Garfield is one of the most famous cats in the world, known for his dry sense of humor, his abundant appetite, and his preference for leisure. He lives with his loving and longsuffering owner, Jon Arbuckle, and fellow pet Odie, a dog whose heart is definitely bigger than his brain. Garfield’s endearingly acerbic personality, the comedy they produce, and their chemistry as a family has made Garfield one of the most popular and enduring characters of the last 50 years.

Created by Jim Davis, Garfield was introduced in the comic strip, Jon, on January 8, 1976. Davis was working as an assistant on T.K. Ryan’s Tumbleweeds comic strip when he created his own strip called Gnorm Gnat. An editor told him that his art and jokes were good, but that people wouldn’t want to read about bugs. So, Davis looked through comic strips and noticed that there were plenty of dogs, but none that starred cats. He based the cat’s personality on his cantankerous grandfather, and even named his creation after the man, whose name was James A. Garfield Davis.

Garfield is an orange tabby known for being sarcastic, lazy, and loving food – especially lasagna. Jon is a nerdy guy who often bumbles his way through situations and Odie isn’t a bright pup, but he is enthusiastic and loves Garfield and Jon. Supporting characters on the strip included the veterinarian Dr. Liz Wilson (who is also Jon’s love interest), Jon’s parents and brother, Garfield’s teddy bear Pooky, the kitten Nermal (who likes to torment Garfield), and Garfield’s girlfriend Arlene.

The strip ran for two years as Jon, then was renamed Garfield in June 1978. It began to evolve in the early ‘80s, with Garfield becoming more anthropomorphic, walking on his hind legs and taking on other human traits. Davis also transformed Garfield and his cohorts into a more cartoonish look – a suggestion given to him by mentor (and competitor) Charles Schulz, the creator of Peanuts. By 1982, the strip was running in over 1,000 newspapers, and in 2002 it was the most syndicated strip in the world, running in 2,570 newspapers.

It didn’t take long for Garfield’s popularity to transition into other forms of media. Garfield, Jon, and Odie made the transition into animation in the 1982 TV special Here Comes Garfield. Yearly specials followed, like the Emmy winning Garfield on the Town, Garfield in the Rough, and Garfield’s Halloween Adventure. There were two more holiday themed episodes, A Garfield Christmas and Garfield’s Thanksgiving, and another Emmy winner in Garfield’s Babes and Bullets.

The Garfield and Friends animated series began in 1988 and ran until 1994, pushing the orange tabby into new heights of popularity. The Garfield Show aired from 2009 to 2016, and Garfield Originals streamed from 2019 to 2020. The original TV series and specials in the ‘80s featured Lorenzo Music as the voice of Garfield.

The live-action/animation hybrid film Garfield: The Movie came out in 2004, and a sequel was released two years later. There have been direct to video films, and his most recent big screen outing was 2024’s The Garfield Movie.

His first foray into comics was in The 1990 Garfield Annual published by Ravette Publishing Ltd. In 2012, BOOM! Studios secured the license and published a 36-issue ongoing series, along with several one-shots and limited series.

Beyond the shows, movies, and comics, Garfield has had multiple video games, dating back to Garfield: Big Fat Hairy Deal that was released in 1987 for Atari ST, Commodore 64, and other systems. There have been several more games released for other game systems, computer games, and handhelds.

The character has appeared on just about every kind of collectible and type of apparel. Most prominently in the ‘80s and ‘90s, Garfield toys and stuffed animals were readily available in toy stores and as fast food premiums. Garfield was on t-shirts, hats, pajamas, bed sheets, plates and cups, puzzles, coloring books, school supplies, and much more. Not bad for a lazy cat whose ambitions are to eat lasagna and nap.