History ComicStrip / Jon

In a set-up that sounds ''very'' familiar in hindsight, the comic is about a cartoonist named Jon Arbuckle and his FatCat Garfield, who are occasionally joined by Jon's friend Lyman and his dog, Odi-- sorry, "Spot". Its humor and jokes are near identical to ''Garfield'''s, down to the lasagna jokes, but the art-style is different. Many of the strips were even later redone in ''Garfield''. Also notable for the comic, is that, due to the fact it was focused on Jon, there are several strips where the famous cat is entirely absent. However, the strip shifted focus from Jon to Garfield mostly due to pressure from comic syndicators to rework his cat as the star as they felt the cat had better lines than his human.

** Odie is named "Spot". This explains the joke in ''Garfield'' when Garfield snarks "They should have named him 'Spot'" (referencing Odie's PottyFailure), which was "So ''that's'' why they call him 'Spot'".

* ShoutOut: One strip has Garfield thinking about the movie ''Rocky''. Then, some fleas make him pose like a boxer.

''Jon'' is an obscure comic strip by Creator/JimDavis made for an local Indiana weekly newspaper named ''Pendleton Times'' between 1976 and 1978, between ''ComicStrip/GnormGnat'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', being a prototypical version of the latter.

Not to be confused with the ''Garfield'' fan-comic ''Jon'' by Gale Gilligan.

* FourthWallMailSlot: The [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/garfield/images/6/64/Missing_14.JPG/revision/latest?cb=20190730014001 June 17, 1976]] strip saw Garfield answering a letter, and other strips mat have had this as well.

* FourthWallMailSlot: The June 17, 1976 strip saw Garfield answering a letter, and other strips mat have had this as well.

** The doctor is a goofy man named Dr. Gustav Stitch, and he doesn't check up on Garfield but on Jon.

** Garfield's doctor is a goofy man named Dr. Gustav Stitch.

** Garfield's cheeks are much bigger than normal. He's also a solid, instead of a tabby, except for his striped tail.
*** Starting in summer 1977, Garfield's fluffy jowls were smoothed out.

In a set-up that sounds ''very'' familiar in hindsight, the comic is about a cartoonist named Jon Arbuckle and his FatCat Garfield, who are occasionally joined by Jon's friend Lyman and his dog, Odi-- sorry, "Spot". Its humor and jokes are near identical to ''Garfield'''s, down to the lasagna jokes, but the art-style is different. Many of the strips were even later redone in ''Garfield''. Also notable for the comic, is that, due to the fact it was focused on Jon, there are several strips where the famous cat is entirely absent. However, the strip shifted focus from Jon to Garfield mostly due to pressure from comic syndicators to rework his cat as the star as they felt the cat had better lines and performed better comedy than his human.

In a set-up that sounds ''very'' familiar in hindsight, the comic is about a cartoonist named Jon Arbuckle and his FatCat Garfield, who are occasionally joined by Jon's friend Lyman and his dog, Odi-- sorry, "Spot". Its humor and jokes are near identical to ''Garfield'''s, down to the lasagna jokes, but the art-style is different. Many of the strips were even later redone in ''Garfield''. Also notable for the comic, is that, due to the fact it was focused on Jon, there are several strips where the famous cat is entirely absent.

Not to be confused with the ''Garfield'' fan-comic ''Jon''.

** Jon's doctor is a goofy man named Dr. Gustav Stitch.

** Jon's design also starts being quite a bit different, although he started to approach the look he would have in the ''Garfield'' strip proper by the end of the strip's run.

''Jon'' is an obscure comic strip by Creator/JimDavis made for an Indiana weekly between 1976 and 1978, between ''ComicStrip/GnormGnat'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'', being a prototypical version of the latter.

It's about a cartoonist named Jon Arbuckle and his FatCat Garfield. Its humor and jokes are near identical to ''Garfield'''s, down to the lasagna jokes, but the art-style is different. Many of the strips were later redone in ''Garfield''.

* ArtEvolution: Unlike his original design, March 1978 strips depict Garfield with thick tabby stripes.

** The comic isn't based around Garfield, so some strips focus on Jon and his life without any references to Garfield.

It's about a cartoonist named Jon Arbuckle and his FatCat Garfield. Its humor and jokes are near identical to ''Garfield'''s, down to the lasagna jokes, but the art-style is different. The comics were later redone in ''Garfield''.

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Garfield loves lasagna.

** Spot's first design resembles a chihuahua, although at one point it abruptly changed to Odie's first design.6+

** Garfield's vet is a goofy man named Dr. Gustav Stitch.

* EarlyInstallmentCharacterDesignDifference: Garfield's cheeks are much bigger than normal. He's also a solid, instead of a tabby, except for his striped tail.

''Jon'' is an obscure comic strip by Creator/JimDavis made for an Indiiaana newspaper in the 1976. It was written between the releases of ''ComicStrip/GnormGnat'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''.

The strip is a prototypical version of ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''. It's about a cartoonist named Jon Arbuckle and his FatCat Garfield. Its humor and jokes are near identical to ''Garfield'''s, down to the lasagna jokes, but the art-style is different. The comics were later redone in ''Garfield''.

The comic only lasted two years. The comic was originally titled ''Jon'' before being renamed ''Garfield'' in 1978. It was retooled into its current ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' form when it was picked up nationally by Creator/UnitedFeatureSyndicate.

** In one comic, Garfield threatens to punch Spot for no reason than just because he doesn't like him. This is abnormally violent for Garfield.

''Jon'' is an obscure comic strip by Creator/JimDavis. It was written between ''ComicStrip/GnormGnat'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''. It was originally titled ''Jon'' before being renamed ''Garfield'' in 1978.

The comic only lasted two years. It was retooled into its current ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' form when it was picked up nationally by UsefulNotes/UnitedFeatureSyndicate.

''Jon'' is an obscure comic strip by Creator/JimDavis. It was written between ''ComicStrip/GnormGnat'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}''.

The comic only lasted two years. It was retooled into ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' when it was picked up nationally.

''Jon'' is an obscure comic strip by Creator/JimDavis. It was written between ''ComicStrip/GnormGnat'' and ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}}''.