Garfield

Garfield
File:Garfieldand friends.gif From left to right: Odie, Nermal, Garfield, Arlene & Pooky
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) (1978-1993)
Preceded by	'Gnorm Gnat'
Followed by	'U.S. Acres'

Garfield is a daily-syndicated comic strip created by Jim Davis and Crystal Lopes]. It chronicles the life of the title character, Garfield, a tabby cat, his owner, Jon Arbuckle, and the dog, Odie. As of 2007, it is syndicated in roughly 2,580 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. This year, Garfield (both the comic and Garfield himself) will celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Overview

File:Garfield 19 Jun 1978.png

The first Garfield comic strip appeared on June 19 1978.

Garfield debuted on June 19 1978, which is considered to be Garfield’s birthday. The strip pokes fun at pet owners and their relationship with their pets, often with the pet as the true master of the household. Garfield also struggles with human problems, such as diets, Mondays, apathy, boredom, and so on. Garfield is able to undergo changes from time to time (his rear paws are now drawn as proportionally huge when he walks on his hind legs), in order to allow more expression in the strip. 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.

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 the finished 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 towards 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 The 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.

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. As in For Better Or For Worse, their dog, Farley, had recently died in a river from saving one of their parent's daughter's. 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 July 16, 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 July 28 (both Jon and Jim Davis’s birthday), when Jon could finally 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 in syndication today.

In 1984, Garfield was introduced to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as a balloon. This is one of the most popular at the parade. In recent years, he has been holding Pooky.

For his work on the strip, creator Jim Davis received the National Cartoonist Society Humor Strip Award for 1980 and 1985, and their Reuben Award for 1988.

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.

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.

In the September 7, 2000 strip, Garfield goes to Coffeequick.com and orders a cup of coffee. Shortly, a man comes to the door with a cup of coffee, stating he "Officially loves the Internet". An actual website was made in case the readers typed in the address, and the page features the "Bean Me" game from the Garfield website.

At one point a University of Washington student offered the "Eagle_Fire Garfield Randomizer". The student 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 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 November 20, 2007, the first Garfield direct-to-video feature was released: Garfield Gets Real, a CGI-animated movie written by Jim Davis.

On Sunday July 1st of 2007, a possible memorial tribute was featured in a Garfield strip. The logo shows Garfield’s eyes being inked with a brush, and the name “VALETTE” is hidden in the stars above the house in the last panel. Valette Greene, who passed away on January 17, 2007, was Davis’ first assistant and the sole inker of the strip until 1997.[2]

Garfield has been featured in many media. 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. Snoopy from the Peanuts series has made a cameo as an image of Garfield in a mirror, with his dialog box commenting, "I think it's going to be one of those Mondays."

In the Get Fuzzy series, Bucky Katt receives a Garfield book for Christmas. He believes that he is being spied upon (because of the resemblances that he claims the strip bears to his own life) and subsequently begins taking notes on it.

Main characters

Main article: List of Garfield characters

Garfield

File:Garfield.JPG

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, sleeping, and being sarcastic.

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, 6oz. 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. Another twist was when Garfield met the rest of his family in the special. Most of them were cousins like Sly, the family's watchcat. The most shocking part was when Garfield met his older half-brother Rauel, who has some hygenic and psychological problems.

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 possibly 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. 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 Chicken Man, The Mummy, Count Cat, The Sock, Freedom Fighter, and Karate Cat.

Frequently, Garfield breaks the fourth wall, as seen in this and this strip.

--71.167.80.215 (talk) 01:59, 9 February 2008 (UTC)===Jon Arbuckle===lol

Jon

Jon

Main article: Jon Arbuckle

First Appearance: June 19, 1978

Garfield and Odie's owner. His birthday is July 28, 1951, the same date as Jim Davis', but six years later.

He has poor social skills, despite being a nice and patient guy, 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, measuring the growth of his toenails, and organizing his clothes. Basically, Jon was raised as a geek. Not entirely his fault, you discover, when he visits his family or reminisces about 'life on the farm'.

His mother often refers to him as Jonny, and his full name was revealed on December 6, 2001 to be Jonathan Q. 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, but his job was once referenced, as seen in the 1984 Christmas sequence when Jon left for a cartoonists' convention [3]. (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.) However, in one strip, Jon accidentally washes off one of Garfield's stripes while giving him a bath, suggesting that Garfield is a cartoon that Jon drew.

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

File:Garfield panel 8 Aug 1978.png

Odie’s first appearance.

Jon’s pet dog (originally owned by Jon’s friend Lyman). 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 naiveté, 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 also his birthday. Odie was originally going to be named Spot, but Davis thought the name “Odie” better indicated stupidity. This was referenced in an early strip where Odie pooped 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.

