Garfield

Garfield
File:Garfield.JPG Garfield the Cat
Author(s)	Jim Davis
Current status/schedule	Running/Daily
Launch date	1978-06-19
Syndicate(s)	Universal Press Syndicate (current) (1994-present) United Feature Syndicate (former) (1978-1994)

Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis featuring Garfield the cat, Odie the dog, and their owner Jon Arbuckle. As of 2007, it is syndicated in roughly 2,570 newspapers and journals and it currently holds the Guinness World Record for being the world’s most widely syndicated comic strip. The popularity of the strip has led to an animated television series, several animated television specials and two theatrical feature-length live-action films, as well as a large amount of Garfield merchandise.

Overview

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The first Garfield comic strip appeared on June 19, 1978.

Garfield debuted on June 19, 1978, which is considered Garfield's birthday. The strip makes fun of pet owners and their relationship with their pets, often with the pet as the true master of the home. Garfield also struggles with human problems, such as diets, Mondays, apathy, boredom, and so on. Garfield is able to understand what Jon or other humans say. He supposedly cannot talk back, but often Jon seems to be able to tell what he is saying just from his expression or gestures which are much like those of a human. However, Garfield is able to talk in thought bubbles to Odie and the other animals. Odie understands what Garfield says to him, but in general cannot communicate back to Garfield except by barking; he is the only character that doesn't seem to have any normal way of communicating. Although, Odie did have three thought bubbles with words in the strip. In an earlier strip, Odie is shown poking his former owner (Lyman) and it is written in his thought bubble "I'm hungry." In a second strip, Odie is on the fence in the alley with Garfield and it is written in his thought bubble "Hi to the people, dummy". In a third strip, Odie says, "Lady of Spain, I adore you" although this may just be Garfield as a ventriloquist. Odie has also had an empty thought bubble on a few occasions. Most of the other animals (Arlene, Nermal, Squeak the Mouse and others) are capable of a two-way conversation with Garfield. Garfield, apparently, is able to type, and he has written messages that Jon has read and understood (mostly letters to Santa Claus); which happens almost every year.

Over the course of the strip, Garfield's behavior and appearance evolved. Initially, he was drawn extremely fat with flabby jowls and small round eyes. Later, his appearance was slimmed down, his eyes enlarged, and his head made rounder and more infant-like; these changes contributed to a stereotypically cuter appearance. By 1981, Garfield started walking on his hind feet from time to time (these rear paws are now drawn as proportionally huge), because he was too fat to walk on four legs. By the middle of 1983, his familiar appearance—featuring oval-shaped eyes—had taken shape. By this time, Garfield was walking on two feet, and the strip emphasized sitcom situations such as Garfield making fun of Jon's stupidity and his inability to date. Jon and Odie have also evolved quite a bit, from being thin and starkly colored to the cartoons they are today.

Like many comic strips, Garfield is not exclusively drawn by its creator. Jim Davis still writes and makes rough sketches for the strip, but his company, Paws, employs cartoonists and assistants who do most of the work of drawing and inking, while Davis's final job is usually confined to approving and signing the finished strip. Otherwise, Davis spends most of his time managing the business and merchandising of Garfield.

Learning from the indifference his previous comic strip creation Gnorm Gnat, Jim Davis has made a conscious effort to include all readers in Garfield; keeping the jokes broad and the humor general and applicable to everyone. As a result the strip typically avoids the social or political commentary present in some of Garfield’s contemporaries, such as Boondocks, Doonesbury, Dilbert, and Cathy. Although a couple of strips in 1978 addressed inflation and, arguably, organized labor, as well as Jon frequently smoking a pipe or subscribing to a bachelor magazine, these elements were ultimately pruned from the product with the intent of maintaining a more universal appeal. Davis adamantly disavowed social commentary in an interview published at the beginning of one of the book compilations, joking that he once believed that OPEC was a denture adhesive.

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Garfield and Odie with Jim Davis.

The characters and situations in Garfield have often been constant-with no change or development for the past several years. While this was not unique to Garfield, as Calvin in Calvin and Hobbes and the children of Peanuts never aged, other strips such as For Better or For Worse, Cathy, and Doonesbury maintain a continuity with characters who develop, age, and may even die as the strip proceeds. In one particular sequence, however, leading up to Garfield's 25th birthday (which is always marked by Garfield complaining about his age along with the rest of the characters making subtle references to it), Davis brought back the Garfield from 1978, the one that waddled and always had a frown under his pinpoint eyes. The old and new Garfields talk and find that, although they look different, they are still both too greedy and territorial to stand even themselves. On 17 July, 2006, a new storyline began with the promise of changing Garfield’s life forever (according to the strip's official website). During the next two weeks, Garfield and Jon accidentally spotted Garfield's vet and Jon's crush Liz in a restaurant with another man. After an embarrassing meeting, Liz admitted that she actually liked Jon, and the date ended with a kiss on 28 July (both Jon and Jim Davis's birthday), when Jon finally could say that he had a life.

The comic strip was turned into a cartoon special for television in 1982 called Here Comes Garfield. Actor Lorenzo Music, previously known as the voice of Carlton the doorman on the show Rhoda, was hired to portray the voice of Garfield. Soul singer Lou Rawls provided music. Twelve television specials were made (through 1991) as well as a Saturday morning television series, Garfield and Friends, which ran from 1988 to 1995 on CBS, and still runs occasionally today.

For his work on the strip, creator Jim Davis received the National Cartoonist Society Humor Strip Award for 1981 and 1985, and their Reuben Award for 1989 .

In 1990, Garfield made an appearance on the TV special, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue. While he was in Corey's (the sister's) room, he was a lamp sitting beside a picture of ALF.

In June 7, 1999, newspapers began to offer full-color Garfield weekday strips.

A live-action film version of the comic strip, Garfield: The Movie had its debut in the United States on June 11, 2004. The film employed a computer-animated Garfield and real Odie. Lorenzo Music had died before filming began, and Bill Murray was cast as the voice of Garfield. Murray’s laid-back, deadpan delivery has often been compared to Music’s; indeed, Music provided the voice of Murray’s Peter Venkman character in The Real Ghostbusters, the cartoon version of Ghostbusters. Murray became the fourth actor to provide a voice for Garfield: Tommy Smothers voiced the role in a cat food commercial, and an unnamed Lorenzo Music sound-alike was used in another TV spot.

Garfield's second live-action feature film, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, was released on June 16, 2006.

On Sunday July 1st of 2007, an odd Garfield comic was printed. The logo shows Garfield's eyes being inked with a brush, and the word "VALETTE" is hidden in the stars above the house in the last panel. Valette Hildebrand has been the inker for Garfield for several years, but whether this strip was a tribute to her for all her work or whether she has died and the strip is a memorial to her is not known. [2]

Main characters

Main article: List of Garfield characters

Garfield

Garfield

Garfield

Main article: Garfield (character)

First Appearance: June 19, 1978

Garfield is the main character. He is a lazy, selfish, overweight, orange tabby cat who enjoys eating and sleeping.

