Summary

• Gnorm Gnat had gags that were just as funny and clever as those in Garfield, proving Jim Davis' comedic evolution.
• Gnorm Gnat and Garfield both faced similar predicaments, but Gnorm Gnat's dark humor made it funnier in some comic strips.
• The comic strips featuring Gnorm Gnat, Garfield, and Jon share similar jokes and comedic beats, showing Davis' comedic style.

Gnorm Gnat is a comic strip created by Jim Davis that predates Davis’ iconic Garfield and Jon.

Gnorm Gnat was originally published in The Pendleton Times from 1973-1975. It follows the titular cartoon gnat and his troupe of comedic bugs as they traverse their strange lives as insects together, all the while adding a layer of social commentary and relatability to their jokes - just like with Garfield. Here are 10 Gnorm Gnat comics that show why Jim Davis became so beloved by the time he was publishing Garfield, and why he still is to this day.

10 Garfield’s “Six Letter Word for ‘Pain’” Gag Originated in Gnorm Gnat (& was Funnier)

Gnorm Gnat - April 26, 1973

The above strip features Gnorm Gnat doing a crossword puzzle, asking his fellow bug, Drac Webb, if he knew a six-letter word for “pain”. Drac answers him calmly with “arrrgh”, but Gnorm writes that answer off as “ridiculous”. So, Drac stomps Gnorm’s foot, and the gnat cries out, “ARRRGH”. Gnorm then asks Drac if “arrrgh” is spelled with three R’s or four.

This gag was later re-worked in a Garfield comic strip that was published on February 17, 1979, only it wasn’t as funny. Jon asks Garfield the same question Gnorm asked Drac while doing a crossword, but with a different rhythm to it. Instead of telling Jon, Jon writing off the answer, and then Jon being proven wrong through violence, Garfield jumped straight to violence, and Jon just knew what he meant without question. That extra beat is crucial for this joke to land, making this a rare occasion where Gnorm Gnat was actually funnier than Garfield.

9 Gnorm Gnat & Garfield Once Found Themselves in the Same Predicament

Gnorm Gnat - May 3, 1973

The above strip shows Gnorm Gnat caught underneath a piece of tape, and he’s coming to with his fate in an impressively eloquent manner - a sentiment Gnorm himself clearly agrees with. The final shows Gnorm proclaiming, “Hey… you do have to suffer to write!”.

In the December 18, 1979 comic strip of Garfield, the titular cat comes to the same conclusion after he finds himself stuck in window blinds. While Garfield’s predicament was similar to Gnorm Gnats, those who are more fond of dark humor would think the Gnorm Gnat version was funnier, as he was literally about to die yet thought doing so eloquently was worth celebrating, while Garfield was just momentarily inconvenienced.

8 Both Gnorm Gnat & Garfield’s Jon Have Insufferable Tennis Partners

Gnorm Gnat - June 14, 1973

In the above comic strip, Gnorm Gnat is playing tennis with Lyman, who asks Gnorm what the score is. Gnorm says it’s thirty-love, and Lyman mistakenly thinks Gnorm called him ‘love’, as he responds, “Thirty to what? Sweetheart.”. Gnorm tells him that ‘love’ in tennis means ‘nothing’, and again, Lyman mistakenly thinks that Gnorm thinks that their love means nothing to him, causing Lyman to spiral, utterly heartbroken. Gnorm then says to himself, “I don’t deserve this”.

Similarly, when Jon is playing tennis with someone in his March 17, 1977 strip, the exact same interaction takes place, and Jon has the same reaction - albeit a bit quieter, as Jon merely thinks that he doesn’t deserve this, while Gnorm says it outright. The evolution of this joke actually made it funnier, as it’s far more relatable to see one person finding another’s stupidity insufferable than it is with two cute little bugs.

7 Jim Davis Reused 1 Gnorm Gnat Joke in Both Jon AND Garfield

Gnorm Gnat - August 9, 1973

This strip shows Gnorm Gnat asking Lyman where he’s going, and Lyman tells him that he’s on his way to see a new movie about a kid who puts a tack on his teacher’s chair, and she sits on it. Gnorm comments that the movie doesn’t seem to have much of a plot, to which Lyman replies, “I suppose so. But, I still enjoy movies where the boy gets the girl in the end”.

Jim Davis must have been extremely pleased with himself as far as this joke is concerned, as he didn’t just reuse it for 1977’s Jon, but also 1978’s Garfield (though the strips in both Jon and Garfield are identical).

6 Gnorm Gnat & Garfield’s Jon Both Fell for the Same Tennis Trick

Gnorm Gnat - August 23, 1973

Gnorm is playing tennis with Lyman, who tells him that a ‘pink and puce’ gnat-eater was behind him, which startled Gnorm long enough for Lyman to get the winning point. Gnorm then flatly says that he should have known Lyman was lying when he said “pink and puce”.