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.

Themes and settings

File:Garfield-fence.gif

The only 3-dimensional view of the fence in the comic strips

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 or stomach, 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, "Cluck with Chuck", "Moo with Fred", 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, and Jon all got trapped in the blinds. The blinds give way eventually, and Jon ends up wandering around the city, still trapped in the blinds with his pets and getting two complete strangers and even a street lamp caught with them until a fireman frees them with a pair of scissors [4]. 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, pie, vegetables, and houseplants, and other things that would hurt, at him, and once burned down his fence with flaming 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 ("Why, oh why, oh why, oh why, do cats do these things?" he once lamented). 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 sent 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. Garfield voices how he hates waiting rooms because of the "stupid pamphlets they put in there", only to have Jon (who is reading one) say "Look, Garfield! an ingrown nosehair!" 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 “Shaddap” 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, thereby speaking Hawaiian, it is not said where the isle is on the map. Greeting the native with “Aloha” was implied as the ignorance that Americans have towards tropical cultures, because when he greets the native, it is implied that the native gives Jon an obscene gesture."Aloha This!"
• 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. One time, it is implied that, when lost, the two end up in Switzerland.
• 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 and is the only one who calls Jon "Hon" (although she is probably the only woman he has known that he hasn’t asked out other than in one strip, an insane lady with a monkey). 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. There is a comic strip where Jon's brother Doc Boy is watching two socks in the dryer spinning and Doc Boy calls it entertainment. On the farm, Jon's mother will cook huge dinners, Garfield hugs her for this. Jon has a grandmother who in a strip kicked Odie and Garfield hugged her. Jon's parents did once visit Jon, Garfield, and Odie in the city. Jon's father brought a rooster to wake him up.
• 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 in the house in which the comic takes place: there are hints of a two-story house. On Garfield’s 16th birthday, 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, the house appears as a one-story. Also in one comic strip Garfield falls through the ceiling claiming he jumped out of bed. In Here Comes Garfield, Garfield is seen walking down the stairs during Lou Rawls' Long About Midnight song. There have also been many episodes of Garfield and Friends featuring a staircase. In the strip, the address is 711 Maple Street [5]. In the TV series and specials, a possible address for the house is 357 Shady Grove Lane according to Pizza Patrol, though in Here Comes Garfield and Garfield: His 9 Lives, it is Main Street.
• Coffee Shop, Jon and Garfield have recently been going to a coffee shop called "Xan's Cafe Caffeine". Garfield states they don't go to the shop much because Jon will get latte on his face, forming a foam mustache.
• Restaurants, since Garfield has a love for food, they will often eat out. Most trips end up embarrising because Garfield will pig out, or Jon will do something stupid, including wearing an ugly shirt, which happened one night when he took Liz on a date. When Jon does take Liz on a date, Garfield always tags along, and he once filled up on bread.

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 the US).

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.

Other unique themes are things like “Garfield’s Believe It or Don’t,” “Garfield’s Law,” and “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. Ever since Jon and liz go out more frequently, Jon has started hiring pet sitters to look after Garfield and Odie, though they don't always work out. Two particular examples are Lillian, an eccentric old lady with odd quirks, and Greta, a muscle bound woman who was hired to look after the pets during New Years. Most of December is spent preparing for Christmas, with a predictable focus on presents.

Every week before June 19, the strip focuses on Garfield's birthday, which he 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,such as mask gags. 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 (Oct 23 to Oct 28), 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.

There was some speculation about what these strips meant, including the possibility that Garfield was either dead or starving to death in an abandoned house, imagining future strips in a state of denial. Jim Davis is reported to have actually “laughed loudly” when informed of these rumors circulating on the internet. 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. Reaction ranged from 'Right on!' to 'This isn't a trend is it?'”

Another storyline used often is when Garfield gets lost or runs away. One of these storylines lasted for over a month; it started when Jon tells Garfield to go get the newspaper. Garfield walks outside to get it, but speculates what will happen if he wanders off. Jon notices Garfield has been gone too long, so he sends Odie out to find him. He quickly realizes his mistake (Odie, being not too bright, also gets lost). Jon starts to get lonely, so he offers a reward for the return of Garfield and Odie. He is not descriptive, so animals including an elephant, monkeys, a seal, a snake, a kangaroo & joey, and turtles are brought to Jon’s house for the reward. After a series of events, including Odie being adopted by a small girl, both pets meeting up at a circus that they briefly joined, and both going to the pound, Garfield and Odie make it back home. Another involved Jon going away on a business trip, leaving Garfield a week's worth of food which he devoured instantly, so Garfield leaves his house and gets locked out. He then reunites with his parents, and eventually makes it back home in the snow on Christmas.

