Jim Davis celebrates 80 years of Garfield: A celebration for comic fans!

Jim Davis celebrates 80 years of Garfield: A celebration for comic fans!

On July 28, 2025, Jim Davis, the creator of the popular comic character Garfield, will celebrate his 80th birthday. On this occasion, the Egmont Comic Collection and Egmont BÄNG! Comics congratulate you with two special publications. The first publication is entitled "Garfield - A Book of Sundays - Celebrating the 80th Birthday of GARFIELD Creator Jim Davis!" and includes a selection of the best Sunday comics that reflect the unique charm of the famous tomcat. In addition, “Reading Food – Full Color Garfield Comic Stories” is released, a handy book that includes humorous episodes for young readers who want to immerse themselves in the world of Garfield. Both books are available now.

Created by Jim Davis in 1978, Garfield is known not only for his love of lasagna, but also for his sarcastic comments and pronounced laziness. These characteristics make the character so appealing and universal that the comics have now been translated into many languages ​​and also serve as the basis for television series, films and various merchandise items. The Garfield comics were already printed in around 1,000 newspapers in 1983, making them the most widely distributed comics in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records.

Insight into the creative history

Jim Davis has had a fascinating career. Before creating Garfield, he worked on comics about a mosquito called Gnorm Gnat, but they received little attention. Inspired by his childhood and his grandfather, he simply named his latest creation Garfield. Growing up on a farm in Indiana, he developed a passion for drawing at an early age, especially while spending a lot of time indoors due to asthma. After studying art and gaining some experience in advertising, he started working as an assistant to a comic artist in 1969, which contributed to his later success.

The development of Garfield was an important element in Davis' creative career. In addition to the main character, he also created other characters such as Jon, Odie, Liz and Nermal, which contribute to the dynamic of the comics. Jim Davis follows a recipe for success that is based on generally understandable humor and focuses on everyday topics such as eating and sleeping. He consciously avoids political topics so as not to lose his broad readership. Despite his enduring success, Davis did not find drawing Garfield boring even after 40 years. He emphasizes that he remains committed to amusing readers and has no plans for retirement as long as he feels he has something to contribute.

Availability of new publications

The two new Garfield books are now available in stores. “Garfield – A Book Full of Sundays” costs EUR 35.00 and has the ISBN 978-3-7704-1033-0. Anyone interested can purchase the handy “Reading Food – Full Color Garfield Comic Stories” for EUR 19.99, with ISBN 978-3-7704-0896-2. Images and review copies are available from the press contact. The publication of these books not only comes in handy for Jim Davis, who has had an impressive career, but also testifies to the enduring popularity of his creation, making people laugh around the world.

For further information you can visit the press releases on the websites of the Egmont publishing companies: ots.at and swissinfo.ch.