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Garfield Minus Garfield
- MagicMoonlight 1y agoBrowsing through those has shown me how terrible that comic is
- teach 1y ago(2008)
- jsheard 1y agoGarfield Minus Garfield is good, but Lasagna Cat is on another level. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAh9oLs67Cw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAh9oLs67Cw
- bitwize 1y agoI'm sorry Jon https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N8RDNd92sK0 https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=N8RDNd92sK0
- fullshark 1y agoCan't believe those first videos are 17 years old...I remember them...man
- jsheard 1y agoThey posted the original series all at once 17 years ago, and the second series all at once 8 years ago. Maybe they're due to come back...
- distances 1y agoAnd in the second series there's a video of Garfield and Odie making a home video. They created YouTube channels for the in-video characters with actual character relevant content, including that home video, 5 years before the second series was posted. Absolutely amazing work, hats off! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NLa4ebX4E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3NLa4ebX4E
- alabastervlog 1y agoGuy's monologue after the initial opener reminds me of the Log Lady from Twin Peaks. The content and delivery, both.
- darepublic 1y agoI regularly have this on in the background while working. The music is good and I can tune in and out of it without losing focus
- z0r 1y agoI'm not the only one sometimes does this... Now where could my pipe be?
- pcthrowaway 1y agoAlso Garfield Gameboy'd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDqUDt3K5Mk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDqUDt3K5Mk
- Wololooo 1y agoMay I present you Garfeld, the musical? https://youtube.com/watch?v=x4-lNQHxSfI https://youtube.com/watch?v=x4-lNQHxSfI It is surprisingly good.
- MrDrMcCoy 1y agoThere's a great YouTube documentary that ties all the Garfield subculture together, and it's absolutely worth your time: What The Internet Did To Garfield https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O2C5R3FOWdE https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=O2C5R3FOWdE
- noman-land 1y agoSince I'm too lazy to do this myself, I'm putting it out there for the world to make for me. I want to see Rogan Minus Rogan and Lex Minus Lex podcasts where all the host's speaking parts are cut out and you only hear the guest's replies. Thanks in advance.
- homefree 1y agoLex minus lex would be really great
- almosthere 1y agoI want to see Lex replaced with Rogan and Rogan replaced with Lex
- kridsdale3 1y agoWell that's easy since they talk to a lot of the same people.
- abeppu 1y agoI think Lex also has recycled some questions / topics across several guests. I'd enjoy a virtual panel supercut where we see only all the guests' responses to the same prompt.
- randomtoast 1y agoThere was at least one podcast featuring both Rogan and Lex. This would result in an hours-long podcast of pure silence.
- rzzzt 1y agoAngry John Cage noises
- kridsdale3 1y agoJamie would still pop in once in a while. I like Jamie.
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- rufus_foreman 1y agoCalvin and Hobbes, minus Hobbes: https://calvinminushobbes.tumblr.com/ https://calvinminushobbes.tumblr.com/
- georgeburdell 1y agoI mean this one is just reality. I’m not sure Garfield is a figment of Jon’s imagination Edit: if you want to ruin your day, check out this C&H fan art https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/6vwll2/is_this_a_real_calvin_and_hobbes_comic_strip_i/ https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/6vwll2/is_...
- arnarbi 1y agoGarfield is certainly (meant to be) real, but I've never seen a strip that confirms that Jon can actually hear Garfield's thoughts. I think that's why Garfield minus Garfield works so well.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- the_af 1y ago> I mean this one is just reality. I’m not sure Garfield is a figment of Jon’s imagination It's not reality. Hobbes it's not unambiguously stated to be a figment of Calvin's imagination either. That's a fine interpretation but it's not canonical. Watterson wanted the ambiguity, as Wikipedia mentions (sorry, I don't have the interview with the direct quote where Watterson states this): > "[Watteron] gave an example of this in discussing his opposition to a Hobbes plush toy: that if the essence of Hobbes' nature in the strip is that it remain unresolved whether he is a real tiger or a stuffed toy, then creating a real stuffed toy would only destroy the magic."
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- 1y ago
- nickvec 1y ago> Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. It is 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. Did not think I would be relating to Jon on a Thursday morning.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- system2 1y agoI was about to bash before I read this. Now I feel depressed.
- mrexroad 1y agoTry zsh instead!
- foobahify 1y agoOh my!
- s1mplicissimus 1y agogrml!