Jon falls for the same trick in the March 24, 1977 Jon strip, except he turns to look at a ‘naked Farah Fawcett’ that wasn’t actually there, and then kicks himself for falling for it, saying that he should have known the person he’s playing with was lying when they said “nude”. This joke certainly became funnier in Jon, with relatability once again being the key factor.

5 Gnorm Gnat & Garfield’s Jon Have the Same Flirting Methods

Gnorm Gnat - September 13, 1973

The above strip shows Gnorm Gnat hoping to impress a girl he likes by making up poor excuses to flex his muscles while coming up with ‘macho’ things to say to prove his strength and manliness. Unfortunately, this flirting method fails to impress, leaving Gnorm standing alone in the last . However, just because it didn’t work for Gnorm, that didn’t stop Jon from doing the exact same thing only four years later in his own comic strip.

In the February 24, 1977 Jon strip, Jon uses the same tactic when a woman he’s interested in approaches him. And just like with Gnorm, he’s left standing alone in the final . In this instance, this joke does work better with humans than with cartoon insects, as it’s infinitely more cringe worthy to see this behavior from a grown man than a little bug.

4 Gnorm Gnat’s Dr. Gougo Bears a Striking Resemblance to Jon’s Dr. Gustav

Gnorm Gnat - December 6, 1973

This comic strip was the debut of Gnorm Gnat’s Dr. Gougo, where the heavily-accented doctor makes some jokes at the expense of safe and proper medical practices. In the final , Gnorm Gnat looks directly at the reader and says, “I foresee the A.M.A. boycotting this strip”, with A.M.A. being a reference to the American Medical Association.

In the April 29, 1976 Jon comic strip, Jon has a very similar interaction with his new doctor, Dr. Gustav, which ends with Jon breaking the fourth wall with the same punchline delivered by Gnorm Gnat. The joke seemed to land a bit better when Jon said it, as it didn’t seem likely the A.M.A. would care about bug doctors in the slightest (even if they are anthropomorphic).

3 Gnorm Gnat & Garfield’s Jon are Annoyed by the Same Gag

Gnorm Gnat - February 21, 1974

The above strip shows Cecil Slug with an apparent speedster-upgrade screeching to a halt in front of Gnorm Gnat, bragging about said upgrade - “Triple-ply, steel-belted, radial retread” - and then zooming off in the same direction. Gnorm Gnat is briefly startled by the interaction, but ultimately unimpressed by the entire thing, with the look in his eyes indicating that he’s downright annoyed.

In the November 3, 1978 Garfield strip, the same thing happens to Jon when his friend Lyman (the human version) runs up to him with a new pair of shoes, brags about his shoes, and then sprints off. Aside from any underlying humor, it seems the thing that made this joke funny in Gnorm Gnat was the fact that it was a slug that got an become fast, which didn’t quite land in Garfield with some guy getting a new pair of shoes. But, either way, the respective reactions of Gnorm and Jon were priceless.

2 Garfield & Gnorm Gnat Have the Same Reaction to a Ludicrous Gag

Gnorm Gnat - April 17, 1975

This strip shows Gnorm Gnat watching a television talk show, when the announcer says, “We’ll be right back after this word from our sponsor”. Then, the ‘sponsor’ literally says one word: “Aardvark”, followed by the show Gnorm was watching immediately coming back on, with Gnorm Gnat looking very unimpressed by the absurdity of what he had just witnessed.

In the May 1, 1982 Garfield strip, Garfield is watching television when the announcer says, “We’ll be right back after this word from our sponsor”, at which point, the sponsor says, “Sasquatch” before the announcer welcomes viewers back to the show. Different words, same situation, and - most importantly - Garfield had the exact same reaction as Gnorm Gnat.

1 Gnorm Gnat Says Goodbye Having Paved the Way for Jon & Garfield

Gnorm Gnat (the final strip) - December 25, 1975

Gnorm Gnat’s Christmas was a bit grim in 1975, as that was the date of his final comic strip. The strip itself was a simple farwell, with Gnorm Gnat thanking Pendleton for the three years the paper published the strip next to a message that read, “Merry Christmas”. Being the final Gnorm Gnat strip, this one had arguably the most impact on the legacy of Jim Davis’ Garfield, as Gorm Gnat’s ending literally gave life to Jon - which, as previously mentioned, became Garfield.

These jokes that Jim Davis wrote for Gnorm Gnat were destined to be told by Jon and Garfield, and each one is a perfect example of the evolution of a comic refining its material, showing it through slightly different lenses, and finally ending up with the funniest version of a classic joke. And that’s the reason these 10 Gnorm Gnat comics show why Garfield’s Jim Davis is so beloved.