This book is a collection of color Sunday cartoons from very early in the Garfield series of comics. Its contents previously were published in B&W, in the books Garfield at Large, Garfield Gains Weight, and Garfield Bigger than Life. Because of its coverage, it offers an amusing window into the early evolution of the cartoon characters. In the earliest cartoons (1978) Garfield was thoroughly unattractive, with tiny eyes and ears, large jowls and a larger tummy, and a grumpy expression; in addition, he always walked on all fours. Within a year, he'd changed begun to look more appealing, and by 1982, he was the cute cat with the mischievous grin -- plump, with large eyes and ears and a reduced snout. Some readers will recognize that Garfield's changes paralleled those of Disney's Mickey Mouse, as well- documented in an essay by the famous biologist Stephen Jay Gould. The authors of each character changed them to appeal to our attraction to juvenile facial features -- thus, as often is the case, biology and evolution hold the answers.

But back to the cartoons. Frankly, I think that the earliest ones didn't show very much potential in style or content. However, the humor soon got better along with the drawings, and by 1/2 of the way through this book, it's the Garfield that readers have long enjoyed. along with owner Jon and his hapless bumblepup Odie. ( )

Cats