Garfield Minus Garfield

Garfield Minus Garfield (also known as Jon Arbuckle) is a webcomic created by Dan Walsh, a technology manager from Dublin, Ireland,[1] which received considerable attention during 2008. Each strip consists of a reprint of a past episode from the comic strip Garfield, from which all the characters except Garfield's owner Jon Arbuckle have been removed through photo manipulation.[2][3] Though Walsh admits that he was not the first to come up with this idea,[4] he was the first to "champion and popularize" it.

Garfield Minus Garfield
Author(s)Dan Walsh
Websitegarfieldminusgarfield.net
Current status/scheduleCurrent
Launch dateFebruary 13, 2008
Genre(s)Webcomic, constrained

Paws, Inc. publishes an identically named and themed strip which runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays[5] and later every Tuesday.

Content

Without the presence of Garfield, the resulting strips consist mostly of his owner, Jon Arbuckle, interacting with himself rather than with his pet cat. The strip's website characterizes this result as "a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."[6]

Reception

Garfield creator and artist Jim Davis has commented on the webcomic, stating that he is an occasional reader and finds it "fascinating"[1] and an "inspired thing to do".[7]

Publication

On October 28, 2008, Ballantine Books released a Garfield Minus Garfield book in full color, with the original comics alongside the "minused" ones.[8] It is credited to Jim Davis (who officially sanctioned its publication), with a foreword written by Dan Walsh. Inside the book, however, most of the content is devoted to a section with "Garfield Minus Garfield Strips by Dan", followed in the end by "A word from Jim Davis" and a small section of Davis' own attempts at making Garfield Minus Garfield strips.[9]

Paws, Inc. published its own Garfield Minus Garfield from November 3, 2008 to July 21, 2010, and resumed publishing on April 25, 2012. Unlike Walsh's version, it also includes the original Garfield strip underneath.[5]

References
  1. Doty, Cate (2 June 2008). "Is the Main Character Missing? Maybe Not". New York Times. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  2. Party Ben (25 July 2009). "Interview: "Garfield Minus Garfield" Creator Dan Walsh". Mother Jones. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  3. Party Ben (19 March 2008). ""Garfield Minus Garfield" A Troubling Lesson on Late Capitalist Anxiety?". Mother Jones. Archived from the original on 19 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  4. Kanin, Zachary (2009-01-07). "An Interview With "Garfield Minus Garfield" Creator, Dan Walsh: The Cartoon Lounge". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  5. Garfield Minus Garfield, GoComics. Accessed 2013-12-21.
  6. Walsh, Dan. "Garfield Minus Garfield". Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  7. Orndorff, Amy (8 June 2008). "When the Cat's Away, Neurosis Is on Display". Washington Post. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  8. Marotta, Mike (5 August 2008). "Garfield Minus Garfield equals book deal". The Boston Herald. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  9. Garfield Minus Garfield (paperback). Amazon. 2008. ISBN 978-0345513878.
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