The comic strip “Garfield” has long been known to not be “edgy.” Instead, it’s “safe” and “bland.”
However, there are two forms of Garfield that are anything but.
Firstly, there’s the wholly anomalous series of five strips from late October, 1989: http://www.garfield.com/comics/vault.html?yr=1989&addr=891023
Short form is, it’s weird and inexplicable, and Jim Davis has never explained just what the hell was going on. One of the more intriguing theories is that this strip forms the last delusion of Garfield, as he lays abandoned and starving to death in an empty house.
Cheery, eh?
The second is less immediately disturbing, and occasionally fall-down funny: Garfield Minus Garfield. It’s a concpet of pure genius: stock Garfield strips, but with Garfield editted out of them. Now Garfield’s owner Jon is, instead of being a sad loser with a cat, a sad lunatic living along, talking to himself. As I said, not as immediately disturbing. But some of the strips are simply hilarious.
And the most awesomest thing? Garfield Minus Garfield was created without Garfield creator Jim Davis’ knowledge or approval. And when Davis found out… he approved.
Yeah, you and me both, brother.
Of course, nothing tops the true utter awesome that is The Nameless Dread.
12 Responses to “Weirded Out By Garfield”
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No matter how weird and inexplicable Garfield may have been once, weirdness and inexplicability is maximized in Non Sequitur. There have been few days of that one that did not leave me feeling somewhat worried about reality.
Then there’s Garfield’s “National Stupid Day”. That strip was on… November 11th.
Evidently Mr Davis didn’t know there was another significance to that date.
http://www.garfield.com/comics/vault.html?yr=2010&addr=101111
The Neitzsche Family Circus is pretty funny too.
Jim
The Garfield “abandoned” script could have been a parody of a movie of the time…or it could have been Jim Davis getting sick and tired of having to turn out a cutesy cat comic strip year after year, and wishing the cat would just go away one day.
The thought of H. P. Lovecraft doing a comic strip is a riot, and he would have been perfect for coming up with ideas that could be illustrated by Gahan Wilson:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_owOIcuY21Gc/SrfeAmvnZ0I/AAAAAAAAA_o/S3waWe48Ghg/s400/gahan.wilson.lovecraft.jpg
http://www.comicsreporter.com/images/uploads/gahanwilsonseries_thumb.jpg
Actually, Jim Davis did provide some background on the 1989 pre-Halloween storyline http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield: “During a writing session for Halloween, I got the idea for this decidedly different series of strips. I wanted to scare people. And what do people fear most? Why, being alone. We carried out the concept to its logical conclusion and got a lot of responses from readers. Reaction ranged from ‘Right on!’ to ‘This isn’t a trend, is it?'” He also explained that the timing of the 2010 Veterans Day strip was accidental: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/comic-riffs/2010/11/veterans_day_gaffe_garfield_cr.html
I dunno, I just find it creepy and depressing.
> I just find it creepy and depressing.
My job is done!
Pat,
with respect to the movie parody, there’s indeed speculation that the ‘abandoned’ strip was ‘inspired’ by the the “Valse Triste” segment of the 1976 Bruno Bozzetto animated movie “Allegro Non Troppo”:
http://www.cheesebikini.com/2006/08/05/garfield-non-troppo/
Martin
Do note that the Garfield Sequence is indeed very depressing of you wiew only the first five strips. The sixth one explains it’s only garfield’s overactie immagination, and ends the sequence on a positive note. OTOH, there is indeed a strong similarity, up to and including a homage, to “Allegro Non Troppo”.
BTW, do not demean yourself, Jon would never have managed to build this website and attract legions of Cat-Loving aeerospace aficionados with a taste for great photography. You’re definitely no loser.
Claudio, Italy
> it’s only garfield’s overactie immagination, and ends the sequence on a positive note.
Really? Depends on how you look at it. It’s just as easily explained as being the overactive imagination of the *doomed* Garfield, projecting some vision of false happiness. The way it’s composed seems to make it clear that he’s alone adn that the only “weapon” he has to deal with the horror is denial… whereupon he suddenly imagines company and food.
I’m an optimist, an prefer the happy ending. Plus the strip did not end in 1989.
> the strip did not end in 1989.
No, but then “Star Trek” continued after “Star Trek: Generations,” which had Picard getting dumped into a fantasy realm from which there was no possible escape, thus implying that everything *afterwards* (including “First Contact,” “Insurrection,” etc.) was in Picards imagination.
So everything since these 1989 strips might be Garfield’s dying brain, flooded with endorphins and racing to a stop, watching a fantasy life passing before his eyes.