He hates Mondays because of his consistent streak of bad luck on them. He hates diets because he believes it to be "die with a T" and February because he believes it to be "the Monday of months". He considers himself to be more intelligent than other animals and humans. He also hates spiders, although sometimes he communicates with them. In fact, over time, Garfield has communicated or understood the thoughts of many things, including other cats, mice, rats, dogs, people, clocks, trees, spiders, bathroom scales, squirrels, fish, plants, foods (mostly from the fridge), ants, birds, homosexuals, and a ball of yarn.

Garfield was born in the kitchen of Mama Leoni's Italian Restaurant and developed a taste for lasagna the day he was born. This was revealed on a Garfield TV special called Garfield: His nine lives. Ever since then, it has always been his favorite food. At birth, Garfield weighed 5lbs, 8oz. Later in his life, Garfield runs across his Mother again one Christmas Eve, accidentally, and meets his Grandfather for the first time. Although, in a series of strips from November 10 to November 22, 1980, Garfield meets his other grandfather, and in a television special called Garfield on the Town, he finds his long-lost mother, and is disgusted to find that they are all "mousers" which is the technical term for mice eaters.

At the end of the TV special Garfield Gets a Life, Jon’s car is shown driving away, and his vehicle registration plate says Indiana, indicating that Garfield lives in Indiana. Jim Davis added this is possible because he is from Indiana. It is revealed in the special Garfield Goes Hollywood that he and Jon live in Muncie, Indiana in a contest called pet search.

In his cartoon appearances, Garfield usually causes mischief in every episode, but usually doesn't sometimes. In June 1983, comic strips introduced Garfield's alter-ego, Amoeba Man, yet he was only shown in 6 strips (6-20 through 6-25). Amoeba Man is only one of his few imaginary alter egos. The Caped Avenger is one of the more common ones. Others include Banana Man, The Mummy, Count Cat, Barack Obama and The Sock.

It was revealed on October 27 1979 that he doesn’t like the play A Raisin In The Sun, and accredits this to his Italian heritage. This has also been implied in a comic strip where Garfield saves time by making a list of things he doesn't want for his birthday instead of things he does want. The only thing on the list was raisins. His birthday is June 19, 1978.

Jonathan Q. Arbuckle

Jon

Jon

Main article: Jonathan Q. Arbuckle

First Appearance: June 19, 1978

Garfield and Odie's owner. His birthday is July 28 1951, the same as Jim Davis'.

He has poor social skills and his attempts at dating have usually failed, (in more modern issues, he has been getting lots of dates from Liz) but Garfield is happy as long as Jon keeps him fed. He has a taste in bizarre attire and has several dull hobbies, including talking to his plants, stamp collecting, playing the accordion, and organizing his clothes.

His mother often refers to him as Frankie, and his full name was revealed on December 6, 2001 to be Jonathan Q. "Fattie" Arbuckle, but he usually just goes as Jon. Jim Davis got this name from an old coffee commercial. He thought the name fit the poor sap who would be stuck with a cranky feline with an overactive appetite.

Even though he introduced himself as a cartoonist in the very first strip, Jon is never seen drawing cartoons, except in a strip from 1987 where he is shown drawing a raunchy cartoon for Playboy magazine. His job was additionally referenced in the 1984 Christmas Sequence when Jon left for a cartoonists' convention. (However, Garfield is seen in a couple of strips using Jon's easel and ink, presumably his cartooning tools. In one strip, Garfield draws a cat.)

Jon seems to understand Garfield in some of the later comics, but only sometimes. Garfield's punch lines tend to roll toward the viewer, usually when Garfield answers questions. In the July 13, 1998, comic, he even reacted to Garfield even though Garfield hadn't even thought anything.

In recent comic strips Jon has had his first success in love and finally hit it off with Garfield’s vet, Dr. Liz Wilson (following the path of the end of the first movie).

Odie

Odie

Odie

Main article: Odie

First Appearance: August 8, 1978

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Odie's first appearance.

Jon's pet dog (originally owned by Jon's friend Lyman, who hasn’t been seen in the strip for 18 years, last appearing in only one panel on Garfield's tenth birthday). However, there is a slight controversy, because the book "Garfield: His Nine Lives" states that both Garfield and Odie were bought at a pet store and therefore both directly belong to Jon, but since the former was introduced in 1978, it is widely believed to be the most truthful. Odie is a yellow, long-eared beagle who is always drooling and walks on all four legs. He is very unintelligent and naïve (although he has been shown on rare occasions to be the exact opposite). His birthday is on August 8th and is celebrated once in a strip where Jon says that Garfield didn't care about Odie's birthday. Because of his naïveté, Garfield likes to play tricks on him, particularly taking advantage to give him the boot—quite literally—when he is standing on the edge of a table.

Odie is the only animal character who doesn't communicate with any form of dialogue (except in one comic where Odie actually speaks in Garfield's dream, once when he tries coffee and says 'rowr...' and another when he sings on a fence "Lady of Spain, I adore you" and another one, the June 15, 1980 comic where he's poking his original owner, Lyman, and saying he's hungry), solely communicating with body language and his enthusiastic barking and other dog sound effects.

Odie didn’t appear in the very first comics; he made his debut on August 8, 1978, which is considered his birthday. Odie was originally going to be named Spot, but Davis thought the name “Odie” better indicated stupidity. (Odie was the name of the village idiot in Davis' Car Ad.) This was referenced in an early strip where Odie has “an accident” on the carpet, and Garfield remarks that they should have named him Spot. Odie used to have black ears, but Davis was told that he looked a little like Snoopy; Odie’s ears are now brown.

Sometimes Odie catches on to Garfield’s tricks; one time as Odie was sleeping on a rug, Garfield creeps up and pulls the rug out from under him, spinning him into the air. As Garfield settles in, Odie gets back by stamping his foot into the floorboard, shooting Garfield into the ceiling. Another favorite trick of Odie's is sneaking up behind Garfield while Garfield is eating, and barking loudly, which results in Garfield being startled and pitching forward face-first into his food bowl.

By the early 1990s, Odie's presence in Garfield became so rare that some readers wondered if he had met the same fate as his former owner Lyman. (A letter published in National Review, responding to an Anthony Lejeune article about the decline of the American comic strip, complained that Odie had become doggie non grata.) In recent years however Odie has resumed much of his former status in the cast.

Supporting characters

Main article: List of Garfield characters

Arlene

Arlene

First Appearance: December 17, 1980

Garfield's female friend. She is a pink stray cat with a long neck and buck teeth. She once wished their relationship would take a few steps, but Garfield does not seem to notice. Garfield once quipped in the early strips that he and Arlene have an apparent love-hate relationship: Garfield loves himself, and Arlene hates that. Garfield loves to tease Arlene about the gap between her front teeth, which also infuriates her. She seems somewhat more clever than Garfield and repays his teasing with witty comebacks.

Nermal

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Nermal

First Appearance: September 3, 1979

"The world's cutest kitten." Garfield hates him and hates especially when he comes to show everyone how cute he is. Nermal especially does this on Garfield's birthdays to remind him of how he is getting older. Nermal is a male kitten, but his voice actress in the cartoon (Desirée Goyette) and long eyelashes have led to some confusion over his gender. He once mentioned that he is going to stay cute and small forever because he's a midget. ("I think small," he once quipped, "and the coffee and cigarettes don't hurt.") However, there is evidence that Nermal preserves his cuteness by mud packing his face. In exasperation and feelings of being degraded for ugliness and advancement in age, Garfield ultimately attempts to ship Nermal to Abu Dhabi. In later strips Nermal grows up and appears to be in what could be considered adolescence, but retains his vanity and continues to poke fun at Garfield.

