Nick and Nora Charles the bantering, romantically involved detective duo has become a well-used trope in literature, stage, screen, and television ever since. The characters first appear in Dashiell Hammett's best-selling last novel "The Thin Man" (1934). Nick is an alcoholic former private detective who retired when he married Nora, a wealthy Nob Hill heiress. Hammett reportedly modeled Nora on his longtime partner Lillian Hellman, and the characters' boozy, flippant dialogue on their relationship. (The novel also mentions that Nick was once a Pinkerton detective, as was Hammett.) The novel is considered one of the seminal texts of the hard-boiled subgenre of mystery novels,
Jon Arbuckle also shows him several times as a cartoonist. His occupation is likely still that of a cartoonist on "The Garfield Show", as in the episode "Family Picture" he draws a sketch of a photograph that he wants to take as Liz's birthday present. Also, in the strip from May 2, 2010, Liz tells her parents Jon is a cartoonist. Jon was also seen doing his work briefly in the August 2, 2015 strip. Jon Arbuckle Jon Arbuckle is a fictional character from the "Garfield" comic strip by Jim Davis. He has also appeared in the animated television series "Garfield and