Jim Davis likes Garfield Minus Garfield - Washingtonpost.com
When the Cat’s Away, Neurosis Is on Display - Washingtonpost.com
One of Walsh’s occasional readers is (Jim) Davis, who heard about the site a few months ago. The cartoonist calls the work “an inspired thing to do” and wishes to thank Walsh for enabling him to see another side of “Garfield.”
I had been told by a few people that Jim Davis was a pretty cool guy but after reading this interview my respect for him jumped through the roof, I still have a grin on my face.
Instead of reacting over-zealously and hitting me with a Cease & Desist order, Jim is down to earth enough to admit that there’s a laugh to be had from Garfield Minus Garfield and in fact he even thanks me for putting it together!
In an age when the internet gives everyone an opportunity to put their own spin on art, music and literature, it’s a pity more people aren’t as generous with their work - just imagine some of the fantastic creativity we could be enjoying.
- Dan Walsh
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The Garfield Minus Garfield FAQ
Q. How did you come up with the idea for Garfield Minus Garfield?
A. I wasn’t the first person to come up with the premise for Garfield Minus Garfield but I think it’s fair to say I did champion and popularise it. The idea had been floating around on message boards for a couple years before I started posting them.
As far I know, I was the first person to create a site devoted to it.
I’ve said this to every interviewer who has asked me but it’s rarely published. And it’s pretty much impossible to find who did it first, believe me, I’ve tried.
Q. Do you make all the strips?
A. I reckon created around 90% of the strips on the site myself, the rest were either submitted or publicly available on several message boards.
Q. Can I submit a strip?
A. Of course you can! Send your strips or your ideas for a good candidate for a strip to garfieldminusgarfield (at) gmail.com
Q. Could you post a link back to the original strip?
A. I get this one a lot. I guess I could but it would be a huge undertaking to find them all, as I didn’t keep a record of the originals. Perhaps some day when I have the time. In the meantime Garfield Minus Garfield the book will contain both the amended and the original version.
Q. What happened to the original “Who would have guessed” introduction?
A. I didn’t write the introduction that was originally used on the site. After seeing it posted on a few message boards I stuck it up on the site because frankly, I never expected anyone to visit!
Recently, in a few publications, I have been incorrectly credited with writing it, so I have removed it from the site.
Q. Did you receive a book deal?
A. No I didn’t receive a book deal, nor do I think I should have. The copyright holder of Garfield is Paws, Incorporated. They were kind enough to offer me a fee to write a foreword to a book by Jim Davis inspired by Garfield Minus Garfield and I accepted.
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