Welcome back to the Web Comic Spotlight where we take a look at a piece of the comic book world that keeps us entertained on a daily b
asis. Last week, we featured my personal favorite web comic website called The Oatmeal, and this week we take a look at my second favorite site, which a few of you sent me an e-mail about: Garfield Minus Garfieldcreated by Dan Walsh, based upon the work of Jim Davis.
The idea for Garfield Minus Garfield is incredibly simple. Take old Garfield comics and remove Garfield from said comic. What do you have left? Surprisingly, something laugh out loud funny. Many of us loved Garfield growing up, and he's a great part of American culture; however, who knew something as simple as removing the main character from the comic could be so darn funny?
At the same time, removing Garfield makes the strip a bit depressing. The focus is more on Jon Arbuckle who turns out to be a p
retty sad and lonely guy. Removing Garfield makes this strip a strange reflection of how so many of us feel in our private life and some of the things we may do or ways we may act when we think no one else is around.
The coolest thing about this strip is that Garfield author, Jim Davis, supports the strip, and he wrote the forward for the book. Yes, there's even collection of these in book form you can buy online. Yes, it's worth it. Davis said this about the strip and Walsh's creation, back in 2008:
The cartoonist calls the work "an inspired thing to do" and wishes to thank Walsh for enabling him to see another side of "Garfield."
You can spend hours at the site having yourself a good giggle at the strips as Jon Arbuckle deals with life. The site was started by Dan Walsh, from Ireland, back in February of 2008, and he usually gets a new strip up every couple of days.
It's a really cool idea, and what draws most people in is that it's a new take on an old classic, and who knew that simply removing Garfield from the comic strip would turn the book into something so different and still so funny?
Make sure to check out the Garfield Minus Garfield website, check out the GMinusG twitter page, and you can even follow GMinusG creator Dan Walsh on twitter.
Do you have or know a webcomic you think should be featured? E-mail us at comicvinespotlight@gmail.com
Mat "Inferiorego" Elfring is a comedian, writer, and host of the internet show no one watches, Barely Watchable. Follow him on Twitter: @inferiorego