Feedback Friday, a bit closer to Friday this time
Way back in 1980, when I was young, undiagnosed and unmedicated, I bought a first edition of Garfield at Large. I remember coming back from the mall, book in hand, to find my apartment building surrounded by firetrucks, and for a brief, halcyon moment I believed my evil stepfather had burned to death. Alas, the only casualty was a neighbour's couch, but on the plus by the Christmas of 1981, I had a stuffed Garfield to whom I would confide all of my revenge fantasies.
Fast forward to over twenty-five years later, Garfield is once again comforting me in the throes of depression, thanks to the evil genius of Dan Walsh, creator of Garfield Minus Garfield. His erasure of Garfield from his titular comic has transformed goofy cat-owner Jon Arbuckle into a lonely, isolated man fighting a losing battle with insanity.
Did I mention that it's a hilarious losing battle with insanity?
Dear Mr. Walsh,
Every week I visit your site and enjoy the dark humour of Garfield Minus Garfield. I've been struggling with depression for many years, and your version of Jon Arbuckle helps me laugh at my mental illness. This is no small gift, and I thank you for it.
Certainly, it's a little scary how easily I can relate to your Garfield-less Jon, at least on my worst days. However, your comic also reminds me that it's precisely on such days that a sense of the ridiculous is a blessing. Whether Jon is confronting terrifying moments of self-realization, or casting aside the restrictions of normality and making his own fun, he always provides a hilarious perspective on life's insanities.
Thanks to you I can also make my own fun by imagining Garfield out of the daily newspaper strips. Plus, you've given me a whole new respect for the original creator, Jim Davis, because of his reaction to your site.
Once again, thank you for all the work you've put into creating and maintaining Garfield Minus Garfield. You are one of my favourite evil geniuses of the internet.
Fast forward to over twenty-five years later, Garfield is once again comforting me in the throes of depression, thanks to the evil genius of Dan Walsh, creator of Garfield Minus Garfield. His erasure of Garfield from his titular comic has transformed goofy cat-owner Jon Arbuckle into a lonely, isolated man fighting a losing battle with insanity.
Did I mention that it's a hilarious losing battle with insanity?
Dear Mr. Walsh,
Every week I visit your site and enjoy the dark humour of Garfield Minus Garfield. I've been struggling with depression for many years, and your version of Jon Arbuckle helps me laugh at my mental illness. This is no small gift, and I thank you for it.
Certainly, it's a little scary how easily I can relate to your Garfield-less Jon, at least on my worst days. However, your comic also reminds me that it's precisely on such days that a sense of the ridiculous is a blessing. Whether Jon is confronting terrifying moments of self-realization, or casting aside the restrictions of normality and making his own fun, he always provides a hilarious perspective on life's insanities.
Thanks to you I can also make my own fun by imagining Garfield out of the daily newspaper strips. Plus, you've given me a whole new respect for the original creator, Jim Davis, because of his reaction to your site.
Once again, thank you for all the work you've put into creating and maintaining Garfield Minus Garfield. You are one of my favourite evil geniuses of the internet.