At first, I was amused and impressed that Jim Davis seems to approve of Garfield Minus Garfield, as reported by the New York Times. Then, I got mad that they never gave credit to the project that likely spawned this, which involved just editing out Garfield’s thought bubbles. But finally, I dug around Doombot to reread my post on that project, and it turns out you can’t even see those cartoons unless you have a Something Awful forum account, which kind of made me go, “Oh, well, screw them, then.” Apparently, some part of me has decided that you’re not entitled to credit for a creative work online unless you make it freely available for eternity.

And anyway, some of those Garfield Minus Garfield strips are damn hilarious (and/or read like a Chris Ware strip).

At Slate, the winner of the New Yorker Caption Contest offers earnest hints on how to win the next time around, including:

The first filter for your caption should be: Is it too funny? Will it make anyone laugh out loud? If so, throw it out and work on a less funny one.

I knew it!

John Hodgman writes intelligently about comics for the New York Times—and he’s not even BSing this time.

Please allow me to gush for just a moment, and witness a brief glimpse at just how big a nerd I am.

For years now I have been complaining that Spider-man deserves better video games, and we have the technology. Such a game needs Grand Theft Auto-style roaming capabilities, and a feeling like you’re actually making a difference in the environment. (I also thought it would be neat if you were framed for a crime and had to do some wall-clinging stealth action scenes to find evidence to prove your innocence, but my friends assure me that Spider-man is only fun to play when he is swinging, jumping, and punching.)

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Joshua Glenn, writing at the Boston Globe, tries to solve the age-old dilemma: was Black Sabbath’s classic heavy metal song “Iron Man” inspired by the Marvel superhero of the same name? The conclusion is a qualified “yes,” though it suggests that Ted Hughes’s book The Iron Man, upon which the 1999 animated film, The Iron Giant was based. Glenn’s piece is worth a read, however, if for no other reason than to watch the opening theme song to the 1960s Iron Man cartoon. I’ll be walking around the rest of the day, humming “Tony Stark makes you feel/he’s a cool exec with a heart of steel.”

Brian Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series has been one of my favorite comics of recent years. The story of a Canadian slacker who must battle the league of ex-boyfriends of his true love is packed with so much joy, zannieness, and oddball video game references that each volume has been a treat to read.

Today’s news from the Hollywood Reporter (via Jeremy) is that a movie based on the series is moving forward with Edgar Wright (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) attached to direct and Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Superbad, Juno) to pay the title character.

Seem like a fun match up, though it will be interesting to see how much of Brian Lee O’Malley’s story will make the transition to movie and to something marketable to mainstream audiences. In the meantime fans of Michael Cera should make sure to check out his web series Clark and Michael.

I forget where I saw this link (Boing Boing? Geekadelphia?), but check out the weird low-brow art in this tribute to Stan Lee. There’s some neat stuff in there. (Oh, I think I got it from io9, the new SF blog, which has some photos of the gallery itself.)

I’m not reproducing a spam email verbatim today, but rather directing you to Tom Manning’s comics based on spam messages. Worth checking out the slideshow.

This Halloween, I dressed up as Peter Parker, Spider-man’s secret identity. This is admittedly a pretty half-assed costume. All I did was buy a Spider-man t-shirt and wear it under a half-buttoned white shirt (yes, with pants etc.). I reused the plastic reading glasses frames purchased for my astonishingly similar costume from last year, when I went to a costume party as Clark Kent. This costume was even easier than the last one, as Peter Parker is less known for wearing suits, being more of a casual sort of guy.

I did hit one hitch, though: I have a beard, and Peter Parker does not. I had planned to shave my beard for a more authentic Pete, but when the day finally came, I was much too busy, sorely lacking in shaving cream, and wondering if it would grow back in time for the conference I’m attending in a couple weeks. I decided to just leave it be and continue on with my day.

Fortunately, the Marvel Universe has got me covered. I figured that sometime in the last 40+ years, Parker must have grown a beard, right? So I googled around and, well, no, it looks like he hasn’t—except for in alternate realities! Thank goodness there’s a parallel universe out there somewhere where all the Avengers have beards. Nobody really called me on it anyway, though.

Webcartoonist Shaenon Garrity asks: What if Edward Gorey had adapted “The Trouble With Tribbles”?