- 0xdeadbeefbabe 1y agoYou'll feel worse if you use tcsh
- gorjusborg 1y agoIt could be worse: csh
- 1y ago
- stuckinhell 1y agokind of spooky and sad
- klaussilveira 1y agoThis is brilliant.
- jonathaneunice 1y agoWay, *way* darker than I imagined.
- alabastervlog 1y agoI think the most surprising thing about it is that it's good. Not just good as a curiosity, but actually good, in ways and to a degree that would be pretty hard to replicate if you set out to create it from scratch, without existing Garfield strips to lean on.
- rconti 1y agodid you follow the "20 darkest" link?
- kayge 1y agoI did! And it started to make me wonder whether the same shenanigans could be applied to make any interesting Calvin minus Hobbes strips ... but my guess is it wouldn't turn out quite so dark https://screenrant.com/15-dark-garfield-minus-strips-jon-depressing/ https://screenrant.com/15-dark-garfield-minus-strips-jon-dep...
- whartung 1y agoHeck, after reading that thing, I'M trying not to jump.
- yoyohello13 1y agoI love how this turns the comic into psychological horror. Super Eyepatch Wolf actually did a really interesting analysis about how Garfield entered the horror genera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2C5R3FOWdE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2C5R3FOWdE. I click on the video randomly out of curiosity, but I got really sucked in.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- louwrentius 1y agoThanks that was wild
- dfxm12 1y agoMaybe the Jan 27 entry, but the Nov 03 entry reads much the same if Garfield is present or not. What I mean is, the strips that focus on Jon talking to Garfield always had this element. Remember, Jon is already talking to a cat who he assumes can't understand him & knows can't talk back. He might as well be talking into the abyss. Only we can read Garfield's inner monologue. Jon's actions are sometimes presupposed by Garfield's whims. This premise is already the basis of some horror or otherwise unsetting fiction. If Garfield is there or not, if we focus on Jon as the main character of the strip, we might have to do some introspection, whether it's about expecting to have a conversation with cat as if he were your son, that our lives are as boring as his, etc. These are scary thoughts! Garfield's presence serves as a humorous distraction and allows us to forget these thoughts and laugh at Jon, even if briefly. In the same way, Freddy Krueger delivers funny one liners to break up the dread of realizing we're in some sort of living nightmare like people of Elm Street...
- tdeck 1y agoThis is a combination of entertaining and engaging.
- basketbla 1y agoThis is hilarious. Reminds me of this old pete holmes Garfield sketch (looks like the original got taken down). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayjz18d8Kpo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ayjz18d8Kpo
- rfarley04 1y agoObligatory tangent of Friends without the laugh track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgKgXehYnnw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgKgXehYnnw Similarly creep and unsettling.
- alabastervlog 1y agoMASH is available without the laugh track. Really changes the tone, though in that case it doesn't ruin it, just makes it different.
- chuckadams 1y agoAlan Alda has mentioned in interviews that he prefers it that way.
- KerrAvon 1y agoI feel like removing it removes some noise, but doesn't affect the tone. Story is, the MASH showrunners didn't want a laugh track, but the network insisted, so they used the lowest-fidelity one they could get away with.
- dingaling 1y agoThankfully it was broadcast in the UK without the laugh track. Obviously it still wasn't as darkly observant as the movie, but it did have a edge.
- triceratops 1y agoThey filmed in front of a live audience in a theater and those are real people laughing. It's unsettling because the actors pause between lines until the laughter stops. Reflexive dismissals of shows with laugh tracks are lazy.
- rfarley04 1y agoTo each their own! When I watch Ross ask how to beat up a woman in the street with eyes bugging out of his head there's a pretty big difference between a laugh track and no laugh track. Just like Garfield comics hit very different when you realize that John is actually talking to himself. I don't "reflexively dismiss" all shows with a laugh track. Some of Friends is genuinely hilarious. But a lot of it is only funny, to me, when surrounded by others laughing.
- almosthere 1y agoIs this done with a GAN or manual?
- alabastervlog 1y agoThe earliest ones are from 2008. So, at least for the vast majority of these: manual.
- itishappy 1y agoPretty sure it's being done the hard way. The site's been running since 2008, so it'd be one of the earliest examples of a GAN in the wild if so!
- grepLeigh 1y agoI found this years ago, during the "Stumbleupon" era of the Internet (does anyone remember this time sink?). I'm so glad it's still alive!
- echelon 1y agoSlashdot, StumbleUpon, Everything2, del.icio.us, Digg
- natebc 1y agoFWIW Digg is in the process of reinventing itself which ... is hopeful? We'll see! https://reboot.digg.com/ https://reboot.digg.com/
- Mistletoe 1y agoI’m ready to be hurt again. I gave my email address. It would have to be better than the current version of Reddit.
