“Good Times are Ahead. Or Behind. Because They Sure Aren’t Here”: Garfield and Negative Space

This essay examines the multifaceted use of negative space in Garfield. Fans of the strip know that the eponymous character is grouchy and pessimistic. Given this grumpy affect, Garfield can be seen as living in negative space. This concept, however, also has another meaning: as a design element. Davis’s comic makes ample use of this type of negative space; the strip is sparse, spare, and minimalistic. This essay argues that, rather than being unconnected and incidental aspects of the comic, these two features are intertwined and important. The complex interaction that exists between Garfield’s negativity and Garfield’s use of negative space helps to account for the strip’s visual appeal, narrative effectiveness, and commercial success. Accordingly, this analysis gives much needed attention to a key aspect of Davis’s well-known but under-studied strip and, by extension, to an essential but under-theorized aspect of the visual language of comics themselves.