Like every great lasagna, Garfield was born in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant on a winter's night in 1978, while outside snow fell like grated Parmesan cheese. He weighed five pounds, six ounces at birth—that's big for a kitten!—and right from the start showed a passion for Italian food. The restaurant owner, forced to choose between Garfield and closing his doors for lack of pasta, sold Garfield to a pet store. Garfield thought he was a goner until Jon Arbuckle walked in the door.
James Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield. Other comics that he has worked on are Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, Slapstick, and a strip about Mr. Potato Head.
Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.
Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.
Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.
Those around my age who grew up reading the funnies in the daily paper may be surprised to discover that Garfield had a different look and feel in its early days. It wasn't until later in the strip that the cartoon fat cat had big eyes and stood on two feet.
Still, this first volume of strips contains some of my longtime favorites: Garfield getting put on a diet; his thoughts on Labor Day; the introduction of Lyman; and, some interaction between Jon and his short-lived roommate, which provided a dynamic that was sorely missing in the later strips.
If you want to see the origins of the famous Tubby Tabby, then, this is definitely worth reading.
Any long-running comic strip is bound to noticeably evolve so that early examples of the strip may surprise fans who discovered it later in its run. Jim Davis's Garfield is no exception. A much tubbier Garfield who got around on all fours debuted June 19, 1978, having not yet crossed paths with some important characters who would come to populate his world. By January 22, 1979—the last strip in Garfield at Large: His First Book—some evolution was already evident, but even in his earliest days Garfield was the coolest and fattest of cats. I could easily read a book of Garfield comics three times this long and want more, and you know a strip is doing some things right when readers say that.
The first few panels introduce us to Garfield and his owner, cartoonist Jon Arbuckle. Garfield loves his food and sleep and won't apologize for it, as many of his misadventures show. The June 29 strip (page seven), about Jon not wanting Garfield to drink coffee because it might stunt his growth, is a funny one. July 13 (page thirteen) is a classic, with Garfield's expressed concern over energy conservation leading to a good punchline. The July 15 strip is a historic day: the first mention of lasagna, the food Garfield loves above any other. July 24 (page eighteen) is a vintage example of Garfield's sarcasm. August 8 (page twenty-four) is another landmark day as a man named Lyman moves in to Jon's house and brings his dog...named Odie. It's the first sighting of the rambunctious yellow canine who will turn into Garfield's celebrated frenemy. Lyman and Odie's arrival is the first extended storyline of Garfield at Large, which features few that last more than a day or two. Garfield and Odie's budding rivalry is captured in the August 13 Sunday strip (page twenty-six), where Garfield bemoans having to cohabit with a ruffian dog, all while he's beating up on poor, naive Odie. August 16 (page twenty-seven) is another laugh-out-loud example of Garfield's anti-Odie campaign, the punchline being his suggestion of the manner in which Lyman should discipline the dog. Odie gradually learns to hold his own against his feline housemate. An attempt by Jon to put Garfield on a diet has little effect on the cat's paunch. The October 14 strip (page fifty-two) proves Jim Davis is capable of writing with heart as well as humor. "Cats are nice to have when you're feeling lonely", Jon Arbuckle thinks as Garfield curls up on his lap. It is nice to have someone to just be with at the end of a hard day.
Shenanigans ensue when Jon decides to have Garfield declawed. Is this the end of his days ripping up Jon's furniture for amusement? Garfield finds a teddy bear he scoffs at initially yet ends up loving, carrying "Pooky" everywhere (and I do mean everywhere), to Jon's chagrin. Garfield starts having "nap attacks", dropping into a dead sleep at inconvenient moments, but he isn't too stressed about being unexpectedly enveloped in one of his two favorite pastimes. The November 22 strip (page sixty-nine) about scrambled eggs "on chilly mornings" is hilarious, building to a sight gag. November 27 (page seventy-two) might be the funniest comic of this compilation, the introduction to a longer storyline about Garfield coming down with a head cold. After Jon experiments with bringing Garfield along grocery shopping and it doesn't work out, Odie turns the tables when Garfield lies in wait to prank the dog. Odie isn't devious; when he one-ups Garfield, it's usually by virtue of his own innocent spirit. As Garfield puts it, "How can you win against someone who doesn't even know the rules of the game?" Jon is unsuccessful trying to de-fur Garfield in a series of strips, punctuated by the December 14 (page seventy-nine) offering, a play on the fact that we see Garfield's thoughts and Jon Arbuckle can't. Mild festivity centers around Christmas, and December 25 (page eighty-four) brings a heartwarming message from Garfield directly to his readers. New Year's makes Garfield briefly consider adopting a healthier lifestyle, and being forced to wear a kitty sweater turns Garfield into...well, there's no better way to say it: a sourpuss. January 19 (page ninety-four) expresses a sweet sentiment, and January 20 (page ninety-five), a Sunday, is a contender for best strip of the book. Garfield's frantic attempt to avoid catching Odie's lice has consequences that are positively slapstick. Our favorite overweight cat ambles off into the sunset on the final page, until we pick up his next collection of comedic escapades. I hope the wait isn't long.