- natebc 1y agoI signed up a while back and got an invite today so things are happening. It'll be interesting to see what a Digg looks like on today's internet. Things are much less innocent these days.
- Mistletoe 1y agoI was unaware this had happened so I'm kind of hopeful it could be something good. https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/05/kevin-rose-and-alexis-ohanian-acquire-digg/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/05/kevin-rose-and-alexis-ohan...
- natebc 1y agoI think that being posted a few weeks ago on HN was what lead me to go chuck in my email. Exciting to see where it goes!
- nizarmah 1y agoI am always fascinated how people get ideas as creative as this. I didn't know I needed this, but now that you shared it—I NEEDED IT!
- junek 1y agoGarfield Minus Garfield has the same bleak sense of desolation as Goya's "The Dog". Just wonderful.
- gnfedhjmm2 1y agoI wonder how such a rare article was discovered.
- checker 1y agoI wonder why this is on HN and not Reddit.
- jf 1y agoSomething that I find delightful about this project is that Jim Davis approves of it! From Wikipedia: "Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield, approved of the project, and an official Garfield book (also called Garfield Minus Garfield) was published by his company. It was mainly edited comics by Walsh, with some comics contributed by Davis."
- omoikane 1y agoSee also "What Jim Davis thinks of G-G" (linked from the bottom of the page): https://garfieldminusgarfield.net/private/61669516/fSymsOGXOgrmmihjqTZaCBY2 https://garfieldminusgarfield.net/private/61669516/fSymsOGXO...
- jf 1y agoThis is the link that I had in mind when I was writing my comment, thanks so much for posting it here!
- m463 1y agoAlso makes me wonder if people talk to their cats...
- nunez 1y agoI 100% talk to mine!
- saghm 1y agoNot only do I really l talk to my cats, but they talk to me too! We're about equal in our abilities to understand each other; sometimes one of my cats might just run around for a bit yell-meowing and it's not clear why, but I'm sure they feel the same way when I occasionally get upset at things. Other times, like when one of them starts whine-meowing when I'm putting their wet food into a bowl, I know _exactly_ what's she's saying even if it doesn't actually cause me to get it done any faster.
- Cyphase 1y ago
- lanna 1y agoThe concept would be more interesting and realistic if they removed only Garfield's thought bubbles (after all, Jon can't hear Garfield's thoughts anyway) but still left Garfield in the comic.
- losvedir 1y agoI agree! I've always wanted this, since seeing Garfield minus Garfield back in the day.
- rikthevik 1y agoThat was a thing! Boingboing had an article about it, but it looks like the original tumblr is no longer around. https://boingboing.net/2014/03/09/garfield-without-garfields-t.html https://boingboing.net/2014/03/09/garfield-without-garfields...
- seeEllArr 1y agoThe somethingawful forums started this with garfield in the comic before "Garfield minus Garfield" was a thing. I agree that the original gag is much better.
- mcmoor 1y agoYeah I never liked this one. There's that one other that replaces Garfield with a slightly realistic cat (without thought bubble of course) and I prefer that.
- robotnixon 1y agoThat sounds like Realfield https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/7zfbr3/realfield/ https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/7zfbr3/realfield/
- WorldPeas 1y ago[obligatory "garfield where is my pipe" joke here]
- throwme0827349 1y agoLove GMG, glad to see it at number one here. It's really quite amazing how much funnier and yet more profound it is without Garfield. If you like this, you might also enjoy Nietzsche Family Circus: https://www.nietzschefamilycircus.com/ https://www.nietzschefamilycircus.com/ I used to have one stuck to the door of my doom room. No one laughed. :(
- rikthevik 1y agoI'd like to submit Time is a Flat Circus as well https://www.tumblr.com/timeisaflatcircus https://www.tumblr.com/timeisaflatcircus
- wholinator2 1y agoThis is amazing. One of the better dark-naive mashups I've ever seen. It seems to hit 3/4 for me. I Definitely would've laughed
- DadBase 1y ago[flagged]
- mcbuilder 1y agoFunny I was just thinking about this yesterday! Now it's on the top of HN.
- astura 1y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_Minus_Garfield https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garfield_Minus_Garfield
- trhway 1y agoThey should have removed the human instead. Garfield only Garfield.
- casenmgreen 1y agoThis is better than the original.
