Night of the Crash-Test Dummies

Far Side Collection #9

by Gary Larson

Copyright © 1988 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved.
The Far Side ®, FarWorks, Inc. ®, and the Larson ® signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.

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

104 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1988

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

[Shainlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This had some of my favorite ones in it. None of them are in color but I like the landscape style. There are a few pretty dry ones in here that I had to ask my husband about (to make sure I understand the humor/joke).
Most of them are fun, somewhat dry; but intelligent humor. One of my favorite comics.

[Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

My neighbors have one of those tiny libraries. I was going to run out and take a picture, then realized it's all rainy and dreary. ...Then I realized I took a picture a couple years ago when they first put it up:



I go over and look at what they have every now and again. And man: what a gem. I've watched a lot of political ads the past several weeks. Flying through a short Far Side book was EXACTLY what I needed. A perfect combination of absurd/dark humor. I knew this would be the case when I randomly opened up and saw people crossing a camel in the desert. (Incidentally, it's nice that we're allowed to copy images in the context of reviews. I try not to over use that, but here's the policy in case you don't believe me.)



So, yeah... when I saw this one, I just knew



I saw that, and I laughed. Because, I mean... yeah... I feel that way sometimes. And it's not like they're passing some other people. They're passing a CAMEL, so you know it's a LONG time until water. And that camel looks so sad. It's like - the opposite of "the grass is always greener on the other side." Except that instead of it making you feel better - like - at least we're not THAT guy, you feel worse. Because you're about to become that guy... And somehow it's pretty funny. I mean, I find it very funny. All caps: VERY.

So, thank you, tiny library. You're good people.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ninth Far Side collection from Futura (one of the brilliant, landscape format ones), first published in 1989 (I read the 1991 edition), this is as entertaining now as it was when I first discovered the series back in the early 90s. Highlights for me include the floating head of death, crow lives (when they dream and kids who like horror), what ‘kemo sabe’ really means, Zorro as a child, Don’s Discount Shark Cages and the wonderful Elvis the Bates Motel (probably one of my all-time favourite cartoons). A great deal of fun, inventive and anarchic and occasionally harsh, this is a terrific read and highly recommended.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Far Side has always been very hit-or-miss for me. Either it's highly entertaining, or I just don't get it, or I get it but it's not funny. There isn't a lot of middle ground, and this collection continues in that vein. That being said, when it's good, it's good, and it's good often enough that this was still fun to read through.

[Glen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of one of the best single panel comic strips of all time.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just what the doctor ordered 😆

[John Yelverton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so funny, you'll laugh until you can't laugh anymore.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Larson is just about the greatest and every Far Side collection has me howling, at parts. There is always one or two that I don't get and this one has one that sent me to the Internet trying to figure it out. Apparently, Larson himself thought was one of his most unfunny. It's just an eye on a therapist's couch with the caption: "Frankly, you've got a lot of anger toward the world to work out, Mr. Pembrose." You can see it in the April 30, 1988 Journal Gazette from Mattoon, Illinois · Page 20.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A re-read of a tiny slice of my favourite cartoonist from my youth. Exceedingly odd and often very funny… how did Larson put his finger on so much!? How did he create so many of these single panels? Evokes bemusement, comfort, hilarity, wry chuckles and much else.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm sure there are many people who are not amused by Larson's cartoons. I don't know them, but I'm sure they exist.

[Robert Day · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guy is a genius!

[Nathan Albright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, published in 1988, demonstrates that for years and years Larson's ability to coax humorous cartoons out of sled chickens and animals trying to camouflage themselves in the cities and alien cacti demonstrates that he was still able to make compelling and creative artwork out of a consistent bit of humorous references that he repeated over and over again to great effect. This book is a short one at about 100 pages with a cartoon or two per page, and the result is an entertaining collection of books. As is the case in general with Far Side books, there are jokes about nerds, puns where bears have deer guts instead of beer guts, humorous torture chambers, entertaining dogs, and quite a few glimpses of the old west as it never was. Again, though, as I have said repeatedly, if you are reading this book or any of the many other Far Side compilations that exist (many of which I have read and reviewed, it must be admitted), you know what you like and you know you are going to like this. Considering how hard it is to say something new about these collections without commenting on the content of the cartoons themselves and spoiling them a bit, it is remarkable how long Larson was able to do it.

