Garfield

Garfield is one of the most successful comic strips that have been published in a record number of newspapers and magazines. Created by Jim Davis the Garfield comic has been in publication since 19th June 1978. Presently, Jim busies himself with the management and running the business and also looks after the merchandising under the banner Paws Inc.

Over the years the character of Garfield was subjected to evolutionary modifications, which showed him in an upright position with the ability to walk on his hind legs. The character was no longer made to look through squinted eyes and was given a relatively slimmer appearance from his original characterization. These changes made Garfield appear more life like and made actions like pushing Odie off tables and reaching out for pies more plausible.

It gives an account of Garfield the cat known for his witty and crafty humour and his owner Jon ’Johnathan’ Arbuckle who is a regular run off the mill kind of guy, somewhat misfit in his circle of friends, has trouble finding a date and is also has the habit of making unnecessary and out of context comments. Jon’s pet dog Odie with several other characters is also featured in the series. Garfield’s comic strips revolve around the character’s different sojourns that involve boating trips in small dingys, trips to the vet, restaurants and visits to Jon’s parent’s house. The Garfield comic strip was so overwhelming that it has resulted in the release of two Garfield Movies till date. The first was Garfield: the Movie and the second -Garfield a Tale of two Cities. Different television channels have already aired short cartoon films on Garfield, however, Cartoon Network is set to release an entire series based on this friendly feline.

Garfield is known for his extreme laziness, his love for food with lasagne being his all time favourite snack and his deep rooted hate for Mondays and diets. The Garfield cartoon strip was launched in forty-one newspapers when it was first published and since then it has been published in over two thousand five hundred and eighty newspapers worldwide. Garfield’s fans love him. The huge commercial success of the cartoon resulted in the manufacture of Garfield merchandise, which generates an estimated seven hundred and fifty million to one billion US Dollars every year.It’s no wonder that the Garfield merchandise like Garfield statues and other exciting products resembling Garfield, are easily available in the market. Some of the products modelled on Garfield include the Garfield phone that features moving eyes besides the regular features of a phone. The Garfield craze reflects in the DVD industry as well. Garfield DVDs consisting of both Garfield films and cartoons are also easily available in physical as well as online stores. The Garfield plush soft toys are cute, cuddly and embroidered. Besides toys, Garfield car headrest and car plush cushions also contribute to the revenue generation. In this age of video games Conspiracy Entertainment has published the Garfield Video game based on the Garfield comic strip. The game can be played on the PC as well as on the Playstation.