Metacomics

[memnus]

I think Arbuckle is perhaps one of the most strangely beautiful things I've seen in the webcomic world lately. From the mind of the same guy that wrote 1/0, the idea is to redraw Garfield with the same scripts, but without seeing what Garfield is thinking. (The original idea was to draw it in a realistic style, but many of the artists have thrown that part out.) Not only is it a wonderful example of Fair Use, it also makes for a wonderful statement about stagnation in syndicated comics. I mean, seriously, Garfield is going on thirty years old now, to the best of my knowledge without a damn thing happening. In my regular reading I've got at least two entire universes in serious danger of destruction, countless planets have gone through the same risk (some faring better than others), and plenty of jokes that are actually funny.

(I suppose I should get an updated count of my reading. Accounting for erratic schedules, it seems to be somewhere around 150 updates per week.)

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Comments

[archonsengine.livejournal.com]

Finally! God damn does Garfield piss me off.....thirty years and there's only been like four jokes. Grrrrr.

[derakon.livejournal.com]

Apparently, in Garfield canon, Jon cannot "hear" what Garfield is thinking; thus, Arbuckle is an accurate representation of Jon's perspective in the strip.

Also, I got linked once to a Garfield storyline from the late 80's. In it, Garfield wakes up from a nap to discover that the house is deserted and broken-down, and there's a tombstone outside with Jon's name on it (Odie is nowhere to be seen). Garfield rapidly goes into shock and denial, and then suddenly Jon and Odie are back (with no explanation). Apparently for many people who know the strip well, that storyline marks the "end" of the strip, and from that point on, Garfield hasn't really changed at all.