Gnorm Gnat (found Jim Davis comic strip; 1973-1975): Difference between revisions

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*''20 Years & Still Kicking!: Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection''
*''20 Years & Still Kicking!: Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection''
*''Garfield at 25: In Dog Years I'd Be Dead''
*''Garfield at 25: In Dog Years I'd Be Dead''
[[Category:Lost comics]][[Category:Partially found media]]
 
[[Category:Lost comics]]
[[Category:Partially found media]]

Revision as of 01:45, 23 March 2019

Gnorm.jpg

The title character, drawn by Jim Davis.

Status: Partially Found

Jim Davis is known for creating the very famous comic strip Garfield, which started in 1978, which has become a massive media franchise on its own, adapted into animated series, video games, TV specials and feature movies.

What is lesser known, however, is that before Garfield, Jim Davis created another comic strip called Gnorm Gnat, which ran from 1972 to 1977, which featured anthropomorphic insects.

Premise

The main character was the titular Gnorm Gnart, a "straight man" with "Walter Mitty" tendencies.

Other characters include a depressed fly, Freddy, who only has a week to live, and an unspecified species "free spirit, just a tad insane" bug called Lyman (the Garfield comic strip would also have a major character called Lyman, Odie's original owner, who would infamously disappear without a reason).

Cancellation

The comic strip was only published in the Pendleton Times, a newspaper from the town of Pendleton in the State of Indiana. Davis tried to have it published in more mainstream publications, but it kept being rejected. Although his art and writing were praised, the main criticism he received was that the characters were considered "unrelatable" and "unfunny" due to being insects.

Davis then decided to end the strip, having the titular protagonist die by being stepped on by the foot of a human.

He would then decide to have his new comic strip be about a more relatable animal: a cat, Garfield. The rest is history.

Availability

Despite being the predecessor to one of the most popular comic strips of all time, almost no strips of the original comic have resurfaced, and it seems Davis and his editors have no interest into collecting and reprinting them.

Only a few comic strips have been shown in Garfield celebration books. The rest, including the infamous last strip, remains lost.

Unless someone happened to collect issues of the Pendleton Times newspaper from the 70s (which is unlikely for a small town publication), there is little chance to see more of the comic.

Image Gallery

References

  • Wikipedia article
  • 20 Years & Still Kicking!: Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection
  • Garfield at 25: In Dog Years I'd Be Dead