3 ms·

I always found Garfield hilariously downright funny. Maybe that's why most people don't get my sense of humour.

• mywittyname 6y ago
  Same. I find most of the comics funny, but there are a few that really make me laugh. I actually have a folder on my desktop dedicated to so some of my favorite cartoons. Comedy isn't universal at all: I'm sure there are people who don't find Robin Williams funny. With Garfield, there are several layers to the strip, and the more of them you understand, the funnier the strip gets. I think you have to ... 1) Understand the role of each character; 2) Empathize with Garfield (easy to do, he has many common failings); 3) Feel like cats in general are lazy, eat the same thing, somewhat anti-social, and prone to melodrama (i.e., be a cat owner); 4) Feel superior to Jon, as everyone else in the comic does, but also find him lovable (having a dorky dad helps); 5) Appreciate absurdity ...for the humor to translate. Here's a random comic I chuckled at : https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1986/03/22 https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/1986/03/22 The foundations of humor are certainly present in this strip, regardless of how much the reader knows about Garfield. It is absurd (a cat crying and watching a sad movie) and incongruous (turns out, he's not watching a movie at all; his reaction is not proportional to the situation). But I think what elevates the strip is the repetition of Garfield's struggle with diets and how Jon always tries (and fails) to cheer Garfield up, combined with the fact that Garfield acts exactly like real-world cats do (crying for attention/food).