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The Far Side Gallery Anthologies #2
The Far Side Gallery 2
The Far Side Gallery 2 is the second anthology of Gary Larson's The Far Side comic strips. Cartoons from previous collections Bride of The Far Side, It Came from the Far Side, and Hound of the Far Side are featured, all of which were printed from 1985-1987. The foreword was written by Stephen King. The cover shows an explorer/scientist opening a coffin with a picture of a cow pharaoh on the front. Inside, there is a mummy cow.
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1986
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1184 people want to read
About the author
Gary Larson
138 books712 followersGary Larson was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. His parents were Vern, a car salesman, and Doris, a secretary. He attended Curtis High School before attending Washington State University and graduated in 1972 with a degree in communications. In 1987, Larson married Toni Carmichael, an archaeologist.
Larson credits his older brother Dan for his "paranoid" sense of humor. Dan would pull countless pranks on Gary, taking advantage of his phobia of monsters under the bed by, for example, waiting in the closet for the right moment to pounce out at Gary. Dan is also credited with giving Gary his love of science. They caught animals in Puget Sound and placed them in terrariums in the basement; even making a small desert ecosystem, which their parents apparently did not mind. His adept use of snakes in his cartoons stems from his long-standing interest in herpetology.
Since retiring from the Far Side, Larson has occasionally done some cartooning work, such as magazine illustrations and promotional artwork for Far Side merchandise.
In 1998, Larson published his first post-Far Side book, There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story, an illustrated story with the unmistakable Far Side mindset.
Larson credits his older brother Dan for his "paranoid" sense of humor. Dan would pull countless pranks on Gary, taking advantage of his phobia of monsters under the bed by, for example, waiting in the closet for the right moment to pounce out at Gary. Dan is also credited with giving Gary his love of science. They caught animals in Puget Sound and placed them in terrariums in the basement; even making a small desert ecosystem, which their parents apparently did not mind. His adept use of snakes in his cartoons stems from his long-standing interest in herpetology.
Since retiring from the Far Side, Larson has occasionally done some cartooning work, such as magazine illustrations and promotional artwork for Far Side merchandise.
In 1998, Larson published his first post-Far Side book, There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story, an illustrated story with the unmistakable Far Side mindset.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews
April 28, 2016
In an age when everything seems sacred, immune to jests and teasing, a cartoonist dares to push the envelope, and gives Readers a small sanctuary to retreat to--actually, he ultimately reminds us of a time when nothing was sacred and everything was funny. (I think I made sense there.) Enter Gary Larson. (If you have never heard of Gary Larson you need to stop reading this and go immediately to a busy street and start playing in it.) His satirical humor illuminates the many problems society so dutifully tries to avoid. I appreciate this cleverness. Whether it is aliens, scientists, animals, nerds, or the Old West, Gary Larson provides a memorable image that is sure to last at least the duration of a day. Not to mention there is a pretty funny introduction provided by Uncle Stevie.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
November 11, 2016
Sometimes you need a laugh. So I pulled this down off the shelf yesterday. Read it many times, as I have many of the other collections. But now we need a collection of all Larson's Trump work, if for no other reason than we can see Larson told us so decades ago, and consistently.
June 23, 2010
5.0 stars. Another priceless collection of Far Side cartoons. As I previously stated in my review of the First Far Side Gallery, The Far Side series is the funniest (and most clever) cartoon series ever put on paper and Gary Larson is a comic genius.
August 5, 2011
The humor is in the details.
I'm not sure how Gary Larson gets away with all he gets away with. Cannibalism, infant death, suicide, nuclear war, torture, friendly fire, people with big noses... he pokes fun at them all. As someone with a relatively large schnooz, who is also becoming more liberal, I take offense to at least two of these. How does he get away with it all? How? I mean, buddy - there's the line - WAAAAYYY back there. You're not just edging over it. You're two states past it. And it's all so funny. What's that say about me - that I find big nose jokes and nuclear meltdown jokes funny? Hopefully it says that I have a healthy sense of humor. Hopefully it doesn't mean that I'm a psychopath.
The humor is in the details.
