List of Garfield characters

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This is a list of characters in the Garfield comic strip, created by Jim Davis. It includes notable characters from the comic strip as well as cartoons, and movies centered on the Garfield character, and is organized by what medium they appeared in first.

Comic strip[]

Garfield[]

First Appearance: June 19, 1978^{[citation needed]}

Garfield is the strip's title character. He is a shiftless, pudgy, and big orange tabby. He also appears to be more anthropomorphic and/or humanoid as the series develops. He is typically depicted eating or catnapping. His favorite food is lasagna and tuna. He hates Mondays, spiders and raisins. He loves picking on Odie and mailing Nermal to Abu Dhabi for being annoying. Garfield also holds a rivalry with Nermal but sometimes shows a genuine fondness for him. His girlfriend is Arlene, who does not appear at all in Garfield and Friends, but Garfield and Friends has some episodes and specials with female cats as his love interest from time to time.^{[citation needed]}

Jon Arbuckle[]

First Appearance: June 19, 1978^{[citation needed]}

Jonathan Q. "Jon" Arbuckle is the owner of Garfield and Odie. It is said several times that he is a cartoonist. He has an eccentric, sometimes childish behavior, and he is frequently seen behaving unusually to alleviate boredom. When going out on dates, he dresses in loud, mismatched clothes. He has attempted to date several women, many of whom have turned him down. This ended when it was revealed that Liz (see below), actually likes him; they now frequently go out on dates.^{[citation needed]}

Odie[]

First Appearance: August 8, 1978^{[citation needed]}

Odie is a yellow beagle, Garfield's best friend and Jon's dog. Odie is often punted or pushed off the table by Garfield though Odie sometimes gets him back. He is almost always shown to be dumb, but in several strips he seems to be smart and clever.{^{[citation needed]}

Dr. Liz Wilson[]

First Appearance: June 26, 1979^{[citation needed]}

Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Wilson is Garfield's veterinarian and a long-time crush of Jon Arbuckle. Although she has a deadpan, sardonic persona, she can find Jon's outlandish and goofball behavior endearing. Jon often attempts to ask her out on a date, but rarely succeeds; however, in an extended story arc from June 20 to July 29, 2006, Liz finally admitted her love for him, which led to her becoming established as the 4th main character. The two have since become a couple. In the film Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, Jon asks Liz to marry him and she accepts; they become engaged; however, this is not mentioned in or connected to the strips. Even though Garfield rarely sees her at the veterinary clinic, Liz nags Garfield to lose weight and reject junk food; however, Liz sometimes brings food Garfield likes to the house.^{[citation needed]}

On Garfield and Friends, Liz was voiced by Julie Payne, occasionally appearing in the first two seasons. In the live-action/animated movies, she is played by Jennifer Love Hewitt. Her first albeit brief television appearance was on the second TV special Garfield on the Town. In a few of the July 2007 strips, Garfield became jealous of Liz,^{[citation needed]} until they became friends on July 24.^{[citation needed]} In one strip, it is revealed that her mother's name is Betty.^{[citation needed]}

In The Garfield Show, where she is once again voiced by Julie Payne, she is shown to be kinder and more sympathetic. Liz's parents have made a couple of appearances on The Garfield Show as well.^{[citation needed]}

According to two Garfield Comic Strips, Liz's birthday is said to be January 13. These are shown on January 13, 2017, and January 13, 2018.

Arlene[]

First Appearance: December 17, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Arlene is the name of a beautiful, sweet-natured, loving pink stray cat who likes Garfield. The gap in her teeth is often the subject of her romantic interest's ridicule. In many strips, she is seen meeting with Garfield on a wooden fence silhouetted in the moonlight, although she still makes plenty of appearances during the daytime. Often she is depicted as being more moral than Garfield, particularly in more recent television or media adaptions of the comics; she serves as a conscientious voice of guidance for her love interest and will persuade him to choose the proper decisions. However, she still questions their relationship at times, due to her feminine side and his rudeness. She is aggravated by Garfield's teasing and gluttony, but still holds affection for him. Arlene and Garfield are the counterpart to Dr. Liz Wilson's relationship with Jon Arbuckle.^{[citation needed]} In the Garfield film, she appears as a purple-ish Russian Blue cat, voiced by Debra Messing.

Pooky[]

First Appearance: October 23, 1978^{[citation needed]}

Pooky is Garfield's teddy bear and other best friend that Garfield discovered stuffed in a drawer. Garfield sometimes communicates with Pooky as if he were a living animal; he can also be over-protective of Pooky. Once, Garfield tried to "protect" Pooky from a present from Jon to Pooky, a miniature accordion. When Pooky lost an eye, Garfield requested a new eye for Pooky as his Christmas present. Garfield is not shy to show his love for Pooky, often grabbing it in hugs. This causes Jon to be a bit envious that the teddy bear is better-loved than him. He occasionally asks for hugs from Garfield, which Garfield refuses. In one comic strip in particular, Jon asks "Can I have a hug like that?" to which Garfield sighs, gives Pooky to Jon and leaves without saying a word. Certain strips have shown Pooky as sentient. In one instance we see Pooky rollerblade past Jon, who assumes Garfield is playing a prank. However, we then see Garfield at the other end of the room, implying that Pooky is skating under his own power. Either that or Garfield pushed Pooky on the skates, then ran to the other end of the room or Garfield had somebody else to do so and Garfield went to the other side of the room. In another strip, Jon wonders what Garfield dreams about when he sleeps with Pooky on his lap. The last panel shows Pooky dreaming that Garfield is sleeping in his lap. In yet another instance, Garfield gets amnesia, and when Jon shows him Pooky in an attempt to jog his memory, Garfield scoffs at a cat owning a teddy bear. Pooky, along with Jon and Odie, was shown shedding a tear, something that would be impossible for an inanimate object although this may have been done for comedic effect.^{[citation needed]}

