Changes: Lyman

Latest revision as of 12:21, 19 March 2024

Lyman was one of the main characters in the Garfield comic strip. He was a friend and roommate of Jon Arbuckle and the former owner of Odie. The comic strip had Lyman as one of four main characters, alongside Garfield, Jon and Odie. The main cast was reduced to three when Lyman was removed from the strip by Jim Davis in 1983.

He first appeared on August 7, 1978. He told Jon "I'm cold. I'm hungry. I'm weak. Take me in!", to which Jon, as his friend, complied. He was only actively present for a few months after his debut appearance. From the end of 1980, he was usually absent; for instance, he did not appear in any strips between December 25, 1981, and June 27, 1982. He had largely disappeared from the comic by April 24, 1983, his last regular appearance, and his disappearance was not fully elaborated upon at the time. Lyman has made two cameo appearances in the comic since then. First, in the strip on Garfield's 10th birthday, June 19, 1988, where he appears in the title panel seated between Jon's father and Liz Wilson; he also appears in a flashback panel within the strip. The next was on April 2, 2013, in a picture on the newspaper Jon was reading.

According to Davis, Lyman's original purpose was to be someone who Jon could actually talk to and express other ideas — a role gradually taken over by Garfield, himself. Once Lyman was no longer needed for that purpose, he was removed without explanation. Jim Davis has jokingly given explanations about Lyman's sudden disappearance and long absence from the strip; examples include "don't look in Jon's basement" and "he joined the Peace Corps and was never heard from again."

In the web game "Scary Scavenger Hunt," he is shown chained onto the wall in the basement of a haunted mansion. In "Scary Scavenger Hunt 2," his head is found inside the kitchen oven. Also, on the official Garfield website, between 2005^[1] and 2013^[2]^[3], he was shown working behind the counter in the "Book Nook" section.

After decades of absence, Lyman made his big comeback in the Garfield Show story arc, "Long Lost Lyman". In this continuity, it is revealed that he found work as a wildlife photographer. He had gone to Australia and searched for a mythological creature, but suddenly disappeared without a trace. When Jon, Garfield and Odie went looking for him, they had found him dressed as that creature. Lyman explained that he never contacted them, because there was no way he could. Lyman decided to stay in the jungle to protect the wildlife from poachers, but promises to visit when he can.

Appearances

The Garfield Show

Season 3

"Long Lost Lyman"
- "Long Lost Lyman Part 1" (flashback)
- "Long Lost Lyman Part 2" (imagination)
- "Long Lost Lyman Part 3"
- "Long Lost Lyman Part 4"

Season 4

"Lion Queen "
- "Lion Queen: Zoo Melody" (flashback)

Trivia

Davis originally used the name Lyman for a character in Gnorm Gnat.
Lyman has appeared 69 times in comics, the 24th most.
Lyman’s last regular appearance was in 1983.
- His most recent appearance overall was in 2013.
Lyman grew up with four cats, all named Cat.
In The Garfield Show, instead of having dotted eyes, he has regular eyes like Garfield and most other characters (likewise with Mrs. Arbuckle).
Lyman, in one strip, appears to not care about his appearance, as when asked by Jon Arbuckle for an opinion on something to wear, Lyman is wearing an assortment of mismatching clothing.
Numerous explanations outside of the comic strip have been given for Lyman's disappearance:
- In the book 20 Years & Still Kicking!: Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection, one of the sections is named Top Ten Explanations For Lyman's Disappearance and includes:
  - 10: "Left strip to pursue dream of Olympic figure-skating gold."
  - 9: "Joined CIA, working undercover in Russian comics.
  - 8: "Had lunch with Jimmy Hoffa, and then..."
  - 7: "Took role as Elaine on 'Taxi'."
  - 6: "Hit on Blondie and Cathy; editors complained; Davis fired him."
  - 5: "Disfigured in drawing accident."
  - 4: "Moved to San Francisco."
  - 3: "Opted for career in Hotel/Motel management."
  - 2: "Ballooned to 270 pounds; wouldn't fit in cartoon panels."
  - 1: "Don't look in Jon's basement!"
- In a "Comics: Meet the Artist" discussion with Jim Davis on The Washington Post, two readers asked about Lyman's disappearance. Davis responded to each:
  - "...he joined the Peace Corps and was never heard from again." (During this response, Davis also claimed that he was only joking in regards to "the basement thing.")
  - "He went to an Amway convention and was never heard from again."^[4]
- Mark Evanier wrote "Long Lost Lyman" as his "own amateur story about what happened to Lyman".^[5]
- From "Meet Odie," displayed on the Garfield.com section Comics Corner around 1996:
  - "Odie was owned by Lyman, Jon Arbuckle's buddy, who dropped in unannounced and uninvited, stayed a few weeks and then left. Much to Garfield's horror, when Lyman left, he forgot to take Odie with him."^[6]

