Our Life on the Funny Pages

Hello. Odie here. Ok, this one was kind of fun to do. Fortunately I didn't have to do it too many times to get it right...


... and yes, that "rug" is a special stuntman's cushion. Garfield got the easy part this time, he just had to walk on and act as narrator.

I should note that it is a good thing that cartoons do not have blooper reels. I fell on my face the first time and the second time the cushion bounced a little bit. The third time was interrupted by a small airplane flying overhead from “Mark Trail.” We finally got it the fourth take! Whew. In the meantime the cast of “Mutts” was next door, heckling. Mooch kept yelling “Schpin the dog! Schpin the dog!” and I had a hard time not snickering. Mooch is even funnier off panel than he is when he’s on. He gets invited to a lot of studio parties just because he can liven up most any crowd. And yes, the speech impediment is real. Earl is more laid back but you can’t beat his homemade dog treats he brings for the cast and crew.

This week, as you may have noticed, is “Garfield’s Birthday” week, so we have 5 or 6 days of “aging” jokes to look forward to reading. I fully anticipate at least one lasagna joke mixed into the batch. I’m not sure if Nermel will make an appearance or not. He’s been in rehab again and he may not get a furlough for his usual birthday week guest shot. The poor guy got hooked on painkillers some years back. Then Davis caught him huffing the paint thinner in his office and he got shipped off to Betty Ford’s cartoon branch. He’ll sober up, swear he’s a new cat, then he backslides again. Bill the Cat has been his sponsor but even he hasn’t been able to keep Nermel on the program.

I think Step 4, the fearless inventory, is Nermel’s biggest stumbling block so far. That seems to be the hardest step for a lot of cartoons working the 12 Steps. Of course, some cartoons have trouble even admitting they have a problem (cough Marmaduke cough) but doing an inventory seems to be especially difficult. I am not certain why. Perhaps it’s the fear of looking back over all those clippings and realizing just how many bad jokes you had to do in your career. We can’t all be Snoopy where most every gag was a gem. We all have episodes we regret doing. I am not proud of the “chase my own tail” gags, which seem only to perpetuate an old, old joke. When you’ve been doing this for decades you accumulate a lot of embarrassing moments and I suspect a lot of characters just can’t face the embarrassment. For the record, I neither drink nor smoke, but I do have to watch my weight and I must ration my doggie treats or else I’ll gobble down an entire box at one sitting. We all have our weaknesses and vulnerabilities. That may be my Calvinist upbringing talking, however.

Until next time,


Yours,

Odie