Jon Arbuckle’s Sad Life ["Garfield" Without Garfield]

To put it delicately, Jon Arbuckle, owner of everyone’s most beloved orange cat, Garfield, isn’t a shining example of success. Most of the Garfield strips portray him as a lonely man whose only companion is a fat, sarcastic feline.

In a unique take on the strip, “Garfield minus Garfield” takes full color Garfield strips and removes Garfield. What’s left is Jon Arbuckle, seemingly living out a depressed, lonely life, talking to himself and patting himself on the back over little victories. The introduction paragraph on the blog says it best:

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

The strips are usually good for a chuckle, and leaving only Jon and his dialog definitely highlights Jon’s sad life. However, sometimes removing Garfield leaves the strip pretty bare and, frankly, without humor. Perhaps the intentions of the blog’s author is merely to study Jon in a scientific matter, but I keep Garfield Minus Garfield in my reader because I like to laugh.