Gallery

References

[1] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20051201021345/http://garfield.com/shopping/booknook.html

[2] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20130923224647/http://garfield.com/shopping/booknook.html

[3] ttps://web.archive.org/web/20131203055742/http://garfield.com:80/books

[4] ttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27002-2005Jan21.html

[:0-5] ttps://www.newsfromme.com/2012/09/12/the-disappearing-dog-owner/

[:1-6] ttps://web.archive.org/web/19970127071907/http://www.garfield.com/comics/meet/odie.html

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Infobox
 |Box title = Lyman
-|image = [[File:LymanCharacter.jpg|thumb]]
+|image = <gallery>
+LymanCharacter.jpg|Suit
+LymanComic.png|Green Long-Sleeves
+</gallery>
 |Row 1 title = First App.
 |Row 1 info =[[Image:Missing 3.JPG|thumb|170x170px]]
-|Row 2 title = TV App.
+|Row 2 title = Latest App.
-|Row 2 info = [[The Garfield Show]]
+|Row 2 info = [[Image:1983-04-24.gif|thumb|170x170px]]
-|Row 3 title = Voice
+|Row 3 title = TV App.
-|Row 3 info = [[Frank Ferrante]]
+|Row 3 info = [[The Garfield Show]]
-|Row 4 title = Pets
+|Row 4 title = Voice
-|Row 4 info = [[Odie]] (formerly)
+|Row 4 info = [[Frank Ferrante]]
-|Row 5 title = Personality
+|Row 5 title = Pets
-|Row 5 info = Humble<br>Kind<br>Minor Desperation
+|Row 5 info = [[Odie]] (technically still owns)
-|Row 6 title = Friends
+|Row 6 title = Personality
+|Row 6 info = Humble<br>Kind<br>Mildly desperate<br>Basement-loving
-|Row 6 info = [[Jon Arbuckle]]<br>Odie<br>[[Garfield (character)|Garfield]]}}'''Lyman''' was one of the main characters in the [[Garfield (comic strip)|Garfield comic strip]]. He was a friend and roommate of [[Jon Arbuckle]] and the original owner of [[Odie]]. The comic strip had Lyman as one of four main characters, alongside [[Garfield (character)|Garfield]], Jon and Odie. The main cast was reduced to three when Lyman was removed from the strip by [[Jim Davis]].
+|Row 7 title = Friends
+|Row 7 info = [[Jon Arbuckle]]<br>[[Odie]]<br>[[Garfield (character)|Garfield]]}}'''Lyman''' was one of the main characters in the [[Garfield (comic strip)|Garfield comic strip]]. He was a friend and roommate of [[Jon Arbuckle]] and the former owner of [[Odie]]. The comic strip had Lyman as one of four main characters, alongside [[Garfield (character)|Garfield]], Jon and Odie. The main cast was reduced to three when Lyman was removed from the strip by [[Jim Davis]] in 1983.
-He first appeared on August 7, 1978. He was only actively present for a few months after his debut appearance. Starting from 1981, he was usually absent; for instance, he did not appear in any strips between December 25, 1981, and June 27, 1982. He had largely disappeared from the comic by April 24, 1983, his last regular appearance, and his disappearance was not fully elaborated upon at the time. Lyman has made two cameo appearances in the comic since then. First, in the strip on Garfield's 10th birthday, June 19, 1988, where he appears in the title panel seated between Jon's father and [[Dr. Liz Wilson|Liz]]; he also appears in a flashback panel within the strip. The next was on April 2, 2013, in a picture on the newspaper Jon was reading.
+He first appeared on August 7, 1978. He told Jon "I'm cold. I'm hungry. I'm weak. Take me in!", to which Jon, as his friend, complied. He was only actively present for a few months after his debut appearance. From the end of 1980, he was usually absent; for instance, he did not appear in any strips between December 25, 1981, and June 27, 1982. He had largely disappeared from the comic by April 24, 1983, his last regular appearance, and his disappearance was not fully elaborated upon at the time. Lyman has made two cameo appearances in the comic since then. First, in the strip on Garfield's 10th birthday, June 19, 1988, where he appears in the title panel seated between [[Mr. Arbuckle|Jon's father]] and [[Liz Wilson]]; he also appears in a flashback panel within the strip. The next was on April 2, 2013, in a picture on the newspaper Jon was reading.