Elizabeth Wilson

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Dr. Liz Wilson

First Appearance: June 26, 1979

Garfield and Odie's veterinarian and Jon's biggest crush. Even though Garfield hates going to the vet, Jon often forces him to go. Sometimes the visit is just an excuse for Jon to ask Liz out for a date. Jon and Liz shared their first true kiss on December 19, 1981, though Jon had previously managed to steal a kiss on October 6, 1979. In the past, Liz showed great dislike and little respect for Jon; her attempts to show him that she was not interested in him were generally futile, although she did deliver some pithy comments. During the week of her second appearance, Jon asked her what she would suggest for an animal who is madly in love (referring to himself), and Liz countered with "neutering." They didn't have a lasting relationship until after another kiss during slight dating fiasco on July 28, 2006. A third kiss was shared on September 3 of the same year.

From this point on, Liz has been Jon's girlfriend (she called him "Sweetie").

Pooky

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Pooky

First Appearance: October 23, 1978

Pooky is Garfield's teddy bear and best friend that Garfield discovered stuffed in a drawer. Despite the fact that Pooky is a stuffed animal, Garfield acts as though he can communicate with him. At one point, Garfield pretended to teach Pooky how to jump through hoops then Garfield turned around to talk to Jon. When he turned back Pooky was on the other side of the hoop. Garfield is generally overprotective of Pooky. Once Garfield thought he lost Pooky so he turned into "The Caped Avenger", a repeating storyline, and tried to find Pooky. It turned out that Jon had just thrown him in the wash.

Lyman

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Lyman & Garfield.

First Appearance: August 7, 1978
Last Appearance: June 19, 1988

Lyman was Jon's roommate and Odie's owner. He stopped appearing in the strip after a few years, apparently because he was considered superfluous. Jim Davis explained how the character was created to give Jon someone to be friends with and talk to, but as Garfield’s character evolved and ended up holding the conversations through his thought bubbles, the conversations became more Garfield-Jon oriented. This made Lyman's character unneeded; thus, Davis stopped including Lyman in the strip with little to no explanation. However, Jim Davis later gave humorous scenarios of what happened in the Garfield 20th Anniversary Book. One clue, supplied by Davis, indicated "Don’t look in Jon's basement!" In the online game "Scary Scavenger Hunt", this clue materialized: Lyman's head can be found under a cloth. Lyman himself is found in the bathtub. Upon discovering Lyman in the bathtub, the Psycho music plays. In the sequel, "Scary Scavenger Hunt II", his head can be found in the oven. [3]. Although his last in-strip appearance was in April 24, 1983, he makes a cameo five years later in the title panel of the strip that was published on Garfield's 10th birthday.

In the "Garfield Book Nook" section at Garfield's website, Lyman is shown as the clerk.

Mom

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Mom

First Appearance: February 13, 1980

Jon’s mother lives on a farm and is known to be a great cook (she can make just about anything out of potatoes, proven in a 1980s strip when she creates five different kinds of potatoes(Scalloped, Whipped, Fried, Baked and Broiled.) She also always has the same expression on her face. Based on Jim Davis' mother Betty Davis, Jon's mother is also known for sending him and Garfield cooked meals in packages. Jon once got mashed potatoes and Garfield got gravy, which started to leak from the corner of the envelope. On one Christmas occasion, after Dad said, "Please tell me they were adopted.", her response was "I don't know, I was out at the time."

Dad

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Dad

First Appearance: February 13, 1980

Jon's father; lives on a farm, and is completely useless when it comes to modern equipment. (in a series of strips where Jon's family visits Jon's house, Jon's dad pumps a sink faucet like a handle, and snaps the faucet clean off.) Calls Jon "Jon Boy". Based on Jim Davis' father, James William Davis.

Doc Boy

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Doc Boy

First Appearance: May 17, 1983

Jon's brother who lives on a farm with his mother and father, and often fights with Jon, calling him a "city slicker". Doc Boy hates being called "Doc Boy" and Jim Davis addresses in a strip once that he did not like the name since he started wearing pants. Based on Jim Davis' brother David "Doc" Davis, who's not nearly as goofy as his cartoon counterpart; he's goofier.

Spiders

Small spiders appear numerous times throughout the strip (implying that Jon's house may be infested with them), and try to have conversations with Garfield; unfortunately for them, he takes great pleasure in swatting them with a rolled-up newspaper, and does so every time he encounters one. Despite this, being swatted apparently isn't fatal for them as they have been seen getting up and stumbling away or thinking to themselves afterwards. The spiders occasionally show a desire for revenge, but are usually friendly; one particular spider named Lorenzo (possibly named for Lorenzo Music, Garfield's late voice actor in the TV show) makes repeated appearances, seeming to share an awkward friendship with Garfield. The spiders were initially drawn with six legs, although now they are generally drawn with eight.

Mice

Garfield has had many mice friends (and some enemies). Most of them are nameless but there are a few that have been identified. Three mice named Herman, Floyd, and Squeak make occasional appearances. The mice usually get along with Garfield but they also humiliate him sometimes and care very little about it. They know that Garfield is too lazy to chase them (although there have been a few occasions) so they tend to take advantage of their freedom and casually walk around the house, sometimes stealing food from the kitchen. As Jon expects Garfield to catch and eat the mice, he gets disappointed when he has to dispose of them by himself. As Garfield once famously put it, "Show me a good mouser, and I'll show you a cat with bad breath." He sometimes coaxes Garfield into doing his natural tasks by telling him he won't get dinner if he doesn't catch them, Garfield counters this by making deals with the mice, such as giving them cheese for letting him catch them.

Irma

First Appearance: June 9, 1979 (though not by name until October 19, 1979)

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A strip featuring Irma

The waitress and manager of a greasy, lowbrow diner (Irma's Diner), Irma takes no shame in the obvious low quality of her establishment, often oblivious to the disgusting foodstuffs she serves Jon and Garfield and the chaos that goes on under her nose. She doesn't seem to be very bright and is very literal in her tasks as a waitress: once, when Jon ordered what the person next to him was having, she simply snatched the plate from the customer and gave it to Jon. She can make Garfield lose his appetite. She is prone to calling Jon "Hon"; however, she does know him by name as the April 17th 1981 strip indicates.

Mrs. Feeny

Although she has never appeared physically or with a voice bubble, she and her little dog are constantly targeted by Garfield. This results in her calling Jon and complaining. At one point, she sent Jon a cake that turned out to be a balloon, it popped and splattered him with icing when he started cutting it [4]. Although Garfield has targeted the entire neighborhood, Mrs. Feeny is considerably his biggest target. Mr. Feeny was mentioned in a strip in 2005, but that was the only time he was mentioned. In one strip it is mentioned that Garfield once glued her dog to a cross town bus. When called on this, he raises his paw to swear, only to notice that his coffee cup has become attached to him.

