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THE Pre-History of The Far Side a 10th anniversary exhibit
Comprehensive collection of Far Side cartoons.
Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
21 people are currently reading
1434 people want to read
About the author
Gary Larson
146 books711 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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August 29, 2024Back when I was a kid in the 1980's, a glance and, more often than not, a chuckle at The Far Side in the funny pages was a part of my daily routine. I enjoyed the strip enough to acquire several collections of Gary Laron's work. My favorite was The Prehistory of the Far Side. I was fascinated by the "peek behind the scenes" angle of the book, by the how and why The Far Side came to be. An evolutionary "prehistory," I thought, seemed most appropriate, considering the absurdist naturalism of The Far Side. Larson impressed me as a sincere and modest man, gratefully astonished that the products of his weird imagination had ever found such a wide and enthusiastic audience. Everything he reveals here makes him seem a relatable and endearing person.
Who knows what happened to all my old Far Side collections--sold them for drinking money in college, I suppose. But if I was to include one Gary Larson title for my permanent library, The Prehistory of the Far Side would be it.
I had a brief encounter with Gary Larson once, but it was in a professional setting that didn't permit me to express a word of appreciation. I always regretted that.
Who knows what happened to all my old Far Side collections--sold them for drinking money in college, I suppose. But if I was to include one Gary Larson title for my permanent library, The Prehistory of the Far Side would be it.
I had a brief encounter with Gary Larson once, but it was in a professional setting that didn't permit me to express a word of appreciation. I always regretted that.
May 5, 2014
I admit that I was waiting for this book to go on clearance before I pulled the trigger on it. I waited for it for almost a year and it was worth the wait!
The Far Side was a slice of life cartoon that showcased Gary Larson often twisted humor. I always wondered how he made those cartoons and why cows and dogs?
This book answers that question. It's not so much a collection of strips so much so as it is Larson's thoughts and views on how the strips came about. It has a lot of strips and he also included some rarities and as well as rejected strips. He explains the background of those rejected pieces and he features some of his favorites as well.
If you're a fan of The Far Side, this is an important resource for you.
The Far Side was a slice of life cartoon that showcased Gary Larson often twisted humor. I always wondered how he made those cartoons and why cows and dogs?
This book answers that question. It's not so much a collection of strips so much so as it is Larson's thoughts and views on how the strips came about. It has a lot of strips and he also included some rarities and as well as rejected strips. He explains the background of those rejected pieces and he features some of his favorites as well.
If you're a fan of The Far Side, this is an important resource for you.
January 20, 2017
Not only hilarious galleries, but a fantastic and very personal insight into the evolution of The Farside. This includes the banned comics, the failed ones, the successes too, along with Larson's earlier pieces prior to The Farside.
For me, The Farside is one of the all-time great comics (along with Calvin & Hobbes).
Larson's work is dry, witty and original. And this book is highly recommended for any lover of Larson, along with those interested in the creative mind of comic book artists.
For me, The Farside is one of the all-time great comics (along with Calvin & Hobbes).
Larson's work is dry, witty and original. And this book is highly recommended for any lover of Larson, along with those interested in the creative mind of comic book artists.
May 22, 2012
Larson goes into some of the back story of his famous cartoons. These are funny and some are, oddly disturbing. He gives us a look at a few that were deemed a little too, iffy for publication (the snake crawling through the playpen and unable to get between the bars due to the "swelling" in it's middle is very disturbing...no wonder it didn't make general publication). There are also stories of misplaced captions, art that looked different to the "readers" than it did to Larson, and some editorial decisions that Larson believes changed the impact and even lost the point of some of his work.
An enjoyable book...that may at times give you pause about the mind of the strip's creator. LOL
An enjoyable book...that may at times give you pause about the mind of the strip's creator. LOL
August 29, 2024
Completely brilliant history of the evolution of The Far Side by its creator, taking us from his incessant childhood sketching right through to a sizeable collection of Gary Larson’s favourite Far Side cartoons.
Well-structured and remarkably insightful, Larson uses his sketchbooks and early works to explain both his process and the evolution of his creation, including his discovery of how wonderful cows are, leading into his menagerie of chickens, bears, amoebas and especially, snakes.
He takes the time and trouble to give us the thinking behind the cartoons, how they developed, things that went right, and wrong, and relations with publishers and the public.
A truly joyous treasury.