 According to Davis, Lyman's original purpose was to be someone who Jon could actually talk to and express other ideas &mdash; a role gradually taken over by [[Garfield (character)|Garfield]], himself. Once Lyman was no longer needed for that purpose, he was removed without explanation. Jim Davis has jokingly given explanations about Lyman's sudden disappearance and long absence from the strip; examples include "don't look in Jon's basement" and "he joined the Peace Corps and was never heard from again."
-In the web game "Scary Scavenger Hunt," he is shown chained onto the wall in the basement of a haunted mansion. In "Scary Scavenger Hunt 2," his head is found inside the kitchen oven. Also, on the official ''Garfield'' website, he was shown working behind the counter in a former edition of the "Book Nook" section.
+In the web game "Scary Scavenger Hunt," he is shown chained onto the wall in the basement of a haunted mansion. In "Scary Scavenger Hunt 2," his head is found inside the kitchen oven. Also, on the official ''Garfield'' website, between 2005<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20051201021345/http://garfield.com/shopping/booknook.html</ref> and 2013<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20130923224647/http://garfield.com/shopping/booknook.html</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20131203055742/http://garfield.com:80/books</ref>, he was shown working behind the counter in the "Book Nook" section.
-After decades of absence, Lyman made his big comeback in the ''[[The Garfield Show|Garfield Show]]'' story arc, "[[Long Lost Lyman]]". In this continuity, it is revealed that he was a wild life photographer. He had gone to Australia and searched for a mythological creature, but suddenly disappeared without a trace. When Jon, Garfield and Odie went looking for him, they had found him dressed as that creature. Lyman explained that he never contacted them, because there was no way he could. Lyman decided to stay in the jungle to protect the wildlife from poachers, but does promise to visit whenever he can.
+After decades of absence, Lyman made his big comeback in the ''[[The Garfield Show|Garfield Show]]'' story arc, "[[Long Lost Lyman]]". In this continuity, it is revealed that he found work as a wildlife photographer. He had gone to Australia and searched for a mythological creature, but suddenly disappeared without a trace. When Jon, Garfield and Odie went looking for him, they had found him dressed as that creature. Lyman explained that he never contacted them, because there was no way he could. Lyman decided to stay in the jungle to protect the wildlife from poachers, but promises to visit when he can.
 ==Appearances==
-===[[The Garfield Show]]===
+===''[[The Garfield Show]]''===
 ====Season 3====
-*[[Long Lost Lyman]]
+*"[[Long Lost Lyman]]"
-**[[Long Lost Lyman Part 1]] (flashback)
+**"[[Long Lost Lyman Part 1]]" (flashback)
-**[[Long Lost Lyman Part 2]] (imagination)
+**"[[Long Lost Lyman Part 2]]" (imagination)
-**[[Long Lost Lyman Part 3]]
+**"[[Long Lost Lyman Part 3]]"
-**[[Long Lost Lyman Part 4]]
+**"[[Long Lost Lyman Part 4]]"
 ====Season 4====
-*[[Lion Queen]]
+*"[[Lion Queen]] "
-**[[Lion Queen: Zoo Melody]] (flashback)
+**"[[Lion Queen: Zoo Melody]]" (flashback)
 ==Trivia==
 *Davis originally used the name Lyman for a character in [[Gnorm Gnat]].
 *Lyman has appeared 69 times in comics, the 24th most.
-*Lyman’s last regular appearance was in 1983.
+* Lyman’s last regular appearance was in 1983.
-**His most recent appearance overall was in 2013.
+** His most recent appearance overall was in 2013.
-*Lyman grew up with four cats, all named Cat.
+* Lyman grew up with four cats, all named Cat.
-*In ''The Garfield Show'', instead of having dotted eyes, he has regular eyes like Garfield and most other characters (likewise with [[Mom Arbuckle]]).
+*In ''The Garfield Show'', instead of having dotted eyes, he has regular eyes like Garfield and most other characters (likewise with [[Mrs. Arbuckle]]).
-*Lyman, in one strip, appears to not care about his appearance, as when asked by [[Jon|Jon Arbuckle]] for an opinion on something to wear, Lyman is wearing an assortment of mismatching clothing.
+*Lyman, in one strip, appears to not care about his appearance, as when asked by Jon Arbuckle for an opinion on something to wear, Lyman is wearing an assortment of mismatching clothing.
 *Numerous explanations outside of the comic strip have been given for Lyman's disappearance:
 **In the book ''[[20 Years & Still Kicking!: Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection]]'', one of the sections is named ''Top Ten Explanations For Lyman's Disappearance'' and includes:
@@ Line 55: / Line 60: @@
 ***'''2:''' "Ballooned to 270 pounds; wouldn't fit in cartoon panels."
 ***'''1:''' "Don't look in Jon's basement!"
 **In a "Comics: Meet the Artist" discussion with Jim Davis on ''The Washington Post'', two readers asked about Lyman's disappearance. Davis responded to each:
 ***"...he joined the [[wikipedia:Peace_Corps|Peace Corps]] and was never heard from again." (During this response, Davis also claimed that he was only joking in regards to "the basement thing.")
-***"He went to an [[wikipedia:Amway|Amway]] convention and was never heard from again."[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27002-2005Jan21.html]
+***"He went to an [[wikipedia:Amway|Amway]] convention and was never heard from again."<ref>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27002-2005Jan21.html</ref>
-**[[Mark Evanier]] wrote "Long Lost Lyman" as his "own amateur story about what happened to Lyman".[https://www.newsfromme.com/2012/09/12/the-disappearing-dog-owner/]
+**[[Mark Evanier]] wrote "Long Lost Lyman" as his "own amateur story about what happened to Lyman".<ref name=":0">https://www.newsfromme.com/2012/09/12/the-disappearing-dog-owner/</ref>
+**From "Meet Odie," displayed on the [[Garfield.com]] section Comics Corner around 1996:
+***"Odie was owned by Lyman, Jon Arbuckle's buddy, who dropped in unannounced and uninvited, stayed a few weeks and then left. Much to Garfield's horror, when Lyman left, he forgot to take Odie with him."<ref name=":1">https://web.archive.org/web/19970127071907/http://www.garfield.com/comics/meet/odie.html</ref>
-==Gallery==
+== Gallery==
-<gallery>
+<gallery widths="185">
 Lyman.gif
-ImagesCA1ZGEY4.jpg|Lyman On "The Garfield Show"
+ImagesCA1ZGEY4.jpg|Lyman on [[The Garfield Show]]
 LymanTGS.png
 Missing 3.JPG|Lyman's first appearance  (January 22, 1976)
-Lyman 1978.gif| August 07, 1978
+-08-07.gif|August 07, 1978
--08-08.jpg|August 08, 1978
+-08-08.gif|August 08, 1978
--08-10.jpg|August 10, 1978
+-08-10.gif|August 10, 1978
--08-14.jpg|August 14, 1978
+-08-14.gif|August 14, 1978
--08-15.jpg|August 15, 1978
+-08-15.gif|August 15, 1978
--08-16.jpg|August 16, 1978
+-08-16.gif|August 16, 1978
--08-19.jpg|August 19, 1978
+-08-19.gif|August 19, 1978
