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{{intro missing|date=March 2008}}
{{intro missing|date=March 2008}}
[[Jim Davis]]' famous [[Garfield]] comic strip has generated a large ammount of merchandise. This article compiles just some of these items.

==Books==
==Books==
=== Extras ===
=== Extras ===

Revision as of 14:13, 10 July 2008

Jim Davis' famous Garfield comic strip has generated a large ammount of merchandise. This article compiles just some of these items.

Books

Extras

In the books, there a numerous 'extras' at the front and/or back. For example, in the 10th Birthday book, the beginning has an extract of a newspaper, stating "JIM DAVIS A FRAUD", with Pooky revealing Garfield has in fact been writing the strips. Garfield states "I hired some hackneyed down-and-out to take the credit.". There was also a bonus strip to fill in the book Garfield Gains Weight, which features a single panel with Garfield holding his face down in front of the TV.

Compilations

These books, generally released twice a year by Ballantine Books, contain reprints of the comic as it appears in newspapers daily. These books were originally printed in black and white, but recent volumes have been in color. Each book collects approximately six months of comics, including the larger weekend comics (in black and white in all except the recent editions).

The titles of these books were styled as double entendres alluding to Garfield’s weight (Note: an extra at the end of a Garfield compilation advertised “rejected book titles”). These books introduced the “Garfield format” in publishing, whereby the books are horizontally oriented to match comic strip dimensions; Davis has recalled having to invent the format in order to better fit the books on store shelves. They are currently being reprinted in a larger format, showing the Sunday strips to be formatted in a size as they usually are, instead of shrunken-down to meet the book size. However, this means that the first panel after the logo box (called the drop panel because newspapers can drop it without ruining the point of the strip) is no longer printed in the compilation books.

Each of books will be re-released in the “Garfield Classics” format. These are available in paperback only, with every comic in full color, not just the Sunday strips. As well as colorization, the page size has also been increased. So far, the first twelve books have been reprinted in this format.

