Jim Davis - early Garfield strip from 1979

Only one year into it's now 47 year run, an early Garfield from 01-09-1979 finds Garfield breaking the fourth wall in a winter sweater reminiscent of another famous comic strip character.

Garfield still has his "early" look with flabbier jowls and grimace. He addresses the age-old misnomer of people personifying our pets, thinking they are simply little people.

"I'm not a litter person, I'm a cat" he proclaims. "For instance, I like a pinch of catnip in my morning cup of coffee". Hilarious classic ironic Garfield line!

The irony of course is that Garfield is a little person. He likes coffee, lasagna, and hates Mondays. Some of these early Garfield's are heavy on the dialogue, but that's what makes them so great. Davis was putting a lot of thought into these first years of his classic strip, before Garfield became a bit more hokey and commercialized.

A great pick up at the Nov. 2025 Comic Art LIVE. Inks and zipatone are in pristine condition.