Garfield

Garfield is a comic strip created by Jim Davis, featuring the cat Garfield, the pet dog Odie, and their socially inept owner Jon Arbuckle. more...

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As of 2006, 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. The popularity of the strip has led to an animated cartoon show, several animated television specials and two feature-length live-action films, as well as a large amount of Garfield-related merchandise.

Overview

Garfield debuted on June 19, 1978, which fans (as well as the characters) consider Garfield's birthday. The strip pokes fun at pet owners and their relationship with their pets, often portraying the pet as the true master of the home. Garfield also struggles with human problems, such as diets, loathing of Mondays, apathy, boredom, and so on. Garfield is able to understand anything that 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. However, Garfield is able to talk in "thinking" to Odie and the other animals. Odie understands what Garfield says to him, but in general cannot communicate back to Garfield except by barking because he is the only character that doesn't seem to have any normal way of communicating. Although, Odie did have two thought bubbles with words in the strip. In an earlier strip, Odie is shown poking his previous 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 it is written in his thought bubble "O sole mio." Most of the other animals (Arlene, Nermal, mice, and the other dogs) 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 (typically letters to Santa Claus); however, this happens very rarely. He is also apparently able to tell time (although this, as well, has often been the subject of controversy because he repeatedly states than he can't).

Over the course of the strip, Garfield's behavior and appearance evolved. Initially, he was drawn extremely obese with flabby jowls and small round eyes. Later, his appearance was slimmed down and his eyes enlarged. By 1981, Garfield started walking on his hind feet from time to time (these rear paws are now drawn as proportionally huge), due to being 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 make social connections. Jon and Odie have also evolved quite a bit, from being thin and starkly colored to the more beleivable cartoons they are today.

Read more at Wikipedia.org