It seems like a hundred years ago, 25 to be precise, that I was swapping Garfield comics with my grade school buddies.

I attended a Catholic grade school, so our library was rather small. Nonetheless, it contained everything a 10-year-old boy needed, including Garfield comics and a obscene amount of World War II books.

However, my very first Garfield comic adventure didn’t come from the library, but from my parents’ home library. Much of what I read now can be sourced from the red-carpeted library room I aptly called The Red Room. It wasn’t sinister or spooky, as its name might suggest. In fact, it had the most windows in the house, serving almost as a sunroom. Despite being cluttered, it housed four magnificent bookshelves filled with literary treasures. It was on the bottom shelf, next to a series of nude photography books, that my eyes fell upon The Ninth Garfield Treasury – a book I still own.

It took me a couple of hours to rip through that treasury book and realize that the dozen teddy bears my parents had in their room were Pookie Bear from Garfield.

The very next day, I went to the school library and checked out the Garf fat cat 3-pack book. Looking back at the release date, it appears this was the newest version at the time, which is pretty neat.

My friend Matt and I would snicker over all the little silly panels. Everything from Garfield’s constant authoritarian rule of the spiders to his treatment of Jon, we couldn’t get enough. One panel sticks out to me because I burst out laughing in the middle of religious education class. See below:

I never thought Garfield was cute. I enjoyed his attitude and hijinks. I’d snicker at his devious ways, but I would never put them into practice by way of imitation. I’d leave that to Calvin and Hobbes.

Now, we are on the precipice of a brand new Garfield movie for yet another generation. I’ve already seen ads and promos running, so it’s rather neat to see the orange lard-ass back in the limelight. It’s also disappointing to see that Garfield marketing and tie-ins are pretty much dead in the water. Gone are the days of cups, statues, clocks, food paraphernalia, and trinkets galore.

Nevertheless, despite the lack of merchandising frenzy, the legacy of Garfield will continue to live on in the hearts of fans old and new. Whether flipping through old comics or eagerly anticipating the latest movie, the lasagna-loving feline continues to bring joy and laughter to audiences around the world. And who knows, maybe one day we’ll see a resurgence of Garfield-themed merchandise, bringing back a wave of nostalgia for those who grew up with the lovable fat cat.

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