Nermal[]

First Appearance: September 3, 1979^{[citation needed]}

Latest Appearance: November 29, 2021^{[citation needed]}

Nermal is a small grey male tabby cat with thick eyelashes. Despite being an adult cat, he is smaller than most and prefers to call himself "the world's cutest kitten". Nermal was first introduced as Jon's parents' kitten, but this idea was quickly dropped.^[1] He frequently made unannounced visits into Garfield's home, where he flaunted his cuteness (out of genuine affection) and became the focus of Jon's attention for the entire duration of his visit, much to Garfield's exasperation. Nermal especially did this on Garfield's birthdays to remind him of his advancing age. In frustration, Garfield frequently expressed his desire to send Nermal to Abu Dhabi. He also frequently hurled Nermal through the door, leaving a hole in the shape of his body (sometimes repeatedly). This was almost never shown in either show, possibly because it was considered inappropriate for a children's show. In one episode of The Garfield Show, Garfield threw Nermal out the dog door; in another episode, he threw him over a fence into a trash can.^{[citation needed]}

Although Garfield once ceased attacking Nermal after having a nightmare where a hulking cat introduces himself as a full-grown Nermal and proceeds to brutalize Garfield, this has not actually happened. Nermal once mentioned that he is going to stay cute and small forever because he is a midget;^{[citation needed]} "I think small," he once quipped, teasingly adding "and the coffee and cigarettes don't hurt." On another occasion, whilst pondering how Nermal manages to stay so cute looking, Garfield inadvertently catches Nermal wearing hair rollers and applying a mud facial mask - which evidently confirms Garfield's long-held suspicions about his cute rival."^{[citation needed]} His first television appearance was on the Garfield and Friends episode "School Daze", and his last was on "The Feline Philosopher"; on the show, he became a recurring cast member. Desirée Goyette regularly provided Nermal's voice on the series, which confused viewers to think that he was a female due to his female voice on top of his tendency to vigorously bat his eyelashes.^{[citation needed]}

A running gag on the show featured Garfield mailing (or trying to mail) Nermal to Abu Dhabi, which once resulted in himself getting mailed instead. Garfield even had his own song called "Abu Dhabi", which he uses to tell Nermal all about the United Arab Emirates and how he will love it there (or rather, how Garfield will love having Nermal on the other side of the world). When Garfield is spared a trip to Abu Dhabi himself (a stuffed cat was sent to the UAE instead), Jon demands Garfield stop threatening to send Nermal to Abu Dhabi. Garfield promises this, and then makes attempts to mail Nermal to the North Pole instead. In Garfield: The Movie, Nermal is portrayed by an adult Siamese cat in the neighborhood, and is voiced by David Eigenberg. Unlike his portrayals in previous media, Nermal is Garfield's friend and Nermal makes no attempt whatsoever to indulge in being cute and Garfield is only mildly annoyed with him. Nermal is voiced by Jason Marsden in The Garfield Show, and the films Garfield Gets Real, Garfield's Fun Fest, and Garfield's Pet Force.^{[citation needed]}

Squeak[]

First Appearance: October 30, 1984^{[citation needed]}

Squeak is a little grey mouse who is a semi-regular character. Since Garfield is too lazy to be bothered with mousing, he and Squeak have become good friends. Squeak is part of a family of other mice. He first was in the comic strips in the late 1980s. On Garfield and Friends, the same character was named Floyd and voiced by Gregg Berger; a common running gag in the cartoons is his continuous complaints over not appearing often. The character returned to the name Squeak for The Garfield Show, with Berger reprising his role.^{[citation needed]}

Lyman[]

First Appearance: August 7, 1978^{[citation needed]}
Last Appearance: As a regular: April 24, 1983^{[citation needed]} (Cameo in the 10th anniversary strip: June 19, 1988;^{[citation needed]} appearance as photograph on Jon's newspaper: April 2, 2013^{[citation needed]})

Lyman was Jon's friend, roommate, and Odie's original owner during the strip's early years. Lyman first appeared on August 7, 1978. His last appearance in the comic strip was on Garfield's 10th birthday, though he had stopped appearing regularly by the end of 1981. He was removed from the Sunday splash panel in March 1982.^{[citation needed]} According to Davis, Lyman's original purpose was to be someone who Jon could talk to and express other ideas, since Garfield and Odie could not speak for themselves. However, Davis later discovered ways for Garfield and Odie to communicate with Jon nonverbally, and Lyman was no longer needed.^{[citation needed]}

When asked about Lyman's disappearance, Davis once jokingly replied, "Don't look in Jon's basement!" But Lyman has nevertheless made a few modern appearances. He appears in the "Scary Scavenger Hunt" I and II games at Garfield.com, in which he both helps and scares the player throughout the game; he is also seen behind the front desk at the Book Nook at the same website. He also has a cameo on the front page of a newspaper that Jon is reading in the comic of April 2, 2013.^{[citation needed]}

Lyman predated Garfield; a character with the same name and function, but in insect form, appeared in Davis's previous strip Gnorm Gnat as the title character's straight man.^{[citation needed]}

In The Garfield Show episode "Long Lost Lyman" (season 3), an effort is made to explain what became of the character in-continuity. Lyman is said to have left Odie with Jon before moving away to work as a wildlife photographer in a distant jungle.^[2] When Jon learns that Lyman disappeared while searching for a mythical Bigfoot-like creature, Jon, Garfield, and Odie travel to the jungle to find him. The "Long Lost Lyman" version of Lyman has round eyes resembling Jon's rather than the dot-eyes of his traditional comics design and is voiced by Frank Ferrante.^{[citation needed]}

Arbuckle Family[]

Mom[]

First Appearance: February 13, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Latest Appearance: December 26, 2021 (at Garfield title)^{[citation needed]} (mentioned December 10, 2011^{[citation needed]})

