're a punch line, and some I've heard plenty of times before that strip was even published. Make the humor come from Garfield himself a bit more by using his personality. And it's okay if the humor appeals to adults. Sometimes. Even in the early years, they never made too many "adult joke only" strips. As a regular reader of a comic, I would hate to see it get downgraded for more child appeal. This actually did happen to me once with a magazine I subscribed to. It used to be much more mature, then it seemed to slowly cater to teens who were younger and younger after some kids wrote in because they were offended about the subject material. That's frustrating. Pick an audience and stay with it. 

Now some people might say this would never work as they won't really want to get rid of this new audience. But it worked with Peanuts, especially when converted into animated specials. And kids certainly won't understand every single one of those strips. Still, its characters are such that kids love them anyway and are still able to get the gist of 95% of the stories and jokes. Garfield shouldn't be afraid to steer clear of a few jokes that all ages wouldn't get. 

Don't be so rigid and precise with the artwork

I used to be a member of a Spongebob fansite, and people said that the show had the same problem: the character designs had become stiff and rigid, making the design less appealing and the character less quirky. I think there's something to be said for Garfield's earlier designs with folds of fat all around. Now, even his modern look...as in the past 4 years... looks more rigid and hi-def than it used to, and he loses something that way. The old design added more to Garfield's personality. I don't have anything against the new design, which has been used for decades now, but lately he's looking a little too perky.

Stop trying to make it sell

I have heard a rumor going around that Garfield was created to be something that sells, and I can see that. Look at are the specials and artwork of Garfield out there. However, that doesn't mean the quality has to go down. It has gotten so basic that sometimes all it does is maintain a profitable character by having Garfield making half-baked smart remarks without anything especially interesting happening. Bottom line: don't make things...comics, books with popular plotlines, anything... JUST so they can sell. Garfield got away with it, but it's not trying as hard anymore, and people are noticing. 

It may seem like I hate Garfield after you read this, but I don't at all. I check up on it every day, but in the last few years, I really think it could be better too.