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Garfield #11
Garfield Rolls On
You just can't keep a good cat down. And with Garfield you'd need muscles to do it, anyway. This is the frisky feline's tenth collection and is full of the antics and acrobatics you know and love him for. As a bonus it also features an inteview with Jim Davis about how he became a cartoonist!
96 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1985
79 people are currently reading
339 people want to read
About the author
Jim Davis
2,300 books632 followersJames Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist who created the popular comic strip Garfield. Other comics that he has worked on are Tumbleweeds, Gnorm Gnat, Slapstick, and a strip about Mr. Potato Head.
Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.
Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.
Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.
Jim Davis was born in Fairmount, Indiana, near Marion, where he grew up on a small farm with his father James William Davis, mother Anna Catherine (Carter) Davis, brother Dave, and 25 cats. Davis' childhood on a farm parallels the life of his cartoon character Garfield's owner, Jon Arbuckle, who was also raised on a farm with his parents and a brother, Doc Boy. Jon, too, is a cartoonist, and also celebrates his birthday on July 28. Davis attended Ball State University. While attending Ball State, he became a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. He earned the dubious honor of earning one of the lowest cumulative grade point averages in the history of the university, an honor incidentally shared with Late Show host David Letterman.
Davis as of 2007 resides in Muncie, Indiana, where he and his staff produce Garfield under his company, Paws, Inc., begun in 1981. He was married to Carolyn, a singer and elementary teacher whom he met while both were attending college, and has a son named James with her. However, the couple divorced, and Davis since 2000 has been married to Jill, Paws' senior vice president of licensing, who has worked there approximately 25 years.
Ironically, Davis did not own cats when he started Garfield because of Carolyn's allergies, but they owned a Labrador retriever named Molly. With Jill, the family has expanded to include children Ashley and Chris; three grandchildren, Chloe, Carly and Cody; cats, Spunky and Nermal; and a dog, Pooky.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
January 4, 2025
In this eleventh collection of strips, Garfield receives Stretch the rubber chicken as a birthday present and has oodles of fun with it; he also gets lost around the holidays, only to see his mother for the first time in ages. Hilarious at times, touching at others, it's a testament to the power of comic strips; they can tell a great story, and make you smile and laugh...or warm your heart.
EDIT: I wanted to add that the bonus page in this book features Jim Davis' advice to aspiring cartoonists; even though I can't draw to save my life, I've always liked that feature, especially when he mentions that people don't usually laugh at a comic strip because it's funny, but because it's true. I wish there was more comedy that was grounded in reality, instead of unrealistically exaggerated situations that will likely never happen in real life.
EDIT: I wanted to add that the bonus page in this book features Jim Davis' advice to aspiring cartoonists; even though I can't draw to save my life, I've always liked that feature, especially when he mentions that people don't usually laugh at a comic strip because it's funny, but because it's true. I wish there was more comedy that was grounded in reality, instead of unrealistically exaggerated situations that will likely never happen in real life.
November 23, 2023
he makes me laugh
October 27, 2012
book #11
Garfield turns 6, gets Stretch the Chicken for a a birthday gift, meets Squeek the Mouse, visits the farm, goes camping, survives a visit from Doc Boy and then his and Jon's parents, gets lost while Jon is away at a cartoonist's convention and finds his mother and grandfather, finds his way home in time for Christmas
Garfield turns 6, gets Stretch the Chicken for a a birthday gift, meets Squeek the Mouse, visits the farm, goes camping, survives a visit from Doc Boy and then his and Jon's parents, gets lost while Jon is away at a cartoonist's convention and finds his mother and grandfather, finds his way home in time for Christmas
March 29, 2015
Garfield is always a fun, easy comic where you can leave your brain at the door but enjoy plenty of snickering at the felines' bizarre and selfish antics. A cute book that's fun to look through.
February 26, 2016
I used to collect the Garfield books (and bookmarks) and this was a trip down memory lane! Still funny after all these years (32, to be precise!)
February 6, 2022
Bueno, qué decir de los Garfields, uno de los compañeros de nuestra infancia (y adolescencia y parte de la vida adulta). Recuerdo haberme encontrado el primero en casa de un amigo y habérmelo devorado de una sentada, con 5-6 años, sin entender varios de los chistes pero disfrutando mucho de los más obvios. Hoy en día, en casa, a los ojos entrecerrados con mezcla de desprecio y aburrimiento los seguimos llamando ojos de Garfield:
Esta sensación de saber que siempre iba a encontrar unos cuantos graciosos la tuve durante las dos décadas posteriores en las que Garfield iba apareciendo periódicamente en mi vida. No es una obra culmen de la literatura, pero nos ha alegrado muchos momentos.
Esta sensación de saber que siempre iba a encontrar unos cuantos graciosos la tuve durante las dos décadas posteriores en las que Garfield iba apareciendo periódicamente en mi vida. No es una obra culmen de la literatura, pero nos ha alegrado muchos momentos.
August 8, 2024
I've been reading Garfield since I was a little boy in the late 1970s and decided to re-read my collection and am having such a good time reading the older books in the series. Garfield Rolls On dates from the early to mid 1980s and the vast majority of the strips are not dated at all and could have been drawn yesterday. Garfield, Odie and Jon adventure on, every strip bringing a smile or laugh. There's a particularly funny set of strips during a power failure when you see only the characters' eyes! I also like the strips where Garfield acts as the "Caped Avenger." Any fan of Garfield will enjoy this set of classic strips and newcomers to the strip will enjoy the history of the series.
