The comic strips from the papers are running online and getting good readership. Garfield has gotten nearly 17 million fans on Facebook. We're in this period right now where there is very little difference, except for the opportunity to monetize the strip online. People expect intellectual properties and content to be free online, so the newspapers are protecting them a little more now.

Garfield Creator Jim Davis Reflects on Nearly 40 Years of Crazy Cat Antics[complex.com]