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Garfield #53
Garfield Brings Home the Bacon: His 53rd Book
Grab a fork and nab some pork! Garfield loves “the other white meat” in all its palate-pleasing breaded, barbecued, shredded, fried—even frozen (porksicles, anyone?). If you’re hungry for humor, satisfy your craving with this latest—and greatest—collection of comics.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 31, 2012
80 people are currently reading
185 people want to read
About the author
Jim Davis
2,345 books637 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 - 16 of 16 reviews
January 18, 2025
Though I've still found Garfield to be humorous in recent years, the strip was at its best in its early days. It's not the same without Lyman, the long story arcs, or the Tubby Tabby having big adventures. While I enjoyed this compilation of strips, I can see why some people aren't fans of the cartoon fat cat; over the years, it did become a bit repetitive, and it seemed like Jim Davis was scraping the bottom of the barrel for ideas. With the recent forty-second anniversary of the strip, it seems it may be nearing its end; that may be a good thing, and that's a lifelong fan talking.
February 6, 2017
Introduction:
Since I have been reading “Garfield” comics like almost every year since I started this comic book series years ago, I have decided to make it a tradition for myself to read a “Garfield” comic every year and this year, I picked up another “Garfield” comic called “Garfield Brings Home the Bacon” and it is just as hilarious and witty as the previous “Garfield” comic books I had read!
What is this story about?
In this collection, Garfield continues to have fun adventures with his dorky owner Jon Arbuckle, his dim witted sidekick Odie and the sane Liz as his adventures go from having dreams about food falling from the sky to smacking spiders left and right!
What I loved about this story:
Jim Davis’ writing: Jim Davis’ writing continues to be witty and hilarious to read through as I thoroughly enjoyed Garfield’s snarky comments about Jon’s dorky ways and Odie’s simple mindedness and I also loved the fact that Garfield and Liz seem to bond with each other due to both of them being snarky towards Jon’s odd lifestyle, although Liz is a bit more understanding of the two due to dating Jon. I also enjoyed seeing Arlene, Garfield’s love interest, in this collection since it is rare that we see storylines that revolve around Arlene and I hope that the future “Garfield” comic book collections feature more of Arlene just so we can see another cat who can match wits with Garfield!
Jim Davis’ artwork: Jim Davis’ artwork is as usual hilarious and creative to look at as all the characters are drawn in an exaggerated manner. But the two characters that really stood out in this volume were Liz and Arlene themselves as they are drawn with huge lips and eyelashes that set them apart from the rest of the goofy cast!
Final Thoughts:
Overall, “Garfield Brings Home the Bacon” is another fantastic collection of “Garfield” comics that anyone who is a huge fan of “Garfield” will enjoy greatly!
Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog
June 13, 2019
It’s so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 20, 2012
a great garfield the cat book!
April 11, 2015
Wohhoo :)
August 30, 2018
Garfield is the bomb.
February 12, 2025
Garfield is the best!!!!!
August 23, 2025
Jon and Liz are still dating, which makes for many funny moments. I really like the mice weeks, and the spider ones are still funny too. Odie is my favorite.
August 8, 2017
More hilarity from Garfield.
October 1, 2016
One of the funniest books I have ever read, Garfield Brings Home the Bacon is truly an amazing book. The fat cat can't get enough of stealing Jon's food. Lots and lots of laughs.... and foods! READ THIS BOOK PEOPLE! Trust me, on average you'll laugh about on every page. I recommend this book to people who just need to relax and who want to read something funny.
October 23, 2013
Jim Davis is still going strong. I laughed a few times, but not as much as I wanted to. I've started to prompt my kids into figuring out the irony rather than just explaining it to them. I've met with marginal success.
September 3, 2015
Jim Davis still brings this fat lazy cat on the pages and makes a good laugh out of him. Garfield finally goes,outside when john forces him to go to the country
August 23, 2015
Great classic comic
Great! Always enjoy these comics! Like that they are in such clear colour and readable fashion! Will continue to buy
Great! Always enjoy these comics! Like that they are in such clear colour and readable fashion! Will continue to buy
December 28, 2019
Not all of the newer Garfield comic books are created equal. This one had a lot of laughs in it so this one is definitely worth reading.
April 3, 2012
Typical Garfield. Book #53. Jon and Liz are still dating.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews