Why, being alone. Originally created with the intentions to "come up with a good, marketable character," Garfield has spawned merchandise earning $750 million to $1 billion annually. Through the Garfield strips, there have been many additional characters, but the main ones are described here. Today's Comic from Garfield Read Now. A webcomic called Arbuckle does the above but also redraws the originals in a different art style. Joseph Papp, producer of "A Chorus Line", discussed making a Garfield stage musical, but due to some complications, it never got off ground. A variety of edited Garfield strips have been made available on the Internet, some hosted on their own unofficial, dedicated sites. Most trips end up embarrassing 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. [72][73], Jon loves (or occasionally hates) Garfield and all cats. Garfield was originally created by Davis with the intention to come up with a \"good, marketable character\". In 1973, while working as an assistant for T.K. From 1976 to early 1978, these characters appeared in a strip called Jon which also ran in the Times. Garfield is a fictional cat and the protagonist of the comic strip of the same name, created by Jim Davis.The comic strip centers on Garfield, portrayed as a lazy, fat, and cynical orange persian/tabby cat. Liz: Look, jerk. Davis had tried to syndicate the strip, but was unsuccessful; he noted that one editor told him that his "art was good, his gags were great, [but] nobody can identify with bugs. Jon periodically visits his parents and brother on the farm. It was eventually shut down. 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 a pet shop, Garfield and Odie make it back home. [81] Odie has only talked once. The film was panned by most critics, garnering a 13% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while Yahoo! On Rotten Tomatoes, 34% of audience liked the film. On June 19, 2007, Garfield was given the what he considered the greatest birthday present: being off his diet. Prompting people to ask, 'Is Garfield dead? Joseph Papp, producer of A Chorus Line, discussed making a Garfield stage musical, but due to some complications, it never got off ground. In 1981, less than three years after its release, the strip appeared in 850 newspapers and accumulated over $15 million in merchandise. Consider that Jon, according to Garfield canon, cannot hear his cat's thoughts. Garfield was originally created by Davis with the intention to come up with a "good, marketable character". Other strips portray him as having a lack of intelligence. Best Of Just Another Tragic Monday The GoComics Team. Now the world's most syndicated comic strip, Garfield has spawned a "profusion" of merchandise including clothing, toys, games, Caribbean cruises, credit cards, and related media. The Garfield Show, a CGI series, started production in 2008 to coincide with the strip's 30th anniversary. The strip is currently distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, however, rights for the strip remain with Paws, Inc. Paws, Inc. (current) (1994-present) (recolored comic strips), Random House (under Ballantine Books), occasionally Andrews McMeel Publishing. He is noted for his love of lasagna and sleeping, and his hatred of Mondays, fellow cat Nermal and exercise. GoComics.com - Search Form Search. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. However, the original black and white daily strips and original color Sunday strips remain copyrighted to United Feature Syndicate. His evolution, according to Davis, was to make it easier to "push Odie off the table" or "reach for a piece of pie". This is the world as he sees it. Jon has a grandmother who, in a strip, kicked Odie; Garfield subsequently hugged her. [85] Frequently, the characters break the fourth wall, mostly to explain something to the readers, talk about a subject that often sets up the strip's punchline (like Jon claiming that pets are good for exercise right before he finds Garfield in the kitchen and chases him out),[86] or give a mere glare when a character is belittled or not impressed. This started happening after his sixth birthday. Garfield, the titular character, who was based on the cats Davis grew up with; he took his name and personality from Davis's grandfather James A. Garfield Davis, who was, in Davis's words, "a large cantankerous man". In 1994, the company purchased all rights to the Garfield comic strips from 1978-1993 from United Feature Syndicate. Next month | Previous month. For most of Garfield's history, being hit with a pie has inevitably resulted in the onomatopoeia 'splut', hence the name. Though rights to the strip remain with Paws, Inc., it is currently distributed by Universal Press Syndicate. 