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, a steady reliance on slapstick humor, little variation in artwork, and the virtual disappearance of many of the strip's minor characters. It has also been accused of reverting frequently to formula-based jokes regarding Garfield’s weight and lazy tendencies, Odie’s stupidity, Jon’s isolation, etc.

Davis himself has been called out for relying on a team of assistants to produce his strips, unlike many of his peers, and for devoting more time to Garfield’s licensing and merchandising aspects than the strip itself. However, he still writes and makes the rough sketches for the strip.

Marketing and products

File:Garfieldstuffed.jpg

A stuffed Garfield toy.

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[6].

Books

Extras in Books

In the books, there a numerous 'extras' at the front and/or back. For example, in the 10th Birthday book, the beginning has an extract of a newspaper, stating "JIM DAVIS A FRAUD", with Pooky revealing Garfield has in fact been writing the strips. Garfield states "I hired some hackneyed down-and-out to take the credit.". There was also a bonus strip to fill in the book Garfield Gains Weight, which features a single panel with Garfield holding his face down in front of the TV.

Compilations

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 (Note: an extra at the end of a Garfield compilation advertised “rejected book titles”). 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 (August 28th, 2007) (Comics from September 21, 2003 to April 17, 2004)
45. Garfield Large & In Charge: His 45th Book (January 29th, 2008) (Comics from April 18, 2004 to November 13, 2004)
46. Garfield Spills the Beans: His 46th Book (Coming September 30th, 2008) (Comics from November 14, 2004 to June 11?, 2005)
47. Garfield ?: His 47th Book (Coming ?, 2009) (Comics from June 12?, 2005 to January 13?, 2006)

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.

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	TBA
Garfield Chews the Fat	December 20, 1987-July 24, 1988	TBA
Garfield Goes to Waist	July 25, 1988-February 25, 1989	TBA
Garfield Hangs Out	February 26, 1989-September 30, 1990	TBA
Garfield Takes Up Space	October 1, 1990-December 2, 1990	TBA
Garfield Says a Mouthful	December 3, 1990-1991	TBA
Garfield By the Pound	1991-July 7, 1991	TBA
Garfield Keeps His Chins Up	July 8, 1991-February 4, 1992	TBA
Garfield Takes His Licks	February 5, 1992-September 5, 1992	TBA
Garfield Hits the Big Time	September 6, 1992-April 10, 1993	TBA
Garfield Pulls His Weight	April 11, 1993-November 19, 1993	TBA
Garfield Dishes It Out	November 20, 1993-June 11, 1994	TBA
Garfield Life in the Fat Lane	June 12, 1994-January 10, 1995	TBA
Garfield Tons of Fun	January 11, 1995-August 12, 1995	TBA
Garfield Bigger and Better	August 13, 1995-March 11, 1996	TBA
Garfield Hams It Up	March 12, 1996-October 12, 1996	TBA
Garfield Thinks Big	October 13, 1996-May 13, 1997	TBA
Garfield Throws His Weight Around	May 14, 1997-December 13, 1997	TBA
Garfield Life to the Fullest	December 14, 1997-July 14, 1998	TBA
Garfield Feeds the Kitty	July 15, 1998-1998	TBA
Garfield Hogs the Spotlight	1998-1999	TBA
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
Garfield Goes Bananas	September 21, 2003-April 17, 2004	August 28, 2007
Garfield Large & In Charge	April 18, 2004-November 13, 2004	January 29, 2008
Garfield Spills the Beans	November 14, 2004-June ? 2005	September 30, 2008

• 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)

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

• Garfield in the Rough (1984)
• Garfield in Paradise (1986)
• Garfield Goes Hollywood (1987)

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 the Easter Bunny? (1989)
• 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 Discovers America (1994)
• Garfield Jolly Holiday 3-pack (1997- Renamed to Garfield Holiday Celebrations in 2004)
• Garfield's Book of Jokes and Riddles (1997)
• The Garfield Game Book (1998)
• Garfield's Big Book of Excellent Excuses (2000)
• Garfield: The Grudesome Truesome 2 in 1 Book (2002)
• I'm in the Mood for Food: In the Kitchen with Garfield (2003)
• Garfield at 25:In Dogs Years I'd Be Dead (2003)
• How to Draw Garfield and the Gang (2004)
• Garfield's Guide to Everything (2004)
• Odie Unleashed: Garfield Lets the Dog Out Book (2005)
• The Garfield Journal (2005)
• Lights, Camera, Hairballs: Garfield at the Movies (2006)

Early-reader adventure novels featuring Garfield

• Garfield's Night Before Christmas (1988)
• Garfield's Furry Tales (1989)
• Garfield and the Haunted Diner (1990)
• Garfield Goes Camping (1991)
• 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)

Garfield Fat Cat Three Pack

Each Fat Cat volume contains the contents of three successive compilations stacked back to back. The first volume, containing black-and-white strips from compilations 1-3, was published in 1993. Fat Cats were published semiannually up to Vol. 11 (compilations 31-33) in 1999. Since then, the publication schedule has slowed: Vol. 12 (compilations 34-36) was published in 2001, followed by Vol. 13 (compilations 37-39) in 2006.