I found this the most true in a cartoon with a bunch of scientists. The caption: "Testing whether or not animals 'kiss.'" Prominently, in the center, there is a man kissing an aardvark. A bunch of scientists are gathered around - two with clip boards, and one writing on a chalk board. That would be funny enough. But in the back, you have a cow punching a man, and his glasses are flying off. (Apparently, cows do NOT kiss...) And on the chalk board, written in cursive: "Armadillo Looks like rejection
doesn't want anyone
Squid Couldn't find lips
No response
nothing lateif study pro..." (Some of that was scribbles...)
I love the cow and chalk board in the back ground. That added detail is great. And funny.
Why is it funny? I don't know. But it is. And so is Larson. Maybe inappropriate. Maybe not. Definitely funny.
I'm not sure how Gary Larson gets away with all he gets away with. Cannibalism, infant death, suicide, nuclear war, torture, friendly fire, people with big noses... he pokes fun at them all. As someone with a relatively large schnooz, who is also becoming more liberal, I take offense to at least two of these. How does he get away with it all? How? I mean, buddy - there's the line - WAAAAYYY back there. You're not just edging over it. You're two states past it. And it's all so funny. What's that say about me - that I find big nose jokes and nuclear meltdown jokes funny? Hopefully it says that I have a healthy sense of humor. Hopefully it doesn't mean that I'm a psychopath.
The humor is in the details.
I found this the most true in a cartoon with a bunch of scientists. The caption: "Testing whether or not animals 'kiss.'" Prominently, in the center, there is a man kissing an aardvark. A bunch of scientists are gathered around - two with clip boards, and one writing on a chalk board. That would be funny enough. But in the back, you have a cow punching a man, and his glasses are flying off. (Apparently, cows do NOT kiss...) And on the chalk board, written in cursive: "Armadillo Looks like rejection
doesn't want anyone
Squid Couldn't find lips
No response
nothing lateif study pro..." (Some of that was scribbles...)
I love the cow and chalk board in the back ground. That added detail is great. And funny.
Why is it funny? I don't know. But it is. And so is Larson. Maybe inappropriate. Maybe not. Definitely funny.
April 3, 2022
a classic from my childhood. i used to read this over breakfast with my dad. very fond memories of the chickens at the rubber man factory, etc.
February 22, 2022
I used to love these, and it's a shame that they ended. Some of the comics in here made me laugh so hard that I had tears in my eyes! Gary Larson had, (has?), such a bizarre wit. Every now and again I pull out this book and it never fails to give me the giggles. These are a great pick-me-up.
January 17, 2015
This great collection reflects Larson's oblique view of the world. His humor is playfully demented, and the simplicity of his drawings makes his messages universal --a Dr. Seuss for adults. This set had me literally laughing out loud at some of the cartoons, with very few 'weak' entries. If you need a little boost in your mood this is the book for you.
July 25, 2012
"When asked to describe the famous glass of water, there can only be 4 answers and they will reflect the character of the person, they are: a) half empty. b) half full. c) half empty, no...half full, ...I mean empty, ...what was the question? d) hey, I ordered a cheeseburger!"
-- Gary Larson
Welcome to the bizarre and twisted world of Gary Larson.
I will still stick to what I said before for The Far side Gallery(part1)
"This is some serious shit. Filled with Dark Humor and Situational Irony.
Highly satirical and thought-provoking content .."
It will show you some odd and surreal views of the world. And trust me,it made more sense than our normal mentality..
Enjoy ..
-- Gary Larson
Welcome to the bizarre and twisted world of Gary Larson.
I will still stick to what I said before for The Far side Gallery(part1)
"This is some serious shit. Filled with Dark Humor and Situational Irony.
Highly satirical and thought-provoking content .."
It will show you some odd and surreal views of the world. And trust me,it made more sense than our normal mentality..
Enjoy ..
August 16, 2015
As always funny as all get out.
May 27, 2023
The Far Side Gallery 2 by Gary Larson (Andrews, McMeel, & Parker 1986)(741.5973). This is another collection of "The Far Side" daily comics by Gary Larson. My rating: 7/10, finished 7/30/14.
March 2, 2018
If you like Larson, you'll love this book. Chock full of humor at its finest. It's a keeper.
December 26, 2022
Every single one of the cartoons is a gem! A clever, cruel, irreverent, politically incorrect, laugh-out-loud gem! To be read again and again.
August 16, 2023
These comics made me laugh as a 12 year old and they're still making me laugh 18 years later
January 4, 2025
Gary Larson is a genius
November 12, 2022
Larson has a really wacky sense of humor with his out of control bugs, dogs, and ducks, not to mention many varieties of mad and crazy scientists. What a hoot!