1978–present Ballantine Books, which publishes the Garfield books, released a volume of Garfield Minus Garfield strips on October 28, 2008. Reaction ranged from 'Right on!' Ryan's Tumbleweeds, he created the comic strip Gnorm Gnat, which ran only in the Pendleton Times of Pendleton, Indiana from 1972 to 1975 and met with little success. We carried out the concept to its logical conclusion and got a lot of responses from readers. [1][12], The Garfield Sunday strip was launched on June 25, 1978;[13] it was available only at a third-page size until March 22, 1981. Garfield, Odie and Jon will leave you wanting a daily dose of this beloved bunch! [93] A few days after the storyline began, Garfield is lying in his bed with a "nagging feeling I'm forgetting something", with Odie landing on Garfield in the next panel. Next month | Previous month. Gags in the strips commonly deal with Garfield's obesity, his hatred of exercise, or him abusing Jon and Odie. A new series is currently in development at Nickelodeon after the rights were acquired from Nickelodeon's parent company ViacomCBS. A Saturday morning cartoon show, Garfield and Friends, aired for seven seasons from 1988 to 1994; this adaption also starred Music as the voice of Garfield. Another example is "Splut Week", when Garfield tries to avoid pies that are thrown at him. Part of this storyline was taken from Garfield on the Town. There was also a storyline involving Garfield catching Odie eating his food and “kicking Odie into next week”. It was implied that Jon is inspired by a drawing of Davis himself when he was first drawing the strip. Other strips portray him as lacking intelligence (he is seen reading a pop-up book in one strip).[76]. Garfield is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. He enjoys destroying things, mauling the mailman, tormenting Odie, making snide comments, usually about Jon's inability to get a date (which was former). Garfield comics strips by Jim Davis (see the official site) organized in files sorted by year and month. [68] However, in the feature film Garfield Gets Real and its sequels, Garfield and the other animals save for Odie are able to talk to, and be understood by, Jon and the other humans. Wiki. In addition to the various merchandise and commercial tie-ins, the strip has spawned several animated television specials, two animated television series, two theatrical feature-length live-action films and three CGI animated direct-to-video movies. Towa Chiki made A Week of Garfield for the Family Computer, released only in Japan in 1989. [92] Soon, Garfield realizes that "Lunch isn't the same without Odie. Paws, Inc. was founded in 1981 by Jim Davis to support the Garfield comic strip and its licensing. To break the fourth wall, June 19 is celebrated within the strip as Garfield's birthday. It premiered in France on France 3 in December 2008 and made its US debut on Cartoon Network on November 2, 2009. Fandom; Gamepedia; I'll be the vet for your cat, but I won't play fall guy for your stupid lines. The first game was Create With Garfield. The volume retains Davis as author and features a foreword by Walsh.[33]. [5] That was until December 2020, in an interview with The Walt Disney Family Museum where Dindal confirmed that the movie is still in production. Every week before June 19, the strip focuses on Garfield's birthday, which he dreads because of his fear of getting older. Odie is younger than Garfield and usually portrayed as naïve, happy, affectionate and blissfully unaware of Garfield's cynical, sadistic nature, despite the physical abuse Garfield exhibits toward him, including regularly kicking him off the kitchen table or tricking him into going over the edge himself. Inking and coloring work is done by other artists, while Davis spends most of the time supervising production and merchandising the characters. Another particular theme is the “National Fat Week,” where Garfield spends the week making fun of skinny people. 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 a pet shop, Garfield and Odie make it back home. Irma is a chirpy but slow-witted and unattractive waitress/manager, and one of Jon's few friends. [9][10][11] Jon first appeared in the Pendleton Times on January 8, 1976, just two weeks after Gnorm Gnat ended. Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis. The strip is currently distributed by Universal Press Syndicate, while rights for the strip remain with Paws.The appearance of the characters have gradually changed over time. Two particular examples are Lillian, an eccentric (and very nearsighted) old lady with odd quirks, and Greta, a muscle bound woman who was hired to look after the pets during New Year's Eve. Garfield comics strips by Jim Davis (see the official site) organized in files sorted by year and month. Garfield has released video games from 1986 to 2013. I wish it would never end." Though it began as a comic strip, Garfield has also had two animated television series, two live-action films and three animated movies. Harvey and other original material, and was released in July 2016 for the San Diego Comic-Con. The 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. In Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection, in which the strips are reprinted, Jim Davis discusses the genesis for this series: During a writing session for Halloween, I got the idea for this decidedly different series of strips. Explore properties. The appearance in 1979 claimed it to be his first birthday, although in the first appearance of the strip (June 19, 1978), he was portrayed as a fully-grown cat, implying that the birthday is of the strip itself. Grandma Arbuckle has on occasions been seen and mentioned. View the comic strip for Garfield by cartoonist Jim Davis created October 23, 1989 available on GoComics.com. Garfield comics strips by Jim Davis (see the official site) organized in files sorted by year and month. The fourth character, Lyman, was Odie's original owner; he was written in to give Jon someone