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The Complete Far Side

The Complete Far Side

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  • Create Date：2021-03-28 13:16:42
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Gary Larson
  • ISBN：1449460046
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Summary

[ Box Set | Book One | Book Two | Book Three ]

The Far Side is back in this much-anticipated three-volume slipcased paperback edition of The Complete Far Side！

Every one of these cartoons is just something that drifted into my head when I was alone with my thoughts。 And， for better or worse， I jotted them down。 It was only later， when perhaps I received an angry letter from someone， that it struck me: Hey！ Someone's been reading my diary！ -- Gary Larson， from the preface to The Complete Far Side

Originally published in hardcover in 2003， The Complete Far Side was a New York Times bestseller。 Now it's back as a paperback set with a newly designed slipcase that will delight Far Side fans。

Revered by its fans as the funniest， most original， most What the 。。。 ？&nspiring cartoon ever， The Far Side debuted in January 1980 and enjoyed an illustrious 14 years on the world's comics pages until Gary Larson's retirement in 1994。 The Complete Far Side celebrates Larson's twisted， irreverent genius in this ultimate Far Side book。

A masterpiece of comic brilliance， The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever syndicated--over 4，000 if you must know--presented in （more or less） chronological order by year of publication， with more than 1，100 that had never before appeared in a book。 Also included are additional Far Side cartoons Larson created after his retirement: 13 that appeared in the last Far Side book， Last Chapter and Worse， and six cartoons that periodically ran as a special feature in the New York Times Science Times section as The Far Side of Science。 Creator Gary Larson offers a rare glimpse into the mind of The Far Side in quirky and thoughtful introductions to each of the 14 chapters。 Complaint letters， fan letters， and queries from puzzled readers appear alongside some of the more provocative or elusive panels。 Actor， author， and comedian Steve Martin offers his sagacious thoughts in a foreword， and Larson's former editor describes what it was like to be the guy who could explain every Far Side cartoon。

During its 14-year run， The Far Side was syndicated internationally to over 1，900 daily newspapers。 It spawned 23 books and has been translated into 17 different languages。

Copyright 2014 by FarWorks， Inc。 All Rights Reserved。 The Far Side and Tales from The Far Side are registered trademarks of FarWorks， Inc。

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Reviews

Paul Black ，

Almost 5000 cartoons exploring all sides of human （and animal） existence。 I loved it。Some cartoons have swearing， so maybe not appropriate for all。I took a long time reading these to savor a little once in a while， instead of gorging on everything。

Jdetrick ，

One of the best comics ever published， with some panels that are still part of the culture decades after they originally ran in newspapers。 The added material， especially Larson's essays， are a joy to read。 One of the best comics ever published， with some panels that are still part of the culture decades after they originally ran in newspapers。 The added material， especially Larson's essays， are a joy to read。 。。。more

David Stewart ，

This is definitely a three star presentation of a five star product， which is why I'm giving it four stars。 The Far Side is brilliant and there's never been a single panel comic to match it。 Larson was a talented artist， a unique mind and a great writer。 The text accompanying his panels always contained the perfect character name and choice of phrase to compliment the illustrations。 Why is a drawing of vultures funnier because one of them is called Douglas？ I have no idea。 Did that name just pop This is definitely a three star presentation of a five star product， which is why I'm giving it four stars。 The Far Side is brilliant and there's never been a single panel comic to match it。 Larson was a talented artist， a unique mind and a great writer。 The text accompanying his panels always contained the perfect character name and choice of phrase to compliment the illustrations。 Why is a drawing of vultures funnier because one of them is called Douglas？ I have no idea。 Did that name just pop into Larson's head when he was drawing or did he spend a small portion of his life considering and rejecting vulture-names until he came up with the perfect one？ I'd love to know。 My only issue with this collection is the size of the reprinted content。 Most pages have four strips with the standard weekly strips measuring 8x6。5 cm （which I think is 98 Farenheit ounces in American measurements）。 The same strips are 10x8cm or even 11x9cm in other collections I have but for some reason the complete collection increases the size of the page while decreasing the size of the content。 The end result gives the reader all of Larson's carefully produced artwork drifting in a mass of white space。 There's a lot of blank in this book which is just baffling。 If you're going to present the definitive edition of something so revered then why not give us a chance to appreciate all the detail and appreciate it to the full？Larson's introductions are definitely a worthwhile addition but the sporadically reprinted complaints by concerned viewers are a bit of a waste of time and I'd rather they were replaced with the rejected strips that Larson put into the Prehistory collection or the specially commissioned artwork he produced for the Weiner Dog Art and Cows of our Planet collections。 Larson is truly one of the greats， he deserves better than this。 。。。more

sajit ，

outright rubbish。 outright butchery of common sense。 。。。there's no place i'd rather be。 there's no place like the far side！- a ravaged far sider outright rubbish。 outright butchery of common sense。 。。。there's no place i'd rather be。 there's no place like the far side！- a ravaged far sider 。。。more

