Cows of Our Planet

Far Side Collection #13

by Gary Larson

A collection of Far Side comics

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Comic Strips, Cartoon, Fiction, Comedy

95 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Gary 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.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This!


Hell's video store

[Carol M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at the last library sale. It was fun to read through the comics and it garnered a few laughs. I couldn’t understand some of the comics and that made me feel stupid!

[Maria Lago · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having a bad day? Here, take this book.

[Shirley Yant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goofy and fun to read

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amusing little book only contains a little bit of information about the cows of our planet, the fanciful theme that the title would indicate. The cartoons related to that theme are in the middle of the book in a pull out section that includes a lot of very entertaining imaginary cow varieties, some of them lamentably labeled as extinct, that only Gary Larson or someone who thinks like him could imagine but that can be appreciated by all. And in general this book contains a great deal of humorous material, some of which is quite daringly topical in 1992, when the book was published. As there is a great deal that is both timeless and timely about Larson's work, this was a fun book to read, and anyone who is a fan of the Far Side and hasn't seen this book already would do well to check it out. And even if one has seen the book and its comics before, there is always the chance that the comedy included may hit differently this time and lead to even more laughs when reviewed again with the fondness of slight familiarity. You can certainly spend your time far less enjoyably than this, that's for sure.

The contents of this book are straightforward. As noted earlier, the theme of this book is the cows of our planet, and several large pages are devoted to that theme in an entertaining way. Other than that, this book consists of one or two one-frame cartoons that frequently but do not always include animals as the heroes of the story. Frequently, as one might imagine, there is a great deal of interest that the author has in taking familiar situations and in seeing the unfamiliar in them, in pointing out the folly of scientists and politicians and other powerful people, and in presenting absurd situations that can be enjoyed simply because of their oddity and eccentricity. It is a shame that Gary Larson had retired for so long, but having these cartoons is a good way to appreciate and to cultivate a fondness for the odd and bizarre, because life is a lot easier to endure if we can see a strange and funny way to see other people and the situations of life. A great deal of life's frustrations would be easier to cope with if we did not have to take them seriously or as a personal affront, and this book helps us to do so.

[Malik Vest Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good. 92 pages of funny, smart comics. 10% I didn't laugh or smile because I either didn't get the reference or it simply didn't land for me. That's a good ratio. You get a fold out color poster of the "Cows of Our Planet" embedded in the middle of the book. It's higher quality paper and a nice addition. It's not just a poster of the book cover it's a fictional list of different cows. I think if you love "Far Side" This is a worthwhile additon to your collection and contains a lot of his more popular ones. Larson loves animals and as a aspiring zoologist I loved the prevalence of animal jokes in this one. Maybe that was the theme for this collection. You can get this for 6 new right now on Amazon. Probably like 2 bucks if you find it at goodwill. Def worth it. Considering it retailed for $8.95

[Jodi Galland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, I love Larson. I remember seeing a Far Side panel in the Sunday papers at grandma’s when I was a teen. There was one joke in this collection I didn’t get, and that made me realize some of these comics don’t carry well through time. Not that I minded at all! I giggled so many times reading this today. I almost feel bad listing this as a “book” in my reads this year, but sometimes it’s ok to add comics. Especially great ones.

Thanks for entertaining us all these years, Mr Larson.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 2 out of 5]

COWS OF OUR PLANET by Gary Larson
Far Side collection. Almost exclusively cartoons based on a subtle word play. Some make you smile:
• Hell’s suggestion box
• God with the “smite” button
… but the sequences become rapidly monotonous

[Carly Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Laughed out loud a whole lot and loved the foldout "cows of the world" poster!

[Mr. Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Larson is a mad genius

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

COWS!!!

[Kasey Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larsen does it again.
The sheer amount of comedy chickens deliver in this book has to be read to be believed.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic Far Side!

[Phillip Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, fun read for those of us who have a slightly bent sense of humor. The Far Side was one of my favorite comic strips.

[Kurt Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic is always funny.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like these later collections a little more than the early early ones.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

fold out was disappointing (yes, other people obviously like it)

some clever and subtle word play

not as many 'keepers' in this collection

[Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

🤣🤣🤣

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, I can save the town from extraterrestrial invasion and show off my karate skills all at once

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not as funny as I remember it to be. Maybe it's just this collection, maybe it's me.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been a while since I sat down and read any of Gary Larson's The Far Side. This comic strip used to be one of my favorites, as I love the one line zingers. I had never read any of the comic strips included in Cows of Our Planet in the newspapers, so these were all new to me. Although I found that I really enjoyed reading this book, I discovered that a lot of them weren't as funny as the ones Gary Larson created in his earlier years. Sure, some of them made me smile. Some of them made me laugh out loud, but not as many as in his previous books.
There were a few strips I could have chosen from to show above, but the one I chose made me smile and then I started singing in my head. Yes, the comic strip refers to the classic movie, The Sound of Music, and the song by Julie Andrews, "My Favorite Things." As I am writing this review, I just had to put the song on to listen to it. I don't know who the guy was that will killed in the shown strip, but I'm sure he has some nice things.

Cows of Our Planet contains a wonderful collection of comic strips from the warped and twisted mind of its creator. I can only heap praise upon Gary Larson for coming up with such a wonderful premise as The Far Side. It will always remain, in my mind, as one of the funniest comic strips to ever grace the pages of a newspaper.

So, if you are looking for something entertaining to read, pick up a copy of Cows of Our Planet and be prepared for something that can turn your moooooood around.

[David Caldwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

Some authors seem to have a fascination with certain places or things. Stephen King is drawn to cornfields, Michael Crichton to amusement parks(Westworld and Jurassic park were both amusement parks that go wrong), and Gary Larson is pulled towards the obvious humor of the cow.

[Lukeb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally thought that this was Gary Larson's best books ever. As I am writing this review I have the book sitting next to me and every once in a while I will read a comic and every single one of them were hilarious. The best are Larson's weird, amazing, and of course funny cows of our planet. such as the Tennessee big butt, the Polynesian puffer cow, and the Norwegian one-eyed smiler. Not including 20 other weird, amazing, and funny cows of our planet.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic slice of Larson's universe, this was published in 1992 and doesn't really focus on cows (though there is an amusing colour foldout in the centre). Always amusing, the top panels for me were the devils laughing at the suggestions, "Henry never knew what hit him" and the karate class witnessing a close encounter. Great stuff, highly recommended.

[Sandi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unlike many of Larson's earlier Far Side cartoons, almost every one of these were lame or blah. only three or four were clever or funny, which is not enough to redeem a book of insipid, uninspired cartoons. This is where someone who is paid to churn out stuff day after day loses that creative spark. Oh well. Luckily I did not waste much money on the book.

[Kai Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I have not read any other of the Far Side collection books, but I plan to if they are anything like this one. I laughed at every turn. I recommend this book to anyone who has a good sense of humor.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Larson is terribly funny. Yeah, every science lab or office in the US probably had at least one (often many) Far Side cartoons up on the door or walls back then. Now, I expect it's mostly XKCD. Sick geeky humor, I'm so there.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s not to like about Gary Larson cartoons? Has one of my favorites with the gorillas in the junior high locker room with one of them saying “Wow… that guy’s already a silverback”. Some of the cartoons however aren’t his best.

[Lafcadio · Rating 3 out of 5]

12th?