When you think of animals and comic strips, the classic character of Garfield may come to mind. For multiple generations, Garfield has adorned newspapers, stand alone books, and a ton of different products. While Garfield remains popular, the orange cat is not a true representation of anthropomorphic animal comics.
Learn how Garfield differs from anthropomorphic animal comics and what to expect when you purchase and read large collections of anthro comics online.
1. Speaking
In Garfield comic strips, you often see the words that Garfield says, but most of those words are just internal thoughts. His owner, Jon, and other humans cannot communicate directly with the cat. In anthro comics, characters will talk and interact with all of the other characters.
The animals often communicate like humans and can communicate with any human or animal characters in the story. The changes showcase big differences from Garfield's internal monologues.
2. Posture
Garfield may have a wide-range of thoughts and a love of lasagna, but he is still a basic cat. Sometimes Garfield is shown standing on two legs, but the cat mostly just lies around and is on all fours like most cats do. The animals featured in anthro comics will walk and move around like humans.
They often stand straight up on two legs, use typical furniture, and will perform human functions like driving a car. Garfield is also the typical size of a cat while antro comics may change the height and size of the animals to match the height and size of a typical human. You will see cat characters stand tall and use their bodies much like a human.
3. Clothing & Lifestyle
Unless he wears something for a silly storyline or special occasion like Halloween, Garfield often wears no clothes in his comics. A cat featured in an anthro comic will often wear human clothes and even could have a sense of style. For example, a cat character may work in an office building and wear a suit to the office every day.
The clothing will often become an extension of the character's personality and create striking visuals within the panels of a comic book page. The clothing is one of the main elements that stands out in an anthro comic and could extend to their overall lifestyle as well. For example, characters may dress up to represent a rich and fancy life.
Once you compare the basic differences, you will understand what to expect when you read anthro comics.