- brailsafe 1y agoClicking on the image on this post leads to a wild NSFW 404 page. Not sure I was expecting to get an extremely sus, probably illegal, asian porn site. Wth https://garfieldminusgarfield.net/post/19400379301/i-made-a-single-panel-garfield-minus-garfield-via https://garfieldminusgarfield.net/post/19400379301/i-made-a-...
- acureau 1y agoJust did the same thing at the office. Nice!
- Levitating 1y agohttps://www.reddit.com/r/garfieldminusgarfield/ https://www.reddit.com/r/garfieldminusgarfield/
- checker 1y agoThis is where this belongs.
- fideloper 1y agoMay I recommend a follow up fun Garfield themed thing: /r/imsorryjon (research its history, it's kinda fun) And if you like "garfield minus garfield" then perhaps I can also introduce you to Chief O'Brien at Work https://chiefobrienatwork.com/ https://chiefobrienatwork.com/
- chuckadams 1y agoI used to have a small bookmark collection of "anti-comics", and this was on the list. Others included Dinosaur Comics, Partially Clips, and Pokey the Penguin.
- roland35 1y agoIf you want another Garfield related internet horror binge, I'm sorry Jon on Reddit has some great comics https://www.reddit.com/r/imsorryjon/ https://www.reddit.com/r/imsorryjon/
- tmountain 1y agoCame here to say this. Excellent content there if it’s your sort of thing.
- Romanulus 1y ago[dead]
- snissn 1y agoI'm impressed with how easy it is to recreate this effect using AI tools. I made this on my iPhone in the photos app by circling Garfield a few times: https://i.imgur.com/YVOZlj8.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/YVOZlj8.jpeg based on https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2025/04/10 https://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2025/04/10
- Delk 1y agoThe physical act of removing the Garfield figure from the frames is the least interesting part. (It probably also isn't particularly difficult in many cases, considering the monochrome backgrounds.)
- dimal 1y agoRemember when the internet was all goofy shit like this instead of algorithmically optimized social media angst?
- lanfeust6 1y agoAll the big social media platforms were around when this started. The dominance wasn't in full swing yet but it only took a few years for vbulletin and everything else to dwindle.
- eestrada 1y agoI miss the old internet. I'm pretty sure anyone old enough to have experienced it misses it.
- Loughla 1y agoAnd the people who were there before the old Internet missed that too. Something something eternal September.
- mhink 1y agoAbsolutely. I remember being about 14 or 15 years old, reading old .txt files about, like- how to build blue boxes and experiment with the phone system, C programming tutorials for MUDs that had peaked in the late 90s, IRC archives (even though IRC was still around, I had no way of finding my way to good channels), and getting this distinct sense that I had just missed something really cool, and was stuck with an Internet that had already passed its prime.
- nunez 1y agoI was there. Nope. Waiting ages for basic serif pages to load over your 56k (or 128k connection if you were rich and had ISDN)? Nope. Downloading tracks from KaZaa/WinMX/Limewire/Napster for a million hours only for them to be some warped shit that the studios planted? Nope. Getting malware just for existing? Early software firewalls that burned CPU cycles/crashed your PC? That were the only option because hardware firewalls were stupid expensive and not at all practical for residential use? Nope. Norton Antivirus? ABSOLUTELY NOPE. Blue screens when you looked at IE or Navigator the wrong way? Nope. Flash? Lol, nope. WAP? The 2004 kind? Lol, hell nope. "This page is best viewed on Internet Explorer", i.e. IE4/5/6 or it's basically unusable? Nope. Having to actually go seven or eight o's into the Gooooooooooooooooooooooogle footer to find what you were looking for? Def nope. Almost everything about using the Internet is better today IMO. Faster, prettier, more secure and more cross-platform. You have to work hard to get hit with a virus these days, especially on iOS/macOS or Linux, though it's much harder on Android these days too. Also, I loved wasting my life on /., but Reddit is so much better, even after the API-pocalyse. I definitely miss open messaging platforms though. AIM for life.
- nimish 1y agoexcellent blast from the past
- HeliumHydride 1y agoAlso check out the square root of minus Garfield: https://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/ https://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/
- nvader 1y agoI definitely recommend this one, it has greater longevity due to the wider number of schticks the author is able to engage in over the different comics. E.g. here's a quirky image effect: https://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=13 https://www.mezzacotta.net/garfield/?comic=13
- russellbeattie 1y agoMy favorite type of humor is the absurd non-sequitur. The more incongruous the better. Like when out of no where someone asks, "If you could trade your shadow for a parrot, would you do it?" Or, "What's your opinion on invisible bicycles?" So to me, G-G is absolute gold.
