Gawker: Garfield

The Nadir or Purest Form of the Blog-to-Book Deal?

Sheila — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:59:25 EDT

Here's an interesting variation on the blog-to-book deal: the webcomic Garfield Minus Garfield, which simply removes the cat from all the Garfield comic strips, will be a book—published by Ballantine, the publisher of the regular Garfield books. ("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?") It will come out in conjunction with the official 30th anniversary of the Garfield book. Creator Jim Davis says he approves!

Oh, Bob

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:50:53 EDT

What's new in "The Bobosphere"—the magical land where Ad Age's untethered old columnist-for-life Bob Garfield says things that make sense to Bob Garfield, exclusively? Well today, he's insinuating that the recently pulled Snickers commercial showing Mr. T shooting a speed walker with Snickers bars was probably the inspiration for the man who shot up a church in Tennessee yesterday because he hated liberals. Oh, Bob. We don't even know what to say. [Ad Age]

STOP THIS BLOG BEFORE IT KILLS AGAIN

Pareene — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 12:40:26 EST

Paul Tilley, the ad exec who killed himself because blogs were mean to him (or something), continues to inspire the most self-righteous and least self-aware of scribes to put quill to parchment, adjust their oft-dropped monocles, and write, more in sadness than in anger ("I think I'm more saddened than pissed off"), strongly worded letters to whom it may concern regarding those mean, mean bloggers. Today, Bob Garfield, who blogs at Ad Age, helpfully explains "the difference between commentary and vandalism." "Commentary" is when smart, mustachioed professionals who've written books and things blog. "Vandalism" is when people are mean to those people, on the internet. [AdAge, UnRelated]

"Garfield Minus Garfield"

Pareene — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:24:30 EST

Sometimes Denton will send me some link and I will say "OLD! Defamer had it in January!" Because I read the entire Internet every day, which is why I am such a miserable bastard and no one really enjoys talking to me anymore. Anyway, that "Garfield without Garfield" thing is funny, isn't it? But it's not as clever as ARBUCKLE, the comic where Garfield remains in the strip but his thought bubbles are removed, which makes it all even more existential and depressing. (Also some of those photoshopped strips have been floating around message boards for years people.) (Seriously, I'm becoming completely intolerable to be around.) [Arbuckle, Garfield Minus Garfield]

Creepiest fad of the week: Live Reenactments Of Garfield Strips

Nick Douglas — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:41:25 EST

The Internet has a successor to the classic Fensler Film G.I. Joe parodies. "Fatal Farm," creators of the series of remixed TV theme videos that got kinda popular last year, have finally produced a winner. It's Lasagna Cat, a series of live reenactments of Garfield cartoon strips with canned laughter followed by head-throbbing dance videos. The whole thing feels like it's out of Mr. Mike's Mondo Video (or the last act of "Shrooms"), and I just wanted you to be among the first to see it before it takes the Internet by storm. Well, the part of the Internet not already watching Tom Cruise and the kid whose glasses are famous. In fact I'll make a bet.

If this set of videos isn't all over Digg, blogs, and e-mail forwards for the rest of the week, I'll let commenter Conbon dedicate a Gawker post to whatever he wants, even if it's a thorough evisceration of me, his least-favorite blogger.

They manage to make the ending shot of Jim Davis's face surprise me every time. And that's why it's the new G.I. Joe.