  1. Garfield At Large: His First Book (1980) (Comics from June 19, 1978-January 22, 1979)
  2. Garfield Gains Weight: His Second Book (1981) (Comics from January 23, 1979-September 22, 1979)
    Since Garfield's birthday is on June 19, the book contains the strip in which Garfield celebrates his first birthday.
  3. Garfield Bigger Than Life: His Third Book (1981) (Comics from September 23, 1979-March 30, 1980)
  4. Garfield Weighs In: His Fourth Book (1982) (Comics from March 31, 1980-November 2, 1980)
  5. Garfield Takes the Cake: His Fifth Book (1982) (Comics from November 3, 1980-June 7, 1981)
  6. Garfield Eats His Heart Out: His Sixth Book (1983) (Comics from June 8, 1981-January 10, 1982)
  7. Garfield Sits Around the House: His Seventh Book (1983) (comics from January 11, 1982-August 15, 1982)
  8. Garfield Tips the Scales: His Eighth Book (1984) (Comics from August 16, 1982-March 20, 1983)
  9. Garfield Loses His Feet: His Ninth Book (1984) (Comics from March 21, 1983-October 23, 1983)
  10. Garfield Makes It Big: His 10th Book (1985) (Comics from October 24, 1983-May 27, 1984)
  11. Garfield Rolls On: His 11th Book (1985) (Comics from May 28, 1984-December 30, 1984)
  12. Garfield Out to Lunch: His 12th Book (1986) (Comics from December 31, 1984-August 4, 1985)
  13. Garfield Food for Thought: His 13th Book (1987) (Comics from August 5, 1985-May 9, 1986)
  14. Garfield Swallows His Pride: His 14th Book (1987) (Comics From May 10, 1986-October 12, 1986)
  15. Garfield World Wide: His 15th Book (1988) (Comics from October 13, 1986-May 17, 1987)
  16. Garfield Rounds Out: His 16th Book (1988) (Comics From May 18, 1987-December 19, 1987)
  17. Garfield Chews the Fat: His 17th Book (1989) (Comics from December 20, 1987-July 24, 1988)
  18. Garfield Goes to Waist: His 18th Book (1990) (Comics from July 25, 1988-February 25, 1989)
  19. Garfield Hangs Out: His 19th Book (1990) (Comics from February 26, 1989-September 30, 1989)
  20. Garfield Takes Up Space: His 20th Book (1991) (Comics from October 1, 1989-May 5, 1990)
  21. Garfield Says a Mouthful: His 21st Book (1991) (Comics from May 6, 1990-December 8, 1990)
  22. Garfield By the Pound: His 22nd Book (1992) (Comics from December 9, 1990-July 7, 1991)
  23. Garfield Keeps His Chins Up: His 23rd Book (1992) (Comics from July 8, 1991-February 4, 1992)
  24. Garfield Takes His Licks: His 24th Book (1993) (Comics from February 5, 1992-September 5, 1992)
  25. Garfield Hits the Big Time: His 25th Book (1993) (Comics from September 6, 1992-April 10, 1993)
  26. Garfield Pulls His Weight: His 26th Book (1994) (Comics from April 11, 1993-November 19, 1993)
  27. Garfield Dishes It Out: His 27th Book (1995) (Comics from November 20, 1993-June 11, 1994)
  28. Garfield Life in the Fat Lane: His 28th Book (1995) (Comics from June 12, 1994-January 10, 1995)
  29. Garfield Tons of Fun: His 29th Book (1996) (Comics from January 11, 1995-August 12, 1995)
  30. Garfield Bigger and Better: His 30th Book (1996) (Comics from August 13, 1995-March 11, 1996)
  31. Garfield Hams It Up: His 31st Book (1997) (Comics from March 12, 1996-October 12, 1996)
  32. Garfield Thinks Big: His 32nd Book (1997) (Comic from October 13, 1996-May 13, 1997)
  33. Garfield Throws His Weight Around: His 33rd Book (1998) (Comics from May 14, 1997-December 13, 1997)
  34. Garfield Life to the Fullest: His 34th Book (1999) (December 14, 1997-July 14, 1998)
  35. Garfield Feeds the Kitty: His 35th Book (1999) (Comics from July 15, 1998-February 13, 1999)
  36. Garfield Hogs the Spotlight: His 36th Book (2000) (Comics from February 14, 1999-September 11, 1999)
  37. Garfield Beefs Up: His 37th Book (2000) (Comics from September 12, 1999-April 8, 2000)
  38. Garfield Gets Cookin’: His 38th Book (2001) (Comics from April 9, 2000-November 4, 2000)
  39. Garfield Eats Crow: His 39th Book (2003) (Comics from November 5, 2000-May 30, 2001)
  40. Garfield Survival of the Fattest: His 40th Book (2004) (Comics from May 31, 2001-December 26, 2001)
  41. Garfield Older and Wider: His 41st Book (2005) (Comics from December 30, 2001-July 27, 2002)
  42. Garfield Pigs Out: His 42nd Book (2006) (Comics from July 28, 2002-February 22, 2003)
  43. Garfield Blots Out The Sun: His 43rd Book (2007) (Comics from February 23, 2003-September 20, 2003)
  44. Garfield Goes Bananas: His 44th Book (August 28th, 2007) (Comics from September 21, 2003 to April 17, 2004)
  45. Garfield Large & In Charge: His 45th Book (January 29th, 2008) (Comics from April 18, 2004 to November 13, 2004)
  46. Garfield Spills the Beans: His 46th Book (Coming September 30th, 2008) (Comics from November 14, 2004 to June 11?, 2005)
  47. Garfield Gets His Just Desserts: His 47th Book (Coming January 27th, 2009) (Comics from June 12?, 2005 to January 13?, 2006)

Garfield Classics

The Garfield Classics imprint has been in print since 2001, and reprints Garfield's earlier books in a "remastered" format, with increased page size, bolder lines, and each strip in full-color format.

