On 19th June 1978, Garfield appeared on the comics pages for the first time, kicking off a career that has gone on to involve licensing, television, books, computer games, movies and much more. Now, after 30 years in the spotlight, Garfield is an international star and his humorous strip has become the fastest growing and most widely syndicated comic strip ever! Today, it appears in 2570 newspapers around the globe and is read by 263 million people, making it the most widely syndicated comic strip in the world as recorded by Guinness World Records. Additionally, Garfield enjoys a healthy product licensing programme, whereby almost 400 licensees crank out thousands of products depicting Garfield and the rest of the gang. In fact, his vast empire stretches into 111 countries and includes a popular website - www.garfield.com which attracts over two million visitors each month. Garfield has also joined the digital world - as well as featuring in two computer animated 'direct-to-DVD' films ("Garfield Gets Real" and "Garfield's Fun Fest"), he is gearing up for his 2009 debut in 26 all-new TV episodes - "The Garfield Show", which will offer a fresh and funny look at his day-to-day life, blending the modern look of CGI animation with the familiar humour of Garfield, Odie and Jon. At 30, Garfield is still feeling frisky and shows no signs of slowing down. ILLUSTRATIONS Colour Throughout