Sean Meagher ，

My mother giving me two Far Side Collections（ Cows of Our Planet and Weiner Dog Art） when I was six years old has proven to be one of the most influential moments of my life。 From then on， I knew that animals acted like humans and humans acted like animals; cavemen， mad scientists， aliens， Satan， and amoebas had problems much like my own; it was extremely easy to get stranded on a desert island; and that a huge disaster was always just around the corner。 Gary Larson’s strange world opened up lim My mother giving me two Far Side Collections（ Cows of Our Planet and Weiner Dog Art） when I was six years old has proven to be one of the most influential moments of my life。 From then on， I knew that animals acted like humans and humans acted like animals; cavemen， mad scientists， aliens， Satan， and amoebas had problems much like my own; it was extremely easy to get stranded on a desert island; and that a huge disaster was always just around the corner。 Gary Larson’s strange world opened up limitless expanses of my imagination and fostered a lifelong love of drawing cartoons。 The Far Side made it cool to be weird， and brought pure absurdity to the mainstream in newspapers nationwide。 It’s influence on all of the wacko animation and mind bending cartooning that came after it， and is now commonplace， remains immeasurable。 。。。more

Bryan Irving ，

Bought this as a family Xmas gift。Great to have the timeline of Gary's work。 Cows， scientists， insects and bears join early。 So far I've only read a third of volume one and it became so addictive I had to put it further away from the bedside bookcase。 The only cartoonist I've read that doesn't date and educational for city readers who may have never heard cows and dogs talking。 Bought this as a family Xmas gift。Great to have the timeline of Gary's work。 Cows， scientists， insects and bears join early。 So far I've only read a third of volume one and it became so addictive I had to put it further away from the bedside bookcase。 The only cartoonist I've read that doesn't date and educational for city readers who may have never heard cows and dogs talking。 。。。more

Teo Asinari ，

Excellent。

Empty ，

Western Koans

Susan ，

As always， Larson hits the nail on the head with his wry humor。 I completely enjoyed this collection。

Paul Anderson ，

My kind of humor！ My family and I love Larson！

Vel Veeter ，

There’s so much wonderful humor and insightfulness and pop culture awareness in these cartoons， and looking back through them， I really just how much The Far Side is one of my humor and culture touchstones。 There were plenty of brand new cartoons here that I either never read before or am reading for the first time in 30 years。 But then there will a whole section where I recall in detail not only reading before but the contexts in which I read these as a kid。 I also remember demanding my parents There’s so much wonderful humor and insightfulness and pop culture awareness in these cartoons， and looking back through them， I really just how much The Far Side is one of my humor and culture touchstones。 There were plenty of brand new cartoons here that I either never read before or am reading for the first time in 30 years。 But then there will a whole section where I recall in detail not only reading before but the contexts in which I read these as a kid。 I also remember demanding my parents help me understand some of the jokes that are made （especially through allusion）。 For example， I was born in 1981 and was reading these in the late 1980s。 They were written about the same time and Gary Larson is my parents’ age。 So a random reference to an early 1970s tv commercial is pretty oblique for me。 Now I still had to look up many （the one I am referencing is “Karl Malden in his basement” where he’s taking money out of a stolen wallet and tossing the empty wallet on a pile of others — I know Karl Malden from Streetcar and Patton， but not these commecrials！）。So in reading through this collection I had really hoped to be able to toss these on the shelf of my classroom library， and I might still， but man， there’s two throughlines of cartoons that are just not worth it: cannibals （which of course borrow heavily from racist iconography of Polynesia） and Native Americans （which are clearly mostly based in Western-genre tropes）。It’s a shame too。 。。。more

Ryan ，

Yes， this collection does have "cow tools。" Yes， this collection does have "cow tools。" 。。。more