Ellen

Of all of the women Jon calls for a date and ends up getting rejected, Ellen is the most common. She was introduced as a blind date for Jon November 9, 1990 After 16 years, Ellen finally dated Jon in the comic on July 17, 2006 and appeared in person on July 20, 2006 after Jon convinced her to go on a date because she had amnesia and couldn't remember how much she despised him. [5] She appeared as a blondie. She was wearing a dress with black and white horizontal lines. This didn't last long though. In the middle of their date, Liz (Garfield's vet) was with another man named Nick. When Jon went over to her she revealed that she liked Jon and since Ellen had amnesia, she didn't even remember that they were on a date together.

Binky the Clown

One of the more recognizable local entertainers in the comic, Binky first appeared outside the context of television or Jon's coffee mug when Garfield ran away to be with the circus. Binky the Clown hired Garfield as an assistant but Garfield left, deciding that the circus life didn't agree with him. In one TV cartoon, he was addressed as "mad," and in another, he was hired by Jon as a handyman after being fired from show biz for a while and was noted that Garfield and Odie were his only fans. The pets weren't good fans, either.

Stretch

First appearance: June 19, 1984; acquired his name the next day.

Last appearance: December 31, 2000

Stretch is Garfield's rubber chicken which he received from Jon for his 6th birthday. He has less "life" than Pooky. He is mainly used to torment Jon, making him regret that he got it. However, it has been a long time since he has made an appearance.

Lilian

First Appearance: March 27, 2007

Lilian is a senile old woman with extraordinarily thick glasses. She has been hired by Jon to babysit Garfield and Odie while Jon and Liz go on a date. Of course, Garfield and Odie hate her since she can not do anything and wastes their time. This turns out "fine" according to Jon, though Garfield and Odie are furious at Jon. In one of her comic strips, she mistakes an orange, and a pineapple for Garfield and Odie.

Themes and settings

Usually, the standard setting is Garfield standing on a table or floor, always flat. Occasionally, Garfield ventures elsewhere and when he goes somewhere else, he usually spends a week or two in that area.

• The table is the most common setting in the strip. Common scenarios for these strips include Garfield sleeping on his back, eating, drinking coffee (usually with Jon), kicking Odie off the table, or sitting beside Jon (who is often calling women on the phone to ask for a date--mostly getting rejected). This is likely because Garfield usually needs to be face-to-face with Jon to interact with him. In strips such as ones taking place in the living room or outdoors, the drawings are made smaller to fit both Jon and Garfield in. Sometimes, the table is actually important to the story, such as being cut up to get Jon's dinner plate, a gag with a round table, and to mask Odie while Garfield was using him as a stool to get hot chocolate during December.
• The TV Chair is one of Garfield’s favorite places, where he entertains himself with shows like Binky the Clown and others. Many of the shows mentioned are absurd and stupid, and give Jim Davis an opportunity to comment on pop-culture. In a few early strips the chair had a floral print, but Garfield sneezed it off after having an allergic reaction to the flowers. In earlier strips Garfield doesn't use the chair at all; he is perched on top of the TV and bends his head down, planting his face right in front of the screen.
• Garfield's Bed; as a prodigious sleeper, Garfield is often found here. Even when not asleep, he sometimes uses his blanket for entertainment purposes (Amoeba Man, the Caped Avenger). The bed is sometimes moved around the house, including on the table.
• Outside, Garfield has confrontations with various characters, such as dogs (more vicious than Odie), birds, worms, and even conscious flowers. "Beware of Dog" signs abound, and Garfield often tries to torment the chained-up dogs as some kind of revenge. Garfield also tries to capture birds in the birdbath, often (but not always) unsuccessfully. He finds it a lot easier to capture flowers though, and often eats them.
• Early in the strip, Garfield would spend time on the window ledge and sometimes get trapped in the roll-up blinds. One of these events culminated in a two-week storyline in which Garfield, Odie, Jon, two complete strangers, and even a street lamp all got trapped in the blinds [6]. This was one of the few storylines in which a Sunday strip was part of the regular story arc. After this, Jon bought Venetian blinds (which Garfield, somehow, still manages to get stuck in).
• The Fence in the Alley is an area where Garfield often tells bad jokes or caterwauls, in an homage to vaudeville with the background moon providing his spotlight. Odie joins the act from time to time, once as a ventriloquist’s dummy, once as "Mr. Skins", who accompanied Garfield on the drums, and once as a cue card boy. Garfield is frequently the target of disgusted fans (usually unseen), who throw shoes, vegetables, and houseplants, and other things that would hurt, at him and once burned down his fence with burning arrows (Garfield’s temporary replacement, a plastic flamingo, just "didn’t feel the same"). Garfield, however, loves the attention he receives, and once complained that he thought a joke deserved more than a single shoe. He does sometimes get applause from his audience,(once Odie held the applause sign upside down and the fans clapped upside down) though one time the audience consisted solely of his mother, another time the custodian. He apparently has to be booked onto the fence by an agent (in one strip, his agent booked him a gig on a chain link fence). Everyone thinks Odie makes better entertainment. When asked how Garfield could stand on the fence without falling, it was revealed the fence was apparently very wide.
• Up the tree is another area where Garfield often traps himself. Garfield knows not to climb, but ironically can never overcome the urge. A firefighter usually has to save him on the last day of the week. Once, Jon got stuck up the tree trying to rescue him. And once, Garfield tried to run down a tree, crashing into the ground. Another time, a firefighter came to rescue him, but when he complained about "always getting the fat ones," Garfield sends the fireman's ladder crashing to the ground.
• Occasionally, Garfield will be taken to the vet’s office, a place he loathes. In this setting, Jon always tries to get a date with Liz, the vet, and usually fails badly. Liz sometimes does go out with Jon. At the end of one date, Jon got a kiss, his first of only three so far in the comic. (However, with his having officially "gotten a life" as of July 28, 2006, when he received his second kiss, this could change.)
• Sometimes Jon takes Garfield to the park. Jon tries to meet girls in the park, but always fails miserably and humorously. ("She acknowledged my existence!" Jon joyfully declared after a female passer-by told him to "Shut up" before he could even say anything.)
• Vacations are taken by Jon and his pets every so often, usually to exotic places. Early in the series, Garfield had to sneak along in Jon’s suitcase (this tactic is also used in the second Garfield film, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties). But at some point Jon gave up and took him along as an equal, albeit sometimes dressed as a child. Most often Jon will choose some undesirable tourist trap in a tropical setting. In a particular storyline, Jon takes Garfield to an isle called Guano Guano which actually means "bat feces" in Spanish. Although Jon does say "Aloha" to a native, therefore speaking Hawaiian it is not said where the isle is on the map. Greeting the native with "Aloha" was implied as ignorance that Americans have towards tropical cultures because when he greets the native, it is implied that the native gives Jon an obscene gesture.
• The Beach can be a sub-setting that falls under a vacation destination but it is implied that Jon takes Garfield to the local beach. This is yet another hot spot for Jon to try to pick up dates but he always fails. Garfield hates the beach simply because it has no TV, and is too hot; however, he does like the fact that he thinks he can "go" wherever he wants. This theme often shows up in the summer.
• An Airliner is a sub-setting for vacations. Earlier in the strip, Jon and Garfield had to ride in third class, but when they visited Guano Guano, it is not implied what section they were in. Garfield and Odie also had to be dressed as children so as not to ride with the luggage.
• Campsites are sometimes accompanied by the fishing in a small boat sub-setting.
• Jon’s Car is a common setting when Jon is taking Garfield to his parents’ farm to visit, to the vet, or when Jon and Garfield go to a fast food drive through. Sometimes the destination is not implied.
• Irma's Diner is another occasional setting. Irma is a chirpy, but slow-witted and unattractive waitress/manager, and one of Jon’s few friends (although she is probably the only woman he has known that he hasn’t asked out). The terrible food is the center of most of the jokes, along with the poor management. Along with Irma's Diner, other no-name restaurants, from fancy to tourist trap, are sometimes used as a setting.
• Jon periodically visits his parents and brother on the farm. This results in week-long comical displays of stupidity by Jon and his family, and their interactions.
• Stores & Shopping Lots are usually on and off settings where Garfield sometimes wreaks havoc. Some include the grocery store, the pet store, the furniture store, fancy restaurants, the florist, the refrigerator store, the Christmas tree lot and the used car lot.
• Cinemas are rare settings but appear on and off. In a particular setting where Liz reluctantly goes on a date with Jon, he takes her to see a film called Sludge Monster VII: The Oozing. When Jon asks Liz if she wants a bucket of popcorn, she asks for just the bucket.
• House as for the house in which the comic takes place in, there are hints of a two story house. On Garfields' 16th birthday, a part of the house as Garfield is expecting a surprise, it appears that there is a staircase in the background, but when viewed from outside the house in a later comic, it appears as a one story.
• Jon's Bathroom

Short storylines

Garfield comic strips have occasionally featured some members of Jim Davis's other cartoon strip, U.S. Acres (known as Orson's Farm outside North America).

Garfield often engages in one to two week-long interactions with a minor character, event, or thing, such as Nermal, Arlene, the mailman, an alarm clock, a talking scale, the TV, Pooky, spiders, mice, balls of yarn, dieting, shedding, pie throwing, fishing, Mondays (The Monday That Wouldn’t Die), birthdays, lasagna, the "Caped Avenger" (Garfield’s alter ego), Mrs. Feeny, colds, hallucinations with birthday displeasures or dietary complications, talks with his grandfather, etc.

Some more unique themes are things like "Garfield's Believe It or Don't", "Garfield's Law", "Garfield's History of Cats", which show science, history and the world from Garfield's point of view. Another particular theme is the "National Fat Week", where Garfield spends the week making fun of skinny people. Also, there was a time when Garfield caught Odie eating Garfield's food, so Garfield "kicked Odie into next week". Soon, Garfield realizes that "life isn't the same without Odie. He keeps making me fall into my food," with the result of Garfield falling into his food by himself. Soon after, Garfield is lying in his bed with a "nagging feeling that I forgot something," with Odie landing on Garfield in the next panel. Most of December is spent preparing for Christmas, with a predictable focus on presents. Every week before June 19, the strip focuses on his birthday, which Garfield dreads because of his fear of getting older. This started happening after his sixth birthday. But, before his 29th birthday, Liz put Garfield on a diet. And on June 19, 2007, Garfield was given the greatest birthday present: "I'M OFF MY DIET!" (Note: This is the first time the dieting and birthday themes came together in a series of strips.) Occasionally the strip celebrates as well with scary-themed jokes. There are also seasonal jokes, with snow-related gags common in January or February and beach or heat themed jokes in the summer.

Right panel of 27 Oct 1989 strip

One storyline, which ran the week before Halloween in 1989, is unique among Garfield strips in that it is not meant to be humorous. It depicts Garfield awakening in a future in which the house is abandoned and he no longer exists. In tone and imagery the storyline for this series of strips is very similar to the animation segment for Valse Triste from Allegro Non Troppo, which depicts a ghostly cat roaming around the ruins of the home it once inhabited.

Although there was some speculation about what these strips meant Jim Davis is reported to have actually "laughed loudly" when informed of the rumors circulating on the internet that Garfield was either dead or starving to death in an abandoned house. In Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection, in which the strips are reprinted, Jim Davis discusses the genesis for this series of strips. His caption, in its entirety states:

"During a writing session for week, I got the idea for this decidedly different series of strips. I wanted to scare people. And what do people fear? Why, being alone of course. We carried out the concept to its logical conclusion and got a lot of responses from readers."

Criticism

Despite the widespread popularity of the comic strip, Garfield has earned negative criticism over the years. For the past few years the strip has shown little development of character and used increasingly repetitive story lines. Davis' work has been criticized for a declining grasp of originality and accused of reverting frequently to formula-based jokes regarding Garfield's weight and lazy tendencies, Odie's stupidity, Jon's isolation, etc. However, on July 28, 2006, Jon finally landed Liz, the veterinarian, for a girlfriend (his first ever success in love), thereby combating some of this criticism.

Marketing and products

As a result of the worldwide proliferation of the comic strip, Paws, Inc. has become a global licensing powerhouse, selling the characters’ images for production on a wide variety of products, including common objects like food, toys, and household items. A franchise of stores selling exclusively Garfield-brand products has become popular outside of North America.

In North America, the most mainstream appearances of Garfield are traditionally compilations of the comic strip, as well as other entertainment media, such as television, as the franchise expanded over time. However, Garfield's main success has come from the comic strip, and The Simpsons were able to dominate Garfield in the global markets by 1996. [7].

Books

Compilations

File:Garfbook.jpg

A Garfield book

These books, generally released twice a year by Ballantine Books, contain reprints of the comic as it appears in newspapers daily. These books were originally printed in black and white, but recent volumes have been in color. Each book collects approximately six months of comics, including the larger weekend comics (in black and white in all except the recent editions).

The titles of these books were styled as double entendres alluding to Garfield's weight. These books introduced the “Garfield format” in publishing, whereby the books are horizontally oriented to match comic strip dimensions; Davis has recalled having to invent the format in order to better fit the books on store shelves. They are currently being reprinted in a larger format, showing the Sunday strips to be formatted in a size as they usually are, instead of shrunken-down to meet the book size. However, this means that the first panel after the logo box (called the drop panel because newspapers can drop it without ruining the point of the strip) is no longer printed in the compilation books.

Each of books will be re-released in the "Garfield Classics" format. These are available in paperback only, with every comic in full color, not just the Sunday strips. As well as colorization, the page size has also been increased. So far, the first twelve books have been reprinted in this format.

1. Garfield At Large: His First Book (1980) (Comics from June 19, 1978-January 22, 1979)
2. Garfield Gains Weight: His Second Book (1981) (Comics from January 23, 1979-September 22, 1979)

   Since Garfield's birthday is on June 19, the book contains the strip in which Garfield celebrates his first birthday.

