this post was submitted on 19 Oct 2026
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Yeah… again the cat adds nothing.
Starting to understand why heathcliff without heathcliff exists
The cat adds an audience, otherwise Iggy is just talking to himself, which for some reason seems frowned upon in newspaper comics.
But notice that for these two, their roles are minimized to the max. One allows the cartoonist to voice his gag line, the other to be the audience, but that's it. Their arms are eliminated, and Heathcliff doesn't even get a face so as to potentially react. This is a major change from the days of original cartoonist Gately, who usually portrayed the cat as highly expressive.
Thanks for the in depth context. I appreciate it and wouldn’t have noticed that reduction in quality
Sure thing. And I'd say it's mostly down to a change in philosophy, with the strip moving from a more traditional character / gag-based comic in to a pretty unique, absurd direction, sometimes even surreal. For example, check out these from fairly early in Gallagher's career, when he was doing a very good job capturing Gately's original style:
https://heathcliff-images.storage.googleapis.com/heathcliff/2003-10-17.png
https://heathcliff-images.storage.googleapis.com/heathcliff/2003-10-16.png
https://heathcliff-images.storage.googleapis.com/heathcliff/2003-10-15.png
Wild. Those are definitely different. Surprising to see those are only from 2003. It definitely has a more classic look to it
I think you got it.