
Though its setting is rarely mentioned in print, Garfield takes place in Jim Davis's hometown of Muncie, Indiana, according to the television special Happy Birthday, Garfield. As of 2013, it was syndicated in roughly 2,580 newspapers and journals and held the Guinness World Record for being the world's most widely syndicated comic strip. Originally published locally as Jon in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as Garfield, it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human owner Jon Arbuckle, and Odie the dog. Garfield is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Jon (1976–1977) and Garfield (1977–1978), locally published strips in the Pendleton Times-Post Random House (under Ballantine Books), occasionally Andrews McMeel Publishing


Universal Press Syndicate/ Universal Uclick/ Andrews McMeel Syndication (1994–present) Clockwise from bottom left: Nermal, Odie, Arlene, and Pooky
