1857: Spot the Difference with Garfield & Liz
| Spot the Difference with Garfield & Liz |
 Made by: BlueDude |
Explanation[edit | edit source]
Another "Spot the Difference" comic, this time with the repeated joke in question going as follows: Character A asks Jon "penny for your thoughts", Jon reveals his biologically improbable and generally idiotic thoughts, and Character A offers him a full dollar if he stops talking about it.
The author's note discusses an underlying issue with the latter comic; Liz plays the role of the straight man, which Garfield has traditionally held (even in the strip right above it), and Garfield contributes little to the joke. It then proceeds to wonder if Jon needs two straight men to counteract his personality.
The author writes:[edit | edit source]
Looking past the whole "recycling jokes" bit, it strikes me how little Garfield himself speaks in the 2014 strip. Given that Liz takes his place, I wondered: how necessary is Liz in this setting? Garfield generally plays straight man to Jon at home, while Liz does so at her office or, in later strips, on a date - does Jon really need two straight men? I'll leave it up to you to debate that among yourselves.
Original strips: 2008-02-18, 2014-02-14.
Transcript[edit | edit source]
{Garfield and Jon are sitting down at a table; the former is smiling}
Garfield: Penny for your thoughts.
Jon: Garfield, I was thinking... if our ears were in our armpits...
{Garfield looks horrified, or perhaps just very embarrassed}
[Jon raises his arms to emphasize his point}
Jon: Would we have to raise our arms to hear people talk?
Garfield: [holding his hand out] A dollar if you stop thinking.
{Garfield, Jon and Liz are sitting down at a table; Jon appears to be contemplating something, while Garfield remains static throughout all three panels}
Liz: A penny for your thoughts, Jon.
Jon: Are nose hairs directly connected to the brain?
{Again, Liz looks horrified/embarrassed}
Liz: A dollar if you never ask that again.
Garfield: Thank you.