December 26, 2018
80’s Memes
26 December 2018 – Adelaide
As you can probably tell, this Christmas I am slowly making my way through a collection of Far Side books. Well, okay, this is only the second one that I’ve read, but a part of me is starting to feel as if these aren’t the type of books that you are supposed to read in one sitting. In fact, a part of me feels that maybe just rushing through the cartoons isn’t what you are supposed to be doing here, namely because I feel that they are the type of jokes that sometimes you need to sit down and think about them. This one for instance:
Well, it probably helps if you have some background knowledge, because I suspect that for quite a lot of people this will probably go right over their heads. Then again, we are looking back at the 80s here, and maybe, just maybe, people were a little bit more familiar with their ancient history. Actually, come to think of it they probably weren’t. In fact, when I first saw the above cartoon it probably went right over my head as well.
The thing is that these cartoons do remind me a lot of memes. In fact, I’d probably go as far as calling them 80s memes. Well, yeah, they are certainly somewhat more absurd that what I would expect from memes, but I guess that happens to be the genius of Larson – he just simply seems to draw whatever and just give us a small caption, before moving on to the next one. In a way, just as some really cool memes appear as we scroll through out social media feeds, Larson had the habit of appearing out of the blue back in the days of the black and white newspapers.
26 December 2018 – Adelaide
As you can probably tell, this Christmas I am slowly making my way through a collection of Far Side books. Well, okay, this is only the second one that I’ve read, but a part of me is starting to feel as if these aren’t the type of books that you are supposed to read in one sitting. In fact, a part of me feels that maybe just rushing through the cartoons isn’t what you are supposed to be doing here, namely because I feel that they are the type of jokes that sometimes you need to sit down and think about them. This one for instance:
Well, it probably helps if you have some background knowledge, because I suspect that for quite a lot of people this will probably go right over their heads. Then again, we are looking back at the 80s here, and maybe, just maybe, people were a little bit more familiar with their ancient history. Actually, come to think of it they probably weren’t. In fact, when I first saw the above cartoon it probably went right over my head as well.
The thing is that these cartoons do remind me a lot of memes. In fact, I’d probably go as far as calling them 80s memes. Well, yeah, they are certainly somewhat more absurd that what I would expect from memes, but I guess that happens to be the genius of Larson – he just simply seems to draw whatever and just give us a small caption, before moving on to the next one. In a way, just as some really cool memes appear as we scroll through out social media feeds, Larson had the habit of appearing out of the blue back in the days of the black and white newspapers.
November 24, 2009
4 or 5? I finally went with 5. While I suppose Gary Larson may not suite everybody (and may be an aquired taste for some) he is flat funny. These oddly twisted and surreal views of the world haven't been equaled before or since. Staying power.
October 16, 2020
This selection of Far Side cartoons was especially familiar to me because I had just read and reviewed the collections from which this book was drawn, namely "Bride Of The Far Side," "Valley Of The Far Side," and "It Came From The Far Side." As is the case with a great many of the compilations of the humorous and entertaining Far Side that have been made over the years, and there are a lot of them, it must be admitted, this is a funny collection of entertaining cartoons that has a specific perspective that is skewed but also hilarious, and a narrow but entertaining range of material that draws the interest of the cartoonist. Although the cartoons involved many be familiar to many readers [1], the collection as a whole is still entertaining when it is familiar, and this collection has an introduction by Stephen King, which will be worth something to some readers even if it felt entirely unnecessary to me as someone who isn't very impressed with his writing. At any rate, though, a reader of this book knows what they are going to get and is going to get a lot of, enough to put on a coffee table as a sort of surrealistic virtue signalling.
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2020...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2020...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2020...
[1] See, for example:
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2020...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2020...
https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2020...
July 21, 2025
I'm reviewing this from my current perspective, vs. when I'd first read (most of) these strips, since I can't entirely remember my original reactions to them.
If you've never read The Far Side, I think the easiest way to describe the strips is "memes by a single person." That's what came to mind when (re)reading the strips, that a very lot of the humour involved is the kind of weird hit-or-miss "comedy" that I see in a lot of memes shared online these days. Like memes, it's easier to read these individually "in the wild" than all at once; I got tired pretty quickly after the seventieth "random insertion of a cow or chicken or other unexpected animal into an otherwise normal scene" comic (though this volume has a very large percentage of "dogs vs. cats" humour).