to talk with. On June 19, 2020, the website was shut down during the strip's 42nd anniversary, following Viacom's acquisition of Paws, Inc. in August 2019. Garfield Comic Strips; Comic Strip; Comic Strips; February; Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. Main Articles: Garfield TV specials, Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show. The strip focuses on the interactions among Garfield, Jon, and Odie as well as recurring minor characters. Its sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties, was released on June 16, 2006. Website Jim Davis has also collaborated with Ball State University and Pearson Digital Learning to create Professor Garfield, a site with educational games focusing on math, reading skills and Children's Technology Group to create MindWalker, a web browser that allows parents to limit the websites their children can view to a pre-set list. It is located in Muncie, Indiana and has a staff of nearly 50 artists and licensing administrators. Jon was born on a farm that apparently contained few amenities; in one strip, his father, upon seeing indoor plumbing, remarks: "Woo-ha! However, in the feature film Garfield Gets Real and its sequels, Garfield is better behaved, friendlier towards Jon and Odie, less self-centered, and more sympathetic. Another example is "Splut Week", when Garfield tries to avoid pies that are thrown at him. Syndicate(s) List of characters in the Garfield franchise, "Garfield Named World's Most Syndicated Comic Strip", "Viacom Acquires Comic-Strip Cat Garfield", "NEWLY DISCOVERED – DAVIS' PRE-GARFIELD GARFIELD", "Newly Discovered – Davis' Pre-Garfield Garfield", "Garfield comic strip makes Guinness Book of World Records", "Article: Garfield's ready to share the lasagna. Another story involved Jon going away on a business trip around Christmas time, leaving Garfield a week's worth of food which he devoured instantly, so Garfield leaves his house and gets locked out. [70], Jon (Jonathan Q. Arbuckle) is Garfield's owner, usually depicted as an awkward clumsy geek who has trouble finding a date. Studios launched in May 2012 a monthly Garfield comic book, with the first issue featuring a story written by Mark Evanier (who has supervised Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show) and illustrated by Davis's long-time assistant Gary Barker. Davis is no longer the sole artist of Garfield handing the work over to freelance artist Dan Davis. Another approach, known as "Silent Garfield", involves removing Garfield's thought balloons from the strips. Find Comics. Some years, the Christmas strips started as early as the end of November. Many of the strip's gags revolve around his constant eating and/or sleeping, as well as offering plenty of … The full color daily strips and recolored Sunday strips are copyrighted to Paws as they are considered a different product. Garfield.com is the strip's official website, containing archives of past strips along with games and an online store. A second location opened in Toronto in 2019. This results in week-long comical displays of stupidity by Jon and his family, and their interactions as seen in many comics. Jon's father drove into town on his tractor and brought a rooster to wake him up. After that, there are high hopes that "Garfield Live" will be licensed to high schools and regional theaters. The storylines featuring Jon's dates rarely appear now. On some occasions, he has been depicted as intelligent as shown in a few strips. Comic strip that originally ran from 1986 to 1989, created by Jim Davis, author of the comic strip Garfield. [94] Jon and Liz began to go out more frequently, Jon has started hiring pet sitters to look after Garfield and Odie, though they do not always work out. Though he still writes the stories and draws rough sketches, other artists handle the inking, coloring, and lettering. presented by . Ultimately, Jon's job has been referenced far more frequently in Garfield animated series than in the strip. More from Garfield. Since the late 1990s most of the work has been done by long-time assistants Brett Koth and Gary Barker. Some examples date from 2006. The longest one of these was in 1986 where it lasted for over a month; it began with Jon telling Garfield to go get the newspaper. "[77] Jon occasionally visits his parents, brother and grandmother at their farm. Garfield then leaves the house and gets locked out. Originally published locally as Jon in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as Garfield, it chronicles the life of the title character, Garfield the cat; Jon Arbuckle, his human owner; and Odie, the dog. Jon's parents once visited Jon, Garfield, and Odie in the city. In the April 1, (April Fools' Day) 1997 strip drawn by the artists of Blondie as part of the comic strip switcheroo,[69] Garfield, still with thought balloons, can be understood by Jon. However, before his 29th birthday, Liz put Garfield on a diet. Mazri claims that the restaurant is "entergaging", a portmanteau of the words "entertaining" and "engaging". [95] It depicts Garfield awakening in a future in which the house is abandoned and he no longer exists. Movies. However, the original black and white daily strips and original color Sunday strips remain copyrighted to United Feature Syndicate. In another strip, published on January 28, 2010, he is seen solving Jon's sudoku puzzle. Odie