Message from Garfield, July 29, 1999

Message I got from Garfield in the "e" mail

I don't know how many of you are fortunate enough to be on a Garfield mailing list, so here is some info about Jim Davis I got in the mail

Greetings, comics lovers. Garfield here.

Jim Davis, the cartoonist who's been chronicling my exploits since 1978, is having a birthday this week. While it's not nearly as important as my birthday, it's still an occasion worth noting. Actually, Jim's mom asked me to mention it. I hate to see a grown woman beg.

Jim was born July 28, 1945, in Marion, Indiana, and was promptly dropped on his head - which explains his lifelong desire to become a cartoonist.

In 1969, Davis started working with Tom Ryan on the TUMBLEWEEDS comic strip. Jim was also trying to get his own strip, GNORM GNAT, syndicated. GNORM GNAT was about bugs. Sure, it was funny…but bugs? Jim toiled on Gnorm for 5 years. I finally took pity on the man and told him to stop messing around with insects and start working with a real star. He sat down and started drawing while I dictated, and GARFIELD the comic strip was born!

I won't bore you with the rest of Jim's story. You can get bored all by yourself when you check out Jim's biographical info at http://www.garfield.com/news/paws/jimindex.html

You can also hear Jim pontificate - I mean, talk - about cartooning in a special 2-part online interview http://www.garfield.com/news/paws/jimview.html

to GARFIELD RULES!!