I have to salute my friend, the brilliant and affable Annie Zaleski, for finding this complete and utter gem and quite properly celebrating it on the AV Club. As Zaleski noted, the new mashup comic strip Hetfield the Cat blends the glum, overfed ennui of America’s favorite tabby cat, Garfield, with the glum, overfed rage of America’s favorite metal act, Metallica.

Sure, most of the strips are just disposable riffs on Metallica’s songs coming out of “Hetfield’s” mouth—but it works so well in part because tons of adult Americans grew up inhaling the essence of Garfield over a period spanning decades. A lot of us probably couldn’t say anything particularly articulate about how the strip works, but we know subconsciously exactly how the strip works. You know?

The creator in question here is Chicago cartoonist/musician Jimmy Two Hands. If the style seems familiar, you might remember Danziggy, which we highlighted last year.  I urgently await his next (purely imagined) jape of mashing up those “Love Is” cartoons with King Diamond lyrics.

Below are a few of my faves, but you can see more at the Hetfield the Cat Tumblr and Facebook presences.

If you click, you’ll spawn a more readable version of the strip.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Previously on Dangerous Minds:
‘Enter sand, man’: Young James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich of Metallica frolicking at the beach
This Charming Charlie: The Smiths meet the Peanuts gang