The now iconic comic strip Garfield debuted in nationwide syndication in 1978. Created by Jim Davis, the strip follows the daily life of a cat named Garfield, his best frenemy Odie the dog, and their inept & exceedingly lonely owner Jon Arbuckle. But in 1976, the comic strip originally debuted on a local level as Jon and was focused on the series' main human character.
In 2008, Garfield Minus Garfield breathed new life to the strip. Other characters, including Garfield and Odie, were digitally removed. This left Jon, talking to himself and exposing how deeply flawed a person he truly was. Without Garfield providing context, things got rough really quickly for Mr. Arbuckle.
10 Jon Stares Into The Void
The perpetual existential crisis that Jon exists in has always been there. It was just that Garfield's narration gave fans some comedic context to the bleak comments Jon makes. Oddly enough, Jon's truly dark, introspective nature makes him both compelling and relatable.
In this particular comic, Jon looks the oncoming void directly in the eyes and tells the truth about what he sees. What makes this comic funny is the final panel. After making his bleak but accurate statement, Jon shoots the reader some serious side-eye, letting fans know this applies to them, as well.
9 A Lonely Guy
Jon has been Garfield's consistent sidekick throughout the run of the comic strip, and in other media forms. But Jon's most consistent sidekick has been chronic depression. The guy has legitimate mental health issues that have gone largely unaddressed.
Removing Garfield from the equation brought those issues to the forefront. But the dark humor of Jon's trials and tribulations also took a big step forward. After having the realization that no one cares about him, Jon simply walked out of the strip. The empty panel is oddly funny and poignant.
8 Jon Really Likes That Burger
One of the biggest running gags in Garfield is that the cat loves to eat. He's most famous for loving lasagna but he will mow down pretty much any food that Jon puts in front of him. Garfield will also eat any food that Jon puts down in front of Jon.
In this strip, Jon originally made a burger for one of his pets, likely Garfield. He set the food down and oddly walked out of the room. Without Garfield in the scene, Jon is just announcing the arrival of the food, then leaving it alone on a table.
7 That's Just Sad
Everyone likes to have parties in their honor, including Jon Arbuckle. Unfortunately for Jon, cats and dogs are not capable of planning a party, whether it's a surprise or not. But Jon's generally a determined guy and isn't one to give up.
Apparently, his plan is to throw himself a surprise party. But without Garfield or Odie around to talk to about the whole situation, Jon is just making random pronouncements about surprising himself with a party to an empty room. That's also probably the entire guest list to the party.
6 Deep Thoughts
Asking the hard questions about life can be tough for anyone, doubly so for someone with Jon's ongoing problems. It's something that comes up every so often, but Jon actually seems to handle it all reasonably well.
When Jon started to ask himself about failing to be a failure, he may have opened up a can of worms that he couldn't close. That being said, the final panel leaves the reader wondering who he's talking to. The funny part is that leaving Garfield in the strip wouldn't have helped things make much more sense.
5 Bad Date Follow Up
Jon went on a lot of dates. Actually, that isn't completely true. Jon went on a lot of first dates, and extremely few second dates. Given how little game the man has, that's not too surprising. He was not generally a hit with the ladies.
When Jon tried to call a woman named Debbie, things went sideways quite quickly. In the original strip, Garfield did something that caused Jon to yell at him. Debbie overheard Jon and naturally took great offence. In the Garfield-less version, the joke is roughly the same except Jon is screaming at no one.
4 But Why Are His Socks Wet?
Looking out the window on a cold winter's day can be be a nice way to take one's mind off of their troubles. It's something that Jon and Garfield have done on multiple occasions over the years. Even without Garfield, it's still not a bad way to spend a few minutes.
But Jon throws a wrench in the situation. After two panels of not saying a word, he announces, unprompted and out of the blue, that his socks are wet. Presumably, Garfield provided some context as to why Jon's socks are wet. Without that narration, Jon is just a strange man in wet socks.
3 Pep Talk
Self realization is an important journey for any adult human being. Stepping back and taking stock of one's life is not an easy task, but it can yield life changing results. So is being honest, something Jon never seems to have a problem with. The man is honest about himself to a fault.
In the first panel, Jon tried to psyche himself up by telling himself that he's not a loser. That is, of course, not true. But by the end of the comic strip, Jon became a lot more measured in his moment of personal affirmation.
2 Party Animals
Sometimes living life to its fullest means taking pleasure in the small moments. And Jon's life has been filled with almost nothing but small moments, mainly because the vast majority of life's big moments seem to constantly elude him.
This time, Jon seems to be having an amazing time eating cereal straight from the box. Why he's so excited about eating cereal straight from the box remains unexplained without Garfield. That being said, it's hard to imagine that there would be a satisfying answer to that question.
1 Zombie Problems
When someone spends a lot time alone, they can sometimes get a little paranoid. Well, that's among other issues that can creep up, many of which seem to afflict Jon Arbuckle on a regular basis.
In this case, Jon is be quite concerned that his neighbor across the street from him might be a zombie. What makes the comic funny are the empty panels that open and close it. Jon just appears to make his insane pronouncement, then vanishes.