Mrs. Arbuckle is Jon's mother, who lives on a farm and is known to be a great cook, offering a wide variety of food for Jon to eat when he visits, especially her ability to create dozens of potato-based dishes. Based on Jim Davis' mother, Jon's mother is also known for sending him and Garfield cooked meals in packages; Jon also reveals in one sketch that his mother was his date for his senior prom. Garfield seems to both love and hate her, enjoying the vast amounts of food she cooks but despising the homemade sweaters and winter clothes she sends him at Christmas. In September 1979, Jon's Mom and Dad left Nermal with him for the week while they went on vacation, yet in November 1984, Jon's Mom claimed that they had not been off the farm since 1953. In the Garfield and Friends episode Feeling Feline, she appears in a speaking line along with Jon's dad (no speaking parts) in Jon's dream. In A Garfield Christmas Special, she was voiced by Julie Payne, who now voices Liz in The Garfield Show. She is Garfield's human mother. She often says "Eat, eat, eat." in an episode of the Garfield show, she comes for a wedding, after Garfield tries to get into Vito's pizzeria after he got banned from the pizzeria.^{[citation needed]}

Dad[]

First Appearance: February 13, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Latest Appearance: December 26, 2021^{[citation needed]} (at Garfield title) December 10, 2011^{[citation needed]}

Mr. Arbuckle is 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 only very rarely been off the farm. He is based on Jim Davis' father, James William Davis. Also, every Christmas he reads the Christmas story "Binky, the Clown Who Saved Christmas" to everyone. In The Garfield Show, he is voiced by Frank Welker.^{[citation needed]}

Doc Boy[]

First Appearance: May 17, 1983^{[citation needed]}

Latest Appearance: December 26, 2021^{[citation needed]} (at Garfield title) ("mentioned" December 25, 2020^{[citation needed]})

Doc is Jon's brother who lives on a farm with his mother and father. It remains unknown if he is Jon's older, younger, or twin brother. Nicknamed "Doc Boy", he often insults Jon, calling him a "cappuccino sipping city slicker" and a "geek in bunny pajamas", and worse. One example of his name calling to Jon is when he sends Christmas cards and gifts to Jon that read the word "Sissy" on them. In one comic strip, Jon gets a letter from 'his brother' (Doc Boy) which is in secret code. Jon says that makes him remember his childhood, and solves the code. It reads, "Whoever reads this is a poo-poo head." (which Jon reads out to Garfield) and Garfield says "They've gone so far". But he is seen to sometimes get along with Jon well, since he plays games with Jon such as "Touch the Udder" and even sometimes helps out with Jon's projects, remodeling, and surprises for Garfield. He hates being called "Doc Boy" but puts up with it although he is sometimes seen being angered when his parents even call him "Doc Boy". Like Garfield, Jon, and Odie, Doc Boy believes in Santa Claus and is seen to either call Jon during Christmas or even stay up to see Santa Claus in excitement. He and Jon are known for competing with each other over who is uglier in their family memory photos to which they compete whenever they look at memory books with their mother. Although he is about the same age as Jon, he is already starting to go bald. He is very immature and has a bad sense of fashion. He was mentioned a few times to have a girlfriend, although it was noted that she is incredibly ugly, as when he showed her picture to Jon and Garfield, Jon looked at it in shock while Garfield commented "That is one shiny golden tooth". Another example is when Doc Boy was waiting for his girlfriend to show up while Jon was looking at the corral and Jon commented "Look at that ugly holstein over there", on which Doc Boy angrily said "That's my date."^{[citation needed]}

This character is based on Jim Davis' real-life brother, David "Doc" Davis. In A Garfield Christmas Special, he was voiced by David Lander. Doc Boy also appears in The Garfield Show, with Lander reprising his role, but only in six episodes.^{[citation needed]}

Grandma[]

First Appearance: January 25, 1982^{[citation needed]}

Latest Appearance: December 26, 2021^{[citation needed]} (at Garfield title), April 24, 2005^{[citation needed]} (mentioned December 21, 2009^{[citation needed]})

Jon and Doc Boy's tough, eccentric but kind, caring and loving grandmother. She loves Jon, Garfield, and Odie, and occasionally makes appearances throughout the series. She clearly adores Garfield and loves it when he is in her lap and she is stroking him; Garfield is likewise fond of Grandma, as she is an excellent chef. The most is revealed about her in A Garfield Christmas Special, where it is revealed that her husband has died and she talks about her life with him. In the strip, Grandma was originally depicted as an elderly woman, wearing a plain dark dress and her hair in a tight bun; her animated appearances outfit her as an energetic elderly lady in a sweater and jeans; sometimes, she is also seen riding a motorcycle. In A Garfield Christmas Special and Garfield's Thanksgiving, she was voiced by Pat Carroll. Several of her lines from the Christmas special were taken directly from her first week in the newspaper strip.^{[citation needed]}

Aunt Gussie[]

First Appearance: August 14, 1981^{[citation needed]}

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 stowed away in Jon's suitcase.^{[citation needed]} 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. Garfield, as a result, has a disdain for Aunt Gussie, remarking that she "used to double-date with Lizzie Borden." She has a crush on John Travolta.^{[citation needed]}

Garfield's mother[]

Garfield's mother first made appearances in the animated specials Garfield on the Town and Garfield: His 9 Lives, as well as a few cameos in the comic strip (including a December 1984 story which was a loose adaptation of Garfield on the Town). Sandi Huge provided her voice in the specials. She also appeared once on Garfield and Friends in an episode called "The Garfield Rap." She is sometimes given the name Sonja, but is often omitted to avoid confusion with Heathcliff's girlfriend.^{[citation needed]}

Garfield's grandpa[]

