The Far Side

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This article is about the comic strip. For other uses, see Far side.
The Far Side

Wiener Dog Art, one of many Far Side
collections published in the United States, features an artist stamping a paint-covered dachshund on a canvas.
Author(s) Gary Larson
Current status / schedule Ended
Launch date January 1, 1980
End date January 1, 1995
Syndicate(s) Chronicle Features (1980–1985)
Universal Press Syndicate (1985–1995)
Genre(s) Humor, Satire
Preceded by Nature's Way

The Far Side is a popular one-panel syndicated comic created by Gary Larson. Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world, logical fallacies, impending bizarre disasters, or the search for meaning in life. Larson's frequent use of animals and nature in the comic is popularly attributed to his background in biology. The strip ran from January 1, 1980, to January 1, 1995. Reruns are still printed in many newspapers.

The Far Side was carried by more than 1,900 daily newspapers, translated into 17 languages, and collected into 22 compilation books.[1]

The series was preceded by a similar panel called Nature's Way, also by Larson.

Contents

[edit] The comic

Most The Far Side cartoons are a single rectangular panel, occasionally split into small sections of four, six, or eight for the purposes of a storyline. A caption or dialogue usually appears under the panel as typed text, although word-balloons are sometimes used for conversations. Sunday comics were double-sized, done in watercolor or colored pencils, with captions handwritten in Larson's own cursive.

Most of Larson's comics relied on some combination of a visual and verbal gag, rather than just one or the other. Some recurring themes in the comic include people being stranded on desert islands, aliens, the life of cavemen, and many cartoons focused on animals, especially cows, dogs, and flies.

Larson was recognized for his work on the strip with the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1985 and 1988,[2] and their Reuben Award for 1990 and 1994.[3]

[edit] Criticism

The Far Side was criticized for being dark and offensive to some groups. Several jokes involved violence and murder, often among animals or humans. Though not visually gory, some readers found such strips to be too gruesome and dark for the comics page.[citation needed]

One controversial cartoon depicts two chimpanzees grooming; one finds a human hair on the other and inquires, "Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?" The Jane Goodall Institute considered this to be in bad taste. Its lawyers drafted a letter to Larson and his distribution syndicate that described the cartoon as an "atrocity". It was stymied by Goodall herself, who revealed that she found the cartoon amusing. Since then, all profits from sales of a shirt featuring this cartoon have been donated to the Institute. Larson was attacked by Frodo, a chimp described by Goodall as a bully, while visiting Gombe National Park in 1988.[4]

Larson has occasionally engaged in self-censorship, stating that some of his cartoons were "seriously over the line".[citation needed] The Prehistory of The Far Side contains a number of these.

The Complete Far Side and The Prehistory of The Far Side include letters from angry readers alongside the comics. The letters were written to newspaper publishers and often demanded the removal of The Far Side. Despite these protests, The Far Side remained popular and continued to run in many newspapers. Larson himself often laughs at the controversies as evidenced in The Prehistory of The Far Side, in which he writes that the people complaining have usually misunderstood the cartoon.

[edit] Publications

Gary Larson produced 23 The Far Side books, which were all on the New York Times bestseller list. The cartoons were first collected in small books (see list below), and some were then republished in larger best-of collections such as The Far Side Galleries. Additional best-of collections were published, such as The Prehistory of The Far Side, culminating in the final publication, The Complete Far Side.

[edit] Collections

[edit] Other books

The five The Far Side Gallery books are the most popular, each of them collecting together the best cartoons from three smaller books, along with a humorous foreword by celebrity fans, including Stephen Jay Gould, Stephen King, Robin Williams, and Jane Goodall.

In 1989, The Prehistory of The Far Side was published to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the strip. In this book, Gary Larson discussed the development of The Far Side, the public's reaction to it, and presented a selection of his personal favorites from the cartoon's history, as well as previously unpublished sketches and strips rejected by his editor.

In 2003, The Complete Far Side was released, containing nearly every The Far Side comic ever published (except for a few cartoons written for Christmas cards). The collection is also missing parody art pieces from Wiener Dog Art, some material from The Prehistory of The Far Side, and a panel run for a caption writing contest in the Telegram-Tribune newspaper. The set was released in two volumes (1980–1986 and 1987–1994), with a foreword by Steve Martin and an introduction by Larson's long-time editor Jake Morrisey. The first edition hardcover boxed set weighs 19.5 pounds (8.8 kg). Some of the comics were altered for this book, either featuring a different caption, correcting errors, or simply becoming colorized.

In 2003, Gary Larson drew a cover for the November 17 edition of The New Yorker magazine,[5] a prestigious offer he said he couldn't refuse.[6]

[edit] On television

Main article: Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side

In 1994, Larson produced an animated special, Tales from the Far Side, featuring his art style and gags from the strips. He produced a sequel in 1997.

[edit] Online

It is difficult to find many Far Side cartoons online, since Larson, his publishers, and lawyers have successfully persuaded people to not infringe on his copyright. There is a widely distributed letter online, attributed to Gary Larson, in which he explains the "emotional cost" to him of people displaying his cartoons on their websites and asks them to stop.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "The Complete Far Side". Andrews McMeel Publishing. http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/products/?isbn=0740721135. Retrieved on 2008-09-03. 
  2. ^ "NCS Awards—Newspaper Panel". National Cartoonists Society. http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/panels.asp. Retrieved on 2008-09-03. 
  3. ^ "The Reuben Award 1975 to present". National Cartoonists Society. http://www.reuben.org/ncs/archive/divisions/reuben2.asp. Retrieved on 2008-09-03. 
  4. ^ Jay Garmon (2006-08-15). "Geek Trivia: Quite a tail to tell". Tech Republic. CNET Networks, Inc.. http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6105462.html. Retrieved on 2008-09-03. 
  5. ^ The New Yorker cover 17-Nov-2003
  6. ^ The Lawrence Journal-World

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The Far Side by Gary Larson
Collections
The Far Side  • Beyond The Far Side  • In Search of The Far Side  • Bride of The Far Side  • Valley of The Far Side  • It Came from The Far Side  • Hound of The Far Side  • The Far Side Observer  • Night of the Crash Test Dummies  • Wildlife Preserves  • Wiener Dog Art  • Unnatural Selections  • Cows of Our Planet • The Chickens are Restless  • The Curse of Madame "C"  • Last Chapter and Worse
Galleries
The Far Side Gallery  • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5
Other Books
See Also
v • d • e
Universal Press Syndicate Comics
Currently syndicated
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Far_Side"
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