Title comics years Release date
Garfield At Large June 19, 1978-January 22, 1979 May 29, 2001
Garfield Gains Weight January 23, 1979-September 22, 1979 November 27, 2001
Garfield Bigger Than Life September 23, 1979-March 30, 1980 February 26, 2002
Garfield Weighs In March 31, 1980-November 2, 1980 June 25, 2002
Garfield Takes the Cake November 3, 1980-June 7, 1981 June 3, 2003
Garfield Eats His Heart Out June 8, 1981-January 10, 1982 December 30, 2003
Garfield Sits Around the House January 11, 1982-August 15, 1982 December 30, 2003
Garfield Tips the Scales August 16, 1982-March 20, 1983 June 29, 2004
Garfield Loses His Feet March 21, 1983-October 23, 1983 August 31, 2004
Garfield Makes It Big October 24, 1983-May 27, 1984 June 28, 2005
Garfield Rolls On May 28, 1984-December 30, 1984 July 26, 2005
Garfield Out to Lunch December 31, 1984-August 4, 1985 April 25, 2006
Garfield Food for Thought August 5, 1985-May 9, 1986 November 28, 2006
Garfield Swallows His Pride May 10, 1986-October 12, 1986 April 17, 2007
Garfield World Wide October 13, 1986-May 17, 1987 June 26, 2007
Garfield Rounds Out May 18, 1987-December 19, 1987 June 24, 2008
Garfield Chews the Fat December 20, 1987-July 24, 1988 August 26, 2008
Garfield Goes to Waist July 25, 1988-February 25, 1989 TBA
Garfield Hangs Out February 26, 1989-September 30, 1990 TBA
Garfield Takes Up Space October 1, 1990-December 2, 1990 TBA
Garfield Says a Mouthful December 3, 1990-1991 TBA
Garfield By the Pound 1991-July 7, 1991 TBA
Garfield Keeps His Chins Up July 8, 1991-February 4, 1992 TBA
Garfield Takes His Licks February 5, 1992-September 5, 1992 TBA
Garfield Hits the Big Time September 6, 1992-April 10, 1993 TBA
Garfield Pulls His Weight April 11, 1993-November 19, 1993 TBA
Garfield Dishes It Out November 20, 1993-June 11, 1994 TBA
Garfield Life in the Fat Lane June 12, 1994-January 10, 1995 TBA
Garfield Tons of Fun January 11, 1995-August 12, 1995 TBA
Garfield Bigger and Better August 13, 1995-March 11, 1996 TBA
Garfield Hams It Up March 12, 1996-October 12, 1996 TBA
Garfield Thinks Big October 13, 1996-May 13, 1997 TBA
Garfield Throws His Weight Around May 14, 1997-December 13, 1997 TBA
Garfield Life to the Fullest December 14, 1997-July 14, 1998 TBA
Garfield Feeds the Kitty July 15, 1998-1998 TBA
Garfield Hogs the Spotlight 1998-1999 TBA
  • Newer books are only available in a similar format, starting with book #37.

In the UK, over 60 Garfield books, mainly “Pocket Books” or paperbacks, have been published by Ravette. The format is slightly different, as the strips are presented in a vertical style. In the Garfield 20th anniversary book, however, Davis said vertical stacking was the one type of comic anthology layout he wanted to avoid the most when compiling the above collections.

Additionally, adaptations of Garfield television specials have been published in comic format:

  • Garfield as Himself (2004) collects the following books:
  • Here Comes Garfield (1982)
  • Garfield on the Town (1983)
  • Garfield Gets a Life (1991)
  • Garfield Holiday Celebrations (2004) collects the following books:
  • Garfield in Disguise (Halloween special) (1985)
  • Garfield’s Thanksgiving (1988)
  • A Garfield Christmas (1987)
  • Garfield Travel Adventures (2005) collects the following books:
  • Garfield in the Rough (1984)
  • Garfield in Paradise (1986)
  • Garfield Goes Hollywood (1987)

Others

  • Garfield: His 9 Lives (1984), graphic novel, later made into a TV special.
  • Garfield: Big Fat Book of Jokes and Riddles (1985)
  • The Unabridged Uncensored Unbelievable Garfield (1986)
  • Garfield Book of Cat Names (1988)
  • Garfield How to Party Book (1988)
  • Garfield Crazy About Numbers (1988)— (sticker book)
  • Give Me Coffee and No One Gets Hurt (discontinued)
  • Garfield the Easter Bunny? (1989)
  • Garfield and the Santa Spy (1989)
  • Garfield's Judgment Day (1990)
  • Garfield: The Me Book (1990) (motivational handbook)
  • Garfield and the Truth About Cats (1991)
  • Garfield's Insults, Put-Downs & Slams (1994)
  • Garfield Discovers America (1994)
  • Garfield Jolly Holiday 3-pack (1997- Renamed to Garfield Holiday Celebrations in 2004)
  • Garfield's Book of Jokes and Riddles (1997)
  • The Garfield Game Book (1998)
  • Garfield's Big Book of Excellent Excuses (2000)
  • Garfield: The Grudesome Truesome 2 in 1 Book (2002)
  • I'm in the Mood for Food: In the Kitchen with Garfield (2003)
  • Garfield at 25:In Dogs Years I'd Be Dead (2003)
  • How to Draw Garfield and the Gang (2004)
  • Garfield's Guide to Everything (2004)
  • Odie Unleashed: Garfield Lets the Dog Out Book (2005)
  • The Garfield Journal (2005)
  • Lights, Camera, Hairballs: Garfield at the Movies (2006)
  • 30 Years of Laughs & Lasagna (2008)

