


Davis was struggling to draw a bipedal Garfield when, suddenly, Shulz offered his assistance. Jim Davis suggests he made this change with the help of Peanuts creator Charles Schulz. Before 1981, he sat rather than standing on two legs. Garfield’s look has evolved considerably over the years and his behavior has changed, too.Davis was named after former President James Garfield. Jim Davis named Garfield after his grandfather James Garfield Davis. In a sense, Garfield owes his name to an important figure from American history.June 19th, 2020 will be the 22nd-annual celebration! Fun Facts About Garfield In 1998, the first National Garfield the Cat Day was observed in commemoration of the character’s 20th birthday. Since the late 90s, Davis has worked with a team of artists to create each Garfield strip, though he still approves them all before publishing. to help manage this merchandising and better steer the Garfield brand. By the early 80s, Garfield was syndicated in hundreds of newspapers and generating millions in merchandise dollars. The first Garfield comic was published on June 19, 1978. “I am Jon,” he has said, “I’m the daydreamer.” In the earliest Garfield strips, Jon even worked as a cartoonist.

Garfield’s tendency to take “laidback” to its extreme has certainly made him a favorite of Monday-hating people everywhere.ĭavis based Garfield’s distinct personality on his grandfather, “a large cantankerous man.” Though the author has remarked that he’s “a little bit Garfield” himself, he inspired the cat’s put-upon owner, Jon Arbuckle, more directly. In 2009, Davis said, “I thought if I could create a convincing cat, I could say and do anything I wanted on the human condition.” He believed it would be easier to match human thoughts and feelings onto cats because they’re typically so laidback. What if a cartoonist could make a cat just as popular? What’s more, Charlie Brown’s beloved beagle Snoopy had become a dependable source of marketing dollars. While several dogs populated the Comics section, cartoon cats were few and far between. Surveying the world of newspaper comics, Jim Davis recognized a distinct opportunity. Davis’ next comic would fare much differently. Focusing on several insect characters, the strip ran in just one newspaper - Pendleton, Indiana’s Pendleton Times. From 1972 to 1975, he also drew a comic of his own.
#PEANUTS TUMBLEWEED GIF PROFESSIONAL#
Jim Davis got his first taste of professional cartooning as an assistant for the Western-themed comic strip Tumbleweeds.
