Back in 1978, Jim Davis introduced the world to Garfield the cat in comics collected in ‘Garfield at Large’, the first collection of Garfield cartoon strips. In the first frame of the first comic strip, Jon Arbuckle introduced himself as a cartoonist and pointed us to his cat Garfield. It becomes obvious early on that Garfield is really in charge, although Jon’s attempts to assert a little control over the household from time to time inevitably resulted in laughs for the reader.

This comic appealed to kids as well as adults because so much of the comedy was visual in nature, capable of producing smiles even without the witty dialogue. Garfield has a pretty good life when we meet him; he spends his days eating and sleeping, pausing at times to sharpen his claws on various pieces of furniture. He reserves most of his energy for chasing the mailman and diving into his favorite food, lasagna. He hates Mondays, falls prey to nap attacks at any given moment, watches television, and luxuriates in his laziness. Sure, he’s a little on the heavy side, but, as Jon discovers, putting him on a diet is far more trouble than it’s worth. Everything is fine and dandy until a roommate named Lymon is introduced; enter Odie, a blissfully unaware puppy who serves as frequent victim and sometimes friend to the big feline. Highlights of this collection include Jon’s unwise attempt to have Garfield de-clawed and the introduction of Garfield’s teddy bear Pooky. ‘Garfield’, written by cartoonist Jim Davis, is one of the oldest, most classic comic strips for several generations. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Garfield is the most widely syndicated cartoon in the world. The cartoon has run from June 1978 until the time of this writing. The cartoon is very character driven.

The characters Garfield

Hungry, cynical, pudgy orange feline. Loves lasagna, taking naps and making fun of his house-mates Jon and Odie. Acts like he doesn’t care about Odie or Jon, but it is hinted that deep down, Garfield loves them. In many ways, Garfield is human. He starts the morning with coffee, curses Mondays and generally doesn’t like to do much at all. Creator Jim Davis once said, “He’s a human in a cat suit.” Odie Ahalf-witted, yet lovable yellow canine. He is invariably drooling, no matter what the situation is, and never thinks at all. Garfield likes to kick Odie around. Jon Arbuckle A dull, lonely human who provides the home for Garfield and Odie. Garfield often makes Jon the butt of his jokes, but obviously is grateful to Jon and loves him. However, Jon can rarely find love outside of his pets. As hard as he tries, the ladies are unimpressed by him.