Information AboutThe Far Side |
''The Far Side'' is a popular one-panel Syndicated Comic created by Gary Larson . Its Surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an Anthropomorphic view of the world, logical fallacies, impending bizarre disasters, or the search for meaning in life. The strip ran from January 1 , 1980 to January 1 , 1995 , when it was retired. (There were a few Sabbaticals and vacations along the way.) Reruns are still printed in many newspapers. Around the world, ''The Far Side'' is perhaps better known for the compilation books and merchandise (especially Calendars , T-shirt s and Mug s) than it is for its original incarnation as a daily Newspaper feature. The series was preceded by a similar panel called '' Nature's Way '', also by Larson. THE COMIC Most ''Far Side'' cartoons are single rectangular panel, occasionally split into small sections of four, six or eight for the purposes of a storyline, with the caption or dialogue usually appearing under the panel as typed text, although sometimes word balloons were utilized for conversations. Sunday comics were done in water color or colored pencils, with captions hand written in Larson's own Cursive . Most of Larson's comics relied on some combination of a visual and verbal gag, rather than just one or the other. Larson was recognized for his work on the strip with the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Panel Cartoon Award for 1985 and 1988, and their Reuben Award for 1990 and 1994. RECURRING THEMES Far Side cartoons, though diverse in their humor, often rely on certain familiar situations. These include: Animals
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''Far Side'' cartoons are also known for similarities that appear throughout the series:
Trouble Brewing The recurring caption ''Trouble Brewing'' appeared on a few cartoons throughout the series, as "trouble brewing" was always a fundamental aspect of Larson's humor. This theme was used for the 2005 release of the ''Far Side'' calendar, with situations like:
MISTAKES Larson has made comment, most notably in '' The Prehistory Of The Far Side '', upon mistakes appearing in the cartoon, be it his fault or, arguably more commonly, that of the editor. Drawing
Captions Surprisingly often, the caption to the Far Side cartoon has been published wrongly in many newspapers, of which Larson comments in ''The Prehistory of the Far Side''.
Editing has often annoyed Larson, though he admits that it was probably been for the best and has saved him on several occasions. Their input however has at times annoyed him. His qualms have mostly involved the effect on the humour, through unacceptable blatedness or softening of the gag, most notably in the cartoon featuring two mammoths, one of which has stepped on a human. The caption originally read, not written here in entirety, "I thought I smelled something." This was deemed unacceptable by one of the editors and this was altered to "I thought I heard something squeak," though the cartoon is now published in its original form. CRITICISM Larson's comic has been attacked by people and groups to whom it caused offense, often for religious content (the Judeo-Christian God is often depicted in a humorous or facetious light; a strip dubbed "Acts of God" and containing God doing various Vaudeville routines on a stage is cited as one of the most notorious in this category). Several ''Far Side'' jokes have involved violence and murder, often between animals or humans and animals. Though not visually gory, some readers have found such strips to be too gruesome and dark for the comics page. For instance, one cartoon shows two parents telling off a witch – who they had mistaken for a witch-like babysitter – for eating ''both'' of their children, as if eating one would have been acceptable but eating two is really going too far (a parody of the story of Hansel and Gretel) Larson commented – amid slight controversy – that when directed at children, this is a simple everyday fairytale and that directing it at adults should not provoke a fuss. One cartoon shows two chimpanzees grooming. One finds a human hair on the other and inquires, "Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?" The Jane Goodall Institute considered this to be in bad taste, and its lawyers drafted a letter to Larson and his distribution syndicate in which it described the cartoon as an "atrocity." It was stymied, however, by Goodall herself, who revealed that she found the cartoon amusing. Since then, all profits from sales of a shirt featuring this cartoon have been donated to the Institute. Incidentally, Larson was attacked by Frodo, a chimp described by Goodall as a bully while visiting Gombe National Park in 1988. Goodall commented, "He somehow managed to get news of the cartoon." Larson