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

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

Indiana, USA - On July 28, 2025, Jim Davis, the creator of the popular comic character Garfield, celebrates his 80th birthday. The Egmont Comic Collection and Egmont Bang would like to go on this occasion! Congratulate comics with two special publications. The first publication is entitled "Garfield - a book full of Sundays - for the 80th birthday of Garfield Schöpfer Jim Davis!" And includes a selection of the best Sunday comics that reflect the unique charm of the famous hangover. In addition, “Reading food-full-colored Garfield comic stories”, a handy book appears that includes humorous episodes for young readers who want to immerse yourself in the world of Garfield. Both books are now available.

Garfield, who was created by Jim Davis in 1978, is not only known for his love for lasagna, but also for his sarcastic comments and his pronounced laziness. These properties make the figure 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 articles. The Garfield comics were already printed in 1983 in around 1000 newspapers, which means that according to the Guinness Book of Records, they are the most widespread comics worldwide.

insight into creative history

Jim Davis has a fascinating career. Before he created Garfield, he worked on comics about a mosquito called "Gnorm Gnat", which, however, received little attention. Inspired by his childhood and his grandfather, he simply called his latest creation Garfield. Growing up on a farm in Indiana, he developed a passion for drawing early on, especially while he spent a lot of time in the house due to asthma. After studying art and initial experience in advertising, he started in 1969 as an assistant to a comic artist, 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 dynamics of the comics. Jim Davis pursues a recipe for success that is based on generally understandable humor and focuses on everyday topics such as eating and sleeping. He deliberately avoids political issues so as not to lose the broad readership. Despite his enduring success, Davis did not find the drawing of Garfield to be boring even after 40 years. He emphasized that he continues to amuse the readers and has no plans for retirement as long as he feels like being able to contribute.

availability of the new publications

The two new Garfield books are now available in stores. "Garfield-a book full of Sundays" costs 35.00 EUR and has the ISBN 978-3-7704-1033-0. The handy "reading food-full-colored Garfield comic stories" can acquire interested parties for 19.99 EUR, with the ISBN 978-3-7704-0896-2. Images and review copies are available via the press contact. The publication of these books is not only Jim Davis, who looks back on an impressive career, but also testifies to the continuing popularity of his creation, which makes people around the world laugh.

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