Information AboutGarfield |
''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 .1 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 , 1978 .]] ''Garfield'' debuted on June 19 , 1978 , which is considered to be 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 Diet s, 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.2 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. However, Odie did have three thought bubbles with words in the strip.3 In an early 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 Garfield says to Odie “Say hi to the people, dummy” 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, Guido the Spider 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 Jowl s 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 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 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. 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.4 On in a restaurant with another man. After an embarrassing meeting, Liz admitted that she actually liked Jon, and the date ended with a kiss6 on 28 July (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 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 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, '''', was released on June 16 , 2006 . In November 2007, the first Garfield '', 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. {Link without Title} MAIN CHARACTERS See Also: List of Garfield characters Garfield 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 and a ball of yarn. Garfield was born in the kitchen of Mama Leoni's Italian Restaurant and developed a taste for 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. 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, and The Sock . |
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