Early-reader adventure novels featuring Garfield

  • Garfield's Night Before Christmas (1988)
  • Garfield's Furry Tales (1989)
  • Garfield and the Haunted Diner (1990)
  • Garfield Goes Camping (1991)
  • Garfield's Haunted House and Other Spooky Tales (1994)
  • Garfield's Stupid Cupid and Other Stories (1995)
  • Garfield Goes to Disobedience School (1997)
  • Garfield's Christmas Tales (1994)
  • Garfield's Ghost Stories (1990)
  • Garfield and the Beast in the Basement (2002)
  • Garfield and the Mysterious Mummy (1997)
  • Garfield and the Teacher Creature (1998)
  • Garfield and the Wicked Wizard (2002)

Garfield’s Pet Force is series of early-reader novels:

  • #1: The Outrageous Origin (1997)
  • #2: Pie Rat’s Revenge (1998)
  • #3: K-Niner: Dog of Doom (1998)
  • #4: Menace of the Mutanator (1999)
  • #5: Attack of the Lethal Lizards (1999)

Garfield Extreme is a series of children’s picture books.

  • Garfield’s Extreme Cuisine: Pigging the Way Out! (2003)
  • Garfield’s Ironcat (2003)
  • Garfield’s Awesome Ski Adventure (2002)
  • Garfield’s Sumo Beach Bellyball (2002)

Garfield Fat Cat Three Pack

Each Fat Cat volume contains the contents of three successive compilations stacked back to back. The first volume, containing black-and-white strips from compilations 1-3, was published in 1993. Fat Cats were published semiannually up to Vol. 11 (compilations 31-33) in 1999. Since then, the publication schedule has slowed: Vol. 12 (compilations 34-36) was published in 2001, followed by Vol. 13 (compilations 37-39) in 2006.

Here's a link to search results of in-print Fat Cat books at Random House's web site.

The first two Fat Cat volumes have been reissued in larger, colorized versions, starting with Vol. 1 in 2003 and Vol. 2 in 2005. The third volume was released in color in September 2007. Fat Cat Vol. 13 (2006) uses the larger, full-color format of the reissued volumes.

DVD releases

File:Garfield and Friends DVD001.jpg
Garfield and Friends: Behind the Scenes
File:Garfielddreams.jpg
Garfield and Friends: Dreams & Schemes
File:Anodetoodie.jpg
Garfield and Friends: An Ode to Odie

Television

TV-series:

TV-specials (1982-1991) (E)= specials that won an Emmy Award.

Video games

File:S20558c8cot.jpg
Title screen for Garfield: Caught in the Act.

Garfield was also transported into video games, the first being a never-released Atari 2600 prototype, in 1983, and there was also an 8-bit Famicom game of Garfield made in Japan in 1989 .

A Garfield game was also being worked on for the Atari 5200, but the game was cancelled when Atari was taken over by Jack Tramiel, and the rom still hasn't made it to distribution.

  1. Garfield (1984) prototype for Atari 2600[2]
  2. Create With Garfield (1985) for Apple II and Commodore 64[3]
  3. Garfield: A Big Fat Hairy Deal (1987) for ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Commodore 64
  4. Garfield: A Winter’s Tail (1989) for Atari ST (will not work on Atari STe computers), Amiga, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64
  5. Garfield no Isshukan (A Week of Garfield) (1989) for the Famicom
  6. Garfield Labyrinth (1992) for Nintendo Game Boy
  7. Garfield: Caught in the Act (1995), for Genesis, Game Gear and PC
  8. Garfield’s Mad About Cats (2001), for PC
  9. Garfield (2004), for PC and PS2 (UK Only)
  10. Garfield: The Search for Pooky (2005) for GBA
  11. Garfield & His Nine Lives (2006) for GBA
  12. Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006) for Nintendo DS, Gamecube, Playstation 2, and PC
  13. Garfield: Saving Arlene (2006) for Playstation 2
  14. Garfield's Nightmare (2007) for Nintendo DS
  15. Garfield Gets Real (2007) for Wii and Nintendo DS

Films

[2](2007)

Figurines and toys

Danbury Mint has made numerous products for avid Garfield lovers. All but two (Bedtime for Garfield and Bedtime for Odie) are not plush, and all but seven have Garfield with another character.