First Appearance: November 10, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Garfield's grandpa first appeared in the strip on November 10, 1980. Garfield was excited to see him, but Grandpa showed similar characteristics to Garfield, immediately asking "Where's the refrigerator?" Grandpa tells stories to Garfield, including how he weighed 5 pounds, 6 ounces at birth. Grandpa was not there for Garfield's birth, but "heard the scream." Grandpa has a very sarcastic personality which is very similar to Garfield's.^{[citation needed]}

In Garfield on the Town, a different-looking, rougher grandfather who lives with Garfield's mother (above) is seen, implying that the comic strip's grandfather is the paternal one and the TV series' is the maternal one.^{[citation needed]}

Minor recurring characters[]

Irma[]

First Appearance: June 9, 1979^{[citation needed]})

Latest Appearance: December 26, 2021^{[citation needed]} (at Garfield title) March 11, 2021^{[citation needed]}

Irma is the waitress and owner of "Irma's Diner", a diner occasionally visited by Jon and Garfield. Irma is a model waitress, when she isn't abusing her customers or shaving her legs at the counter. But then the food isn't much either. Irma is often shown to be behaving oddly, for instance, her idea of a "Chicken Surprise" is putting on a chicken mask and yelling "SURPRISE!!" Irma is not particularly intelligent either, for instance, in one strip, Jon is deciding what to eat and decides to have the same thing the man next to him is eating, "I'll have what he's having", Irma replies by sliding the man's meal directly in front of Jon. Another example is Jon tells Irma that his potato is bad and she begins "Spanking" it. In another strip, Jon asked Irma why there was a hair in his soup. Irma replies by asking him how he knows that it is not one of his. Jon pulls out the rest of the hair and it turns out that there is a red roller stuck to the hair. He says to Irma that he uses smaller rollers. Jim Davis revealed in Garfield at 25 that he borrowed Irma's name, but not her personality, from his aunt.^{[citation needed]}

Herman Post[]

First Appearance: July 19, 1978^{[citation needed]}

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 rarely succeeds. He did, however, succeed in delivering the mail safely by folding the mail into paper airplanes and throwing them at the house, to which Garfield replied "NO FAIR!"^{[citation needed]} Another, time in which the mail man succeeded was in a Splash screen which had him in a gi and a black belt and Garfield in a defeated position^{[citation needed]} He also wore a knight's armor to discourage Garfield.^[3] He can be seen with either yellow, white, or brown colored hair. He was on Garfield and friends for the first four seasons. In The Mail Animal He was even fired because the postmaster thought he was being weak, only to have Garfield treat him worse, resulting in the postmaster begging Post to return to work.^{[citation needed]}

In The Garfield Show episode "Mailman Blues", he goes on vacation in Hawaii while his replacement Stu does the job for him, but before Herman Post goes on vacation, he warns Stu about Garfield, describing him as a "monster". While Herman Post is on his vacation, Garfield torments Stu. However, Stu quits, and Herman returns early only after receiving a raise. He reveals that this happens every year. It is shown that this has been recurring for 13 years, so it can be presumed that the postmaster from The Mail Animal may have been the first occurrence, even though the two episodes aired roughly 20 years apart.^{[citation needed]}

Jon usually refuses to acknowledge Garfield in tormenting Herman, excluding one instance. In one strip, Jon was the one who startled him, reasoning that a sick Garfield asked him to fill in for him in his place. In both series, however, Jon attempts to punish Garfield for his mischief.^{[citation needed]}

In Garfield and Friends, the mailman was voiced by Gregg Berger.

Binky the Clown[]

First Appearance: September 17, 1986^{[citation needed]}

A television personality noted for his extremely loud and piercing greetings, most notably "HEEEEEEEY, KIDS!". He appears to be a parody of Bozo the Clown, and in the cartoons shares an exaggerated raspy voice with the Bob Bell portrayal of Bozo (much in the same way Krusty the Clown from The Simpsons does; Krusty's voice was likewise based on Bell's^[4]). In Garfield's Halloween Adventure, the character made his first appearance as well as animated appearance and was given a voice. He was first mentioned on March 13, 1985, in the comic strips; previously, other different clown characters were seen. Binky was first seen in the comics on September 15, 1986, then appeared in person on September 17, 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 appearance was on Peace & Quiet. His last was on The Feline Philosopher. Binky apparently owns a small restaurant that Jon and Garfield occasionally eat at called "Binky Burger". In the Garfield show he was mentioned twice: First in season 2's "Blasteroid", Jon asks Garfield if he wants to watch Binky, but refuses saying it's in his contract that Binky's not allowed on this show. Then, in season 3's "Cupid Cat", Garfield states Doc Boy looked just like Binky, and breaks the Fourth Wall by asking the audience if anyone remembered Binky, which he doubts by saying "I didn't think so".^{[citation needed]}

The Big Vicious Dog[]

First Appearance: September 12, 1995^{[citation needed]}

A dog that often enjoys barking ferociously at Garfield, next to a "Beware of Dog" sign, hence the name he's been given by several fans. Then he calms down, and the strip continues in a normal way. His rear end is rarely seen. He is also known as Chain Dog.^{[citation needed]}

Neighbors[]

Hubert and Reba[]

Hubert and Reba are an elderly couple who live near Jon. Hubert is often portrayed as an older man, while Reba is often either unseen or tending to household chores. The couple made an appearance in Here Comes Garfield. In the animated cartoon, Hubert is portrayed as hostile towards Garfield and Odie (which is not entirely without justification as Garfield tore up their yard and knocked a bunch of flowers and dirt on Hubert's head), calling the animal shelter personnel to remove them. In the strips, Hubert is less hostile towards Garfield.^{[citation needed]}

Mrs. Feeny[]

