GARFIELD PROVES HIMSELF A FAT CAT

He's fat, lazy and cynical ... and Southeast Missourian readers love him.

Garfield, that fat feline who loves lasagna and hates Mondays, stalked away with top honors in the 1991 Southeast Missourian Comics Survey.

Snoopy, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang came in second.

Newspapers readers were asked to rank 17 comic strips that appear daily in the newspaper; about 1,300 readers of all ages spoke out about their favorites.

Garfield and Peanuts were among readers' top choices more often than any other comics, leading to their one-two finish.

Of readers completing the survey, 55.4 percent were women and 44.6 percent were men.

For men, Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip about a six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger who comes to life in his imagination, was the top choice. Women ranked the strip seventh.

Among women, Family Circus, featuring an ever-youthful clan, was the favorite. Family Circus finished eighth among men.

Also in the top 10 were Blondie, Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois, Born Loser, For Better or Worse and Ziggy.

On the flip side, just about every way the data was evaluated, Doonesbury was at the bottom of the list. Forty percent of respondents ranked Doonesbury last; only 1.4 percent picked it as their favorite.

Herman, Pavlov and Geech were also among the least favorites for both men and women.

Cathy, the saga of a single woman, was a flop for men, who ranked her 16th out of 17. Cathy fared better with women, who ranked her 10th.

Comics are a serious matter among many readers. In fact, many felt so strongly about their picks or pans, they included a note.

Doonesbury prompted comments like "Absolutely awful and usually insulting," "This one stinks," "Ugh!" and "It was worth the 25 cents to rate Cathy and Doonesbury last."

But others were more positive about the comic page. "I love Garfield." "The Born Loser is the laugh for the day." "You only have one, Charles Schulz." "I always make it a point to read the comics daily." "Thanks. Brightens my day."

We also received a number of pleas to add comics to our daily selection, including B.C., Alley Oop, and Rose is Rose.

Garfield was the clear winner among the younger generation, topping the list for readers 35 years old and younger.

Family Circus took the lead for readers 36 to 45, but was overtaken by Hi & Lois for readers 46 to 65.

The Peanuts gang was the favorite among the older generation, ages 65 and up.

Garfield's overall first place finish in the Southeast Missourian's survey is no big surprise for this fat cat.

According to United Feature Syndicate, Inc. which distributes the comic strip, Garfield is consistently ranked number one in newspaper comic surveys.

Since the comic strip first appeared in 40 newspapers in 1978, Garfield has made a record-breaking catapult to the top. Today, he appears in more than 2,300 newspapers, making it the fastest-growing strip in history.

Garfield creator Jim Davis feels his famous feline's popularity is due to his guilt-free attitude toward life.

"We're made to feel guilty about being overweight, oversleeping and not exercising," says Davis. "Garfield is out there as our champion saying, `Go ahead! Have dessert, sleep in who needs to sweat.'"

Garfield has stepped from the comic pages and continued his success.

This year, Garfield is introducing a line of pre-school toys and a new line of products designed for infants.

Garfield has made it big on television also. The "Garfield and Friends" show is rated number one in its time slot, number two in the CBS Saturday morning line-up, and among the top five shows all year.

He is the star of 12 prime-time TV specials and winner of four Emmy Awards.

Good grief, Charlie Brown. You're number two among Missourian readers.

On Oct. 2, 1950, Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip made its debut in seven newspapers. Now, like Garfield, Peanuts is syndicated in 2,300 newspapers.

For more than 40 years, comic readers have followed Charlie Brown's losing baseball season, Lucy's psychiatric advice, Schroeder's endless fascination with Beethoven, Peppermint Patty's struggle through elementary school, Sally's obsession with Linus, Linus' obsession with his security blanket, and Snoopy as he slips into one of his many personas including the World War I flying ace, Joe Cool, Beagle Scout leader and author of "It was a Dark and Stormy Night."

Peanuts' endearing humor has expanded to more than 40 animated television specials, more than 1,000 books, four films and thousands of products that feature Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang.