ALBANY, Ind., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- "Garfield" creator Jim Davis has apologized "for any offense" that may have been created by the syndicated U.S. cartoon published on Veteran's Day.
Davis posted a statement on Garfield.com after Thursday's cartoon appeared, assuring readers the punch line -- which included the words "annual day of remembrance in my honor, you fat slob" and "national stupid day" -- had "nothing to do with this important day of remembrance." The strip, featuring a spider being squashed by Garfield, was created a year ago, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Thursday's installment was the fourth in a series that began running Monday, in which Garfield is seen in a chair surrounded by spiders dangling from webs and eventually using a newspaper he had been reading to smack one of them. The concluding strip in the series, which ran on Veteran's Day, shows the spider telling Garfield, "They will hold an annual day of remembrance in my honor, you fat slob."
The final panel shows a spider at a lectern telling other spiders, "Does anyone here know why we celebrate 'national stupid day?'"
"It absolutely, positively has nothing to do with this important day of remembrance," Davis said. "My brother Dave served in Vietnam. My son James is a Marine who has had two tours of duty, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. You'd have to go a long way to find someone who was more proud and grateful for what our Veterans have done for all of us.
"Please accept my apologies for any offense today's Garfield may have created. It was unintentional and regrettable."