Mrs. Feeny is an unseen character in the comic strip, tormented by Garfield. For this reason, she regularly calls Jon to complain about him. She also tends to get revenge on Jon for Garfield's pranks. She owns a small pet dog, a regular victim of Garfield's abuse. She also, at one point, had a Weimaraner dog that Garfield had epoxied to a cross-town bus; and she had a bird named Mr. Sweety Wings who was another victim of Garfield's. Mrs. Feeny (originally spelled Feeney) was one of several neighbors, which included a Mrs. Woonduck; a Mrs. Nostrum and a Mrs. Peebrik who had been calling and complaining to Jon about Garfield's abusive behavior of their dogs. She has a husband who is also a victim of Garfield's pranks and abuses. In one instance, Mrs. Feeny called Jon complaining over Garfield shipping him and her dog to Wisconsin to work as clowns.^{[citation needed]}

Ellen[]

Ellen (first mentioned on November 9, 1990) is a local woman whom Jon often tried to go out with. Originally, she was also an unseen character in the strip as well; most Ellen strips originally centered on Jon speaking to Ellen on the telephone, attempting to ask her out on a date. In a 2006 story, Ellen appeared in the strip 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 20, 2006, the strip finally showed her as a blonde woman with a striped dress.^{[citation needed]}

Others[]

Guido and Fluffy[]

Guido and Fluffy are two cats who help Garfield escape from the city pound in a comic strip of January 1981. In the TV special Here Comes Garfield, Fluffy was a dog instead of a cat, and Guido's name is "Eddie".^{[citation needed]}

Wheezer[]

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. The two reminisce about their embarrassing high school memories. Later in the comic, Jon saw Wheezer at his high-school reunion.^{[citation needed]}

Frank[]

First Appearance: January 23, 1980^{[citation needed]}

Frank is a Garfield character that only appears in one comic released on January 23, 1980. In it when Jon welcomes Frank to Garfield he attacks Frank as he says "some people rub me the wrong way." He returns as a waiter later in the comic strip.^{[citation needed]}

Frank (spider)[]

First Appearance: September 27, 1997^{[citation needed]}

Latest Appearance: December 18, 2021^{[citation needed]}

Frank (spider) is a spider who appears twice by name. It is a generic black spider who appears with a buddy spider. In one of them Frank (spider) is with Estelle, another spider.^{[citation needed]}

Stretch[]

First Appearance: June 19, 1984^{[citation needed]}

Stretch is Garfield's rubber chicken, who was given to Garfield on his 6th birthday. It only appeared for five days after, yet makes cameo appearances from time to time, mainly used as a weapon against Jon.^{[citation needed]}

Cartoons[]

Garfield and Friends characters[]

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 calling Garfield "Garfunkel". 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 appeared: Polecat Flats. Last appeared: The Multiple Choice Cartoon. Last appearance (mentioned): Stairway to Stardom.^{[citation needed]}

The Buddy Bears[]

The Buddy Bears are a trio of singing bear cubs who encourage viewers to "always agree with the group" (similar to The Get Along Gang). Their names are Bobby (tallest), Billy, and Bertie (shortest). They were voiced by Lorenzo Music, Thom Huge, and Gregg Berger with sped up voices. One of Garfield's goals and main way of defeating them when they interfered in his life was to make them disagree, thereby introducing strife into their affected harmony. One notable effort involved making them decide on which two toppings to put on pizza, for, as Garfield stated as the episode ended, "No two people can agree on which two toppings a pizza should have." Garfield disliked their mindless agreement, stressing that their love of harmony and cooperation was not right, and says that they should express their honest opinions and think independently and critically.^{[citation needed]}

Mr. Burnside[]

Mr. Irving Burnside is Jon's next-door neighbor, who is constantly annoyed by Garfield stealing his food and would take it out on Jon. 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 Alice were getting overweight, so they agreed to move back. He is voiced by Gregg Berger.^{[citation needed]}

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 is a beige pussy cat with a cute mole on the right side of her face near her mouth. Penelope lives in an Italian restaurant, which is no doubt one of the main reason that Garfield goes out with her, since this wasn't revealed till the second "Penelope episode". 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, "I don't care what we do as long as we do it together." She was replaced by Arlene in The Garfield Show. She is voiced by Victoria Jackson.^{[citation needed]}

The Garfield Show characters[]

Eddie Gourmand[]

A chef who's usually seen in a televised cooking show. His show nearly got canceled because most people find it tedious, though its ratings improved when a cake monster invaded the studio. He opened a theme park made of cheese which wasn't well-liked. He once became violent and used a rolling pin in an attempt to strike Garfield that tasted one of his dishes. He was fired from his job once by Mr. Station Manager Sir for showing the viewers what unhealthy foods to eat, but he was rehired after Mr. Station Manager Sir's new show got the least ratings. The reason for his morbid obesity comes from his horrible childhood years. He is voiced by Frank Welker.^{[citation needed]}

Hercules[]

A lonely Chihuahua who lives in Garfield's neighborhood. He, along with some other dogs, helped save Vito and the pizzeria from a blaze. He is voiced by Jason Marsden and Wally Wingert.^{[citation needed]}

Catzilla[]

Catzilla was a wild feline descended from saber-toothed cats. He lives at the zoo and he first appeared in "Orange and Black" and made a cameo appearance in "High Scale".^{[citation needed]}

Rock Oil[]

A large black Rottweiler. He used to bully Odie to giving him treats until Odie became a weredog. He also helped Odie in saving Vito from the fire. He's occasionally seen with an unnamed slender Doberman Pinscher which could be Luca.^{[citation needed]}

Harvey[]

A scatterbrained man residing in Garfield's suburbs. He, along with Nermal, got tied up for disrupting Garfield, Jon, and Odie's attempt to get a family photo. Harvey also has a wife named Sheila who shares the same birthday as Odie.^{[citation needed]}

Harry[]

A stray Black cat that lives in Garfield's neighborhood. He is very thin and has two different coloured eyes. He is voiced by Gregg Berger.^{[citation needed]}