Samuel Casey Carter ，

When I was in high-school from 1980-1984， my mother would send me clippings of The Far Side through the U。S。 Post to my mailbox at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island。 Each one of those single-paneled miracles made me marvel at majesty of that man’s mind。 So funny！ Such insight into the human condition brought to you by cows and cavemen and the occasional humanoid invariably dressed up like the female vocalists from The B-52s。 So special。 This edition I bought as a gift to myself。 To say it is lavi When I was in high-school from 1980-1984， my mother would send me clippings of The Far Side through the U。S。 Post to my mailbox at Portsmouth Abbey in Rhode Island。 Each one of those single-paneled miracles made me marvel at majesty of that man’s mind。 So funny！ Such insight into the human condition brought to you by cows and cavemen and the occasional humanoid invariably dressed up like the female vocalists from The B-52s。 So special。 This edition I bought as a gift to myself。 To say it is lavish in both design and execution is a vast understatement。 Beautifully printed， packaged， and presented - this volume will last the ages， and， if all goes according to plan， will sit next to my Johnson’s Dictionary， so， upon my death， my three daughters will know the two double volumes they really need to consume to understand their dad and all the other mysteries of life。 Enjoy！ 。。。more

Eric ，

Great stuff。 I have a friend whose daughters graded potential marriage partners on whether they understood why The Far Side was funny。

Trevor Price ，

Gary Larson's limited technical drawing skills didn't stop him from creating an iconic， instantly recognizable style that paired brilliantly with his sense of humor。 Neverending "what if" reversals or anthropomorphic scenarios fill a lengthy series of single panel cartoons。Most the strips are decent， if not memorable （insert "sensible chuckle" gif here）。 Several are among the greatest cartoons I've seen。 Several are duds or have some meaning that escapes me。It's not as consistently great as， say Gary Larson's limited technical drawing skills didn't stop him from creating an iconic， instantly recognizable style that paired brilliantly with his sense of humor。 Neverending "what if" reversals or anthropomorphic scenarios fill a lengthy series of single panel cartoons。Most the strips are decent， if not memorable （insert "sensible chuckle" gif here）。 Several are among the greatest cartoons I've seen。 Several are duds or have some meaning that escapes me。It's not as consistently great as， say， Calvin & Hobbes。 But I don't think any strip is。 。。。more

Jeff Suter ，

Gary Larson created a funny， sometimes opaque， dark in places， funny， controversial （in some people's minds）， funny， and downright impenetrable at times - the "infamous" Cow Tools cartoon springs to mind。 There are also wry observations on human behavior - Did I mention it is also very funny？As Larson himself has said it is a therapy for all his real and imagined childhood dramas。 There are themes， bugs and insects with their ugly looks and strange behaviors， animal vs hunter。 He also shares wit Gary Larson created a funny， sometimes opaque， dark in places， funny， controversial （in some people's minds）， funny， and downright impenetrable at times - the "infamous" Cow Tools cartoon springs to mind。 There are also wry observations on human behavior - Did I mention it is also very funny？As Larson himself has said it is a therapy for all his real and imagined childhood dramas。 There are themes， bugs and insects with their ugly looks and strange behaviors， animal vs hunter。 He also shares with Waterson's Calvin & Hobbes a fear of the \boogieman in the cupboard and monsters under the bed。 He imagines primitive man making new discoveries。 Perhaps one of his favorite themes was his take on scientists。 In fact the world of science and academia took to Larson。 See the Jane Goodall incident for example and the naming of the spiked tail of Stegosaurus。 He often portrays scientists as a bit whimsical and child-like， playing practical jokes （often with dire consequences。 My favorite is where a lab full of researchers all rushing to the ice cream truck outside。 But of course the theme that reoccurs quite often is that of the danger of black and white cows。After re-reading this wonderful tome there are still cartoons I don't get。 Nor am I alone。 But that doesn't matter。 It's the journey that counts。Thoroughly recommended。 。。。more

Kirby Davis ，

A humor classic。 Having read this cartoon from its inception， I was happily surprised in this return trip to see how timely these （usually） one-panel cartoons remain。 Very few dated topics or items。 I wish Larson would add some new works。。。 hopefully his new website will introduce some， even if it makes my boxed set outdated。

Ben Zimmerman ，

I love this stuff。 I just can't bring myself to give five stars to a humor series that so often leaves me utterly baffled about what the joke is supposed to be。 I love this stuff。 I just can't bring myself to give five stars to a humor series that so often leaves me utterly baffled about what the joke is supposed to be。 。。。more

