Garfield was never funny

But maybe his owner, John, was...

Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

This is from a site called "Garfield Minus Garfield," which removes the G-cat from the frame and lets John be the star. It's funny, I could never get a handle on John when I used to read/watch Garfield, but now that I see him in isolato I see how poignant his character is as a symbol of his age and generation... much the way American Splendor was for a different generation. I never really "got" American Splendor because it seemed just out of reach for my condition to grasp, and I never "got" G-field either - until now. Well... ish. It's still a bit old for me; I think the 35-45 year olds in the crowd are more the audience, but as a child of the 80s, when that age group was in high school and university, my perception of the world was shaped by their world/cultural view. So I can put those glasses on.

Also, the theme of loneliness in modern society is something we're still trying digest and move on from. Problem is, we aren't really.

These Garfield Minus Garfield bits actually remind me a lot of Japanese culture.