What a charming little book! This is a hilarious new spin on the world famous Garfield comics by Jim Davis. Dan Walsh has taken some old Garfield strips and removed Garfield from them completely. What we are left with is a series of comic book sketches featuring Jon Arbuckle left alone with his lonliness and neurosis without the wise cracking cat to parry his statements with witty, sarcastic comebacks. One particularly useful addition is that Walsh has included the original sketches underneath the modified ones so you can also enjoy and fully appreciate the hilarity that is GarfieldIt is very funny, particularly if you are a fan of the original comic sketches but there is also a sadness running through the strips. You'd have to be made of stone not to feel sorry for Jon at times and, as with most fiction, there are shades of real life inside. We've all felt like Jon Arbuckle sometimes.My only minor complaint about the book is it's short length. I felt more could have been included but perhaps they plan to release more in the future. I certainly hope so! While I do really like the idea of Garfield Minus Garfield as well as the very fact that it's been made into an actual officially sanctioned physical book, I can't help but wonder if the book misses the point a bit. Under each "sans Garfield" strip is its original version. Though I can understand that this helps satisfy the curiosity of anyone wondering what the heck the gag was "with Garfield," to me it comes across like a joke book with footnotes explaining why each joke is funny. I also can't help but notice that a very few of the comics are changed in slight ways other than removing Garfield, like rearranging the order of the panels or removing one of Jon's thought bubbles.So I guess what I'm saying is, this book is best enjoyed by training myself to completely ignore the bottom half of every page. Except the "A Word From Jim Davis" pages. That's nice and interesting.
What do You think about Karvinen Miinus Karvinen (2010)?
Brilliant. Don't know what more to actually say. For fans of Garfield as well as fans of dark humor.
—rohatgis
Hilarious but poor Jon! I'll never look at him the same again.
—beby
My goodness, Jon had a depressing life!
—Astoniesmurf
