Hound of The Far Side

Far Side Collection #7

by Gary Larson

Copyright © 1987 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Far Side ®, FarWorks, Inc. ®, and the Larson ® signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.

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

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

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

[Keturah Lamb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laid on my couch and read this today. Occasionally giggled. Felt good, thus five stars. Black humor that takes some understanding of other things. Sometimes I didn't understand the other things... when I did, I did ;)

[Krista Lukas · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with any cartoon book, can I really say I finished it? It is a book I will gladly return to for a laugh.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

\]]One of the last of Gary Larson's Far Side cartoon collections, this had a lot of old favorites and several that I hadn't seen before. Some of the cartoons are weird, some are REALLY weird, but all are entertaining.

[Kevin Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one felt just a little bit blah. Just a little bit off. Not bad, just not enough that felt like zingers. Perhaps these were unfamiliar? Perhaps this was a reach.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the seventh Far Side collection (originally published in the UK in 1988 - I read the 1991 Futura edition), featuring cartoons from 1980 through to 1987. It starts well, with the two pilots playing at turbulence and never puts a foot wrong. Of the panels themselves, my favourites include “cow joyrides”, the Moby Dick car crash, William Tell’s older son Warren (shouldn’t have laughed at that one!), “Clumsy ghosts”, “Well, that does it for my tomatoes”, Acme Slingshot Co., Overeaters Anonymous at the scenic view, “Fly whimsy” and the brilliant, laugh-out-loud funny “Bobby just got sheared today, Luanne”. A superb collection, brilliantly done and fantastic fun to read, this is highly recommended.

[Matti Karjalainen · Rating 4 out of 5]

No herttinen, ovathan nämä kaikessa absurdiudessaan todella hauskoja. Gary Larson lienee jonkinlainen nero.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Larson is really a Genius

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

2016 review - This is the seventh Far Side collection (originally published in the UK in 1988 - I read the 1991 Futura edition), featuring cartoons from 1980 through to 1987. It starts well, with the two pilots playing at turbulence and never puts a foot wrong. Of the panels themselves, my favourites include “cow joyrides”, the Moby Dick car crash, William Tell’s older son Warren (shouldn’t have laughed at that one!), “Clumsy ghosts”, “Well, that does it for my tomatoes”, Acme Slingshot Co., Overeaters Anonymous at the scenic view, “Fly whimsy” and the brilliant, laugh-out-loud funny “Bobby just got sheared today, Luanne”. A superb collection, brilliantly done and fantastic fun to read, this is highly recommended.
2021 update - completely agree.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread. It's the Far Side that should be enough, but, I'm going to add a few things. Sometimes I need to read something funny (and to me the Far Side is rather funny) or I need to read something short (to help out with my reading goal) or I'm in a waiting room and just need something to pass the time that I don't mind quick stops and starts. In this case, I'm going through all of my old books and deciding which ones to keep. Since this made me laugh and smile, I'm keeping it. And it's been years since I read it, so, it was like reading it for the first time. Lovely.

[Bob Schmitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cartoons are classic. I always get a chuckle even if I have already seen them. Not tire of Far Side yet. My son in SF complained about having trouble getting his mind to rest in order to fall asleep. I suggested a Far Side book as it works for me sending away the cares of the day as I chuckle my way to sleep. I am sending him one. Hope it works. Maybe this will be the next Somonex.

[Dylan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, what a joy to find this collection while cleaning up. I've read it many times and each time different comics stand out to me as being the funniest.

That said, I can't really compare it to what I normally read - that is stories, narrative - and so I must rate it neutrally at 3.

Definitely worth the short period of time you'll need to read it.

[Maxine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Hound of The Far Side is oldie but a goodie from my childhood days. Gary Larson's bizarre, single-panel comic world of cows, amoebas, cavemen and modern people charmed me as a kid, even though a lot of the science-inspired punchlines went over my head back then. Now that I'm older and know more about the natural world, I'm happy to say that I've figured most of them out! :)





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[Rick Bavera · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoyed The Far Side. Some of the snippets are funnier than others.

I look back in time, and I seem to remember them all being much funnier than I find them now.

Tastes change, I guess. They are still funny....but maybe in a different way.

[Pascal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Toujours très fin et marrant, même en français.

[Shirley Yant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything Larson does is usually funny.

[Annburnett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great comic. He tells so much in just one scene in a book. Makes you feel good and well worth reading.

[Carole Skees · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classically great collection.

[Holly (Gladriel Fae) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its the Far Side, what more do you need?

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

HOUND OF THE FAR SIDE
Gary Larson certainly saw the world through a comedic lens – play on words, knowledge of science, and the quirkiness of humanity. ***

[Nial · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great fun!!

[Megan Byrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny strips of comics. Quick read.

[Kayla Farley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gary Larson is an icon and I often wonder when reading his comics, "how does someone's brain think of this/work like this?" *affectionately* like he's just so funny

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious to nigh indecipherable, the man is a national treasure.

[Wyktor Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant book of Gary Larson's humour.
Thoroughly enjoyable!
Highly recommended!

[Ewen Stapley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable and funny quick read. Great to clear the mind between real reads. Larson has a great sense of humour.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like most people, I've read my fair share of The Far Side over the years, and I think I picked this up somewhere along the way, recognizing the title. That said, I think I enjoy the series more in small doses, and not all at once.

Some of the strips honestly flew over my head, and others I got, but didn't find as funny as other people seemed to. The humor also got repetitive after a while, which I could understand in a serial comic strip, but reading one after another, some of the jokes got stale (and obvious) really fast. I can see why people love the strip, but I don't think it really works in a compilation format.

Generally, I still like the series, but this wasn't my cup of tea. Not sure if I'd pick up another collected work in the future.

[Vapaem · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is actually great.

[Conan Tigard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hound of The Far Side will bring a smile to your face as you read it. As with all The Far Side comic strips, you have to have a little bit of a twisted sense of humor to enjoy these.

Most of the strips evolve around animals in a human's shoes. What would they do if they lived like us? That is what makes this comic strip so darned funny. I loved The Far Side when it was in the newspapers and I still love it today.

Gary Larson takes us into the funnier side of the Twilight Zone with his wacky and strange sense of humor with Hound of The Far Side. Cows driving by yelling "Yakity yak yak yak!" Ya gotta love it!

[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.

A cow howling at the moon- how funny.