Jim Davis studied at the Ball State University, and went to work at an advertising agency afterwards. He became the assistant of 'Tumbleweeds' artist Tom K. Ryan in 1969. After a while, he created his own 'Gnorm Gnat' strip, which was published in an Indiana newspaper. In 1978, he joined United Feature Syndicate, and launched 'Garfield' on 19 June 1978, probably the biggest cat in comics. Garfield comic strips and gags have been published in over 2,500 newspapers worldwide.
The success of the strip increased when the first 'Garfield' paperback collection was published. The paperback reached the top of the bestseller lists and stayed there for 100 weeks. From then on, the road for Davis only went upwards. Garfield appeared in TV shows, received Emmy awards, and has turned into one of the most visible multimedia comic characters around.
In addtion to 'Garfield', Davis created the comic strip 'U.S. Acres' between 1986 and 1989. It was syndicated by United Feature Syndicate to over 500 newspapers, and also knew a large merchandise line, as well as an animated feature in the 'Garfield and Friends' TV show. Outside of the US, it was syndicated as 'Orson's Farm'.
In 1990 Davis paid graphic tribute toFrançois Walthéry in the collective homage book 'Natacha. Special 20 Ans' (Marsu Productions, 1990), which celebrated the 20th anniversary of Walthéry's series 'Natacha'.
In 1997 the Sojourner Mars rover inspected various rocks on the planet Mars. One rock was named after Garfield.