3. Garfield Bigger Than Life: His Third Book (1981) (Comics from September 23, 1979-March 30, 1980)
4. Garfield Weighs In: His Fourth Book (1982)(Comics from March 31, 1980-November 2, 1980)
5. Garfield Takes the Cake: His Fifth Book (1982)(Comics from November 3, 1980-June 7, 1981)
6. Garfield Eats His Heart Out: His Sixth Book (1983) (Comics from June 8, 1981-January 10, 1982)
7. Garfield Sits Around the House: His Seventh Book (1983) (comics from January 11, 1982-August 15, 1982)
8. Garfield Tips the Scales: His Eighth Book (1984) (Comics from August 16, 1982-March 20, 1983)
9. Garfield Loses His Feet: His Ninth Book (1984) (Comics from March 21, 1983-October 23, 1983)
10. Garfield Makes It Big: His 10th Book (1985)(Comics from October 24, 1983-May 27, 1984)
11. Garfield Rolls On: His 11th Book (1985) (Comics from May 28, 1984-December 30, 1984)
12. Garfield Out to Lunch: His 12th Book (1986) (Comics from December 31, 1984-August 4, 1985)
13. Garfield Food for Thought: His 13th Book (1987) (Comics from August 5, 1985-May 9, 1986)
14. Garfield Swallows His Pride: His 14th Book (1987)(Comics From May 10, 1986-October 12, 1986)
15. Garfield World Wide: His 15th Book (1988) (Comics from October 13, 1986-May 17, 1987)
16. Garfield Rounds Out: His 16th Book (1988)(Comics From May 18, 1987-December 19, 1987)
17. Garfield Chews the Fat: His 17th Book (1989) (Comics from December 20, 1987-July 24, 1988)
18. Garfield Goes to Waist: His 18th Book (1990) (Comics from July 25, 1988-February 25, 1989)
19. Garfield Hangs Out: His 19th Book (1990) (Comics from February 26, 1989-September 30, 1989)
20. Garfield Takes Up Space: His 20th Book (1991) (Comics from October 1, 1989-May 5, 1990)
21. Garfield Says a Mouthful: His 21st Book (1991)(Comics from May 6, 1990-December 8, 1990)
22. Garfield By the Pound: His 22nd Book (1992)(Comics from December 9, 1990-July 7, 1991)
23. Garfield Keeps His Chins Up: His 23rd Book (1992)(Comics from July 8, 1991-February 4, 1992)
24. Garfield Takes His Licks: His 24th Book (1993)(Comics from February 5, 1992-September 5, 1992)
25. Garfield Hits the Big Time: His 25th Book (1993) (Comics from September 6, 1992-April 10, 1993)
26. Garfield Pulls His Weight: His 26th Book (1994)(Comics from April 11, 1993-November 19, 1993)
27. Garfield Dishes It Out: His 27th Book (1995) (Comics from November 20, 1993-June 11, 1994)
28. Garfield Life in the Fat Lane: His 28th Book (1995) (Comics from June 12, 1994-January 10, 1995)
29. Garfield Tons of Fun: His 29th Book (1996)(Comics from January 11, 1995-August 12, 1995)
30. Garfield Bigger and Better: His 30th Book (1996) (Comics from August 13, 1995-March 11, 1996)
31. Garfield Hams It Up: His 31st Book (1997) (Comics from March 12, 1996-October 12, 1996)
32. Garfield Thinks Big: His 32nd Book (1997) (Comic from October 13, 1996-May 13, 1997)
33. Garfield Throws His Weight Around: His 33rd Book (1998) (Comics from May 14, 1997-December 13, 1997)
34. Garfield Life to the Fullest: His 34th Book (1999) (December 14, 1997-July 14, 1998)
35. Garfield Feeds the Kitty: His 35th Book (1999)(Comics from July 15, 1998-February 13, 1999)
36. Garfield Hogs the Spotlight: His 36th Book (2000)(Comics from February 14, 1999-September 11, 1999)
37. Garfield Beefs Up: His 37th Book (2000)(Comics from September 12, 1999-April 8, 2000)
38. Garfield Gets Cookin’: His 38th Book (2001)(Comics from April 9, 2000-November 4, 2000)
39. Garfield Eats Crow: His 39th Book (2003) (Comics from November 5, 2000-May 30, 2001)
40. Garfield Survival of the Fattest: His 40th Book (2004)(Comics from May 31, 2001-December 26, 2001)
41. Garfield Older and Wider: His 41st Book (2005)(Comics from December 30, 2001-July 27, 2002)
42. Garfield Pigs Out: His 42nd Book (2006)(Comics from July 28, 2002-February 22, 2003)
43. Garfield Blots Out The Sun: His 43rd Book (2007)(Comics from February 23, 2003-September 20, 2003)
44. Garfield Goes Bananas: His 44th Book (Coming August 28th, 2007) (Comics from September 21, 2003 to April ? 2004)

Garfield Classics

The Garfield Classics imprint has been in print since 2001, and reprints Garfield's earlier books in a "remastered" format, with increased page size, bolder lines, and each strip in full-color format.

Cover	Title	comics years	Release date
	Garfield At Large	June 19, 1978-January 22, 1979	May 29, 2001
	Garfield gains weight	January 23, 1979-September 22, 1979	November 27, 2001
	Garfield Bigger than life	September 23, 1979-March 30, 1980	February 26, 2002
	Garfield weighs in	March 31, 1980-November 2, 1980	June 25, 2002
	Garfield takes the cake	November 3, 1980-June 7, 1981	June 3, 2003
	Garfield Eats His heart Out	June 8, 1981-January 10, 1982	December 30, 2003
	Garfield Sits Around the House	January 11, 1982-August 15, 1982	December 30, 2003
	Garfield Tips the Scales	August 16, 1982-March 20, 1983	June 29, 2004
	Garfield Loses His Feet	March 21, 1983-October 23, 1983	August 31, 2004
	Garfield Makes It Big	October 24, 1983-May 27, 1984	June 28, 2005
	Garfield Rolls On	May 28, 1984-December 30, 1984	July 26, 2005
	Garfield Out to Lunch	December 31, 1984-August 4, 1985	April 25, 2006
	Garfield Food for Thought	August 5, 1985-May 9, 1986	November 28, 2006
	Garfield Swallows His Pride	May 10, 1986-October 12, 1986	April 17, 2007
	Garfield WorldWide	October 13, 1986-May 17, 1987	June 26, 2007
	Garfield Rounds Out	May 18, 1987-December 19, 1987	2007
	Garfield Chews the Fat	December 20, 1987-July 24, 1988	2007
	Garfield Goes to Waist	July 25, 1988-February 25, 1989	2008
	Garfield Hangs Out	February 26, 1989-September 30, 1990	2008
	Garfield Takes Up Space	October 1, 1990-December 2, 1990	2008
	Garfield Says a Mouthful	December 3, 1990-1991	2008
	Garfield By the Pound	1991-July 7, 1991	2009
	Garfield Keeps His Chins Up	July 8, 1991-February 4, 1992	2009
	Garfield Takes His Licks	February 5, 1992-September 5, 1992	2009
	Garfield Hits the Big Time	September 6, 1992-April 10, 1993	2009
	Garfield Pulls His Weight	April 11, 1993-November 19, 1993	2009
	Garfield Dishes It Out	November 20, 1993-June 11, 1994	2010
	Garfield Life in the Fat Lane	June 12, 1994-January 10, 1995	2010
	Garfield Tons of Fun	January 11, 1995-August 12, 1995	2010
	Garfield Bigger and Better	August 13, 1995-March 11, 1996	2011
	Garfield Hams It Up	March 12, 1996-October 12, 1996	2011
	Garfield Thinks Big	October 13, 1996-May 13, 1997	2012
	Garfield Throws His Weight Around	May 14, 1997-December 13, 1997	2012
	Garfield Life to the Fullest	December 14, 1997-July 14, 1998	2012
	Garfield Feeds the Kitty	July 15, 1998-1998	2012
	Garfield Hogs the Spotlight	1998-1999	2013
	Garfield Beefs Up	September 12, 1999-April 8, 2000	October 3, 2000
	Garfield Gets Cookin’	April 9, 2000-November 4, 2000	October 2, 2001
	Garfield Eats Crow	November 5, 2000-June 2, 2001	January 1, 2003
	Garfield Survival of the Fattest	June 3, 2001-December 29, 2001	February 3, 2004
	Garfield Older and Wider	December 30, 2001-July 27, 2002	January 25, 2005
	Garfield Pigs Out	July 28, 2002-February 22, 2003	February 7, 2006
	Garfield Blots Out The Sun	February 23, 2003-September 20, 2003	January 30, 2007