is a yellow, long-eared beagle with a large, slobbering tongue, who walks on all four legs, though occasionally he will walk on two like Garfield. And what do people fear most? Other unique themes are things like “Garfield’s Believe It or Don’t”, “Garfield’s Law”, “Garfield’s History of Dogs”, and “Garfield’s History of Cats” which show science, history and the world from Garfield’s point of view. Garfield's world has specific locations that appear normally on the comic strips, like the Arbuckle house, the Vet’s office or Irma’s Diner. [60], In 2018, a ghost restaurant themed after the franchise known as GarfieldEATS was opened in Dubai. As it progressed, the strip underwent stylistic changes. Another story involved Jon going away on a business trip around Christmas time, leaving Garfield a week's worth of food, which he devoured instantly. The book will be written by Jim Davis, with music and lyrics by Michael Dansicker and Bill Meade, and it will be booked by AWA Touring Services. Garfield is the titular main and primary protagonist who was born in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant. The terrible food is the center of most of the jokes, along with the poor management. December 02, 2020. – The Dallas Morning News (via Knight-Ridder/Tribune NewsService)", "Ball State University, Garfield Partner on New Website", "Garfield Hangs Ten on the World Wide Wave", "Continuing in the 'making fun of Garfield tradition' I give you Realistic Garfield", "Is the Main Character Missing? Fan Feed More Garfield Wiki. Andrew McMeel Universal (current) (2017-present)Universal Press Syndicate (former) (1994-2016)United Feature Syndicate (former) (1978-1993). Garfield's mother first made appearances in the animated specials Garfield on the Town and Garfield: His 9 Lives, as well as a few cameos in the comic strip (including a December 1984 story which was a loose adaptation of Garfield on the … Garfield is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. His caption, in its entirety states: "During a writing session for Halloween, I got the idea for this decidedly different series of strips. Sometimes, this theme revolves around the conventions of the strip. Garfield February 11, 2021 February 10, 2021 February 09, 2021 February 08, 2021 February 07, 2021 February 06, 2021 February 05, 2021 February 04, 2021 February 03, 2021 February 02, 2021. Most trips end up with embarrassment mostly because of Garfield pigging out, or Jon doing something stupid such as wearing an ugly shirt. Irma's Diner is another occasional setting. When Jon takes Liz on a date, Garfield occasionally tags along—once, he ate the bread and other food at an Italian restaurant they went to. Random House (under Ballantine Books), occasionally Andrews McMeel Publishing Davis figured he could create a cat star, having grown up on a farm with twenty-five cats. Sometimes, it seems like Jon can hear him. Main articles: Garfield Gets Real, Garfield's Fun Fest and Garfield's Pet Force. Ain't science something? [6] The final character was Lyman's dog Spot, who was renamed Odie so as to avoid confusion with a dog also named Spot in the comic strip Boner's Ark. [5], Davis attracted criticism from the media for a Garfield strip in which the last panel appeared to be a negative reference to Veterans Day that appeared in newspapers on November 11, 2010. [58] When the North-American tour concluded in 2012, it toured throughout Asia. There are also seasonal jokes, with snow-related gags common in January or February and beach- or heat-themed jokes in the summer. I don’t know since all of the comic strips by written and illustrated by Jim Davis are pretty hilarious and meaningful. FandomShop Newsletter GalaxyQuest. Though Garfield can be very cynical, he does have a soft side for Jon, Odie, his teddy bear, Pooky, food and sleep. [38], Garfield: The Movie was released in theaters on June 11, 2004. These comics … The opening song, "Cattitude" can be heard on the national tour's website, along with two more, "On the Fence," and "Going Home!". Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal is a 1987 video game for the Atari ST, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC and the Amiga based on the comic strip. We carried out the concept to its logical conclusion and got a lot of responses from readers. However, no other cast or crew has been announced. The website now redirects to Nick.com, with an alternative link to GoComics. You Might Also Like Cat's Cafe Matt Tarpley. The application is still available online; do a web search for "Garfield" + "randomizer". It has been wondered by many readers if Garfield can actually be understood by the human characters around him. One of the recurring storylines involve Garfield getting lost or running away. [33][34] Still another approach to editing the strips involved removing Garfield and other main characters from the originals completely, leaving Jon talking to himself. Now the world's most syndicated comic strip, Garfield has spawned a \"profusion\" of merchandise including clothing, toys, games, Caribbean cruises, credit cards, and related media. [32] Another variation along the same lines, called "Realfield" or "Realistic Garfield", was to redraw Garfield as a real cat as well as removing his thought balloons. [25][26][27], A variety of edited Garfield strips had been made available on the