The Lyman Chronicles : Comics

Comics, Lyman,Garfield,Jon and Odie are copyright Paws Inc and Jim Davis. The comics are from here, the official Garfield website.

Sometimes comics have an week long story line that is usually forgotten the week after. That's probably what this seemed like to Garfield readers August 7th 1978:

And then the next day, even though readers didn't realize at the time, they introduced a character who is very vital in the Garfield franchise: Odie.

The day after was Garfield complaining about Odie. The strip after that featured Lyman again, who formally introduces Odie.

The rest of the week was Garfield and Odie in various antics, Davis was probably having fun with the new animal. By next Monday it was probably realized that this wasn't a one week arc.

(And yes they can)

This one strip made me think of another strip.

It reminded me of a strip from February 28th 1986, when Lyman had been gone for a while.

Just the similarity of hitting an Odie with a newspaper I guess. I think it also shows a difference between how they raise Odie. Lyman starts by yelling at Odie, then grips his neck and smacks his bottom. Judging by the sound effect and Odie's yipping, he was probably hitting really hard,
(Then Garfield makes a snarky comment.)

Jon however is most likely using a softer, but firm, tone, then he taps Odie's bottom, This time Odie seems calm and still in his good mood, meaning Jon probably isn't smacking him as hard as Lyman did. (However this time Garfield wants to join in on beating Odie.)

Next day's comic strip is a continuation of yesterday's comic

In the strip before this one, Garfield was about to smack Odie with a bone, before getting caught by Jon.

Maybe Garfield's still upset by getting rubbed the wrong way:

It took a few strips for him to appear again, including a diet storyline, and a two strip gag about Garfield getting a bath. And he returns with a pun:

To be honest, this was kinda Jon's fault:

I don't really have a comment for this one other than "Jon's one to talk."

In the strip before this, Garfield was taking a nap outside on his back:

Lyman actually is a pretty good owner to Odie.

And he can actually be very calm:

He returns in the midst of the "Garfield getting declawed" story arc.

This strip could easily be a modern day Garfield strip. Just replace Lyman with Jon, and Jon with Garfield and add a witty punchline for Garfield to say. I mean the reason Lyman was cut out was because gradually his role was given to Garfield, but it also seems part of his role was given to Jon as well.

Jon's kinda cruel in this one. Is he even gonna feed Garfield? (I'm assuming Lyman is the one feeding Odie usually.) Unless that really is the last of all the food, including pet food.

Garfield is more human than cat, so perhaps in this world he can get people sick. Lyman's probably next though. I really like this strip because it shows Lyman's playful side, and I tend to like characters, shows, movies, and comics that are more silly than serious. I mean some occasions seriousness is great, but I lean towards less serious things, Lyman (and the Garfield comic in general) is a great example of this.

This one baffles me. I'm confused. Also looks like Lyman is gonna starve again.

When did Jon start smoking a pipe? And why did it change colors between panels?

Kinda sweet Jon gives his kitty good night kisses (Even though Garfield doesn't seem to approve.) Lyman of course jokes about this. I'm wondering though, was the milk dud is Garfield's fur? I mean Garfield seems like the kinda cat that would scarf down the candy and get it stuck in his fur.

Surprised Garfield isn't trying to eat Odie then.

I wonder if Lyman had a resolution too:

Jon's the one who put it on him in the first place though....

From the year he's been there, Lyman is learning.

No comment really on this one but....look:

Is he, or is he actually cold? I can't tell to be honest. Given Garfield's personality he's probably being over dramatic.

Given this and the fact he owns a disco suit, he's probably a big disco fan.

I like how this one shows Lyman's playful and teasing side as well. And look! Even Garfield is having fun.

Not sure how to feel about this one. I mean it's funny, yes, but what bugs me the most is Lyman kicking Odie. It just seems wrong seeing a human do that to Odie, but for some reason the same feelings don't occur when Garfield kicks Odie off a table.

What was Jon even planning on doing? Also Lyman and Jon are pretty close in the last panel....

This has to be one of the cutest ends to a Garfield story arc:

Another comic that could easily be a modern one. Just replace Lyman with Jon and there you go. Although Lyman being there seems to give it a short of charm:

Lyman doesn't appear in this comic, but, hey, Jon says his name so that's good enough for this website:

I really like the comics where Lyman is a loving owner to Odie. I mean above we saw he slaps him hard with a newspaper to discipline him and had no qualms about kicking him for causing him to spill his coffee. Here, however, he's actually worried if Odie was hurt, which shows he cares.

Surprisingly this didn't turn into a humorous arc where they take the two out and they cause hijinks. Also I wonder how fast the song is going, Odie's spinning pretty fast on there.

Is that the same thing this burger was made from?:

It's interesting to see how Garfield really feels about his life. He probably likes causing mischief more than anything.

Before Lyman's next appearance there are a few more story arcs, including when Jon first met Liz, and another Garfield diet story line. At this point his appearances are seeming to get fewer and fewer.

Again, another long time before Lyman had another appearance. This makes me think, it's possible he left due to how things go in this household. On a side note I can relate to Garfield being bored so much.

This was a much shorter wait surprisingly. After the strip above was a comic about Garfield slamming into a glass door, and then this one. This is yet another example of a strip that could be a modern day one. You'd just replace Lyman with Jon. :

This strip is a perfect use of Lyman, as the punchline probably wouldn't have worked without him. (Although with modern Garfield this could also be done if Liz was used.):

The only comment I really have for this one is on Jon and how stupid his idea was.

I didn't realize how much shorter Lyman was compared to Jon before this comic:

Lyman ahs seen so many things...

At least Lyman gets to eat this time.

Even though I like Lyman, it's still weird seeing him in the ownership position for Odie.

It's become common to see Lyman surprised, but...shouldn't he expect it by now.

Wonder if Jon's gonna use his racket made of Catgut.

Oh looks it's Nermal! I love Nermal. Currently Nermal is voiced by Jason Marsden, who voiced Kovu in Lion King 2 (If you can't tell, that movie is my favorite.) Looks like Lyman can't escape the cute either.

Is this what they do for fun? (Well besides riding on record players.)

Why is Lyman not getting food becoming a reoccurring theme? Then again it's happened to Jon for years.

Yes, more silly Lyman! This is now what I live for!

Also live for Lyman being a good owner to Odie!

Then again....

I also like how much he cares about Garfield too!

Lyman seems to be pulling his weight and attempting to help around the house. Good for him! However he should have realized Garfield's infatuation with the pasta dish and what could occur because of this. Also why does Jon's last speech bubble have a question mark? It's not a question it's just an exclamation!?

Garfield comes when you call him....well usually if there's food involved. But, he does acknowledge
it's his name.

How come something always happens to the others when Garfield is bored?

Was Lyman even a serious suspect in this? Did Jon really suspect Lyman ate his sock?

I'd be worried too actually....

His only appearance is in the title card in these next few

Finally on Garfield's birthday of 1981, he makes a formal appearance again.

I thought the cycle was gonna start again....

Surprisingly no. He makes a formal appearance in the middle of a leash story arc.

This one is just a title card cameo, but it seems at this point Jon is taking over the role of being Odie's owner. I mean it's just him telling the beagle to do tricks, but by this point things seem to be changing quite a bit in the comic. Not only Garfield's design having developed quite a bit since the first time Lyman showed up, but Jon is now usually the human that interacts with Odie. Also there's another stretch of Lyman just in the title panel.