GARFIELD MINUS GARFIELD

Garfield is a somewhat puzzling comic. While I watched the show on Cartoon Network religiously, the actual comic was honestly never that fun. This makes the sheer success of Jim Davies' creation hard to explain: the titular character himself rarely did anything other than just sit there and eat, and the rest of the cast were equally lacklustre. Jon Arbuckle, Garfield's owner, was the closest the strip came to having an “interesting” character.
Garfield Minus Garfield addresses these flaws by taking Garfield comic strips and editing out most of the characters, leaving Jon: who as a result is seen talking to the ether and engaging in all manner of bizarre behaviour. The man responsible for this silliness is Don Walsh and he describes the webcomic as “a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb.” Jon always came across as something of a sad, lonely young man: removing the cat that was his only real friend brings these dark undertones to the fore.
The comic retains a great sense of fun despite the fact that it is built around the central character's sufferings and his descent into madness. This is probably because Jon's budding insanity frequently displays itself through hilariously daffy behaviour. He goes on imaginary dates, chats up a ball of yarn, demands to be called “Mister Fun” and warns the empty house about impending attacks from brain-eating Martians. One particular strip where Jon wakes up in his sleep and begins to completely freak out for no apparent reason is a masterpiece.
Jim Davies himself approves of Garfield Minus Garfield and has called it “inspired”. And so it is. You can check it out for yourself at www.garfieldminusgarfield.net. (However the site sometimes fails to load, which is a bit of a downer. Still, it's well worth the effort of coming back and trying again later if that happens to you.)