30-plus years of ‘Garfield’ comic strips to sell at auction

Jim Davis studied art and business at Ball State. After graduating, he created the popular comic strip Garfield, which is now seen in more than 2,100 newspapers nationwide. Photo Courtesy M Magazine, The Star Press

DALLAS (AP) — Cartoonist Jim Davis is offering up more than 11,000 “Garfield” comic strips hand-drawn on paper in an auction that will stretch into the coming years.

Dallas-based Heritage Auctions began offering up the comic strips in August. The auction house says at least a couple of strips featuring the cat with a sardonic sense of humor are expected to become available weekly.

Davis says it’s a way to get the strips out where people can enjoy them. The comic strips are from when “Garfield” started in 1978 to 2011, when Davis began drawing them on a tablet instead of paper.