  • Small Figurines (no larger than 4" x 4" x 4"): Catnap, Crowning Achievement, Easy Rider, Here's Lookin' at Me, Gourmet Picnic, Love in Bloom, King of the Jungle, Open House, Midnight Serenade, On Vacation, Return to Sender, Sittin' Pretty
  • Musicals (10" wood base with figurine atop): Anchors Aweigh, La Cucaracha, Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay; Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
  • Garfield's Christmas Village (11 pieces in all, including): Garfield's House, Post Office, Movies, Toy Shoppe, Candy Store, Courthouse, Church, Bakery, and more.
  • Large Figurines: Garfield's Retreat, Garfield's Poolside Resort, Garfield's Golf Course, Garfield's Garden
  • Other: Garfield's Carousel and Garfield's Christmas Train
  • Plush (2' tall): Bedtime for Garfield and Bedtime for Odie
  • Diecast Vehicles: Both Ertl and Esci have made a range of diecast toys featuring Garfield driving various vehicles

Miscellaneous

  • Suction-cupped plush toys of Garfield, known as "Stuck on You", were a phenomenon across America and it took several years for production to meet the demand. In the Twentieth Anniversary book, it states that these car hangers came out in 1988. One such suction-cupped plush Garfield is seen in the 1996 introduction for the original format for the British motoring show Top Gear.[4] Additionally, Garfield mimics the concept one night while tailing Jon on his date with Liz; this can also be seen in Garfield: The Movie under similar circumstances.
  • His plush products and other toy replicas were licensed for production by the Dakin Company in the 1980s.
  • Garfield’s merchandising approach has been criticized by a number of commentators including Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson, whose views against merchandising were explained at great detail in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book. Watterson, when asked for his opinion of fellow cartoonists, including Jim Davis, once tactfully described Garfield as “consistent.” He also criticized Jim Davis’s U.S. Acres cartoon.[5] Chris Suellentrop of Slate accuses Davis of creating Garfield merely for the merchandising.[6]
  • In 2000 Garfield was used as a mascot/recruiting tool for Cub Scouting, appearing on many items, including 4 plush Garfields in Cub Scout uniforms.
  • Garfield and Odie also are featured on product packaging for the retail chain Meijer.
  • Baby Garfield is featured on Sam's Club brand diapers.
  • At Kennywood, an amusement park located near Pittsburgh, Garfield is one of the mascots. There are two Garfield themed rides. They are "Garfield’s Nightmare" a haunted house ride, and a free-fall ride for kids, the "Pounce Bounce". Lake Compounce, also run and owned by Kennywood, uses Garfield theming as well.
  • There is a computer program called "Scholastic's Comic Book Maker Featuring Garfield" which allows users to make their own Garfield comics by using different characters, objects, and scenery from the strip.
  • A frozen lasagne featuring Garfield on the packaging was briefly for sale in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s.
  • When Microsoft released the Windows 98 edition of Microsoft Plus!, they included in it many brand new desktop themes, some of which were based on popular comics. Garfield was one of them.

Promotions

Garfield has also done promotions for food or shops. In 1989, he did a promotion for the fast food restaurant, McDonald's. Here, McDonald's sold 4 Happy Meal toys, 4 collectible glasses, and a limited edition stuffed Garfield employee. He also did promos for the YUM! restaurants, KFC and Taco Bell. In 2000, he did a Kid's Meal promotion for Wendy's Old Fashioned Hamburgers, where 6 toys were sold. He did many promos for his film, including 3 Goldfish figures, and 5 Wendy's toys, including a card game, magnet doll, wind up toy, play clock, and a pair of sunglasses. His most recent promotion was at Kmart where 3 toys were sold in the dining area. In 1999, a successful Dairy Queen Kid's Meal promo, with many toys.

Commercials

Garfield has also recently been in a commercial for Chia

References

  1. ^ Garfield's Fun Fest
  2. ^ "Garfield - Atari 2600 - Atari". AtariAge. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  3. ^ "Create With Garfield!". Apple II archive. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  4. ^ "YouTube-BBC Top Gear Opening Titles 1996". Retrieved 2006-09-09..
  5. ^ "Bill Watterson interview: Honk Magazine 1997". Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  6. ^ Suellentrop, Chris (2004-06-11). "Garfield: Why we hate the Mouse but not the cartoon copycat". Slate. Retrieved 2006-08-07. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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