Garfield without Garfield
Check out this transformative (and arguably fair) use of old Garfield comics:
Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolor disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against lonliness in a quiet American suburb.
Uhm, no. This person got it wrong.
The origianal meme was to remove Garfield's **thought bubbles**. Ie, show what actually occurred in "real life" in the strip. You don't actually remove the cat.
What you get is what you described. A man talking to his cat and behaving as if the cat is talking back. A kind of zen meditation on schizophrenia.
What this person has done is just broken. I don't have a link to the original comics with the thought bubbles removed. I bet they're easy to find by googling though.
Posted by: Gerg | March 02, 2008 at 04:13 PM
I blogged Garfield Without Garfield last week, about the same time you did, and I think it's genius! The other commenter doesn't seem to grasp how GREAT the cartoon is with the cat completely gone. Maybe that's because he's inherently saner than I am, but I find this version much more provocative.
Posted by: bioephemera | March 05, 2008 at 10:46 AM
No, Gerg, this is WAY better than just removing the thought bubbles. I'll admit that those are funny, but this is brilliant.
Posted by: Aaron | March 10, 2008 at 07:54 AM
I seriously think this is the best without Garfield altogether. Because the cat still does very human movements that would justify some of Jon's actions. Also, personally, I hate how Garfield has been drawn recently.
Posted by: Jack | March 16, 2008 at 10:55 AM
you want to see something even more bizarre? someone spent a load of time removing garfield from the entire christmas special! You can search for it on youtube, its called An Arbuckle Christmas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjW8lpvrwYc
People are crazy.
Posted by: michaelstn3 | April 10, 2008 at 06:19 PM
this might be the best thing that ive ever seen.
Posted by: Chris | April 11, 2008 at 10:23 PM