Garfield has been a popular comic strip that expanded into many media. Pez first introduced a 2 character Garfield set in 1988 on 3.9 Austria stems. In 1990, they added Arlene, Nermal, and Garfield in a green visor to the set. The new 4.9 patent was issued in 1990 but not instituted at all plants until 1991. In 1993 production was shifted to the new Slovenia plant. In 1996, production was again shifted, this time to Hong Kong. Hong Kong became part of China in July of 1997 and the name on the stem changed as well. In 1998, 5 new characters were added to the mix (Wide Eyed Garfield, Garfield as Pilot, Garfield as Chef, Sleepy Garfield, and Odie the dog) as the first five were retired. The 5.9 patent was issued in 1999 and the China and Hungary plants retooled in 2000. The whole series has now been retired.
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