Customer Reviews

20 Years & Still Kicking! Garfield's Twentieth Anniversary Collection

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Garfield's been around for twenty years now. That's right, he originally debuted in comics all the way back in 1978, squishing Gnorm Gnat... well... flat. And this occaison calls for the appropriate acknowledgement: FEED HIM! Full of laughs, that is. This book is 200 pages of classic (yet still hilarious) comic strips. Everything from the weeks Garfield, Jon and Odie were stuck in the blinds, the the first Monday and diet strips, to the strips that prove Davis is hopelessly obsessed with bugs. Also, Davis reviews a lot of the jokes. That's right. He shows you his favourite 20 gags, tells you what he REALLY thinks about Garfield's love for lasagna, and tells us the tale of how he made Garfield a super star. It's a very inspirational story, yet leaves us laughing. And if that wasn't enough, he also gives us a Gnorm Gnat joke, explanations of Lyman's mysterious dissappearance (I've always wondered what happened to that guy), and a huge section complete with a birthday gallery, weird letters they've recieved over the years, hilarious logo boxes, and the secrets behind how each jokes are thought up of, drawn, published, and put in those great compilation books. It's even got a year-to-year history of Garfield's growing success. So with all this, Is TWENTY YEARS worth buying? Absolutely. It's got all the Garfield magic, laughs, and secrets that've made fans around the world love him for years. It's great for looking back, laughing your head off, and remembering the good old days, when bears were Pookies, kittens were Nermals, and the world revolved around the almighty Garfield. Not that it isn't like that today.

This book is a real treat. It starts with a short biography of Jim Davis before he started drawing Garfield and details his struggles getting the strip started. It then gives some background to all the characters, even the MIA Lyman. Then it gets into the heart of the book, strips from all 20 years, showing the evolution of the characters and drawing style. There are occasional comments from Jim that help give more insight. Other highlights include drawings from Mr. Davis's sketchpad that were inspirations for strips, his top 20 strips of all time, all 20 of Garfield's birthday strips, and appearance or references to Garfield in other strips.

I've been a Garfield fan for a number of years now. I greatly enjoyed getting a look into the creative process that gives us such a wonderful daily treat. Any fan of the fat cat will love the book.

I have the whole colletion and this is one of the best garfield books i haveSO BUY IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As a staple of my childhood, Garfield will always have a soft spot dedicated to him in my heart. But unlike the other comics I adored growing up, such as Calvin and Hobbes or Peanuts, which actually become funnier and more insightful the older I get, the world of Garfield seems ever to shrink and become more shallow and superficial. Like a mediocre standup comedian, the strip stays well within the boundaries of familiarity and comfort. Garfield is certainly not a strip that takes risks, or reveals any significant truths of any size about life. I suppose the predictably of gags that all deal with eating, sleeping, nerdiness, television, stupidity, boredom, spiders, and all the other topics that permeate the very confined universe of the strip has contributed to its longetivity: in the tradition of pop music, sitcoms, sequels, and fast food, Garfield spoonfeeds us that which we already know we like. Davis never challenges us, makes us think; instead he deals us a handful of words and pictures that lightly reaffirm what we already know. The characters are all one-dimensional, the punchlines obvious. In twenty years, the strip hasn't changed a bit, and it is perhaps that stagnant quality that has kept the strip anchored in the popular consciousness of a constantly shifting and uncertain world.

I suppose there are those who will say that I am being too demanding. After all, it's just a kid's strip. But if I didn't think Davis could rise above the level of stasis in which he dwells, I would accept the strip on its own terms and move on. His selection of the Top Twenty Garfield strips of all time, however, affirms that, at its best, the strip can be witty, absurd, satirical, and character-driven. I can only explain the overall middling quality of the strip as a combination of laziness and marketability (why waste time and risk alienating an established audience simply for the sake of a better strip?).

Having said that, 20 Years and Still Kicking does contain a decent assortment of goodies. Of particular interest is the biography of Jim Davis, explaining the root of his cartooning aspiration and his influences. Including a section on "Gnorm Gnat," his much less successful pre-Garfield strip, was a nice touch. The selection of comics from 1978 to 1997 give the casual reader (i.e. anyone who doesn't own every Garfield collection) a competent overview of the past twenty years, showing how the look and feel of the strip have changed in that time. The commentary is worthwhile more often than not, calling attention to notable moments in the strip's history (the first time Garfield walks upright, Jon's only date with Liz, the inspiration for particular ideas and characters, etc.). Davis also places each main character as of 1997 next to his 1978 counterpart, highlighting a rather significant contrast. Unlike most comic strips, which refine the visual look of the characters up to a point and then stop, Garfield himself never seems to stop changing. He loses weight and gains it back, his eyes go from perfect circles to more and more exaggerated ovals, and his proportions overall tend to shift and fluctuate from one year to the next. The aforementioned "Top Twenty" is also a noteworthy addition, showcasing what Davis believes to be his best work.

