Garfield Minus Garfield Gets Its Own Book... And No Lawsuits, Either!

from the amazing dept

Back in June, we noted how sad it was that we were all so happy that Garfield creator Jim Davis didn't freak out about the derivative comic strip "Garfield Minus Garfield." In this day and age, we're so used to creators sending out cease and desist letters and claiming "ownership" that it was refreshing to see a content creator actually happy about someone building (or, in this case, subtracting) off his work. This should be the norm -- but instead it's a unique thing. Witness the silly spat over who "owns" Flat Stanley, for example.

However, the Jim Davis/Garfield thing is getting even better. It appears that Davis' publisher, Ballantine Books, has worked out an agreement with the creator of Garfield Minus Garfield to publish a book of those strips as well, and they're doing it in conjunction with a 30th anniversary Garfield book. And, once again, Jim Davis seems thrilled about the whole thing:

"I think it's an inspired thing to do. I want to thank Dan for enabling me to see another side of Garfield. Some of the strips he chose were slappers: 'Oh, I could have left that out.' It would have been funnier."

I look forward to a day when the idea that someone being thrilled that they inspired someone else's creative works as a derivative of their own isn't newsworthy. In the meantime, kudos to Jim Davis, Ballantine... and, most importantly, Dan Walsh for his creativity in coming up with Garfield Minus Garfield in the first place.

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Sad: We're Thrilled That A Content Creator Isn't Suing Over A Derivative Work

from the a-sign-of-the-times dept

A friend of mine sent me to Garfield minus Garfield a few months back. It's a slightly bizarre and surreal showing of Garfield comic strips where the lead character, Garfield the cat, is removed from the cartoon, leaving only his owner Jon Arbuckle. The result is that it totally changes the meaning of some of the strips, leading to a sort of... existential despair. The NY Times wrote a story about it this week, which I read -- but perhaps the most interesting point is noted by Mathew Ingram: Jim Davis, the creator of Garfield isn't bothered by it. In fact, he seems to enjoy it, having thanked the creator of the site, and noted that it made him go back and look at the entire body of Garfield comics in a very different light. What's somewhat sad about this is the fact that a content creator not reacting angrily or threatening to sue (or just filing suit) over a derivative work is considered so rare to merit mentioning. Clearly, we still have a long way to go.

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