March 3, 2025
My daughter is a huge fan of the visual gags. The more slapstick, the better. So when Garfield gets Stretch the chicken and starts whacking everyone with him, there was a lot of laughter at our house.
November 9, 2017
This one is a bit better than the others. A few jokes a bit darker than the newer ones. Less repetitive cartoons/gags/jokes.
December 25, 2018
Good collection of Garfield comics- a lot of fun to read! Always enjoy reading Garfield.
January 21, 2020
Good Garfield Fun!
This a Garfield treasure! So many neat backstories and tidbits into Garfield's personality. A very worthy addition to a Garfield collection!
This a Garfield treasure! So many neat backstories and tidbits into Garfield's personality. A very worthy addition to a Garfield collection!
October 18, 2020
No, co k této knize dodat. Je to prostě oddechový komiks, který vám zvedne náladu.
October 22, 2020
Reading an old copy of this book I got at a library sale before passing on to someone else. So much nostalgia! Lots of little laughs, Garfield is timeless.
December 31, 2020
A collection of Garfield comic strips. Humorous.
August 10, 2022
That sassy pussy making my pussy purr! Meow!
June 27, 2023
Garfield is the best comic strip ever!!! I love having these books to reminisce about my childhood and reading the ”funny pages."
November 6, 2023
Nämä on varmasti kaikki vuosien saatossa luettu useampaankin kertaan. Mutta näköjään edelleen pystyy hyvin lukemaan.
December 4, 2023
the christmas saga straight up touched my heart
December 20, 2023
I enjoyed reading this book. Loved getting to meet a Garfield family member.
October 21, 2024
Garfield is great!
February 5, 2025
Of all the comics I read as a kid, Garfield had the most formulaic humor that I got tired of the fastest. It hasn't stood the test of time as well as Bone or Calvin and Hobbes has.
July 31, 2007
Aaaaaaaah, my first glossy rectangular Garfield book! Such contentment! You weren't very cool if you didn't have one of these back in the day. Somehow, this was the only one I ever ended up getting my hands on, but I knew kids who had pretty impressive Garfield libraries. I just kept reading this one over and over again. Once you hit eighth or ninth grade and it sinks in that the world isn't a magical playland for your own personal amusement, funnies tend to mysteriously lose their funniness (though like myself you may continue to glance over them in vain for nostalgia purposes, if not much else), and sadly Garfield was no exception. He does, however, put me completely at ease, and that's more than a lot of things can do. As lame as the cartoon now seems (and let's just go ahead and pretend those movies don't exist, yes?), Garfield's shitty attitude was a much-needed tonic for the tiresome emphasis on manners and cooperation constantly being shoveled down my throat in school and church back then, and I'll happily lend my future child my own dogeared copy once he or she inevitably starts coming home with unimpressive report cards.
On another note, "Garfield Rolls On" instilled in me a lifelong fear of eggs. In one of the cartoon, Jon cracks an egg, screams "Oh yuck!", and runs away. Garfield takes a blase look into the frying pan, gives the reader one of his sleepy-eyed, wry sidelong grins, and notes "It's not often you see a yolk with a beak." I loved reading this book, but I always kind of dreaded the page with that cartoon on it, although yelling "Oh yuck!" is funny.
On another note, "Garfield Rolls On" instilled in me a lifelong fear of eggs. In one of the cartoon, Jon cracks an egg, screams "Oh yuck!", and runs away. Garfield takes a blase look into the frying pan, gives the reader one of his sleepy-eyed, wry sidelong grins, and notes "It's not often you see a yolk with a beak." I loved reading this book, but I always kind of dreaded the page with that cartoon on it, although yelling "Oh yuck!" is funny.
November 18, 2015
Garfield is a classic comic. It has withstood the ravages of time is and still quite popular even after 25 years. Although I prefer the earlier looks of Garfield, he can still bring a smile to my lips.
Like any other Garfield book, I like the longer storylines that Jim Davis occasionally does. One shots are okay, but nothing adds to the flavor of a good daily comic strip like a continuing story from day to day. It really keeps the reader coming back for more.
Overall, Garfield Rolls On is a pleasant addition to the Garfield family.
Like any other Garfield book, I like the longer storylines that Jim Davis occasionally does. One shots are okay, but nothing adds to the flavor of a good daily comic strip like a continuing story from day to day. It really keeps the reader coming back for more.
Overall, Garfield Rolls On is a pleasant addition to the Garfield family.
July 26, 2016
I was addicted to these as a kid. I drove my parents insane following them around demanding, "Read this one!" I'm sure that my Dad regretted owning a bookstore. As an adult, I foster cats, and every foster kitten has a picture taken in a box labeled "to: Abu Dhabi." None of my two personal cats are obese, but one is especially adept at tossing chihuahuas off furniture using only one paw...
May 11, 2010
Garfield dislikes alarm clocks.
August 26, 2010
I think this one is my favourite Garfield book... I used to make myself read them in order... silly me!
June 22, 2017
See what he did there, with the pun?
May 4, 2014
Lots of laughs.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews