1990: 12th Birthday Special: Fridgefield

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12th Birthday Special: Fridgefield
1990.png
Made by: Billy Hicks


Explanation[edit | edit source]

This strip takes the original Garfield strip and references a number of Square Root of Minus Garfield running gags therein; a blender has been glued to Jon's face, a mouse has been added to the scene carrying a flag with a birthday cake on it, and the original cake has been replaced with boxes of Popsicle-brand Jell-O frozen pudding pops--a rare physical appearance of the subject of perhaps Square Root of Minus Garfield's biggest running gag.

The author's suggestion that those confused read the previous 1,989 strips (at the time, the entire Square Root of Minus Garfield archive prior to this strip) brings the Archive Panic trope into mind; that effect is magnified in more recent years, as this strip and those before it is now the smaller chunk when breaking the entire SRoMG archive into two chunks, one being the first 1,990 strips and the other being everything that came after this strip.

The choice to depict the Jell-O brand may have been ill-timed; during the late parts of development of the idea that became the "birthday series" that this strip is part of, only fourteen days before this strip first ran, longtime Jell-O spokesman Bill Cosby was subject to a major accusation of unspeakable crimes that would ultimately destroy his career. Production lead time, even in a special timeframe meant specifically for the "birthday series", meant that this strip had been created before the major accusations against Cosby were levied. What lessens the overall impact of these events on this strip is the fact that Mr. Cosby himself is not depicted, meaning this strip could follow Jell-O's lead in distancing themselves from Cosby.

The author writes:[edit | edit source]

For the confused just joining us, please read the previous 1,989 strips.

Original strips: 1990-06-19, 2008-04-26, 2008-06-19, 2011-11-19.

Transcript[edit | edit source]

{Garfield creeps up to a fridge}
{Garfield opens up to find it full of Frozen Pudding Pops}
{Jon, Odie, and a mouse enter, Jon with a blender glued to his face and the mouse holding a flag with a birthday cake on it}
Jon: Happy birthday, Garfield!
Garfield: Do these guys know me, or do these guys know me?