Vito Cappelletti[]

The manager of Vito's Pizza and he serves pizza and other Italian foods, which is loved by Jon and Odie, and especially Garfield. In certain episodes, Vito's Pizza is sometimes in trouble, such as in "Love and Lasagna", where Brent Mogul tries to tear it down for a tanning salon until Garfield and Odie save the store. In other episodes, Garfield's love of Vito's food causes trouble. He also appears in the Garfield comic book as Jon and Garfield's preferred provider of pizza.^{[citation needed]}

Al and Pete[]

Two incompetent members of animal control. Al's eyes are never seen because they're always hidden behind his hat. Replaced in a one-off episode by a T3000 terminator animal controller until assisted in getting their jobs back by Garfield.^{[citation needed]}

Anthony Allwork[]

An egotistical lawyer & businessman who has the tendency to sue everybody for no reason and buy many companies to become a multi-billionaire. He has a son named Jack who he rarely spends time with until Jon convinced him to. He served as the main villain in the second full-length episode, "Unfair Weather". He is voiced by Jack Riley.^{[citation needed]}

Professor Thaddeus Bonkers[]

A mad scientist who loves to do experiments. His first appearance with his current name was in "Virtualodeon", where by watching Virtualodeon, Garfield gets sucked into the TV. Before this, he was called Harlow Cranfranz in "Curse of the Were-Dog". " He returns in "History of Dog", "Night of the Bunny Slippers", "Blasteroid", "Cyber Mailman", "Farm Fresh Feline", "Inside Eddie Gourmand", "Me, Garfield and I", "Furry Tales (Part 4)", "Kind to Kittens", "Prehistoric Pup", "It's About Time", "The Garfield-Only Show", "Little Trouble in Big China (Part 1)", "Bewitched: Bewitched and Bewildered", "The Mean Machine: Too Smart Smartphones", and "Double Vision".^{[citation needed]}

Drusilla and Minerva[]

Jon's annoying twin nieces who love to dress and give makeovers to animals – particularly Garfield. Garfield and Odie once used the outfits they provided in order to track down thieves who took spare ribs. When Nermal kidnaps Pooky to blackmail the orange tabby into becoming a servant, Garfield summons Drusilla and Minerva to mess with Nermal. In one of their most recent appearances, it is revealed that they can't tell each other apart due to how single minded they are. They are voiced by Laura Summer.^{[citation needed]}

Aunt Ivy[]

Jon's bossy aunt who expects her relatives to wait on her hand and foot. She stays with Jon twice, first after her power line is destroyed by a fallen tree branch then when her house is being rid of mice. While she expects any of her demands to be met, but refuses any request others ask of her no matter how reasonable. While Garfield hates her like everyone else, he likes having her visit because "Compared to Aunt Ivy, he actually seems easy to live with."^{[citation needed]}

Jonah[]

A pessimistic Black cat who appeared in the episode "Black Cat Blues". He constantly crosses character's paths, giving those bad luck, because he's upset about breaking up with his girlfriend. This stops when Garfield gets them back together.^{[citation needed]}

He also appears at "Garfield's Party in The Big Sleep" as one of the characters who was kicked out of Nermal's "Eating and Sleeping for Hibernation" party.^{[citation needed]}

Evil Space Lasagnas[]

Living Lasagnas who want to conquer Earth but are afraid of Garfield after witnessing his prodigious appetite for lasagna as food. They appear in 3 episodes; Pasta Wars, Blasteroid, and Cuter than Cute.^{[citation needed]}

In Pasta Wars, A group of these lasagnas attempt to assess the risks of conquering Earth, only to come across Garfield eating his birthday lasagna. In Blasteroid the lasagnas pluck a meatball asteroid from orbit of their planet, "Parma", and launch it toward Earth. And in Cuter than Cute, They send a warrior named Spumoni, disguised as a cute kitten, to find the weakness of Garfield. This backfires majorly as they attempt to bring the wayward Spumoni, they also bring Garfield. At the end of each of these episodes, one of the lasagnas swears, "There will be a sequel, and we will have our revenge".^{[citation needed]}

Neferkitty[]

Leader of an ancient tribe of cats that once tried to take over the world and were banished to another dimension. Garfield tricks her into entering the human world alone where she is forcibly adopted by Liz's annoying niece Heather who renames her "Fuzzbutton" much to her chagrin. Since then she swears vengeance on Garfield and Odie.^{[citation needed]}

Mrs. Cauldron[]

Mrs. Cauldron is Jon's next-door neighbor who is actually a witch, first seen in "Which Witch". Since season 2, Garfield has always suspected who she really was, claiming in "Bewitched - Familiar Familiar (Part 1)" that "No one can survive an entire episode with Drusilla and Minerva." Mrs. Cauldron has two nieces: her oldest, Winona who briefly had crushes on Jon and Doc Boy and Abigail, who is a witch-in-training. She is voiced by June Foray. This role is notable in that it won Foray her first Emmy.^{[citation needed]}

Winona[]

Mrs. Cauldron's oldest niece who appeared for the first time in "Every Witch Way". She's a half-witch who's often visit Mrs. Cauldron in human world and she's not a full witch yet (until episode Bewitched when she becomes a witch teacher). And she briefly had a crush on Jon ("Every Witch Way") and Doc Boy ("Bride or Broom") and willingly as far as kidnapping in order to marry them. But aside that she's actually a cute, friendly, and protective person as seen in episode "Bewitched." when she helped by guided Garfield, Odie, and Abigail to save both human world and witch realm by find the object that was able to stop her evil aunt Varicella and her plot by change all the humans into frogs. She is voiced by Laraine Newman.^{[citation needed]}

Abigail[]

