Line #3 ComicStrip/Heathcliff


1	[[quoteright:341:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Heathcliff_1684.gif]]
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3	A [[PrintLongRunners long-running]] NewspaperComic begun in 1973 by George Gately. He helmed it until his 2001 death, when his nephew, Peter Gallagher (not to be confused with [[Creator/PeterGallagher the actor with the same name]]) 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.
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5	At least... that's how it started.
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7	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", "Gravy", "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, and rarely if ''ever'' does the reader get an explanation.
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9	The strip is also notable in that it had ''two'' cartoons based on it. The first, in 1980, was produced by Creator/RubySpears and (in the second season) was paired up with an animated adaptation of ''ComicStrip/{{Marmaduke}}''. The second and more familiar one, produced by Creator/DICEntertainment, came in 1984, paired with the ''Catillac Cats''. Heathcliff became renowned as one of iconic voice actor {{Creator/Mel Blanc}}'s final original roles, voicing him in both cartoons.
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11	A film adaptation was planned for 2011 but never got off the ground.
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13	For more information on the second cartoon, see ''WesternAnimation/HeathcliffAndTheCatillacCats''.
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15	----
16	!!Tropes present in the strip:
17	* AbhorrentAdmirer: Crazy Shirley is this to Heathcliff.
18	* AnimatedAdaptation: Twice.
19	* TheAnticipator: PlayedForLaughs where a mouse is able to sneak past a sleeping Heathcliff with ease, before getting hit with a {{rolling pin\|Of Doom}} by his wife who then tells him, "Sneak by Heathcliff, but you won't sneak by me!"
20	* BerserkButton: In recent comics, Heathcliff becomes upset if he's mistaken for ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}.
21	* BewareTheQuietOnes: He beats up dogs for fun to give to the dog catcher.
22	* BullyBulldog: Spike. Averted in that he's no match for Heathcliff, in terms of strength and wits.
23	* CanonImmigrant: The Catillac Cats have made [[https://img.fireden.net/co/image/1468/99/1468993129697.gif two]] [[https://www.gocomics.com/heathcliff/2018/02/20 appearances]].
24	* ComicBookAdaptation: 1985 to 1991 through Creator/MarvelComics, beating ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' by 27 years.
25	%%* CoolCat: Heathcliff
26	%%* DogsAreDumb: Played into the ground.
27	* FlatCharacter: How Heathcliff is portrayed in the comics. The animated adaptations give him a voice and personality.
28	* HumanlikeAnimalAging: Seems to have this, if the second comic linked in the CanonImmigrant entry is anything to go by. The comic in question was posted in 2018 and had Heathcliff and the Catillac Cats reminiscing over "stories about TheEighties". However, [[FridgeHorror any cat born that long ago would be long dead by now.]]
29	* LawyerFriendlyCameo: [[https://www.gocomics.com/heathcliff/2018/03/06 Averted.]]
30	* MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext: [[http://heathcliff.wikia.com/wiki/Garbage_Ape Garbage Ape]] shows up to Heathcliff's delight and knocks over the neighborhood trash cans. He makes regular appearances, with no more explanation than that -- in [[https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/176/724/15a one strip in 2016]], he somehow became ''[[Film/TheEmpireStrikesBack an AT-AT Walker]]'' for no apparent reason. Oh, and he has a sidekick: Trash Chimp.
31	* PrintLongRunners: 1973 and counting.
32	* RaisedByGrandparents: Iggy Nutmeg lives with his grandparents. We don't know anything of his parents.
33	* RunningGag: Heathcliff loved to torment the milkman, the ''garbage'' man and the owner of the fish market in particular.
34	* SitcomArchnemesis: Grandpa Nutmeg is this to Heathcliff. Spike also counts as one.
35	* 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 avert this by making Heathcliff even more of a mouthy wise guy than the latter (quips provided by none other than Creator/MelBlanc).
36	* SphereEyes
37	* StockAnimalDiet: Heathcliff loves eating fish and drinking milk as he does regularly steal both from the fish market and milkman. ZigZagged with his fixation on ham.
38	* 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 Ape strips, birds) in the background explaining what he's doing.
39	* TroublesomePet: Heathcliff frequently knocks over trash cans, terrorizes the neighbors, and [[BigEater hogs the family's snacks]].
40	* [[UnnamedParent Unnamed Parents]]: Or in this case, unnamed grandparents. Iggy's are only known as "Grandma" and "Grandpa".
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Context ComicStrip / Heathcliff