A Brief History
Garfield was born on the comics pages on June 19, 1978.  The mastermind of cartoonist Jim Davis, Garfield is a humorous strip centered around the lives of a fat, lazy, cynical orange cat who loves lasagna, coffee, and his remote control; his owner, the long-suffering Jon Arbuckle; and Odie, a sweet but dumb dog. Garfield was introduced to the world in just 41 newspapers but quickly became the fastest growing and most widely syndicated comic strip ever. Today, the strip appears in over 2570 newspapers and is read daily by 263,000,000 people around the globe.

The success of the comic strip spawned a popular animated TV show, "Garfield & Friends," which appeared on CBS-TV from 1988 to 1995, and is currently in worldwide syndication and available on DVD through Fox Home Entertainment, http://www.foxhome.com/garfield/. Additionally, Garfield enjoys a healthy product licensing program whereby nearly 400 manufacturers crank out thousands of products depicting Garfield and the rest of the gang. Garfield's vast empire stretches into 111 countries and includes a popular web site, www.garfield.com and an online catalog, Garfield Stuff, www.garfieldstuff.com. Over 130,000,000 Garfield books have been sold worldwide, and Garfield shows no signs of slowing down.

In 2004, Twentieth Century Fox immortalized the fat cat with a feature film, Garfield: The Movie. A sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties,is slated for a June 2006 release.

Character Profile:
People relate to Garfield because Garfield IS them. "He's a human in a cat suit," as creator Jim Davis likes to say. Garfield loves TV and hates Mondays. He'd rather pig out than work out; in fact, his passion for food and sleep is matched only by his aversion to diet and exercise (he prefers lay-downs to sit-ups). He'd like mornings better if they started later. Coffee "strong enough to sit up and bark" is the only way to start the day. What could be more human?

Fat, Lazy, and Lovable...Garfield says and does the things that people would like to say and do -- if only they could. "We're made to feel guilty for overeating and sleeping, but Garfield defends our right to grab a jelly donut and take a long afternoon nap," says Davis.  "Somehow, Garfield relieves our guilt and we love him for it." 

Quotable Cat
Garfield is never at a loss for words. In fact, part of his appeal is his unique way of looking at the world. Among Garfield's more sage comments.
"Diet is 'die' with a 't'."
"I'll rise, but I won't shine."
"Never trust a smiling cat."
"The meek shall inherit squat."
"I'm not overweight, I'm undertall."
"Show me a good mouser, and I'll show you a cat with bad breath."