• Newer books are only available in a similar format, starting with book #37.

In the UK, over 60 Garfield books, mainly “Pocket Books” or paperbacks, have been published by Ravette. The format is slightly different, as the strips are presented in a vertical style. In the Garfield 20th anniversary book, however, Davis said vertical stacking was the one type of comic anthology layout he wanted to avoid the most when compiling the above collections.

Additionally, adaptations of Garfield television specials have been published in comic format:

• Garfield as Himself (2004) collects the following books:

• Here Comes Garfield (1982)
• Garfield on the Town (1983)
• Garfield Gets a Life (1991)

• Garfield Holiday Celebrations (2004) collects the following books:

• Garfield in Disguise (Halloween special) (1985)
• Garfield’s Thanksgiving (1988)
• A Garfield Christmas (1987)
• Season's Eatings (2003)

• Garfield Travel Adventures (2005) collects the following books:

• Garfield in the Rough (1984)
• Garfield in Paradise (1986)
• Garfield Goes to Hollywood (1988)

Other books

• Garfield: His 9 Lives (1984), graphic novel, later made into a TV special.
• The Unabridged Uncensored Unbelievable Garfield (1986)
• Garfield Book of Cat Names (1988)
• Garfield How to Party Book (1988)
• Garfield Crazy About Numbers (1988)— (sticker book)
• Give Me Coffee and No One Gets Hurt (discontinued)
• Garfield and the Santa Spy (1989)
• Garfield's Judgment Day (1990)
• Garfield: The Me Book (1990) (motivational handbook)
• Garfield and the Truth About Cats (1991)
• Garfield's Insults, Put-Downs & Slams (1994)
• Garfield's Big Book of Excellent Excuses (2000)
• Garfield's Guide to Everything (2004)
• Odie Unleashed: Garfield Lets the Dog Out Book (2005)
• Lights, Camera, Hairballs: Garfield at the Movies (2006)

Early-reader adventure novels featuring Garfield

• Garfield's Haunted House and Other Spooky Tales (1994)
• Garfield's Stupid Cupid and Other Stories (1995)
• Garfield Goes to Disobedience School (1997)
• Garfield's Christmas Tales (1994)
• Garfield's Ghost Stories (1990)
• Garfield and the Beast in the Basement (2002)
• Garfield and the Mysterious Mummy (1997)
• Garfield and the Teacher Creature (1998)
• Garfield and the Wicked Wizard (2002)

Garfield’s Pet Force is series of early-reader novels:

• #1: The Outrageous Origin (1997)
• #2: Pie Rat’s Revenge (1998)
• #3: K-Niner: Dog of Doom (1998)
• #4: Menace of the Mutanator (1999)
• #5: Attack of the Lethal Lizards (1999)

Garfield Extreme is a series of children’s picture books.

• Garfield’s Extreme Cuisine: Pigging the Way Out! (2003)
• Garfield’s Ironcat (2003)
• Garfield’s Awesome Ski Adventure (2002)
• Garfield’s Sumo Beach Bellyball (2002)

Television

File:GarfieldThrowDish.jpg

Garfield as seen on Garfield and Friends

TV-series:

• Garfield and Friends (animated TV series, 1988–1995)

TV-specials (1982-1991) (E)= specials that won an Emmy Award.

• Here Comes Garfield (animated special) 1982
• Garfield in the Rough (E) (animated special) 1984
• Garfield on the Town (E) (animated special) 1983
• Garfield's Halloween Adventure (E) (animated special) 1985
• Garfield in Paradise (animated special) 1986
• Garfield Goes Hollywood (animated special) 1987
• A Garfield Christmas (animated special) 1987
• Garfield: His 9 Lives (animated special) 1988
• Garfield’s Babes and Bullets (E) (animated special) 1989
• Garfield’s Thanksgiving (animated special) 1992
• Garfield’s Feline Fantasies (animated special) 1990
• Garfield Gets a Life (animated special) 1991

Video games

File:S20558c8cot.jpg

Title screen for Garfield: Caught in the Act

Garfield was also transported into video games, the first being a never-released Atari 2600 prototype, in 1983, and there was also an 8-bit Famicom game of Garfield made in Japan in 1989 .

1. Garfield (1984) prototype for Atari 2600
2. Create With Garfield (1985) for Apple II and Commodore 64
3. Garfield: A Big Fat Hairy Deal (1987) for ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Commodore 64
4. Garfield: A Winter’s Tail (1989) for Atari ST (will not work on Atari STe computers), Amiga, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64
5. Garfield no Isshukan (A Week of Garfield) (1989) for the Famicom
6. Garfield Labyrinth (Unknown year) for Nintendo Game Boy
7. Garfield: Caught in the Act (1995), for Genesis, Game Gear and PC
8. Garfield’s Mad About Cats (2001), for PC
9. Garfield (2004), for PC and PS2 (UK Only)
10. Garfield: The Search for Pooky (2005) for GBA
11. Garfield & His Nine Lives (2006) for GBA
12. Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) for Nintendo DS, Playstation 2, and PC
13. Garfield: Saving Arlene (2006) for Playstation 2
14. Garfield's Nightmare (2007) for Nintendo DS
15. Garfield: Movin' On Up (2007) for PC and Karaoke CD

Films

• Garfield: The Movie (2004) — Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield.
• Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) — Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield.
• Garfield Gets Real[8][9](2008)-Cast -Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield.

Danbury Mint Products

Danbury Mint has made numerous products for avid Garfield lovers. All but two (Bedtime for Garfield and Bedtime for Odie) are not plush, and all but seven have Garfield with another character.

