Gnorm Gnat - Tumblr Posts

i drew my babygirl Jon Arbuckle :)

his ass!!! it haunts me!!!! i tried to draw him taller but he just kinda ended up looking really stocky and i don't know how that happened,,, man's like 6 foot canonically. i think i was too focused on his ass and making his legs look cute lol

speaking of ass, i don't know why Jim Davis decided to give Jon such a dumptruck but i'm so glad he did. ever since the very beginning of Garfield in the 'Jon' strip, he's had a fat ass and i absolutely love that. it's just a cemented part of his character now and always has been XD

i drew 1978-1980 Garf from memory!! one of my absolute favourite things about classic Garfield is just how arch-shaped he is. he's just a fat little cat guy and i love him :) i always make sure i draw the arch shape when i draw Garfield sitting cause that's one of my favourite parts about drawing him

also here is Gnorm :) for those unaware, back in the very early 1970s, before Garfield was created in any form, Jim Davis made a little comic strip about bugs called 'Gnorm Gnat'. it was mainly about the little bug dudes getting into silly relatable little antics with snappy punchlines. it's got a few characters like Gnorm, a fruit fly named Freddy, a slug named Cecil, a smart worm called Dr. Rosenwurm and Drac Webb to name a few. for something so early, it actually has quite a few familiar aspects of what would later become Garfield. the same writing style, a similar art style to early Garfield/Jon, occasional references to Peanuts (a comic Davis grew up with), the German doctor character who later appeared in the 'Jon' strip, heck there's even a goofy bug named Lyman! additionally, the name "John Arbuckle" shows up in a strip where Dr. Rosenwurm reads a piece of poetry written by him (which was recycled into an actual early Garfield strip where Jon Arbuckle reads the same poem). in fact, it's so mildly familiar that the entirety of the September 9th, 1978 Garfield strip was recycled twice, first in Jon and then in Garfield!

unfortunately, Gnorm Gnat only ended up getting published in the local newspaper, Pendleton Times, following several rejections from various syndicates for the fact that bugs just aren't as relatable or funny to a lot of people as Jim Davis thought they were. of course, i think Gnorm Gnat is something very special to the history of Garfield and i quite like it for its significance. i think it's a cute little bug comic and i hope it gets rebooted someday :)

i hear everyone in the Garfield fandom talk about how Lyman is the forgotten character of Garfield, no one remembers him, his disappearance is mysterious and he never appeared in the strip ever again after a cameo in 2013, and like that's epic and all, but i bet none of you guys have ever considered the TRUE lost character of Garfield who never even got a chance to appear in the syndicated strip at all, Dr. Gustav Stitch from the original prototype 'Jon' strip!

this guy is essentially a recycled character from Gnorm Gnat named Dr. Gougo, and he only appeared in two strips ever before never appearing in another comic ever again. Dr. Gougo's character ended up being more developed than Dr. Stitch's ever was, as the bug appeared in more strips and obviously got more dialogue, but it's clear from the two strips Stitch was in that he essentially had the same loopy personality and very questionable medical practices. i think there should be more fan stuff of this guy, partly because it'd be funny but also because i just think he's an interesting example of a long-abandoned character in Garfield history.