- lqstuart 1y agoThis is really old
- b3lvedere 1y agoI liked Gramfel more : https://www.boredpanda.com/garfield-comics-gramfel-cycle-nellucnhoj-john-cullen/ https://www.boredpanda.com/garfield-comics-gramfel-cycle-nel...
- AdmiralAsshat 1y agoWhat's missed from the popular take on GMG is that it's not always depressing. Sometimes Jon finds joy in mundane things that Garfield isn't there to damper. https://garfieldminusgarfield.net/post/27763465 https://garfieldminusgarfield.net/post/27763465
- windowshopping 1y agoI find the dating on this website confusing. It says Jan 27 AND Nov 03, and when I click previous comic, in order it goes: Feb 04 / Jun 14, May 31, Oct 13, Aug 02, Jan 08.....I'm so confused. A. Why are there 2 comics per day? B. Why are the dates seemingly random?
- gwern 1y agoCould it be date of the original / date the edited version was posted?
- qingcharles 1y agoAlso good: https://www.reddit.com/r/GarfieldMinusJon/ https://www.reddit.com/r/GarfieldMinusJon/ And if you want to get weird: https://www.reddit.com/r/AlzheimersGroup/top/?t=year https://www.reddit.com/r/AlzheimersGroup/top/?t=year Full list: https://www.reddit.com/r/garfieldminusgarfield/comments/gxl2qk/check_out_some_of_our_sister_subs/ https://www.reddit.com/r/garfieldminusgarfield/comments/gxl2...
- analog31 1y agoA similar take on "Peanuts" where the last frame of each strip is removed. https://3eanuts.com/ https://3eanuts.com/
- msarnoff 1y agoI always liked Realfield better. https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/7zfbr3/realfield/ https://www.reddit.com/r/comics/comments/7zfbr3/realfield/
- dailydetour123 1y agoThis is great to see on the front page! I include it as part of the newsletter I run on the best/nostalgic side of the internet so it’s cool to see it resonating with people here for that reason.
- schlauerfox 1y agoThere's also a bot account on mastodon replacing garfield word bubbles with song lyrics. sometimes it's pretty substantial.
- atleastoptimal 1y agoNow where could my pipe be?
- npteljes 1y agoThe derivative I also like, and don't see it here is the markov chain garfield - from back when markov chains were the bee's knees in text generation. The generator is fed by existing garfield comic text, and the generated text is superimposed to a template of existing comics. It might take a few refreshes, but I always manage to amuse myself with the absurdity that it spits out. https://joshmillard.com/garkov/ https://joshmillard.com/garkov/
- classichasclass 1y agoI laughed until I cried. Thank you.
- stonogo 1y agoI'll join your derivatives thread with the garfield randomizers. here's one: https://www.bgreco.net/garfield/ https://www.bgreco.net/garfield/ and an example I just made with the 'hold' feature: https://www.bgreco.net/garfield/?panel0=1984840901&panel1=1979790127&panel2=1981810317 https://www.bgreco.net/garfield/?panel0=1984840901&panel1=19...
- npteljes 1y agoYour example is great! Thanks for sharing.
- nunez 1y agoI love Garfield. This is incredible. Thanks for posting this!
- keepamovin 1y agoThis is great, seriously. This is hilarious. Super dark. The theme music changes hugely when Garfield is not there. Getting wind swept Scottish Hebrides vibes and Hans Zimmer soundscapes lol.
- norswap 1y agoAm I the only one wishing I could see the original afterwards, for comparison?
- ipcress_file 1y agoWhere has this been all my life? This is a special kind of sad, poetic Zen.
- irrational 1y agoThis makes me contemplate how different people’s experiences will alter their perception of this project. Having never read Garfield, the man in these comics comes off as unhinged. But, I imagine, if I was familiar with the source material, I might mentally insert the missing parts and compare this with that in my head.
- tastysandwich 1y agoMassive Garfield fan growing up. Garfield minus Garfield is still just as eerie and depressing despite knowing the "source material". I love it.
- Agentlien 1y agoAs someone who has casually read Garfield from time to time, I'd describe Jon (the man in the comic) as a lovable loser. A lot of the jokes in the comics are at his expense.
- slowhadoken 1y agoOld but gold.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- paulryanrogers 1y agoThis is clever. Now can we stop the whole USA without the constitution exercise?
- childintime 1y agoTry Jesus without Jesus and see.