Well-structured and remarkably insightful, Larson uses his sketchbooks and early works to explain both his process and the evolution of his creation, including his discovery of how wonderful cows are, leading into his menagerie of chickens, bears, amoebas and especially, snakes.
He takes the time and trouble to give us the thinking behind the cartoons, how they developed, things that went right, and wrong, and relations with publishers and the public.
A truly joyous treasury.
March 21, 2023
I have always loved THE FAR SIDE cartoons, which began in my town back in the 1980s. When the San Francisco Chronicle decided to carry the strip, the first major paper to do so, everything changed. Gary Larson was the cartoonist for Gen-X, who already viewed the world with cynicism, and his single-panel artwork changed the perception of comics. They weren't just for kids anymore.
This book shows the behind-the-scenes angst that Larson went through, as he never really knew if one of his works would offend someone. It turns out that he had several that couldn't be published because of his grisly humor, but most made it into the Chronicle and eventually into the nationwide American press.
This was a time when people were reading newspapers on their commute and you could always hear someone laughing or discussing the morning's FAR SIDE cartoon. We didn't always understand what they meant, but we loved them anyway. Cows became the most notorious subject but pets also took the spotlight.
In 2020, THE FAR SIDE suddenly returned with a few new cartoons. Larson also updated his website and has gone fully digital. Some things never die.
Book Season = Year Round (there's a bee in the car)
February 22, 2022
Another of my physical copies of the hilarious Far Side!
January 2, 2019
Inside Larson’s Head
2 January 2019 – Adelaide
And here we are, my first review of 2019, though I’m not entirely sure why it is that would make this review any different to the thousand odd other reviews that I have written over the years I have been lurking here on Goodreads. I guess it has something to do with that rather strange tradition that we humans like to do where we all gather around with our friends, drink copious amounts of alcohol, and fire rockets into the air simply because we have orbited the sun once again. Hey, it isn’t as if we are the only lot who do this, but at least the Chinese have a huge feast and spend time with family, but then again I suspect that that is what Christmas is for (not that many of us actually realise why we celebrate Christmas, unless it involves keeping the wheels of the economy turning).
Anyway, enough of that and onto this book. Well, unlike the other galleries that I have read (and I have managed to get my hands on number three now, so that I can actually add that one to the collection of books that I have read, even though I have probably read it already, a number of times, years ago) this one is slightly different. Basically, it is Gary Larson telling his story, which is actually somewhat interesting. Okay, admittedly he does consider himself a sick and twisted individual, and does somewhat blame his older brother for that, though it is probably a good thing that he decided to channel his energies into writing cartoons. On the other hand, I do suspect that he is exaggerating things a little and I suspect that he probably had a half decent childhood.
Well, we basically start of with a collection of drawings which he drew as a child, and I sort of now wander whether he was exaggerating, or whether it was just a product of an over active imagination. Like, honestly, drawing a picture of his house, with bars on the upstairs window, and then placing him behind then, and then a second picture where he draws it from his point of view, so that he is actually looking through the bars, is sort of a little concerning.
Of course, he then tells his story of how he became a professional cartoonist, namely due to a stroke of luck at the San Francisco Chronicle. Sure, he was already a published cartoonist, but considering the content of his cartoons, he wasn’t going to be for long. In fact, it appeared that he was looking at a career working for the National Parks and Wildlife service, and considering the number of cartoons dealing with animals (especially cows) you can sort tell that he does have an interest in biology.
One thing that jumped out at me is how sensitive some people are, and in fact how there are people who are so conservative that any suggestion of sex will literally set them off. Ironically, the conservatives these days are complaining about the leftist snowflakes, yet if you read some of the letters that Larson has published in this book (namely because he has a chapter that contains a number of cartoons that generated complaints), you start to wonder who the actual snowflakes really are. The same goes with sex – sometimes I get the impression that the puritanical lot are so sex obsessed that they will complain that a lamp post should be pulled down because of the sexual innuendo it represents. The irony is that it is these people who complain that our society is sex obsessed, yet seem to be the ones who are doing all of the complaining – it makes me wonder who is actually the one obsessed with sex.
Another question Larson posed in this section (before he moves onto the section containing cartoons that weren’t printed, or at least heavy revised, and his favourite cartoons) involves letters he would recieve from Amnesty Internations about cartoons that made light of torture, or letters from various animal societies due to his portrayal of animals. He asks whether cartoons like Wizard of Id or Garfield would also receive such letters. Honestly, my suspicion is that they do, and I suspect that they probably receive a lot more. As for the complainers, I suspect that with a lot of those people they probably write an angry letter and leave it at that because, honestly, in the end we are basically too slack to do all that much (and I bet very few of them actually cancel their subscription, despite threats to do so).
2 January 2019 – Adelaide
And here we are, my first review of 2019, though I’m not entirely sure why it is that would make this review any different to the thousand odd other reviews that I have written over the years I have been lurking here on Goodreads. I guess it has something to do with that rather strange tradition that we humans like to do where we all gather around with our friends, drink copious amounts of alcohol, and fire rockets into the air simply because we have orbited the sun once again. Hey, it isn’t as if we are the only lot who do this, but at least the Chinese have a huge feast and spend time with family, but then again I suspect that that is what Christmas is for (not that many of us actually realise why we celebrate Christmas, unless it involves keeping the wheels of the economy turning).
Anyway, enough of that and onto this book. Well, unlike the other galleries that I have read (and I have managed to get my hands on number three now, so that I can actually add that one to the collection of books that I have read, even though I have probably read it already, a number of times, years ago) this one is slightly different. Basically, it is Gary Larson telling his story, which is actually somewhat interesting. Okay, admittedly he does consider himself a sick and twisted individual, and does somewhat blame his older brother for that, though it is probably a good thing that he decided to channel his energies into writing cartoons. On the other hand, I do suspect that he is exaggerating things a little and I suspect that he probably had a half decent childhood.
Well, we basically start of with a collection of drawings which he drew as a child, and I sort of now wander whether he was exaggerating, or whether it was just a product of an over active imagination. Like, honestly, drawing a picture of his house, with bars on the upstairs window, and then placing him behind then, and then a second picture where he draws it from his point of view, so that he is actually looking through the bars, is sort of a little concerning.
Of course, he then tells his story of how he became a professional cartoonist, namely due to a stroke of luck at the San Francisco Chronicle. Sure, he was already a published cartoonist, but considering the content of his cartoons, he wasn’t going to be for long. In fact, it appeared that he was looking at a career working for the National Parks and Wildlife service, and considering the number of cartoons dealing with animals (especially cows) you can sort tell that he does have an interest in biology.
One thing that jumped out at me is how sensitive some people are, and in fact how there are people who are so conservative that any suggestion of sex will literally set them off. Ironically, the conservatives these days are complaining about the leftist snowflakes, yet if you read some of the letters that Larson has published in this book (namely because he has a chapter that contains a number of cartoons that generated complaints), you start to wonder who the actual snowflakes really are. The same goes with sex – sometimes I get the impression that the puritanical lot are so sex obsessed that they will complain that a lamp post should be pulled down because of the sexual innuendo it represents. The irony is that it is these people who complain that our society is sex obsessed, yet seem to be the ones who are doing all of the complaining – it makes me wonder who is actually the one obsessed with sex.
Another question Larson posed in this section (before he moves onto the section containing cartoons that weren’t printed, or at least heavy revised, and his favourite cartoons) involves letters he would recieve from Amnesty Internations about cartoons that made light of torture, or letters from various animal societies due to his portrayal of animals. He asks whether cartoons like Wizard of Id or Garfield would also receive such letters. Honestly, my suspicion is that they do, and I suspect that they probably receive a lot more. As for the complainers, I suspect that with a lot of those people they probably write an angry letter and leave it at that because, honestly, in the end we are basically too slack to do all that much (and I bet very few of them actually cancel their subscription, despite threats to do so).
November 23, 2009
Why, why on earth would I list a comic book as a five-star? How could I dare to put this book on an equal level with the greatest literature that man has ever put to page?
Firstly, let me say that I reviewed this book for what it is: a simple history, description, and exploration of a popular one-panel comic strip mysteriously called "The Far Side". It's not deep, it's not emotionally moving, and it doesn't aspire to be any of these things. It simply does its job perfectly.
This book is entertaining from the first page to the last. It seems to be entirely focused only on those topics that are most interesting. A few pages on hilarious early attempts at cartooning, a few pages on misunderstood comics, a few pages on embarrassing mistakes, all of this mixed together with trivia about Gary Larson and his little one-panel world. This book gets five stars simply for making me view comics in a different light, and helping me realize that there truly is an entire world within what I would normally pass up as an unimportant profession. Gary Larson laughs at himself and everyone else as he explores all the smallest nooks and crannies of the strange, funny, and insightful world of the joke. It's a study of humor, and bound to be entertaining even to those who never pick up a comic book.
Firstly, let me say that I reviewed this book for what it is: a simple history, description, and exploration of a popular one-panel comic strip mysteriously called "The Far Side". It's not deep, it's not emotionally moving, and it doesn't aspire to be any of these things. It simply does its job perfectly.
This book is entertaining from the first page to the last. It seems to be entirely focused only on those topics that are most interesting. A few pages on hilarious early attempts at cartooning, a few pages on misunderstood comics, a few pages on embarrassing mistakes, all of this mixed together with trivia about Gary Larson and his little one-panel world. This book gets five stars simply for making me view comics in a different light, and helping me realize that there truly is an entire world within what I would normally pass up as an unimportant profession. Gary Larson laughs at himself and everyone else as he explores all the smallest nooks and crannies of the strange, funny, and insightful world of the joke. It's a study of humor, and bound to be entertaining even to those who never pick up a comic book.
September 27, 2014
I have know of the far side for many years - and I must admit their own strange sense of humour matches mine often being the epitome of witty observation. This book is a collection of his early works along with a narrative of his Gary Larsons early years and how he got in to illustrations and the current phenomena which is the "Far Side". The books is both funny and informative - acting as a cross between humour and autobiography - great read and I will admit fascinating to see how some of his sketches evolved and changed and why they didnt stay as they were.
October 3, 2013
When I was working in any of the many bookstores where I was employed and I did not want (or have the time) to read my current book, I would grab one of these collections to read on my too short break. I slowly but surely worked my way through several series. These are great time killers and will usually improve your mood no matter how hectic the day. Laughter can be the best solution to dealing with the public.
Far Side was always interesting. Many would make you laugh out loud. Others would make you scratch your head in wonder. Naturally you would run to your friends or family to show them the newest one either to share the laugh or to hopefully get them to explain it so you can laugh at it.(Hopefully without having to admit that you needed the help in the first place.) It was a sad day That Gary Larson retired the series but on the other hand, I am glad that he stopped before the strip started to get old and stale. These one panel strips still stand up and will always be one of the comic strip classics. A collection made up from earlier collections.
Far Side was always interesting. Many would make you laugh out loud. Others would make you scratch your head in wonder. Naturally you would run to your friends or family to show them the newest one either to share the laugh or to hopefully get them to explain it so you can laugh at it.(Hopefully without having to admit that you needed the help in the first place.) It was a sad day That Gary Larson retired the series but on the other hand, I am glad that he stopped before the strip started to get old and stale. These one panel strips still stand up and will always be one of the comic strip classics. A collection made up from earlier collections.
February 24, 2011
The Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes, and Bloom County were my three all time favorite comic strips. They probably still are. In this collection, Adams treats fans to early sketches, changes, and angry letters he's gotten over the years. He showcases fabulous mistakes that have been made (like the caption for Dennis the Menace being put under his cartoon instead- with hilarious results), and his favorite cartoons . . .which happen to be mine as well! A must for any Far Side fan!
May 17, 2021
“A swimmer in the water is worth two on the beach.”
Brevity is the soul of wit, and these are seriously witty and at times hilarious drawings. I have no idea how many times I erupted in laughter, but it was deep into double figures, producing all sorts of weird sounds, snorts, belly laughs and many other noises in between.
Larson is renowned for his fondness of cows in his work, but for me some of the best ones involve the bears and the funniest of all involved a rogue python, which is one of the funniest single panel cartoons I’ve ever seen.
The section on some of his more controversial and confusing ones was a delight, the likes of “Cow tools” (yes it confused me too!) and “Tethercat” (which I found very funny) and the one with the babysitting witch, but it also shows no matter what kind of art you put out there into the world, there are always going to be those who appear to go to some great lengths to get offended.
Many of the rejected cartoons were hilarious and some of them top drawer material, like the elephant standing with a crutch and a missing foot talking in a phone booth, and the caption reads… “What?...They turned it into a wastebasket?”
I honestly cannot remember the last time I laughed so long and so hard at a book. This is an absolute treat of a read and at times some panels were a work of genius!