--08-23.jpg|August 23, 1978
+-08-23.gif|August 23, 1978
--09-09.jpg|September 9, 1978
+-09-09.gif|September 9, 1978
--09-10.jpg|September 10, 1978
+-09-10.gif|September 10, 1978
--09-16.jpg|September 16, 1978
+-09-16.gif|September 16, 1978
--09-22.jpg|September 22, 1978
+-09-22.gif|September 22, 1978
--09-24.jpg|September 24, 1978
+-09-24.gif|September 24, 1978
--10-03.jpg|October 3, 1978
+-10-03.gif|October 3, 1978
--10-20.jpg|October 20, 1978
+-10-20.gif|October 20, 1978
--11-03.jpg|November 3, 1978
+-11-03.gif|November 3, 1978
--11-12.jpg|November 12, 1978
+-11-12.gif|November 12, 1978
--12-02.jpg|December 2, 1978
+-12-02.gif|December 2, 1978
--12-04.jpg|December 4, 1978
+-12-04.gif|December 4, 1978
--12-10.jpg|December 10, 1978
+-12-10.gif|December 10, 1978
--12-15.jpg|December 15, 1978
+-12-15.gif|December 15, 1978
--12-20.jpg|December 20, 1978
+-12-20.gif|December 20, 1978
--12-24.jpg|December 24, 1978 (mentioned)
+-12-24.gif|December 24, 1978 (mentioned)
--12-31.jpg|December 31, 1978
+-12-31.gif|December 31, 1978
--01-10.jpg|January 10, 1979
+-01-10.gif|January 10, 1979
-February 04, 1979.gif|February 04, 1979
+-02-04.gif|February 04, 1979
-February 08, 1979.gif|February 08, 1979
+-02-08.gif|February 08, 1979
-February 09, 1979.gif|February 09, 1979
+-02-09.gif|February 09, 1979
-March 08, 1979.gif|March 08, 1979
+-03-08.gif|March 08, 1979
-March 22, 1979.gif|March 22, 1979
+-03-22.gif|March 22, 1979
-April 01, 1979.gif|April 01, 1979
+-04-01.gif|April 01, 1979
-April 11, 1979.gif|April 11, 1979
+-04-11.gif|April 11, 1979
-April 14, 1979.gif|April 14, 1979
+-04-14.gif|April 14, 1979
-April 20, 1979.gif|April 20, 1979
+-04-20.gif|April 20, 1979
-May 07, 1979.gif|May 07, 1979 (mentioned)
+-05-07.gif|May 07, 1979 (mentioned)
-May 20, 1979.gif|May 20, 1979
+-05-20.gif|May 20, 1979
-May 21, 1979.gif|May 21, 1979
+-05-21.gif|May 21, 1979
-June 06, 1979.gif|June 06, 1979
+-06-06.gif|June 06, 1979
-June 10, 1979.gif|June 10, 1979 (in Garfield's dream)
+-06-10.gif|June 10, 1979 (in Garfield's dream)
-August 05, 1979.gif|August 05, 1979
+-08-05.gif|August 05, 1979
-Arghhh.jpg|October 21, 1979
+-10-21.gif|October 21, 1979
-Lyman diner.jpg|October 25, 1979
+-10-25.gif|October 25, 1979
-image.jpg|February 4, 1980
+-01-10.gif|January 10, 1980
+-02-04.gif|February 4, 1980
-Lyman cat got your tongue .jpg|May 17, 1980
-Lyman,odie.jpg|May 29, 1980
+-05-17.gif|May 17, 1980
+-05-29.gif|May 29, 1980
 -06-15.gif|June 15, 1980
-Lyman mousetraps.jpg|August 08, 1980
+-08-03.gif|August 03, 1980
-Lyman tv.gif|August  24, 1980
+-08-24.gif|August  24, 1980
-Lyman .jpg|December 06, 1980
+-12-06.gif|December 06, 1980
 -06-24.gif|June 24, 1981
 -08-09.gif|August 9, 1981
-Lyman Christmas 🎄.jpg|December 25, 1981
+-12-25.gif|December 25, 1981
-Lyman cameo.jpg|June 27, 1982
+-06-27.gif|June 27, 1982
 -11-11.gif|November 11, 1982
 -11-13.gif|November 13, 1982
-Lyman Jon Garfield .jpg|Lyman's last regular appearance (April 24, 1983)
+-04-24.gif|Lyman's last regular appearance (April 24, 1983)
 -06-19.gif|Lyman appears in Sunday comic cover and photo album (Garfield’s 10th birthday, June 19, 1988)
--04-02.gif |Lyman as seen on a newspaper (April 2, 2013)
+-04-02.gif|Lyman as seen on a newspaper (April 2, 2013)
+DF-8DDB-4489-AF75-EC6898E1C8C3.jpeg|Lyman in Garfield’s Scary Scavenger Hunt
+File:Book Nook.png|Lyman on [[Garfield.com]] around 2005.
 </gallery>
 ==References==
-<references />[[Category:Human]]
+<references />
+[[es:Lyman]]
+[[pl:Lyman]]
+[[Category:Human]]
 [[Category:Male Characters]]
 [[Category:Comic Strip]]
@@ Line 133: / Line 146: @@
 [[Category:Protagonists]]
 [[Category:The Garfield Show Characters]]
+[[Category:Comic Strip Characters]]