History ComicStrip / Heathcliff

* BullyBulldog: Spike. Subverted in that he's no match for Heathcliff, in terms of strength and wits.

* TheSpeechless: This is how the casual reader can tell the difference between Heathcliff and [[ComicStrip/{{Garfield}} the other guy]]. Heathcliff understands language but never actually says anything. Notable in that there are talking animals in the strip, e.g. birds and mice. Curiously both cartoons subvert this by making Heathcliff even more of a mouthy wise guy than the latter (quips provided by none other than Creator/MelBlanc).

* ThoseTwoGuys: An awful lot of the comics (which, during weekdays and Saturdays, is a single gag panel[[note]]Other comic strips that follow this format include ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus'', ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'', and the previously mentioned ''ComicStrip/{{Marmaduke}}''.[[/note]]) seem to follow the same formula of Heathcliff doing something strange, and two random people (or, in the case of the Garbage Age strips, birds) in the background explaining what he's doing.

In recent years the comic has become so unabashedly bizarre that people often refer to it as one of the weirdest comics on the internet - a label that Gallagher himself considers "high praise". Riddled with AntiHumor, UsefulNotes/{{Dada}}, and pure surrealist oddity, explaining Heathcliff has become almost impossible. Understanding Heathcliff is like grasping the eternal Tao. There is a "Garbage Ape" that the local cats revere. His existence is never explained. Heathcliff often wears helmets with words on them that underscore a present desire (eg, "Ham", "Meat", "Omega-3's"). This is never explained. The last week in January, 2021, alternated between two punchlines over five days. The deeper you delve into the comic, the odder it gets.

* NiceHat: Iggy wears a baseball cap, local bully Mugsy wears a newsboy cap and Iggy's friend Willy is shown wearing a propeller beanie.
** Also, depending on your tastes, Heathcliff's ham helmet.

A [[PrintLongRunners long-running]] NewspaperComic begun in 1973 by George Gately. He helmed it until his 2001 death, when his nephew, Peter took over. The strip's title character is a fat orange cat owned by the Nutmeg family — an elderly woman, her husband, and their grandson Iggy. Not unlike ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', Heathcliff is a wisecracking, fat, orange cat who gets into all sorts of mischief.

In recent years the comic has become so unabashedly bizarre that people often refer to it as one of the weirdest comics on the internet - a label that Gately himself considers "high praise". Riddled with AntiHumor, UsefulNotes/{{Dada}}, and pure surrealist oddity, explaining Heathcliff has become almost impossible. Understanding Heathcliff is like grasping the eternal Tao. There is a "Garbage Ape" that the local cats revere. His existence is never explained. Heathcliff often wears helmets with words on them that underscore a present desire (eg, "Ham", "Meat", "Omega-3's"). This is never explained. The last week in January, 2021, alternated between two punchlines over five days. The deeper you delve into the comic, the odder it gets.

* RecycledScript: Exploited. January 26 and 28, 2021, were identical in content, but drawn slightly differently. In the same week, on the 25th, 27th and 29th, the same setup was used with one item swapped out - in each, Heathcliff was on a therapist's couch, with said therapist saying "Let's talk about ___", referencing something sitting next to Heathcliff. Robots, Chihuahuas, and Ham, respectively.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: According to Gately, [[https://theoutline.com/post/4084/the-internet-oddballs-who-think-the-heathcliff-comics-are-deep he just tries to avoid "typical punchlines" and has a strange sense of humor.]]

* StockAnimalDiet: Heathcliff loves eating fish and drinking milk as he does regularly steal both from the fish market and milkman.

In recent years the comic has become so unabashedly bizarre that people often refer to it as one of the weirdest comics on the internet - a label that Gately himself considers "high praise". Riddled with AntiHumor, UsefulNotes/{{Dada}}, and pure surrealist oddity, explaining Heathcliff has become almost impossible. Understanding Heathcliff is like grasping the eternal Tao. There is a "Garbage Ape" that the local cats revere. What, precisely, he does, where he comes from, or why he is revered is never explained. Heathcliff often wears helmets with words on them that underscore a present desire (eg, "Ham", "Meat", "Omega-3's"). This is never explained. The last week in January, 2021, alternated between two punchlines over five days. The deeper you delve into the comic, the odder it gets.

!Tropes present in the strip:

* ThoseTwoGuys: An awful lot of the comics (which, during weekdays and Saturdays, is a single gag panel[[note]]Other comic strips that follow this format include ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus'', ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'', and the previously mentioned ''ComicStrip/{{Marmaduke}}''.[[/note]]) seem to follow the same formula of Heathcliff doing something strange, and two random people (or, in the case of the Garbage Age stripes, birds) in the background explaining what he's doing.

* ThoseTwoGuys: An awful lot of the comics (which, during weekdays and Saturdays, is a single gag panel[[note]]Other comic strips that follow this format include ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus'', ''ComicStrip/DennisTheMenaceUS'', and the previously mentioned ''ComicStrip/{{Marmaduke}}''.[[/note]]) seem to follow the same formula of Heathcliff doing something strange, and two random people in the background explaining what he's doing.