There have been a lot of huge comic strips over the years that have carved out a place in the hearts of fans. One of most enduring has been Garfield. Since debuting in 1978, it has gone into syndication in more than 2500 newspapers and journals around the world. On top of that, it's spawned movies, TV series, video games and many more cross promotions.

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Like anything that has been around for more than 40 years, Garfield has evolved and changed in seemingly innumerable ways. But the lazy orange cat fans have come to know and love has always been there.

10 Garfield Finds Love With Arlene

Arlene and Garfield

Everyone deserves to find someone to care about in their lives, including Garfield. In his case, he has an on again, off again girlfriend named Arlene. It must be nice for him to have someone to talk to who can actually understand him. It's hard to say what Arlene gets out of the relationship.

Arlene debuted in the comic strips in December 1980, though her name wasn't mentioned until another comic shortly after that. She has, over the years, also made appearances in various TV series as well as 2004's Garfield: The Movie.

9 Nermal, A Small New Kitten, Becomes A Member Of The Household

Nermal annoys Garfield

September 3rd, 1979 is a day that will live in infamy in Garfield's world. It's the day that an adorable little kitten name Nermal came into his life, stealing all the attention. Garfield could kind of live with that as long he didn't touch the lasagna.

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Nermal might not have been there since day one, but he has spent the last 41 years making Garfield's life difficult. In addition to the comics, he has appeared in several TV shows as well as the 2004 movie. The weird part was he looked nothing like what he did in the comics.

8 In 2010 Garfield Comics Swapped Over To A Digital Medium

Garfield rides Odie

Technology has changed being an artist dramatically, regardless of the media being worked in. That includes people who create comic strips as much of the process of drawing and coloring them has gone digital over the years.

In roughly 2010, Jim Davis transferred to creating new strips entirely through digital means. He discussed having all of his tools contained in one digital implement and not having to worrying about his paints drying out anymore. The strips still look great, regardless of how they're created.

7 Garfield Has Become A Kinder Cat Overtime

Garfield punts Odie

Outside of his love of lasagna and his hatred of Mondays, Garfield's sharp wit is his most defining personality trait. What's truly unfortunate is that Jon can't hear him, and frequently misses all the witty bon mots thrown his way.

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But what's been interesting in more recent years is that Garfield has become a more tolerant and generous cat. He's still protective of his food but he's much less likely to drop kick Odie off the nearest table or counter.

6 Dr. Liz Wilson And Jon Get Together

Liz ignores Jon

It's safe to say that Jon Arbuckle has virtually no romantic abilities whatsoever. On the rare occasion that the man has been able to get a date, actually managing to set up a second date proved to be nearly impossible. He always seems to find a way to ruin things.

The longest standing focus of his attentions was Garfield's veterinarian, Dr. Liz Wilson. After decades of being turned down by her and failed dating attempts, Liz and Jon actually became an official couple in 2006. They have been together ever since.

5 His Habit Of Tormenting Jon Has Softened In Recent Years

Jon's shows his game

Garfield's evil machinations have a variety of targets. Odie was a big one for a long time, but he slowly learned to love the dog and they are pretty close these days. That doesn't stop Garfield from bugging him once in a while, though.

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Jon has proven to be a favored subject for his jokes, though. But Garfield has taken his foot off the gas in more recent years, possibly due to Liz being around to an extent. It's probably more due to Garfield softening with age. That being said, Nermal is still on his bad side..

4 Odie Learns To Walk

Evolution of Odie

It's safe to say that Garfield would prefer to be the only pet in Jon's house. But that wasn't the case when Jon's roommate Lyman brought Odie the dog home. It was rough going for the first couple of decades but Garfield and Odie eventually turned a corner, becoming friends.

Odie has been along for the ride since almost day one, and has appeared in virtually every TV show and movie. Like Garfield, Odie became much more anthropomorphic and started walking on two feet like a person. It was a pretty big change in his depiction that went down in the late 1990s.

3 Garfield's Character Design Has Evolved Over Time

Evolution of Garfield

One of the most interesting changes in Garfield has been changes in cat himself over the years. Both Odie and Jon look a bit different than they did when they debuted decades ago. But the change is most apparent with the titular character himself.

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Garfield was originally depicted as an extremely overweight cat, but he still looked relatively like a cat. Over the years, he has evolved into a more anthropomorphic character that walks like a person. That being said, he's still overweight.

2 Lyman Suddenly Disappeared And Never Came Back

Lyman goes away

Reading older Garfield strips includes a lot of appearances of a character named Lyman. He was Jon's roommate and best friend, and was also the owner of Odie. Lyman was one of the few regular human characters outside of Jon.

But Lyman was phased out of the series early on. He mysteriously disappeared without much of a comment from the other characters, making Odie into Jon's pet. A much later animated series explained that Lyman was a wildlife photographer who decided to stay in nature.

1 The Comic Actually Debuted In 1976 As Jon

First Jon comic strip

The biggest change in Garfield since it's original publication was the fact that the original strip was published under a different name. The series was published locally as Jon and focused on Jon Arbuckle as the main character of the series.

But Jim Davis obviously made the right decision, turning Garfield into the main character and made the strip about him. It worked out but it was still a risky move making such a huge change to a comic strip that was already being published, even if it wasn't syndicated, yet.

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