I can think of few more relaxing ways to spend a weekend than kicking back with a book of Garfield funnies and letting the laughs roll over you. There's no drama or deep philosophy, just ninety-six pages of fun with a curmudgeonly feline, and you can count me in for that anytime. Most readers agree that Garfield reached its prime in the late 1980s, but the earliest days are enjoyable in their own right, and allow you to get in on the story from the beginning. Have a great time with Garfield at Large, fellow Jim Davis fans.
Alright, why do people keep making Listopia lists, add only this book and then unvote for it? I'm talking lists like "Autumn - Winter: These are books I want to read during the dark months for the dark tones" and "Ashlee’s Fantasy romance".
3.0 stars. Until Calvin and Hobbes and The Farside came along, Garfield was the gold standard for humorous comic strips. This is the first collection of America's favorite fat cat.
I was such a big Garfield fan starting in 1979 and continuing into the early 80's. I loved Garfield and everything about Garfield.
I know my love affair started when Jon told Garfield he wished he knew what he was thinking. Garfield thought - If I could speak, I'd tell you I just killed a fly on your raisin toast.
For the last 35 years, I've carefully looked at my raisin toast.
And, no, I'm not a Garfield fan anymore. I moved on. I still have all the books, though. And I debate on what to do with them.
Garfield was the first comic I followed at age 6 in 1978 and now at age 50 I decided to re-read all the books of my Garfield collection! Younger readers of Garfield might not even recognize Garfield in this first volume! The cat is drawn more primitively and walks and sits differently than the current character. Jon, his owner appears to have no nose! Yet you you will see the same dry wit, simple but funny plotlines and antics in this the first book that have kept Garfield going strong for nearly 45 years and 70 books now! In this book you will also see the first appearance of Odie, who arrives with Jon's initial room-mate, Lyman, a dude of the late 70's, and Odie too is more primitively drawn and yet equally initially funny. While some strips comments and items in this book are a bit dated, including the primitive huge TVs! this book overall continues to be funny, cute, and is essential to understanding the genesis of the Garfield strip. A must read for any fan of the strip and I am glad I took the time to re-read it after many years!
This book is VERY funny, it is about Garfeild a fat cat that loves to eat and tries to make other people life misrable by kicking odie off tables and scraching John all over the place , Garfiel knows that john likes the vet and garfeild being fat is the the key . John says garfields to fat and takes him to the vet, right know im on the paart that garfield is about to scratch down the house . Garfield is lucky that he can do watever he wants
11/15/10 I was reading garfield and I saw that garfield wwas so much fatter , I was wondering why garfield liked to kick odie off the table . Why he liked to kick and scratch john and why he loved to eat sleep and annoy.
11/8/10 I read garfield goes to hollywood and it was hilarios/ garfield got to go to hollwood and wasnt so nice there either , he still scratched john and kicked odie and destroyed anyone whorubbed him the wrong way
Personal favorites were the one wear Garfield is smoking Jon’s pipe, and the follow up comic where Jon takes back his pipe, tries to smoke, realizes that a cat had just smoked his pipe, and gives the pipe back to Garfield. I also liked the 6 comic subplot where Garfield gets a sweater.
Garfield at Large collects the very first comic strips that make up the Garfield archive, from its debut in June 1978 up until January 1979. We are first introduced to Garfield and his owner, Jon Arbuckle. A few months into the strip, we meet Jon's friend, Lyman, and Lyman's dog, Odie. Garfield's teddy bear, Pooky, also makes his debut during this time period. The concept to this strip is simple: we follow the life of Garfield, a fat, lazy, and snarky cat that has traits shared by many a feline. He busts on Jon and takes advantage of Odie.
