Buzz
Since its creation in 1978 by Jim Davis, the comic strip Garfield has remained a beloved classic, featuring the iconic trio of Garfield, Odie, and their owner Jon Arbuckle. As a child, I adored Garfield's lasagna obsession, which mirrored my own, and found Odie's foolish antics as the perfect foil to Garfield's cunning. Garfield's disdain for Mondays and diets resonated deeply, making the strip a relatable favorite.
The success of Garfield lies in its simplicity and accessibility, with its consistent three-panel layout. However, this predictability has led some to view the strip as uninspired, inspiring artists to reimagine it in bizarre and humorous ways. These remixes, often repurposing original artwork and dialogue, tread a fine line between parody and copyright infringement. Their humor, rooted in surrealism, existential absurdity, and the erasure of Garfield's presence, frequently draws comparisons to the works of Beckett.
A key element in many of these Garfield reinterpretations is the fact that Jon cannot hear Garfield's thoughts. This shift in perspective highlights Jon's loneliness, painting a picture of a man whose life with his pets is far from idyllic. Dive in and enjoy the strange world of these reimagined strips!
1. Realfield
In this version, Garfield is swapped with an ordinary orange tabby cat, and his thought bubbles are entirely removed. The website is in Spanish, but an automatic translation effectively conveys the impact:
Jon transforms from a cherished figure into a nervous, introverted individual who converses with his cat... who, naturally, never responds.
(Explore more Realfield.)
2. De-Garfed
By eliminating Garfield's thought bubbles while leaving everything else unchanged, the strip highlights Jon's growing paranoia and unease.
(Discover more De-Garfed.)
3. Garfield Minus Garfield
In this version, Garfield is entirely erased, leaving Jon to grapple with his own spiraling sanity. Interestingly, there's a whole book dedicated to this concept (credited to Jim Davis, though the strips are inspired by Dan Walsh's work, which itself is based on Jim Davis's original creations).
(Explore more Garfield Minus Garfield.)
4. The Garfield Randomizer
Imagine randomly shuffling panels from Garfield to create an entirely new comic. Would it retain its humor? That's for you to decide.
(Check out more Garfield Randomizer. For a similar but less customizable experience, visit the Garfield Generator.)
5. Garkov
What do you get when you extract every line of text from Garfield comics, store it in a database, and then reassemble it using a mathematical process known as a Markov chain? The result is Garkov!
(Explore more Garkov.)
6. Barfield
This version explores Garfield dealing with some rather unpleasant digestive problems. (Fair warning: it can get quite graphic.)
(Discover more Barfield.)
7. Lasagna Cat
These bizarre videos, some featuring live-action recreations of classic Garfield strips, are truly surreal. One example, among many, carries the description: "Garfield is caught attempting to hurt Odie with a bone."
(Explore more Lasagna Cat on YouTube; also visit LasagnaCat.com.)
More Alternate-Universe Garfield Creations
Take a look at Arbuckle, a collaborative effort where artists recreate the strip without Garfield's thought bubbles, keeping Jon's dialogue intact. Additionally, delve into The Death of Garfield, a series of strips where Garfield adopts his "death pose," and his thoughts are erased, suggesting he might actually be deceased. Nothing Garfield offers a similar experience, presenting edited strips with most text removed, often leaving a peculiar impression of Garfield and Jon. Lastly, Garfield Variations showcases (mostly delightful, occasionally NSFW) reimagined versions of Garfield in fresh scenarios.