June 4, 2022
Hard to beat Larson, even though a lot of this is very early work and sketches.
February 26, 2012
High-larious. Read this on the couch in just about one sitting. The Far Side is full of classics. This one has some background bio information on Larson, some early sketches and the evolution of several cartoons along with the creative process. Included are a number of never-made-it rejects, and the worst received attempts. For the record *I* think "cow tools" was funny.
Probably the funniest thing in the whole book is on page 127. The accidental switching of captions between The Far Side and Dennis The Menace.
exhibit a:
Three snakes at a dinner table, the caption reads: "Lucky thing I learned to make peanut butter sandwiches or we woulda starved to death by now".
exhibit b:
Dennis and Joey, holding sandwiches and walking behind Alice, who is seated at table and trying to ignore her annoying son in favor of the telephone and a cup of tea; the caption reads:
"Oh, brother!.... Not hamsters again!"
I rest my case.
Probably the funniest thing in the whole book is on page 127. The accidental switching of captions between The Far Side and Dennis The Menace.
exhibit a:
Three snakes at a dinner table, the caption reads: "Lucky thing I learned to make peanut butter sandwiches or we woulda starved to death by now".
exhibit b:
Dennis and Joey, holding sandwiches and walking behind Alice, who is seated at table and trying to ignore her annoying son in favor of the telephone and a cup of tea; the caption reads:
"Oh, brother!.... Not hamsters again!"
I rest my case.
November 12, 2014
A wonderful look into The Far Side, the history of Gary Larson, and his creative process.
It often seems that Larson's The Far Side was a bit overshadowed by Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. I consider both amazing comics, but Watterson was clearly the better artist, and tended to be a little more accessible, with consistent characters and philosophical ideas. Larson's comics tended to be a bit more off-the-wall, sometimes venturing into rather cryptic scientific jokes.
Nevertheless, The Far Side is well-worth delving into, and this book explores more, beyond the comic itself, in Larson's typical goofy way.
It often seems that Larson's The Far Side was a bit overshadowed by Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. I consider both amazing comics, but Watterson was clearly the better artist, and tended to be a little more accessible, with consistent characters and philosophical ideas. Larson's comics tended to be a bit more off-the-wall, sometimes venturing into rather cryptic scientific jokes.
Nevertheless, The Far Side is well-worth delving into, and this book explores more, beyond the comic itself, in Larson's typical goofy way.
September 11, 2017
One of the greatest absurdist cartoons ever, the Far Side ages extremely well! This collection from oh so long ago is precious archeological evidence of the brilliance of Gary Larson's addictive humor.
January 3, 2013
A stand-out collection, gathering cartoons from the first ten years. I love Larson's work so I'm biased, but this is very highly recommended!
November 18, 2014
Good times!!
Love these comics.
Always chuckling to myself when reading them.
Love these comics.
Always chuckling to myself when reading them.
March 27, 2020
Probably the only Far Side collectio I'm not giving five stars. It's great, but it's not just a cool appendage to a Far Side collection, it's mostly a Greatest Hits album with some bonus features. The "childhood drawings" section is a fairly entertaining faux biography intro. And it segues into the actual biographical tale of how Larson went from working in a retail music store to penning the successful syndicated comic, which he tells briefly and engagingly.
From there, it's mostly comics from The Far Side Gallery trade paperbacks. Sometimes with additional text explaining his process, or how the comic reading world uver-reacted to his irreverence. These stories were okay, but not particularly noteworthy except that most of the complaints seemed to come from New Jersey and Florida, which is statistically interesting.
The highlights, for me, were the times his comic's captions got switched with "Dennis The Menace" comics. I howled at those. I also enjoyed his sketchbook of unprinted ideas.
If you're not going to get the five Far Side Galleries or The Complete Far Side, this is a decent collection to own. But I also recommend it to completists, as I did quite enjoy most of the material that doesn't appear in his other books.
From there, it's mostly comics from The Far Side Gallery trade paperbacks. Sometimes with additional text explaining his process, or how the comic reading world uver-reacted to his irreverence. These stories were okay, but not particularly noteworthy except that most of the complaints seemed to come from New Jersey and Florida, which is statistically interesting.
The highlights, for me, were the times his comic's captions got switched with "Dennis The Menace" comics. I howled at those. I also enjoyed his sketchbook of unprinted ideas.
