Still prefer the one where there's Garfield, but his thought bubbles are eliminated. posted by klangklangston at 5:29 PM on December 5, 2008 [4 favorites]
Urg, the commenters on that page manage to miss the point so gloriously I'm tempted to read it as some kind of PoMo metacommentary.
Now my head hurts. posted by lekvar at 5:42 PM on December 5, 2008
I didn't know one could post a completely empty comment, good to know. Like chucking carriers back in the old CB radio days. posted by fixedgear at 5:43 PM on December 5, 2008
klangklangston is right, namely because Garfield sans Garfield's thought bubbles shows what is in fact happening in the strip (Jon talks to a cat for no reason, who doesn't talk back).
Still, this isn't bad. posted by abcde at 5:46 PM on December 5, 2008
Garfield minus Garfield plus Black Female from the Inner-city. posted by qvantamon at 5:51 PM on December 5, 2008
I prefer Metafilter minus this post.
I prefer Metafilter where there's this post, but all comments are eliminated. posted by The World Famous at 5:56 PM on December 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
And so it has come to this.
First we had Garfield without the thought bubbles. Paws Inc. (Garfield's home office) was not pleased.
Then there was Lasanga Cat. Ahem. I doubt Paws was fond of that one, either.
Then we had the Garfield Randomizer. (Was that the one cortex did? I got confused by all the metacommentary, it's possible Odie made it instead.) I don't remember Paws Inc, chiming in on that one.
Then came around Garfield minus Garfield, the story of a sad, desperate guy with absolutely no luck with women talking to himself. That one made Time Magazine.
More than that, Paws Inc. finally seems to have figured out that these Garfield recontextings aren't going away, and by gaw they're gonna get their own piece of the pie. So it was that last month I saw, on the New Releases table at BAM, in a traditional Garfield compilation form factor no less, a collection of Garfield Minus Garfield strips, fully endorsed by Paws. So now we actually have an official site devoted to the concept, right there on gocomics.com.
Um, what was the point behind it all again? That Garfield was funnier if you took out some aspect that Paws added to it? Has anyone let them in on the joke yet? Is this clueless corporate bandwagon-hijacking or honest self-mockery? posted by JHarris at 5:57 PM on December 5, 2008 [4 favorites]
Is this like the Garfield without Garfield, where Jon looks like a paranoid schizophrenic?
Except for less Garfield? posted by Balisong at 5:58 PM on December 5, 2008
When I saw the title, I had hoped this would involve keeping the characters and keeping the dialogue bubbles but swapping the actual words between different strips and panels. posted by Inspector.Gadget at 6:04 PM on December 5, 2008
Having read Garfield Minus Garfield for much longer than I ever anticipated I would, the point over time seems to be the cat doesn't exist - Garfield is Jon's invisible friend, and he seems to be bipolar. Without Garfield, you start to notice right away how creepy most of Jon's facial expressions are. posted by l33tpolicywonk at 6:04 PM on December 5, 2008
I like the ones where Garfield is replaced by a giant donut. posted by languagehat at 6:05 PM on December 5, 2008
StripesCnH-GF says:
This one doesn’t make any sense it’s like he’s talking to himself.
The point I got from the original Garfield strips was that Garfield is so unfunny that if you took him out of the strips, they would actually be funnier.
And with the Garfield randomizer... Well, that was just a commentary on how Garfield is so poorly done, each panel is pretty much interchangeable.
That's why Paws. Inc's embracing of this is so horribly ironic. Do they have to ruin everything for us? posted by dunkadunc at 6:39 PM on December 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
Um, what was the point behind it all again? That Garfield was funnier if you took out some aspect that Paws added to it? Has anyone let them in on the joke yet? Is this clueless corporate bandwagon-hijacking or honest self-mockery?
They're just trying to make a buck. The people who like Garfield won't get it, but the people who don't like Garfield might, and they found a really easy way to tap that market. Even so, it is a bit weird for the creator official license holder to be doing it. posted by krinklyfig at 6:43 PM on December 5, 2008
I want to see Garfield minus Garfield plus Cthulhu. posted by sfenders at 6:44 PM on December 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
"Without Garfield, you start to notice right away how creepy most of Jon's facial expressions are."
That happens with the one without the thought bubbles too. Where he's just pissing and moaning at his cat. posted by klangklangston at 6:49 PM on December 5, 2008
When I saw the title, I had hoped this would involve keeping the characters and keeping the dialogue bubbles but swapping the actual words between different strips and panels.
i was struck while reading these that Garfield is plenty depressing and existentialist with the cat in there, and even with his dialogue. maybe the "Garfield Without Garfield" author is missing the point of the originals just as hard as the commenters are missing the point of the altered ones? posted by radiosig at 7:05 PM on December 5, 2008 [2 favorites]
Somehow it wasn't as funny, especially since it was an in-joke that only people at the newspaper got. posted by dunkadunc at 7:08 PM on December 5, 2008
Garfield plus MetaFilter: Overthinking a plate of lasagna. posted by not_on_display at 8:33 PM on December 5, 2008 [1 favorite]
But.. that's the... owner of Garfield.. mocking.. the creation of... wait.. posted by cavalier at 10:24 PM on December 5, 2008
Paws, Inc. - We hate it, too. ? posted by cavalier at 10:24 PM on December 5, 2008
What about the one where the Garfield strips gradually became more sexual until they were all having interspecies bestiality orgies? I know I saw that somewhere. Or fantasized about it... posted by Saxon Kane at 11:29 PM on December 5, 2008
What about the one where the Garfield strips gradually became more sexual until they were all having interspecies bestiality orgies? I know I saw that somewhere. Or fantasized about it...
Still not as good as the one where it's just a blank page with a Calvin & Hobbes cartoon printed on it. posted by Item at 3:13 AM on December 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
I think Garfield is meant to be appreciated by the same kind of people who eat lots of TV dinners and identify with the Charmin bears. posted by dunkadunc at 7:06 AM on December 6, 2008
Garfield minus Garfield plus Garfield minus Garfield plus Garfield minus Garfield plus coffee. posted by Lipstick Thespian at 8:23 AM on December 6, 2008
I want to see Garfield minus Garfield plus Cthulhu.
Metafilter minus original content plus snark posted by tehloki at 3:00 PM on December 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
I think what we can glean from all the variation and remixes above (no cat, no thought bubbles, randomizer and so forth) is that anything you do to the strip makes it funnier.
One of the most shameful and now-inexplicable moments of my life was when at age 13 or so, I impulsively shoplifted a Garfield book. Yes, there was a time in my life when I craved Garfield strips so much I actually committed a crime to obtain them. Who the hell was that kid? posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:31 PM on December 6, 2008 [1 favorite]
I find the inexplicable obsession of Garfield anti-fans funnier than just pointing out the sheer boring unfunniness of a cartoon that's past it's prime. posted by Xezlec at 10:52 PM on December 6, 2008
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posted by klangklangston at 5:29 PM on December 5, 2008 [4 favorites]