Garfield Minus Garfield is one of the funniest fan comics to ever come out of Jim Davis’ long-running Garfield strip. Dan Walsh took it upon himself to compile and even create his own variations of the best Garfield Minus Garfield strips out there on the internet into a book. The book even has a foreword by Jon Davis himself, which is just about the highest honor that any Garfield fan can have short of meeting Jim Davis himself. This idea was actually inspired by other hilarious edits, such as Realfield, where Garfield is replaced by a real cat that didn’t talk.
The funniest Garfield comics may be memorable, but what makes Garfield Minus Garfield stand out is how it highlights Jon’s eccentricities. It’s easy to forget that at the end of the day, most of Garfield’s quips go unheard by the human characters. Jon is just the kind of man to randomly vent about the strangest things in front of his pet, and it makes for some absurd yet funny moments. Although which of these edits people find the funniest is subjective, there are some strips that just tickle the funny bone for most people.
Casual Freakout
In Jim Davis’ foreword for Garfield Minus Garfield, he talks a bit about how removing Garfield’s colorful commentary presents the bleak reality in which Jon Arbuckle lives. This particular comic strip is the best example of that, as Jon looks around at his empty home and simply announces his intention to have a nervous breakdown.
Jon comes down with a pretty severe case of the Mondays in this Garfield comic, and it’s darkly hilarious because of how casual he is. The tone comes off less like a man about to break down and more like one making a grocery list. This level of dry, self-deprecating humor is the bread and butter of Garfield Minus Garfield.
Self-Aware
Continuing the trend of Jon’s slowly breaking down from isolation, this comic gives a rare sight: another entity outside of Jon. Unfortunately, it’s not an entity that talks, it’s just Garfield’s best friend and plushie, Pooky. Since Garfield doesn’t exist in this reality, Pooky is really just there because Jon wanted a plushie. While eating, Jon suddenly shouts at the bear for stealing food.
Like Bill Murray realizing how low-ranked the Garfield movies are, Jon Arbuckle is shocked at his unexplained outburst. Oftentimes, isolation makes people do some strange things, and this comic is yet another example of Jon losing his mind from loneliness. The implications of Pooky’s existence in a non-Garfieldian world are fascinating, to say the least.
An Artist’s Touch
Jon has dabbled in the arts from time to time in the comics, and this one features Jon putting his artist’s hat on and seemingly painting someone. Of course, the punchline of Jon painting nothing is bizarre, especially as it literally blends with the stark pink background. The clever subversion of expectations is great, even though the punchline should have been obvious.
It’s a fun fact to know that Jim Davis fully approves of these absurdist fan edits, and this comic is sort of a meta jab at the people who make Garfield Minus Garfield edits. The simple act of removing Garfield from a may not seem like much effort, but it’s become a surprising art form in of itself, so much so that there’s a whole book about the phenomenon.
The Fourth Wall
While Garfield Minus Garfield is a huge meta-joke in itself, some strips take it to the next level. This particular edit is a unique one, as instead of Jon, it follows the third most popular Garfield character, Odie. The has Odie just sitting around before his eyes widen and he stares directly at the reader.
Like movies that break the fourth wall in the final shot, this is a shocking moment that also doubles as a hilarious judgment of the reader. It’s almost as if the meme itself has become aware of how strange it is to read Garfield Minus Garfield edits, and the reaction is mild contempt.
Secure Mind
This comic strip takes a bit to get going as far as Garfield Minus Garfield comics go, but the empty wait is all part of the punchline. The contrast of the complete absence of any character, joke, or thought bubble in the first two s makes the third- joke of Jon smugly exclaiming how nobody will be stealing his brain wonderfully surreal.
It’s no wonder Jon is a comic book character who became a meme. In the original variation of the comic, Garfield basically waxes on about he has a “normal” life and then Jon comes along to ruin that illusion. This is one of those comics where the absence of Garfield wasn’t even necessary to highlight Jon’s bizarre tendencies, but it’s still a hysterical moment.
Where’s Garfield?
Once again, Garfield Minus Garfield delves into its meta nature with this comic, and the pacing itself works shockingly well. The first is empty, then the second has Jon appear stoically. The third has Jon ask “Where’s Garfield?’ and has many implications, but the primary takeaway is that Jon is realizing what kind of book he is in.
Jon finally notices the absence of his iconic cat Garfield, and it’s a comic strip that’s much funnier for people who’ve been longtime fans of Garfield Minus Garfield. After being so used to the lack of Garfield, Jon suddenly realizes it makes him seem like a man who suddenly had a lucid moment. Ironically, Jon acting perfectly normal is the perfect joke in the otherwise bizarre comic.
Glue
In Jim Davis’ foreword, he talks about how Jon’s life is rather depressing once Garfield is out of the equation, and this comic strip is yet another example of that dark comedy. There’s already some surreal humor in starting a comic by having Jon inexplicably glue paper to his face, but it’s the random confession of sadness that evokes laughter.
Jon’s grasp of dry humor is on par with the likes of Tim Robinson’s I Think You Should Leave. In fact, this entire bit is reminiscent of the sketch from the absurdist sketch comedy TV show that involves a man in an awful old man suit complaining about how awful the sketch is, then quickly losing hope about everything from such a mundane problem. As relatable as this joke may be at times, it’s still comical in this context.
Cat Ownership
A key component of Garfield Minus Garfield’s sense of humor is, at the very least, a rudimentary knowledge of the typical Garfield comic formula. The sheer diversity of “jokes” created when Garfield is absent could only be possible with the foreknowledge that Garfield should be around. This comic may seem mundane to a non-fan, but it’s much more amusing to longtime readers.
At best, this version of Jon only watches animated cat movies, as his casual rejection of even owning a cat is made apparent. The implications here could be that Jon has never owned Garfield in this universe, or at one point did, and simply doesn’t anymore. Either way, the complete nonchalance is a nice refrain from the usual weirdness.
Checkup
Surprisingly, this comic features a human being besides Jon Arbuckle. Liz shows up to remind Job about Garfield’s checkup next week, but there’s obviously a problem. This isn’t Garfield, it’s Garfield Minus Garfield. So, when the text lets out a wild hiss, there’s no angry Garfield on the other side of the phone. There’s just a very upset Jon who puts down the phone.
Just like all famous TV pets, Garfield clearly doesn't like veterinarians, but making that “pet” Jon Arbuckle is a bizarre but effective gag. This comic also has a lighter tone compared to most of the dark, self-deprecating humor of the other comics. For one, Garfield likely does exist in the reality of this strip, it’s just that Jon is the one throwing a fit over Garfield’s checkup instead.
Toast
This is one of the most surreal edits in Garfield Minus Garfield and is almost asdfmovie tier in of random humor. Still, there’s no denying the image of Jon Arbuckle shouting at an inanimate toaster to stop doing what it was made to do is funny. The implication here is that Jon just keeps putting bread in the toaster and gets angry whenever it does what it’s supposed to.
Jon goes through some surreal movie-like moments throughout all the edits of course, but this one has the acclaim of being in the top five highest upvoted posts on r/garfieldminusgarfield. Commenters even pointed out how much funnier the comic was in contrast to the original, and it’s that magic that makes Garfield Minus Garfield so captivating. Then again, it’s probably just a silly meme at the end of the day.