• Small Figurines (no larger than 4" x 4" x 4"): Catnap, Crowning Achievement, Easy Rider, Here's Lookin' at Me, Gourmet Picnic, Love in Bloom, King of the Jungle, Open House, Midnight Serenade, On Vacation, Return to Sender, Sittin' Pretty
• Musicals (10" wood base with figurine atop): Anchors Aweigh, La Cucaracha, Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay; Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
• Garfield's Christmas Village (11 pieces in all, including): Garfield's House, Post Office, Movies, Toy Shoppe, Candy Store, Courthouse, Church, Bakery, and more.
• Large Figurines: Garfield's Retreat, Garfield's Poolside Resort, Garfield's Golf Course, Garfield's Garden
• Other: Garfield's Carousel and Garfield's Christmas Train
• Plush (2' tall): Bedtime for Garfield and Bedtime for Odie

Miscellaneous

• His album: Am I Cool or What?

• His suction-cupped kitties: "Stuck on You" were a phenomenon across America and took several years for production to meet the demand. They became popular on many car windows. The concept was created after an idea trade with Scott Adams in 1990, which involved what type of object could hold the thing other than sticky items; though in the Twentieth Anniversary book, it clearly states that these car hangers came out in 1988. One such suction-cupped plush Garfield appears in a window of a room in the sci-fi film The Abyss during an external shot. Another is seen in the 1996 introduction for the original format for the British motoring show Top Gear. Additionally, Garfield mimics the concept one night while tailing Jon on his date with Liz.

• His plush products and other toy replicas were licensed for production by the Dakin Company in the 1980s.

• Garfield was featured in a 1988 advertising campaign for Maple Leaf Village Amusement Park. [10]

• Garfield’s merchandising approach has been criticized by a number of commentators including Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson, whose views against merchandising were explained at great detail in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book. Watterson, when asked for his opinion of fellow cartoonists, including Jim Davis, once tactfully described Garfield as “consistent.” He also criticized Jim Davis’s U.S. Acres cartoon. Chris Suellentrop of Slate accuses Davis of creating Garfield merely for the merchandising.

• In 2000 Garfield was used as a mascot/recruiting tool for Cub Scouting, appearing on many items, including 4 plush Garfields in Cub Scout uniforms.

• Garfield and Odie also are featured on product packaging for the retail chain Meijer.

• At Kennywood, an amusement park located near Pittsburgh, Garfield is one of the mascots. There are two Garfield themed rides. They are "Garfield’s Nightmare" a haunted house ride, and a free-fall ride for kids, the "Pounce Bounce". Lake Compounce, also run and owned by Kennywood, uses Garfield theming as well.

• Silverwood Theme Park, the Northwests largest theme park near Coeur d'Alene Idaho, has Garfield as the official mascot.

Tourism

Marion, and surrounding Grant County, Indiana have erected a series of Garfield statues around the area. The brainchild of local leader Pete Beck (a county councilman at the time), the basic idea is to place a likeness of Garfield in each community in the county. It is hoped that as the project matures Garfield fans will travel to Grant County and make a circuit to see all of the statues. The statues are made of hollow fiberglass after private fundraising provides for the construction at each location. Native son and creator of Garfield, Jim Davis has donated the artwork to create the statues royalty free.

Statues have been erected at these locations:

• First Fairmount, "James Dean Garfield" was unveiled in August 2006. He is dressed in cool attire, sporting an open-button collar and denim jeans, placed outside the Fairmount Library.
• In Sweetser, "College-bound Garfield" was unveiled in Summer 2006; the statue is located along the popular Sweetser Switch Trail after money was raised by the Sweetser Lions Club. This one is in place in front of the train. Unfortunately, this one has been vandalized as its lower left arm was cut off. It is not known yet whether this will be repaired.
• Marion, downtown along the Mississinewa River, at the start of the popular River Walk leading to Matter Park, and was unveiled in July 2006. "Health and Fitness Garfield" is dressed in running attire sporting the colors of Marion High School and carries a water bottle. This one has been vandalized when a man hugged Garfield too tightly and the head came off. The head was discovered at the Mississinewa Reservoir, and eventually restored to its body.
• Van Buren, as "Tribute to the Popcorn Capital Garfield" was unveiled during the 2006 Popcorn Festival. Garfield is dressed in the athletic uniform of the long-defunct Van Buren High School "Aces."
• Marion General Hospital, unveiled Dr. Garfield May 11, 2007. He is wearing surgical scrubs, holding a stethoscope and resting one foot on a first aid kit.
• Although not an official part of the project, in a similar vein Arbor Trace Golf Club commissioned a local chainsaw artist to carve a wooden Garfield statue which has been placed in the clubhouse. Garfield is nattily dressed a duffer leaning on his driver.

More statues are planned in other communities in the area as funds are raised to erect them. The town of Swayzee hopes to erect a Garfield statue later in 2007. Fundraising has begun in the town of Jonesboro with a preliminary design of Garfield dressed as a firefighter, commemorating that Joneboro was the home of the first organized fire department in the county.

Trivia

File:Garfield-no-dialogue.jpg

An example of Garfield without Garfield's dialogue.

• At one point a University of Washington student offered the "Eagle_Fire Garfield Randomizer". It had found a backdoor into the comic files of ucomics.com, and thereafter had coded a page to yield panels from years of strips that could be combined and shown to friends. After uComics issued a "cease and desist" letter, the webmaster posted the letter on its former page along with the necessary code to recreate the original site.
• A common internet meme involves the modification of comic strips to remove Garfield's thought bubbles, resulting in a somewhat surrealistic and arguably more subtle humor.
• Jim Davis drew himself into the comic strip for Garfield's tenth birthday on June 19, 1988. He appears in the title block between Jon and Irma. The final block carries a message at the bottom which reads: HAPPY 10TH BIRTHDAY, BUDDY, JIM DAVIS.
• The character Milhouse has a Garfield binder on The Simpsons.
• The Cheat from Homestar Runner wore a Garfield Halloween costume once.
• In Shrek 2 the character Puss in Boots utters Garfield's famous line, "I hate Mondays," when at a bar.
• In the Family Guy episode "North by North Quahog", Stewie Griffin reads the first Garfield strip collection, Garfield at Large, but mentions Garfield having to put up with Nermal, whose introduction actually came in the third book (Garfield Bigger Than Life).
• In one installment of the syndicated comic strip FoxTrot, Peter attempts to promote Garfield: The Movie at the theater he works at in the summer, so he wears a Garfield costume for a week.
• In one of the Garfield strips, Jon is at a high-school reunion. He talks to a man named Gary Barker, Gary Barker is Jim Davis' assistant that draws the blue-pencil products before they are inked and lettered.
• In a 2005 Garfield strip, Dagwood from the Blondie strips made a cameo appearance when he arrives at Jon's house saying he was in the neighborhood and wanted to give Jon an invitation to a get-together. The character was drawn by artists Dean Young and John Marshall, and the "get-together" was being held for the strip's 75th anniversary.
• James Garfield Davis, who is the grandfather of Jim Davis the creator of the Garfield comic strip, was named after President James A Garfield. In turn Jim Davis named the character Garfield after his grandfather.

External links

• Official website
• Comic Vault Official Site of all daily comics since June 19, 1978
• Garfield on the Nintendo DS
• Details on all of the Garfield-related food items of the ’80s and ’90s, with pictures
• Garfieldhome.org: the next best thing after lasagna
• Garfield on ROK Comics
• Garfield graphic novels
• Easy-browsable Garfield Comic archive with an RSS feed