Mrs. Cauldron's youngest niece who's still on training. She appeared only in 1-hour special episode "Bewitched". She's Mrs. Cauldron and Varicella's niece and also Winona's cousin. She was shown to be a mischievous young girl who dislikes Garfield at first. But later she was shown to be very friendly and trustful towards Garfield and Odie. She's also a willing person especially when she holds the biggest role stopping Varicella and her plot. She is voiced by Laraine Newman.^{[citation needed]}

Varicella[]

An evil witch who got sealed in the talking book for 1,000 years ago and she's also Mrs. Cauldron's sister. She appeared as the main antagonist in "Bewitched". And she's trying to take over the world by Forbidden Moon Spell by turning all the humans into frogs. But her plot was stopped by Garfield, Odie, Abigail, and Winona and she became good and no longer an evil witch anymore. She is voiced by Rose Marie.^{[citation needed]}

Movies[]

Garfield: The Movie[]

• Happy Chapman is a disgruntled television host and the main antagonist of the movie, who features house pets on his show. On camera, he appears to be friendly and welcoming but in reality, he is quite mean. He captures Odie, after Odie's owner, Jon Arbuckle declines an offer to have Odie be on television, thinking he will make him a star after judging a dog show in which Odie won for performing a dance. He then renames Odie to "Odie Schnitzel" during his show to cover up his crime. After he gets arrested, his TV show presumably is canceled. His catchphrase is "Be Happy!". He may be a parody of Soupy Sales. He is played by Stephen Tobolowsky.
• Luca is a very sensitive Doberman dog who guards a house next door, yet Garfield always manages to trick him. Garfield attempts to steal a pie at his house and tangles Luca up in garden gnomes. He is voiced by Brad Garrett.
• Persnikitty (real name: Sir Roland) is a cat who releases the pets from the animal shelter. He was originally on Happy Chapman's show. He and the other animals from the pound arrive to assist in the final attack against Happy, led by Garfield, and Odie, in the climax of the movie. He was voiced by Alan Cumming.
• Louis is a friendly mouse voiced by Nick Cannon. He often helps Garfield and is rewarded with macadamia nut cookies. He may be meant to be a film portrayal of Squeak the mouse.
• Walter J. Chapman, Happy Chapman's twin brother who is more successful than Happy. As he only has 2 brief scenes, he plays a very minor yet irrelevant role in the film. He is also played by Stephen Tobolowsky.
• Mrs. Baker is a woman who finds Odie when Odie runs away from his owner and lets Odie stay with her until she can find his owner. When Television host, Happy Chapman intentionally tricks her into thinking that Odie is "his" dog she falls for his trick and demands an autograph photo of Happy in exchange for finding Happy's seemingly dog. Later Jon Arbuckle claims Odie as his dog which is true, but she doesn't believe them, but gives them information about how Happy Chapman took Odie.
• Wendell, Happy's personal assistant, who is much nicer and but works with him on kidnapping Odie. He is the one who informs Happy about the "Found" poster of Odie and lets him steal Odie as he belongs to Jon Arbuckle. When Happy gets arrested in the film's ending, he is last seen running after the police car that drives off with Happy.

Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties[]

• Prince XII is a cat owned by a member of the British royal family. He looks exactly like Garfield except that he has a British accent, is slightly thinner, and has a bushy tail. He received all of his owner's inheritance after she died. He was voiced by Tim Curry.
• Winston the Prince's bulldog servant. Voiced by Bob Hoskins.
• Lord Manfred Dargis a man who wants to get rid of the Prince and the film's main antagonist. He is also the nephew of Prince's deceased owner. If Prince was to die, he would inherit the throne and the castle. Whenever something bad happens to him, he always yells "Smithee!!" who is his servant. His plan is to inherit the castle and build the barnyard into a city of Condos and kill the animals of the barn and serve them to the guests. At the end, Dargis gets arrested and he tries to get out of it by saying Smithee would vouch for him but fails. Played by Billy Connolly.
• Rommel the rottweiler guard dog who is owned by Lord Dargis and is ordered to kill and eat the Prince/Garfield. He may be trying to go after him, but after the animals offer him Dargis' trousers and force him not eat the Prince/Garfield, he eventually becomes good and is no longer Dargis' dog. Voiced by Vinnie Jones.
• Smithee a man that normally is forced to help Lord Dargis when something bad happens to Dargis. He seems suspicious about Dargis's selfishness and after summoning the police Dargis gets arrested and Smithee no longer is Dargis's servant. At one point after he confuses Garfield for Prince XII he falls back in shock after Garfield ate so much food plates were stacked high. Played by Ian Abercrombie.

Garfield Gets Real and sequels characters[]

Garfield Gets Real is a direct-to-video Garfield movie released in 2007 and produced by Paws Inc. The characters were made via CGI. It was written by Jim Davis and chronicles Garfield's adventure into the "real world" out of the comic strip. The first one was Garfield Gets Real and was followed up by Garfield's Fun Fest and Garfield's Pet Force. Among the characters in these films are:

