This detail comes from a Garfield comic strip published on November 14, 1988. The original, now part of the Schulz Museum’s collection and on view in “The Spark of Schulz,” has the following inscription:
“To Sparky—Thanks for all the inspiration!!! With admiration, Jim Davis”
According to Garfield creator Jim Davis, Charles “Sparky” Schulz was instrumental in getting Garfield to walk on two feet for the first time:
“I was working on Garfield’s first special at Bill Melendez’s studio in Los Angeles, and Sparky was working on one of his specials in the next room. I wanted Garfield to get up and dance through the opening credits, and he looked terrible standing up. He just didn’t look natural…He said, ‘That’s because you gave him these little cat feet.’
“He told me what he did with Snoopy’s. Snoopy used to walk on little dog feet, ‘and when I stood him up, I made his hind feet really big like human feet, and it looked natural.’ He said, ‘Here, do this,’ and he took my pencil and drew over the top of my drawing with these big feet like [Garfield] has today. He said, ‘So there! Now he’s standing.’ I go, ‘That’s it!’ I was blown away. Here was Charles Schulz drawing on my drawing. When Garfield got the big back feet, then he could walk.”
Garfield (detail), November 14, 1988. ©1988 PAWS. INC