I was never a fan of Garfield and this collection does nothing to change that. I can appreciate that this collection exists, as it serves as a testament for comic strip readers, but there is little more than what we see in a general comic strip. I do not like the cruelty toward Odie, especially when he is being strangled, primarily by Garfield, but Lyman strangling him was especially off-putting. Lyman left in 1982 and disappeared completely in 1983, but Odie remains with the series and has since become Jon's dog.
There is not much of a storyline to this comic strip, but I would still not consider it to be my least favorite. That honor goes to Cathy. Of course, there is an audience for Garfield, but I am not part of that audience.
Wow! J’adore vraiment la saga de Garfield. Ce chat aux couleurs orangés m’apporte beaucoup de bien-être et de rigolade. L’histoire dans ce livre m’a bien fait rire et ma fait repenser à mon histoire familiale. Mon père me fait penser à Joe. Un homme bon où il fait bon vivre. Les amis de Garfield me rappellent aussi les miens; une bande de fous, quoi! Ce livre m’interpelle tellement. Je m’y retrouve à chaque page et chaque mot… Je ne pourrais dire pourquoi, mais cet oeuvre intemporelle me permet de retourner à mes racines et me fait sentir sur un petit nuage. J’espère de tout coeur que le petit chien se portera mieux dans le prochain livre… c’est triste quand même la maladie et le vétérinaire. Un animal ne devrait pas être obligé d’aller faire des soins auxquels il refuse. Bref, un grand livre pour des grands adultes.
This book is the original book of this amazing series to every one who likes to laugh and like orange fat cats. I like this series and I want to read every one.I like Howe it makes you laugh you knead to read this book.
This book is about a hallerious fat cat who gets into lots of trouble.- Its a type of book thats you can reda if you want a laugh or your bored-so you want to read something funny.
1. Op Eigen Beenen - Babs van der Hoeven Een heerlijk meisjesboek uit 1934, over twee zussen die beiden 'op zichzelf' gaan, en uiteindelijk natuurlijk een droomman tegenkomen. Ik hou ervan!
2. Op Den Daktuin - Thérèse Hoven Een meisjesboek uit omstreeks 1929 over twee zussen (16 en 26) uit de Achterhoek wiens moeder overlijdt, waarnaar zij naar hun voogd in Den Haag verhuizen. Daar komen ze te werken in de Bijenkorf. Dit boek is niet zo vlot en zorgeloos geschreven als andere boeken in dit genre. Het was wel een leuk boek, maar het las niet zo lekker en snel als ik gewend ben.
3. Dina's Reisavontuur / Een Teleurstelling - Tine Brinkgreve-Wicherink Echt een jong meisjesboek, over een onnadenkend, slordig meisje die van Brabant naar Groningen moet treinen, en in Arnhem hopeloos verdwaald (1e verhaal), een een egoïstisch meisje die boos wordt op haar moeder die ziek is, omdat ze nu geen middagje uit kunne gaan (2e verhaal). De tweede was iets vlotter (ook wat korter), maar allebei waren ze echt voor jonge meisjes rond de 10.
3. Vriendelijke Anarchie - Top Naeff Ik ben toch best wel wat gewend, lees veel echt oude boeken, maar deze korte verhalen waren vaak niet om door te komen. Ik heb er uiteindelijk 4 in zijn geheel gelezen, bij de rest haakte ik na een paar zinnen af. En nu vraag ik me af of dat komt doordat de spelling en interpunctie zijn aangepast aan de moderne tijd, en of ik de originelen wel door zou kunnen komen...
Classic. Highly recommended, especially for people owned by cats. Also interesting to see how Jim Davis drew Garfield so differently over time.
My pre-divorce family bought the first few books way back from 1979 to 1985. We read them so much the color was coming off the covers. Somehow after my parents divorced, the Garfield books disappeared. I do miss this book (and number 2) and may one day buy replacement copies.
This book is about a cat that loves lasagna on is lazy but he gets into a lot of trouble. My favorite part of this book is all of his problems he gets into. I would recommend this book to who ever likes comics because if they like comics they will probably like this book.