If you're not going to get the five Far Side Galleries or The Complete Far Side, this is a decent collection to own. But I also recommend it to completists, as I did quite enjoy most of the material that doesn't appear in his other books.
January 28, 2019
Say, what? I don't give 5 stars to mere comic strip books. Ah, but this one has a difference. The book has the conceit of pretending to be a museum exhibit, and it works beautifully. Gary Larson is the curator, and in different part of the exhibit we see the origin of THE FAR SIDE, ways the panel evolved, some fascinating mistakes Larson made along the way and great panels that were published before some dunderheads in the world were ready to accept them, and finally Larson's own favorite cartoons. This book is fascinating in all its chapters, and really does represent the best of THE FAR SIDE.
February 14, 2019
hahahahahhahahahhahahahhahahahahahahahasoooooooooooooooooo funny
October 29, 2022
Though I didn't find it as entertaining as his other collections, it still ranks 5 stars.
July 7, 2021
This 10th anniversary collection offers a hilarious look into the creative processes of genius funnyman Gary Larson. What a treat to see insider stories behind some completely iconic and timeless newspaper comics (and, of course, a sizable collection of said newspaper comics anyway, if that's what you're looking for!).
December 5, 2024
Pure genius. One panel masterpieces. Sometimes a little bit rough around the edges, but all in all, hilarious!
March 31, 2025
Det er lige før, at dette er det bedste album i serien. Det hele kommenteret af manden selv.
Ubetaleligt.
Ubetaleligt.
December 21, 2012
I don't give out 5 stars lightly and yes, this is a comic collection, but it definitely deserves the stars. I've owned this book for years, and I pull it out at least once a year and just sit back and laugh out loud. You either "get" the Far Side, or you don't. I've had people ask me to explain the humour, and you just can't. (One of my fears when I had children was that they wouldn't get this type of humour but, thank goodness, my fears were unfounded). Larson's humour is bizarre, demented, twisted and so hysterically funny. He's a genius.
This book is extra fabulous because of the additional information he has added, such as some comics that didn't make it to the newspapers and background information on some of his most famous, and infamous, comics. This book is an absolute must-have for any Gary Larson fan, even if you already have most of his collection in other books.
This book is extra fabulous because of the additional information he has added, such as some comics that didn't make it to the newspapers and background information on some of his most famous, and infamous, comics. This book is an absolute must-have for any Gary Larson fan, even if you already have most of his collection in other books.
March 29, 2016
I loved this comic when it was a daily in the local paper. Some of them were a bit risque, and some were protested due to differing views. Gary Larson always made me laugh, even though occasionally there was a eww at the end due to the creatures used in that days comic, never been a huge fan of bugs. I wish he was still writing/drawing this comic. The book shows his early comic called "Nature Way" and continues on to the more popular Far Side. He shows some concept art for a few of the finished products so we can see how he gets to an end result he likes. If you were a fan of the comic I suggest trying to find a copy of this anthology, it has some interesting insight into the mind of the artist.
May 25, 2009
Gary Larson's humor is, in my book, unparalleled. I miss him emensely, and wish he would make a comeback. I could (and might) easily rate all of his compilations 5 stars - but I want to start with this one, probably because it has a bunch of little tidbits that are just fun things to know about Larson. Many of the cartoons never hit the newspapers for one reason or another, so I'd never seen a lot of them. He also provides commentary that I think is just priceless, on stuff there's no way you'd ever guess / know unless you got this book. This is truly a 'must have' for die-hard Larson fans.
January 15, 2013
A must for fans of Larson's idiosyncratic humour, and it contains cartoons he thought better of publishing - such as one featuring a snake with a suspiciously large lump who is slithering its way through a baby's crib - YIKES!
He also talks about his infamous 'Cow Tools' cartoon, which reminded me of what someone once said about comedy being like gossamer wings *or perhaps butterfly wings*: once you start to dissect it, it loses its humour. In the case of 'Cow Tools," I didn't really have a problem with it until I was alerted to how many folks didn't 'get' it.
He also talks about his infamous 'Cow Tools' cartoon, which reminded me of what someone once said about comedy being like gossamer wings *or perhaps butterfly wings*: once you start to dissect it, it loses its humour. In the case of 'Cow Tools," I didn't really have a problem with it until I was alerted to how many folks didn't 'get' it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 235 reviews