Holiday Gift Guide: Garfield: 30 Years of Laughs and Lasagna

Who says nothing good came out of the 1970s? Jim Davis’ sardonic comicbook kitty, Garfield, turned 30 this year. And though he was born in the 1970s, as Davis points out in an introduction, “Garfield morphed from a grumpy lump of wisecracking clay into the iconic ‘spokescat’ for the ‘80s generation: the ‘Me Generation.’ What perfect timing!”

Garfield: 30 Years of Laughs and Lasagna (Ballantine) offers up a generous sampling of Garfield over the decades. The over 400 strips include 30 that Davis calls his favorites. A wonderful remembrance or a great introduction, and an anniversary celebration befitting “the world’s most famous feline.”

Not quite enough Garfield? Or maybe a little too much? Garfield Minus Garfield (Ballantine) is a ridiculous idea that works eerily well. Based on a viral Internet joke, this little book looks exactly like the Garfield books of yore: except there’s no Garfield. Garfield’s owner, Jon, is left speaking into a void, looking like a lonely kook when he should be speaking to a kitty. Good fun!