How to make ‘Garfield’ funny
A while back, someone (or actually a lot of someones, independently of one another) discovered that “Garfield” — the lame, unfunny comic strip by Jim Davis — is actually much better if you remove all of Garfield’s thought balloons. It becomes surreal, sublime, sometimes odd like a Fellini film.
This thread at the Truth and Beauty Bombs message board has quite a few examples that various people have compiled, with Garfield’s thoughts Photoshopped out. There are some classics there.
On my own, I discovered these two strips and immediately recognized they’d be better if I got rid of Garfield’s contributions.
Original version: Garfield says, “Yeah … They’re your shirt, dummy.” I don’t even know what that means.
Original version: In the third panel, Garfield says, “Whoa! That loosened up some hair!” I like my version better, where he’s shedding intentionally and gleefully in response to Jon asking him to stop.
June 21st, 2007 at 4:29 am
Awww, I generally liked (some) Garfield strips. Your freedom of speech makes me sad, sir, and now I have no choice but to stifle that freedom. Why you gotta make me do this?
Hehe ok ok, I concede that the doctored strips can be much funnier.
June 21st, 2007 at 7:58 am
I would defend Garfield as being genuinely funny now and then, but I have to admit, this is better!
June 21st, 2007 at 9:31 am
As a life-long Garfield fan, I am saddened that it truly is not funny anymore (and for that matter, perhaps never was). For some reason I have always stuck with it though, I guess I just like it. These versions you discovered are hilarious though.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:10 am
Amazing! i do like them much better without the thought bubbles.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:36 am
“‘They’re your shirt, dummy.’ I don’t even know what that means.”
Jon is wearing a shirt as pants and doesn’t realize it’s not a pair of pants?
June 21st, 2007 at 11:48 am
Still not funny.
June 21st, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I spoke too soon. After thoroughly searching the website provided, this is one of the most unintentionally hilarious things I have ever stumbled across. Some of them honestly had me laughing my head off.
June 21st, 2007 at 2:53 pm
It’s times like this that I wish “Permanent Mondays” had been updated since last October. Considering the fact that John has no actual way of hearing Garfield, this can be seen as how the strips are meant to be interpreted.
June 21st, 2007 at 4:56 pm
In Junior High our computer lab had a program that let you create your own Garfield comic strip. It was boring.
June 21st, 2007 at 5:01 pm
These are hilarious. The next challenge to make the Garfield movies funny. I think that’s going to take a lot more than Photoshop.
June 21st, 2007 at 7:25 pm
let’s see if we can make one of eric’s blog posts funny by removing every other sentence!
BEGIN
I have been watching “The Price Is Right� this week, because I wanted to see Bob Barker’s last few shows before he retires on Friday, and it is making me inexplicably wistful. Bob has been hosting the show for literally my entire life. How can that be?! I don’t even know what that world will look like! You can complain if you want about how it promotes materialism, but I don’t care.I’d even say it’s uplifting. It’s an hour of feel-good programming, five days a week. He was ecstatic. I’m sad for them, but I’m happy because I get to hear this sound effect. What’s amazing is that after 35 years, Bob is still an effortlessly charming, funny, and entertaining host. That audience LOVES him. They are nearly delirious with joy at being in his presence.Whoever takes his place when the new season begins in September will have some mighty big shoes to fill. What, 9, 10 in the morning, something like that? Don’t miss your last chance to see Bob in action before he retires and eventually goes to that great tanning bed in the sky!
END
Doesn’t make it any more funny, but at least it uses 50% fewer bytes!
June 21st, 2007 at 9:01 pm
I (well, my mother) have/has two really old comic book compilations: one of Garfield and one of The Family Circus. After I read them once, I made an amazing discovery. In the 1950s or so, Family Circus was actually quite endearing and funny! Who’d have known?! It brought me warmth and made me laugh audibly–FAMILY CIRCUS! On the other hand, it turns out Garfield has always been crap.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:29 pm
Part of the problem with Family Circus is that they are still using the same “jokes” as they used when it first started. It was cute then, and endearing, but after 40 years or so it’s gotten kind of worn out.
I like Garfield and his sarcasm, but not the movies. It’s not supposed to be hysterical, just kind of wry. But yeah, without his balloons the comic strip is much funnier.
June 22nd, 2007 at 12:12 am
man, I STILL didn’t laugh once… smiled at a couple, but it seems like a full time job trying to make Garfield funny.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:30 pm
I’ve seen these. It’s the most hilarious thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a shame to think that Garfield has been this lame for years, because I loved it when I was younger. But I was innocent, and it was funny. Now, I laugh at these.
January 16th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I think the problem is that in newspaper comics you only get 3 boxes to tell a story or joke, and different people respond to a comic more subconsciously than other mediums. For example I dislike Blondie and Pooch Cafe but others find them hilarious. I usually find Garfield entertaining (although at time it seems like he doesn’t really try) but it’s hard to be funny on a daily basis. When you get down to it, not very many comics are that funny. The Far side is pretty good (kudos for being funny with just 1 box and some text) Non-Sequiter is pretty good too. Adam @ Home can be downright terrible as can Hagar The Horrible, Rhymes with Orange. Shermans Lagoon is okay I guess too.