08/07/2008

Associated Press

An Irish man who created an Internet sensation by taking the plump orange cat out of "Garfield" comic strips is publishing a book full of his catless creations.

"Garfield Minus Garfield" will be published this fall by Ballantine Books with the cooperation of "Garfield" creator Jim Davis and his Delaware County-based company, Paws Inc.

Alice Gay Nation, director of sales for Paws, said Wednesday that the publication would be timed to coincide with a book marking the 30th anniversary of "Garfield."

"It's very exciting," Nation said. "We scrambled to release them at the same time."

Dan Walsh of Dublin, Ireland, created the Web site http://www.garfieldminusgarfield.net in February, filling it with recent "Garfield" comic strips that had been stripped of Garfield the cat — and most other characters aside from Garfield's put-upon owner, Jon.

The revamped comic strips leave Jon to ponder life alone, appearing to talk to himself or reacting to nothing. The strips proved odd and amusing and Walsh's Web site was soon a hit.

The New York Times reported in June that the site, while averaging about 30,000 views a day, drew as many as 300,000 hits a day in the first few months of its existence.

Walsh describes his creations as, "A journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness and depression in a quiet American suburb."

In one strip, Jon asks in the first panel, "Do you have any unfulfilled dreams?"

The remaining panels show Jon, chin in his hands, staring drowsily toward an empty tabletop.

In the original comic, Garfield makes a joke about his dream of a 12-foot chocolate eclair.

The new book will include both Davis' original strips and Walsh's reworked versions.

In a press release announcing the upcoming publication of "Garfield Minus Garfield," Davis — who contributes to the book — called the revised comic strips "an inspired thing to do."

"I want to thank Dan for enabling me to see another side of Garfield," Davis said. "Some of the strips he chose were slappers. 'Oh, I could have left that out.' It would have been funnier."

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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com