Not that they're BAD—The Far Side is a cult favourite for a reason! I just find that maybe I've graduated from such flash fiction as more than occasional entertainment in an age where attention spans are already at their lowest.
If you've never read The Far Side, I think the easiest way to describe the strips is "memes by a single person." That's what came to mind when (re)reading the strips, that a very lot of the humour involved is the kind of weird hit-or-miss "comedy" that I see in a lot of memes shared online these days. Like memes, it's easier to read these individually "in the wild" than all at once; I got tired pretty quickly after the seventieth "random insertion of a cow or chicken or other unexpected animal into an otherwise normal scene" comic (though this volume has a very large percentage of "dogs vs. cats" humour).
Not that they're BAD—The Far Side is a cult favourite for a reason! I just find that maybe I've graduated from such flash fiction as more than occasional entertainment in an age where attention spans are already at their lowest.
October 10, 2023
The Far Side Gallery 2 is the second collection of Gary Larson's Far Side comics. This collection pulls from the years 1985-1987. If you know the Far Side comics then you probably know what to expect here.
If you don't know The Far Side, they're comics that have an absurdist, surreal, and even twisted sense of humor. While this type of humor is more common in the comics of the internet age, The Far Side was very unique when it originally debuted.
Personally I'm a big fan of the comics, but as with any collection some of the comics are better than others. Overall though it was a fairly strong showing and a fun read as I would go through the book a few pages each day. It's not probably the best kind of book to read through quickly, but a little bit daily is a fun thing to add to your day.
If you don't know The Far Side, they're comics that have an absurdist, surreal, and even twisted sense of humor. While this type of humor is more common in the comics of the internet age, The Far Side was very unique when it originally debuted.
Personally I'm a big fan of the comics, but as with any collection some of the comics are better than others. Overall though it was a fairly strong showing and a fun read as I would go through the book a few pages each day. It's not probably the best kind of book to read through quickly, but a little bit daily is a fun thing to add to your day.
December 5, 2019
Really, Stephen King's forward to this collection sums up everything there is to say about The Far Side and Gary Larson. Its an 'either you get it or you don't'. Showing Far Side clips to people, either they laugh at the jokes like I do/did, or they look at me as if my head is spinning, vomiting pea-green soup and I may or may not be incontinent. I think its a friend barometer for me. You laugh, your in, you don't laugh, your out.
Sorry, thems the breaks.
Sorry, thems the breaks.
November 18, 2024
Hmm, ah yes 'The Far Side...' I've heard of this quirky little comic, but I'm not sold on the reviews yet. Better check one more...
Well, here you go - it's great. But don't overload yourself - if you try to read the entire collection in one sitting, you'll burn yourself out on hilarity. Take your time, go at a slow pace, and enjoy each one.
Well, here you go - it's great. But don't overload yourself - if you try to read the entire collection in one sitting, you'll burn yourself out on hilarity. Take your time, go at a slow pace, and enjoy each one.
February 10, 2022
Bought this in a charity shop as a bit of nostalgia having all these books back in the day. Must say it was funnier when I remembered it and oddly I seem to get less of the jokes this time round. Still for an aussie dollar one cant complain.
September 15, 2022
They don’t all hit for me like they maybe once did, but man these really all feel like exactly the humor I would’ve had as a middle school boy. Nostalgia for a time when I had this kind of an imagination and could live in the “world” Larson builds in these one panels
September 2, 2024
Familiarity certainly helps, even if it is familiarity from 30 years ago. I recognize a bunch of these as being from a desk calendar I had way back when. Or this volume could just really good. Like with the first volume, this doesn't read all that well. But so many of these were so good.
January 6, 2026
The Far Side Gallery 2 is a classic collection of Larson’s best, even though his "blasphemous" uses God’s name was disappointing. It’s the perfect showcase of his genius for making the sacred look hilariously absurd. I really did enjoy this and was practically in stitches a few times.
March 18, 2017
Seriously brilliant!
June 11, 2017
Many of the same cartoons that I have seen in other Far Side books. Still they make me chuckle. Great calming bedtime reading in this era of Trump.
February 21, 2018
Gary Larson is a national treasure. I love when one of his cows or chickens is named Barbara.
May 9, 2018
Never fails to tickle my humerus. I go back again and again.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 135 reviews