Garfield merchandise

Jim Davis' famous Garfield comic strip has generated a large amount 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 volumes 37 and later have been in full 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 rectangular 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. Volumes 37 and later introduced a new, larger square book in full color, 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 the original 36 books will be re-released in the new larger format, dubbed “Garfield Classics”. So far, the first seventeen books have been reprinted in this format.

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

* "" (1984), graphic novel, later made into a TV special.
* "" (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)
*"" (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 [http://www.randomhouse.com/rhpg/catalog/results.pperl?max_returns=&divisioncode=80&divisioncode=70&title_auth_isbn=garfield%20fat%20cat&best=&format=Hardcover&format=Trade%20Paperback&format=Paperback&page=0&sortfield=pub%5fdate 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

*"Garfield As Himself" (June 29, 2004)
*"" (July 27, 2004)
*"" (October 29, 2004)
*"Garfield's Holiday Celebrations" (October 26, 2004)
*"" (December 7, 2004)
*"Garfield's Travel Adventures" (February 15, 2005)
*"" (April 19, 2005)
*"Garfield's Fantasies" (May 24, 2005)
*"" (August 30, 2005)
*"Garfield Cat Tales" (October 18, 2005)
*"" (December 6, 2005)
*"" (June 14, 2006)
*"" (October 10, 2006)
*"Garfield Two-Movie Box set" (October 10, 2006)
*"" (December 5, 2006)
*"" (March 20, 2007)
*"" (September 4, 2007)
*"Garfield Gets Real" (November 20, 2007)
*"" (May 13, 2008)
*"Garfield's Fun Fest" (August 5, 2008) [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1135929/ Garfield's Fun Fest] ]
*"Pet Force" (TBA 2008)

Television

TV-series:
* "Garfield and Friends" (animated TV series, 1988–1995)
* "The Garfield Show" (animated TV series, 2009)

TV-specials (1982-1991)(E)= specials that won an Emmy Award.
* "Here Comes Garfield" (animated special) 1982
* "Garfield in the Rough" (E) (animated special) 1984
* "Garfield on the Town" (E) (animated special) 1983
* "Garfield's Halloween Adventure" (E) (animated special) 1985
* "Garfield in Paradise" (animated special) 1986
* "Garfield Goes Hollywood" (animated special) 1987
* "A Garfield Christmas" (animated special) 1987
* "Happy Birthday, Garfield" (animated special) 1988 (The least known special)
* "" (animated special) 1988
* "Garfield’s Babes and Bullets" (E) (animated special) 1989
* "Garfield’s Thanksgiving" (animated special) 1989
* "Garfield’s Feline Fantasies" (animated special) 1990
* "Garfield Gets a Life" (animated special) 1991

Video games

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.

#"Garfield" (1984) prototype for Atari 2600 [cite web | url = http://www.atariage.com/screenshot_page.html?SoftwareLabelID=838 | title = Garfield - Atari 2600 - Atari|work = AtariAge | accessdate = 2006-08-07 ]
#"Create With Garfield" (1985) for Apple II and Commodore 64 [cite web | url = http://www.thelogbook.com/phosphor/apple/q2-02/g.htm | title = Create With Garfield! | work = Apple II archive | accessdate = 2006-08-07 ]
#"" (1987) for ZX Spectrum, Atari ST and Commodore 64
#"" (1989) for Atari ST (will not work on Atari STe computers), Amiga, ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64
#"" ("A Week of Garfield") (1989) for the Famicom
#"Garfield Labyrinth" (1992) for Nintendo Game Boy
#"" (1995), for Genesis, Game Gear and PC
#"Garfield’s Mad About Cats" (2001), for PC
#"Garfield" (2004), for PC and PS2 (UK Only)
#"" (2005) for GBA
#"Garfield & His Nine Lives" (2006) for GBA
#"" (2006) for Nintendo DS, Gamecube, Playstation 2, and PC
#"" (2006) for Playstation 2
#"Garfield's Nightmare" (2007) for Nintendo DS
#"Garfield Gets Real" (2007) for Wii and Nintendo DS
#"" (2008) for Playstation 2

Films

* "" (2004) — Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield.
* "" (2006) — Breckin Meyer, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Bill Murray as the voice of Garfield.
* "Garfield Gets Real [http://davisdvd.com/news/dvd.html] [http://www.cinematical.com/2007/06/07/a-huge-flood-of-dtv-sequels-is-on-the-way/] "(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

* The album "Am I Cool or What?"

* 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. [cite news | url = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKLTrT4ki7Q | title = YouTube-BBC Top Gear Opening Titles 1996 | accessdate = 2006-09-09.] 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 was featured in a 1988 advertising campaign for Maple Leaf Village Amusement Park. [http://www.retrojunk.com/details_commercial/3223/]

* 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. [cite web | url = http://ignatz.brinkster.net/chonk.html | title = Bill Watterson interview: Honk Magazine 1997 | accessdate = 2006-08-07 ] Chris Suellentrop of Slate accuses Davis of creating Garfield merely for the merchandising. [cite news | url = http://www.slate.com/id/2102299/ | title = Garfield: Why we hate the Mouse but not the cartoon copycat | publisher = Slate | first = Chris | last = Suellentrop|date = 2004-06-11 | accessdate = 2006-08-07 ]

* 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.

*Silverwood Theme Park, the Northwests largest theme park near Coeur d'Alene Idaho, has Garfield as the official mascot.

*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

*April 10, 1986- American Express
*May 29, 1986- McDonald's Stuck on You
*January 14, 1987- Kellogg's
*November 19, 1987- Alpo Cat Food
*December 12, 1987- Kellogg's
*July 23, 1989- PURR Cat Food (Canada)
*December 13, 1989- General Mills Fruit Snacks
*August 13, 1990 Garfield Fruit Snacks
*December 15, 1990- Alpo Cat Food
*September 30, 1991- Embassy Suites
*March 13, 1994- Campbell's

Garfield has also recently been in a commercial for Chia

References