Internet, some hosted on their own unofficial, dedicated sites. Jon notices Garfield has been gone too long, so he sends Odie out to find him. He felt that dogs were doing well, but noticed no prominent cats. From 1982 to 1991, twelve primetime Garfield cartoon specials and one hour-long primetime documentary celebrating the character's 10th anniversary were aired; Lorenzo Music voiced Garfield in all of them. Jon starts to get lonely, so he offers a reward for the return of Garfield and Odie. Why, being alone. Originally created with the intentions to "come up with a good, marketable character",[2] Garfield has spawned merchandise earning $750 million to $1 billion annually. Before, he had dates with many odd characters, whereas now, he exclusively dates Liz. The book was written by Jim Davis, with music and lyrics by Michael Dansicker and Bill Meade, and it was booked by AWA Touring Services. [98], This article is about the comic strip. Jim Davis will continue to make comics, and a new Garfield animated series is in production for ViacomCBS subsidiary Nickelodeon. "[18], Garfield quickly became a commercial success. Every week before June 19, the strip focuses on Garfield's birthday, which he dreads because of his fear of getting older. Sega also made the 1995 video game Garfield: Caught in the Act for the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Gear and Windows 3.1 computers. Common themes in the strip are Garfield's laziness, obsessive eating, and hatred of Mondays and diets. Though he will eat nearly anything (with the exception of raisins and spinach), Garfield is particularly fond of lasagna; he also enjoys eating Jon's houseplants and other pets (mainly birds and fish). Jon disapproves of Garfield's "don't care, not interested", attitude, and often encourages his pet to take an interest in the world around him, sometimes stating an interesting fact, or asking a philosophical question in an attempt to prompt Garfield into thought, Garfield tends to brush this off with a simple, yet logical remark, and despite the trouble Garfield causes, Jon has a heart of gold and is very tolerant of Garfield's shortcomings, a fact which Garfield often takes advantage of. Most of December is spent preparing for Christmas, with a predictable focus on presents. [30] Some examples date from 2006. Garfield walks outside to get it, but speculates about what will happen if he wanders off – and decides to find out. The strip originally consisted of four main characters. Jim Davis had also collaborated with Ball State University and Pearson Digital Learning to create www.ProfessorGarfield.org, an educational website with interactive games focusing on math and reading skills, and with Children's Technology Group to create MindWalker, a web browser that allows parents to limit the websites their children can view to a pre-set list. In 1981, less than three years after its nationwide launch, the strip appeared in 850 newspapers and accumulated over $15 million in merchandise. Jon starts to get lonely, so he offers a reward for the return of Garfield and Odie. Garfield.com Davis otherwise spends most of his time managing the business and merchandising of Garfield. You will be redirected to his new home on Nick.com in: In 1994, Davis's company, Paws, Inc., purchased all rights to the strips from 1978-1993 from United Feature. On the farm, Jon's mother will cook large dinners much to Garfield's delight. "Jon" Arbuckle 3 Odie 4 Nermal 5 Lyman 6 Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Wilson 7 Arlene 8 Irma The strip's title character. Ever since Jon and Liz began to go out more frequently, Jon has started hiring pet sitters to look after Garfield and Odie, though they don't always work out. [60] The book includes an essay by author R.C. ), The strip underwent stylistic changes, evolving from the style of the 1976–83 strips, to a more cartoonish look from 1984 onward. In Garfield’s Twentieth Anniversary Collection, in which the strips are reprinted, Jim Davis discusses the genesis for this series of strips. GoComics.com - Search Form Search. Garfield is a long-running comic series by Jim Davis, published since 1978. The volume retains Davis as author and features a foreword by Walsh. He quickly realizes his mistake (Odie, being not too bright, also gets lost). Irma is a chirpy but slow-witted and unattractive waitress/manager, and one of Jon’s few friends. In addition to the various merchandise and commercial tie-ins, the strip has spawned several animated television specials, two animated television series, two theatrical feature-length live-action/CGI animated films, and three fully CGI animated direct-to-video films. As Garfield has a love for food, they will often eat out at restaurants. Finally the day arrived, the comic strip of Garfield turns 40 today since its first publication in the US newspapers on June 19, 1978. In 2012, a series of Garfield video games was launched by French publisher Anuman Interactive, including My Puzzles with Garfield!, Multiplication Tables with Garfield, Garfield Kart, and Garfield's Match Up.[57]. Jon periodically visits his parents and brother on the farm. Frequently, the characters break the fourth wall, mostly to explain something to the readers, talk about a subject that often sets up the strip's punchline, or give a mere glare when a character is belittled or not impressed.