37 Years Ago, ‘Garfield’ Suddenly Changed Genres With a Mind-Blowing Comic Strip

A 1989 Garfield comic strip briefly shifted from everyday humour to a sombre horror story: Garfield wakes in a seemingly long-abandoned house, with Jon and Odie missing. The arc, often called “Alone”, is generally read as a nightmare, but its unsettling premise has made it a recurring subject of fan speculation.

The story ran from 23 to 28 October, just before Halloween, and ended with Garfield returning to his usual surroundings. Its closing narration describes imagination as able to make the future enticing or terrifying. Some fans have since wondered whether later strips are imagined by Garfield as he wanders the empty house, though the article presents this as speculation rather than an established interpretation.