has occasionally engaged in self-censorship, acknowledging that some of his cartoons were seriously over the line. ''The Prehistory Of The Far Side'' shows a number of these, one of the most noteworthy depicting a Boa Constrictor which has passed through a Playpen . The head and tail extend well beyond the bars of the playpen, while the middle of the Snake contains a disturbingly large lump, which is preventing it from leaving the playpen. He described this cartoon by saying, "You didn't see this. Turn the page." One of Larson's most disastrous comics featured the caption "When car chasers dream", and showed a dog standing on top of a car it had caught and "killed". To show that the car was "dead" it was drawn on its "back", and Gary Larson decided that he would put in some extra detail by drawing in the car's transmission box. To his dismay, the transmission box didn't fit that well around the dog, so he fit it in as best he could. There was a problem with this, unnoticed by him and his editors, which was only brought to his attention the day that the comic was released. As Gary Larson's friend put it, when he first saw the comic. "Hey, that dog's humping the car". The reaction from a misunderstanding public was devastating. In ''The Complete Far Side'' as well as ''The Prehistory Of The Far Side'', interspersed with the comics, there are letters from angry citizens to newspaper publishers, demanding the removal of ''The Far Side'' from their pages, and often citing a canceled subscription if this was not met. However, these protesters constituted a small enough minority that papers were able to continue to run the strip, with the matter becoming moot when compilation books were produced. Larson himself often laughs at the controversies of his comic as evidenced in '' The Prehistory Of The Far Side '', in which he writes that these people have usually misunderstood the cartoon. He did, however, offer a response to all those who took the trouble to complain: a large print of a Larsonesque boy making a face on the following page. PUBLICATIONS Gary Larson has produced 23 ''Far Side'' books, all of which have made it to the New York Times Bestseller List . The cartoons were first collected in small books (see list below), and some were then republished in larger best-of collections (''The Far Side Galleries''). Additional best-of collections were published, such as ''The Prehistory of The Far Side'', culminating in the final, most complete publication, ''The Complete Far Side''. Collections
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The five ''Far Side Galleries'' are the most popular of the books, each of them collecting together the best cartoons from three smaller books, along with a humorous foreword by a celebrity fan, including Stephen King , Robin Williams , and Jane Goodall . In 1989 , ''The Prehistory Of The Far Side'' was published to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the strip. In this book, Gary Larson discussed the development of ''The Far Side'', the public's reaction to it, and presented a selection of his personal favorites from the cartoon's history, as well as previously unpublished sketches and strips rejected by his editor. In 2003 , ''The Complete Far Side'' was released, which contains nearly every ''Far Side'' comic ever published. (The collection is missing parody art pieces from ''Wiener Dog Art'', some material from ''The Prehistory of the Far Side'', and a panel run for a caption writing contest in the Telegram-Tribune newspaper.) The set featured two volumes (1980–1986 and 1987–1994), a foreword by Steve Martin , and an introduction by Larson's long-time editor Jake Morrisey. The first-edition hardcover boxed set weighs nineteen and a half Pound s (8.8 Kilogram s). Some of the comics were altered for this book, either featuring a different caption or correcting errors. (Most notably altered is a comic where a man with a smiley face for a head is on trial for murder. In ''The Prehistory of the Far Side'' Larson noted that he forgot to draw the man's legs.) (See the Mistakes section for further information.) ON TELEVISION In 1994 , Larson produced an animated special, '' Tales From The Far Side '', featuring his art style and gags from the strips. He followed up with a sequel in 1997 . ONLINE It is difficult to find many ''Far Side'' cartoons online, since Larson (and/or his Publishers and Lawyer s) has been very effective at persuading people to not infringe on his Copyright . There is a widely distributed letter online, attributed to Gary Larson, in which he explains the "emotional cost" to him of people displaying his cartoons on their websites, and asks them to stop doing so. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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