Here's a link to search results of in-print Fat Cat books at Random House's web site.

The first two Fat Cat volumes have been reissued in larger, colorized versions, starting with Vol. 1 in 2003 and Vol. 2 in 2005. The third volume was released in color in September 2007. Fat Cat Vol. 13 (2006) uses the larger, full-color format of the reissued volumes.

DVD releases

File:Garfield and Friends DVD001.jpg

Garfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes

File:Garfielddreams.jpg

Garfield and Friends: Dreams & Schemes

File:Anodetoodie.jpg

Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie

• Garfield As Himself (June 29, 2004)
• Garfield and Friends: Volume 1 (July 27, 2004)
• Garfield: the Movie (October 29, 2004)
• Garfield's Holiday Celebrations (October 26, 2004)
• Garfield and Friends: Volume 2 (December 7, 2004)
• Garfield's Travel Adventures (February 15, 2005)
• Garfield and Friends: Volume 3 (April 19, 2005)
• Garfield's Fantasies (May 24, 2005)
• Garfield and Friends: Volume 4 (August 30, 2005)
• Garfield Cat Tales (October 18, 2005)
• Garfield and Friends: Volume 5 (December 6, 2005)
• Garfield The Movie: The Purrrfect Collector's Edition (June 14, 2006)
• Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (October 10, 2006)
• Garfield Two-Movie Box set (October 10, 2006)
• Garfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes (December 5, 2006)
• Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie (March 20, 2007)
• Garfield and Friends: Dreams & Schemes (September 4, 2007)
• Garfield Gets Real (November 20, 2007)
• Garfield's Fun Fest (TBA 2008)
• Pet Force (TBA 2008)

Television

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
• Happy Birthday, Garfield (animated special) 1988 (The least known special)
• Garfield: His 9 Lives (animated special) 1988
• Garfield’s Babes and Bullets (E) (animated special) 1989
• Garfield’s Thanksgiving (animated special) 1989
• 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 (1992) 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 Gets Real (2007) for Wii and Nintendo DS

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[7][8](2007)-

Figurines and Toys

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

• Diecast Vehicles: Both Ertl and Esci have made a range of diecast toys featuring Garfield driving various vehicles

Miscellaneous

• The album Am I Cool or What?

• Suction-cupped plush toys of Garfield, known as "Stuck on You", were a phenomenon across America and it took several years for production to meet the demand. In the Twentieth Anniversary book, it states that these car hangers came out in 1988. One such suction-cupped plush Garfield 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; this can also be seen in Garfield: The Movie under similar circumstances.

• 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. [9]

• 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.

• Baby Garfield is featured on Sam's Club brand diapers.

• 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.

Promotions

Garfield has also done promotions for food or shops. In 1989, he did a promotion for the fast food restaurant, McDonald's. Here, McDonald's sold 4 Happy Meal toys, 4 collectible glasses, and a limited edition stuffed Garfield employee. He also did promos for the YUM! restaurants, KFC and Taco Bell. In 2000, he did a Kid's Meal promotion for Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, where 6 toys were sold. He did many promos for his film, including 3 Goldfish figures, and 5 Wendy's toys, including a card game, magnet doll, wind up toy, play clock, and a pair of sunglasses. His most recent promotion was at Kmart where 3 toys were sold in the dining area. In 1999, a successful Dairy Queen Kid's Meal promo, with many toys.

Commercials

• April 10, 1986- American Express
• May 29, 1986- McDonald's Stuck on You
• January 14, 1987- Kellogg's
• November 19, 1987- Alpo Cat Food
• December 12, 1987- Kellogg's
• July 23, 1989- PURR Cat Food (Canada)
• December 13, 1989- General Mills Fruit Snacks
• August 13, 1990 Garfield Fruit Snacks
• December 15, 1990- Alpo Cat Food
• September 30, 1991- Embassy Suites
• March 13, 1994- Campbell's

Garfield has also recently been in a commercial for Chia

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 was vandalized as its lower left arm was cut off, but the statue was repaired by summer 2007.
• 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 a "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 in 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. The town of Matthews has announced plans for a Garfield statue posed as a fisherman.

External links

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