Before the farmyard cartoons, Jim Davis launched a massive, short-lived newspaper comic experiment
In short: In 1986, the creator of Garfield debuted U.S. Acres in an unprecedented 505 newspapers. Featuring a pig named Orson and a cast of neurotic barnyard animals, the strip became a cultural fixture through books and merchandise before finding a second life as a long-running segment on Garfield and Friends.
U.S. Acres, also known internationally as Orson's Farm, ran as a daily newspaper comic strip from March 3, 1986, until May 7, 1989. Created by Jim Davis, the strip centered on a group of farm animals led by Orson, a pig who was the runt of his litter. The ensemble cast included Roy Rooster, a wisecracking prankster; Wade Duck, a hypochondriac who wore an inner tube; and twin chicks Booker and Sheldon, the latter of whom famously refused to hatch. The strip was notable for its visual gags, such as the removable beaks of Roy and Wade, and the inner tube that mirrored Wade's own facial expressions.
The strip's popularity led to an extensive range of merchandise, including plush toys, mugs, and children's books. While the comic strip concluded in 1989, the characters gained significant longevity through the animated series Garfield and Friends, which featured a U.S. Acres spin-off segment from 1988 to 1994. The strip's legacy is preserved in various collections, though the final two months of the comic were never published in an American collection, making the English-language paperback Orson's Farm Cuts the Corn the rarest of all related volumes.
The production history of the strip involved several collaborators, including Brett Koth, who received co-creator credit during the final year. The strip's evolution included experimental phases, such as soliciting reader ideas for a mysterious creature named Max. In 2019, Jim Davis sold the rights to the franchise to Paramount Global as part of the acquisition of Paws, Inc. Despite its relatively short run in newspapers, the characters remain a distinct part of the Garfield universe, occasionally appearing in logo boxes or online webcomic relaunches.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: U.S. Acres
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