• Charles – The director at Comic Studios. He is voiced by Neil Ross.
• Betty – The assistant director at Comic Studios. She is voiced by Audrey Wasilewski.
• Zelda – The caterer at Comic Studios. She is voiced by Audrey Wasilewski.
• Chutney – The assistant at Comic Studios. Shown in only one scene where he pets Odie. Voiced by Frank Welker.
• Walter "Wally" Stegman – A geeky inventor from the "Life Stinks" comic strip who is best known for making the Bonitanator (which teleports cartoon characters between the Real and Cartoon World). Voiced by Neil Ross in the style of Bill Thompson character Wallace Wimple from Fibber McGee and Molly.
• Bonita Stegman – She is the nagging often henpecking wife of Wally Stegman and co-star of the "Life Stinks" comic strip. Wally named the Bonitanator after her. Voiced by Jennifer Darling.
• Eli – He is the Head Technician of Comic Studios who prints comics and prepares settings. He doesn't change the plot story. He apparently isn't bothered by Garfield's laziness. He's the voice of reasoning for Garfield. He's willing to help anyone. Voiced by Greg Eagles.
• Billy Bear – Billy is the second most popular comic character and the star of his self-titled comic strip. He is a friendly, big strong bear who enjoys fishing in Billy Bear Woods. He was one of the rescuers of the Mungie Hotel fire. Voiced by Fred Tatasciore.
• Randy Rabbit – He is the partner of Billy Bear helping him do fishing, which he really hates. He also wears a green cap. He playfully teases Betty. Voiced by Stephen Stanton.
• Bonnie Bear – The wife of Billy Bear. Voiced by Jennifer Darling.
• Prop Boy – As his name says, he is the prop boy at the studio at which Garfield and the other comic strip characters work. He gave Odie a bone for the strip with Garfield. Voiced by Frank Welker.
• Hale and Hardy – A muscular dog and a muscular cat who love to exercise and the two main antagonists of Garfield Gets Real. They were hired to replace Garfield and Odie if they never came back (though their manager is only concerned with their licensing potential), they are also jealous of them and end up kidnapping them and leaving them in a burning building. They speak with a German accent and may be based on Arnold Schwarzenegger or the Schwarzenegger-inspired Hans and Franz of Saturday Night Live fame. Voiced by Gregg Berger and Frank Welker. They really wanted to replace Garfield and Odie, to the point of kidnapping them and setting their hotel on fire. After Billy Bear rescued Garfield and Odie from Hale and Hardy's fiery trap, they are seen living as strays.
• Freddy Frog – A legendary comic character that appears in Garfield's Fun Fest. He helps Garfield find what he needs to beat Ramon in the talent show. Voiced by Tim Conway.

Garfield's Pet Force[]

• Garzooka: Another version of Garfield from Dorkon.^{[citation needed]}
• Abnermal: Another version of Nermal from the planet Dorkon.^{[citation needed]}
• Emperor Jon: The ruler of planet Dorkon. He is another version of Jonathan Q. "Jon" Arbuckle^{[citation needed]}
• Odious: Another version of Odie from the planet Dorkon.^{[citation needed]}
• Starlena: Another version of Arlene from the planet Dorkon.^{[citation needed]}
• Professor Wally: A professor from Dorkon.^{[citation needed]}
• Vetvix: A villain who becomes Emperor Jon's wife at the end of the movie. She is another version of Liz Wilson.^{[citation needed]}

Other[]

• Spiders often appear in the comic strip. Garfield, who despises spiders, whacks them with newspapers. However, sometimes the spiders do manage to outwit Garfield. Guido, a house spider, usually appears to annoy Garfield.^{[citation needed]}
• Birds often appear as Garfield hunts and (usually) eats them, usually by lying in ambush near the birdbath, or lying on the ground waiting for birds to land on him. Whenever Jon brings a bird, usually a canary, in as a third pet, Garfield will attempt to eat them, often successfully.^{[citation needed]}
• Fish are frequently brought in by Jon also as an attempt to add a third pet to the house and are quickly eaten by Garfield. Apparently he enjoys these and the canaries Jon also brings so much he has requested these as pizza toppings.^{[citation needed]}
• Mice Jon's house is also inhabited by mice, many of whom make cameo appearances in the strip. They are often portrayed as living their own social lives in their mouse holes. Although Jon wants Garfield to get rid of the mice, Garfield spares the mice and is even a friend of them. Though he comes from a family of expert mouse-catchers, (his mother, father and grandfather for example), Garfield thinks that eating mice is disgusting. As he once famously put it, "Show me a cat that's a good mouser, and I'll show you a cat with bad breath." As a result, the mice generally have the run of the house. On at least three occasions, the mice have been given names: one named Squeak has appeared sporadically since the 1980s, and one named Herman Vermin in the late 1990s, which is mentioned in some strips. There is also one mouse named Stretch, similar to Garfield's rubber chicken, though only appeared in one strip. In Garfield and Friends, a mouse named Floyd appeared regularly as a friend of Garfield, normally once a season (which he often complained about). Unlike the other mice, Floyd had a pink nose and white pupils like Garfield had. Squeak is featured in The Garfield Show, where he is shown as the leader of a gang of mice. Like his comics counterpart, he is Garfield's friend.^{[citation needed]}
• Clive is Garfield's invisible friend, who lives in a room in the attic. In the same game Garfield tries to help him get the toys back in their closets by type (toy cars, toy monsters, toy robots).^{[citation needed]}
• Other animals appear in the strip. There was a frog named Herbie seen twice in the strip. His last time in the strip was a Halloween strip when all the animals that were eaten by Garfield was seen in a nightmare.^{[citation needed]}
• In a few comics in 1996, Jon had a parrot who talks. Once in the strip, Jon was watching TV until his parrot was about to be eaten by Garfield, so Jon screamed his name. It is now presumably deceased.^{[citation needed]}
• Guard Dogs appear in the neighborhood with "Beware of dog" signs, which they make jokes to.^{[citation needed]}

Inanimate characters[]

• RX-2 is a talking bathroom scale which insults Garfield when he steps on it. Garfield usually destroys the scale, or threatens to do so, when it insults him. Only made one appearance in an episode of Garfield and Friends and also appeared in Garfield's Thanksgiving.
• Garfield's alarm clock often "speaks" by means of thought bubbles. Garfield often destroys his alarm clock by smashing it.
• Plants also speak by means of thought bubbles. Garfield often eats or stomps on them, much to Jon's annoyance. Like birds and goldfish, any plants Jon brings into the house are eaten by Garfield.
• Balls of Yarn often speak through the means of talk bubbles. The relationship they have with Garfield is similar to a squabbling couple.^{[citation needed]}

References[]