The Intermission section also contains a few gems. A page from Davis's sketchbook shows a number of rough drawings in all their raw glory. Some have nothing to do with Garfield, while others are recognizable as the inspiration for particular strips. The following section features different comics that reference or even include Garfield. A feature labeled "Weird Fan Mail" has smatterings of bizarre letters that Davis apparently received.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the special features are either incredibly lame (the Top Ten lists, the "G.Q" quiz) or regurgitated from other works. (the Feature Pages, the little themed boxes that appear at the bottom amidst Acts I and II). At least twenty pages in the book could have been replaced with something that was actually meaningful and original.

Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the book was the inside look into the step-by-step process of creating the strip, which only reveals what an assembly-line production it has become. Overseeing his immense merchandising empire apparently limits Davis's schedule quite severely; by his own admittance, he sets aside only "three consecutive days each month" to write the strip, which is apparently the extent of his involvement. Drawing, lettering, and inking all fall on the shoulders of his various assistants. Even in the writing process, Davis is only half the equation. When it's finished, Davis signs his name and collects the check.

I suppose what bothers me most is that Davis cares so little for the integrity of his comic that he is only willing to spend three days a month putting any amount of work into it. There is no longer any aspect of creating the strip that he has total control over, and yet his name is the only one that appears in the newspaper. Instead of using the strip as a creative outlet for exploring all the absurdity and humor inherent in life, it seems that it has become just another element that aids Davis in selling merchandise and fattening his own wallet. Something about this seems very tragic and insulting, but the general public eats it up, and I guess that's all that really matters.

A great garfield book. Must for the Garfield Fan

I have been a huge Garfield fan since the early '80s. And as I am a few years short of turning 30, I remain an avid fan of the orange fat tabby. I love the ten explainations to why Lyman disappeared. My absolute favorite section of the books is Jim's top 20 cartoon strips he had done. My personal favorite [and one of Jim's favorite] is when Garfield sticks his head into the mouse hole only to be on the receiving end of a makeover. There has never been a moment when Garfield has never made me laugh. To a certain extent I have emulated myself after him. I hate Mondays, I love to eat and sleep, and I am extremely lazy but I don't mail cute kittens to Abu Dhabi and kick dogs off the table like Garfield does. Overall this book is a must have for Garfield fanatics.

I own all but one of the books. This a great book. It has Jim Davis's bio, comics, admission and lots more!! You'd be a fool not to buy it!

If you are a Garfield fan and you don't have this book. WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU WAITING FOR ADD THIS BOOK TO YOUR SHOPING CART RIGHT NOW!!!!! It has a 20th aniversery interveiw, tells jim davis's life as a cartoonest, shows Jim davis's 20 favorite Garfeild strips, a logo-box gallery, lots of the feature pages that appear in the books, tons and tons of classic garfeild strips and much much more. ORDER THIS BOOK NOW!!!!!!! NOW!!!!!! NOW!!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!!! AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST NOW!!!!!!!!!

Not only is Garfield one of the greatest characters in comics history, he's also the funniest. Jim Davis takes us through 20 years of your favourite Orange feline. Some parts of the book just make ya laugh forever and it's hard to put it down. I'd recommend this book to any comics fan or anyone who likes to laugh.

This book details and chronicals Garfield's comic life. As first a clever idea in Jim Davis' head to the mega-empire that has been built by Garfield. You learn about Jim Davis' experiences before Garfield. His work on other comics and his past comic creation that didn't do too well. It is interesting to read how the ideas are come up for each Garfield strip.

Jim Davis puts a lot of himself in the book and it comes out. You can get a feel for his personality and how much of that he puts into Garfield. You learn about the cast of characters in the comic along with those that create the comic. You see the influence that Garfield has had over the years. The many birthdays, the many kickings of Odie, the over-indulgence, all in this book. I found it a great book with one flaw being that it doesn't have enough about Jim Davis' thoughts on comics in general. It's a very minor and personal flaw. Overall it is a great book for any Garfield fan. There is much to love and enjoy.