Friday, January 07, 2005

comicstorm: the destruction of garfield syn

The revolution in taste is finally occurring: The L.A. Times is dropping the daily Garfield strip from its comics page (via Waxy). The Washington Post's Gene Weingarten is quoted in the story as deeming Garfield to be "a strip produced by a committee, devoid of originality, devoid of guts, a strip cynically DESIGNED to be inoffensive and bad, on the theory that public tastes are insipid".

My God. When did the tide start to turn against Jim Davis? This is a comic strip that's been around so long now that I remember trading Garfield books in elementary school. Although I don't follow the adventures of that fatso cat and his ineffectual Everyman of an owner anymore, the little I've seen indicates that the strip is no less funny than it ever was. So what's wrong with it now? Less Nermal? Too much Lyman? Readers fed up with Liz's demands? Cross-species relationship between Garfield and Odie? Liz and Odie? Lyman and a farm goat? Maybe people are wising up to the fact that a hedonistic tabbie cat ceases to be funny or interesting after thirty seconds.

I invite you to offer reasons.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oya:

Not enough phonics in schools. That or the guy you quote has never owned a cat. The more cats I get to know, the funnier Garfield becomes.

Anonymous said...

jim david should just bring back the degenerate looking garfield of the early strips - where he looks like a alcoholic child molester - that is if cats can be alcoholic child molesters

Anonymous said...

Perhaps he finally outed Jon and Lyman. This in turn angered conservative readers, and the paper bowed to the pressure.

At least, that is my hope.

Have you ever noticed how repetitive Bloom County is? Opus goes to jail. Three strips later, Milo goes to jail. Then Steve Dallas goes to jail, followed by Bill the Cat. It's funny, but it really shouldn't be.

Mr. Saucy

palinode said...

Jail is always funny. Always. Every time someone is jailed, an angel busts a gut.

Anonymous said...

Jim Davis doesn't even write the strip any more. It used to be funny its not any more. It's simply familar, therefore comforting, threfore still running, but inevitably it was going to run out of steam. I'm not just saying this because what amused me as a kid no longer tickles me as an adult but because it really isn't as good as it used to be. I can still pick up the books and chortle but what appears in the papers today makes me want to cry from boredom. Garfield had it's run, no one reads it no one cares. I say we make room for new and real talent.

palinode said...

Agreed. Garfield was a bit funnier than it is now.