[Samuel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My eighth grade algebra teacher decorated his classroom walls with print-outs of the Far Side comics by Gary Larson and I eventually grew to love them by reading and rereading them every day. Larson is a hilarious author and illustrator. The characters he draws are sometimes absurd but still feel relatable. Night of the Crash-Test Dummies functions as a collection of some of Larson's funniest comics. Notable standouts include the comics involving cows and single-celled organisms, though I also always found the school for the mechanically inclined especially hilarious. His comics are simple but still funny. They are only one cell with a caption but that is all Larson needs to deliver a laugh. I remember these being an important part of my childhood alongside greats like Calvin and Hobbes and BC. This book is a quick read with well-earned laughs frequently along the way.

[Nick LeBlanc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this from an elementary school book sale nearly thirty years ago. It was lost to me over time. A recent trip to Savers had me finding one for $0.99--this and the SNOW GODS Calvin & Hobbes collection as well, another classic. Of course I grabbed it and tore through it at the first opportunity. There are just so many great and stupid jokes in here. I love single panel comics and I love black and white comics and I especially love stupid jokes. A great book to leave on the back of a toilet.

Read on the brilliant Andrews and McMeel landscape edition.

[Jennifer Cicchetto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to work in a corporate office where comics, like these, were shared regularly in breakrooms, and e-mails. I haven't been in that environment for a few years now, so it was nice to spend the 1st of the year reading a few of these cerebral single-panel comics a day. Definitely a mood elevator! This collection of Larson's Farside comics even included one of my every favorites- Zorro as a child, stumbling upon what ‘kemo sabe’ "really means" :-)

[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.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanted to read something silly so I picked up my copy of this. Lots of odd stuff, but I remember how much I had to learn to figure out some of the jokes.

This book was a Christmas gift from my grandparents in 1996. Still has my granny's handwriting in the front cover.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many more bizarre laughter with this one.

[Andy Hickman · Rating 3 out of 5]

NIGHT OF THE CRASH-TEST DUMMIES

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

[Carole Skees · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous funnies.

[Nick Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silliness. Some of these I'd seen before.

My favorite is the one with the cartoonist doodling physics on the side of his cartoon.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot add anything. It's Gary Larson's unique humor and its loved or hated or misunderstood. But always unique. It's a 5 star (in my opinion).

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several of these cartoons have appeared in other books.

As always, I find some I really like, most are okay, and a few I don't get.

[Belle Meade School]

FIC
LAR

[Conan Tigard · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the last few years, most of the comics that I have been reviewing are the DelRey Manga books. But I realized that I still have some of The Far Side collections still sitting on my shelf waiting to be reviewed. So, I finally cracked one open, and boy, oh boy was I glad I did.

This ninth book of The Far Side comic strips made me laugh out loud a few times, even though I have seen them all before. I especially liked the one I printed above as I used to love the Lone Ranger and Tonto. The other one I almost pictured was the anthropologists discovering a second Lucy, but it turns out to be Charles M. Schulz's Lucy van Pelt. I'm just not sure how many people would get that. Say, did you know that Louis Leakey's Lucy was names after the Beatles' song Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds because that is what was playing on the radio when they found her? Pretty cool, huh?

Anyway, this collection of Gary Larson comics is a hoot. I used to cut all of his comics out of the newspaper and put them up on my wall at work. They always brought a smile to my face.

So, if you are looking for a good laugh or two, pick up a copy of Night of the Crash-Test Dummies. It is well worth the money.

[Tiffany Spencer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Night of the Crash-Test Dummies: a Far Side Collection

There’s really no plot to this. The name doesn’t have anything to do with anything except the illustration on the cover and not the material inside. These are a collection of comic strips in either one long rectangle panel or a couple of panels to a page. They’re done in black and white and have captions written underneath that consist of verbal gags. You have to have a “unique” sense of humor to appreciate the Farside comics because a lot of the humor is really TWISTED! Some of them you’ll get. Some will go over your head. I suppose the older you get the more some of the references will make sense. I have a fond feeling of these because I think back to when I use to see them all the time in a certain book store here. If you have a weird sense of humor this might be your type of comic.

Rating: 6

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

As always, Gary Larson delivers. Night of the Crash-Test Dummies is funny, provocative, and insightful, like all of Larson's books. Unfortunately, as with most comics strips, it's either all or nothing, love it or hate it. If you like Larson, then you are guaranteed to love this book. If you don't care for Larson...why are you here?

[Paula]

Another book where superficially each cartoon makes you laugh, but often there is a deeper philosophical or scientific value, or comment on human behavior, to what appears to be a simple cartoon. This is why all of Gary Larson's works remain timeless.

[St-Michel · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of that delightful Larson humour.