Ian Hall ，

Not everyone will appreciate everything that Larson addresses in his oeuvre。 Whatever the numberless degrees to which people are reverent （toward each and every 'ism' and beyond: remember how， between 1980 and 1994 "Bovine-ists" vehemently protested against Larson in all the major Western Capitals？）。 I am one among these many; often I cringed at Larson's quite warped theology）。 Yet （and please don't take this 'yet' as a gloss of any kind， if any comic strip deserves to be seriously （irony！？） rec Not everyone will appreciate everything that Larson addresses in his oeuvre。 Whatever the numberless degrees to which people are reverent （toward each and every 'ism' and beyond: remember how， between 1980 and 1994 "Bovine-ists" vehemently protested against Larson in all the major Western Capitals？）。 I am one among these many; often I cringed at Larson's quite warped theology）。 Yet （and please don't take this 'yet' as a gloss of any kind， if any comic strip deserves to be seriously （irony！？） reckoned with， it would have to be "the Far Side Collection" （Close behind: Watterson and Schulz）。 。。。more

Tandava Graham ，

I grew up reading The Far Side， of course， but this is the first time I’ve read ALL of them。 Greg got the deluxe edition and then gave it to Pa， who gave it to me to pass on to someone else when I’m done。 Which is just as well， since the deluxe edition is SO deluxe that it’s really a bit on the overly huge size。 It was interesting to read everything in chronological order。 You can tell he’s still settling in a bit at the beginning， but the core style is really already mostly there。 I think 1985- I grew up reading The Far Side， of course， but this is the first time I’ve read ALL of them。 Greg got the deluxe edition and then gave it to Pa， who gave it to me to pass on to someone else when I’m done。 Which is just as well， since the deluxe edition is SO deluxe that it’s really a bit on the overly huge size。 It was interesting to read everything in chronological order。 You can tell he’s still settling in a bit at the beginning， but the core style is really already mostly there。 I think 1985-86 or so were probably the best years。 Lots of good stuff throughout， though。I mostly just read the comics this time through， and a few of the included complaints and fan letters。 But I might still go back and read some of Larson’s commentary as well before I pass the books on。 。。。more

EuroHackie ，

I received the original version of this collection as a Christmas gift back in 2003。 I remember being astonished because it was definitely a pie-in-the-sky wish/want， mostly because it was really expensive - and also really heavy。 The two-volume set has held up beautifully， however; aside from the dust， you'd have no idea these mammoth books were 16 years old。I loved this series back then， but I've found on this latest re-read that I love it even more now。 I think I "get" more of the jokes now t I received the original version of this collection as a Christmas gift back in 2003。 I remember being astonished because it was definitely a pie-in-the-sky wish/want， mostly because it was really expensive - and also really heavy。 The two-volume set has held up beautifully， however; aside from the dust， you'd have no idea these mammoth books were 16 years old。I loved this series back then， but I've found on this latest re-read that I love it even more now。 I think I "get" more of the jokes now that I'm a bit older， and I certainly appreciate the poignant ones （like the Ugly Duckling） more。 The humor is very clever - lots of puns and visual jokes - but I could only imagine the scale of hate mail Larson would receive if he was still drawing today。 Several examples of said hate mail were included in this volume， and yeesh， it was bad enough in the 80s！ I suppose we'll find out， as Larson has finally opened up his own website to officially share his famous cartoons on the Internet。 Just in case that's a temporary fix， I'm glad I have this beautifully rendered set of the entire series to enjoy at my leisure。 。。。more

Nick Edkins ，

Of every ten comics， nine are pretty straightforward jokes and the tenth is a beautiful， perfect piece of absurdism。

K。 🦉 ，

Let me begin by saying that each volume is heavy as hell， but that right there should tell you just how packed with cartoons they are。 It took me a few months to get through both volumes， but I really feel it was worth it。 I came across old favorite cartoons， remembered the ones that confused me， and finally got to see a few that I must have missed along the way。One of my favorite parts had to be the notes from Gary Larson that appeared throughout the cartoons， as well as a preface to each new y Let me begin by saying that each volume is heavy as hell， but that right there should tell you just how packed with cartoons they are。 It took me a few months to get through both volumes， but I really feel it was worth it。 I came across old favorite cartoons， remembered the ones that confused me， and finally got to see a few that I must have missed along the way。One of my favorite parts had to be the notes from Gary Larson that appeared throughout the cartoons， as well as a preface to each new year/chapter。 As I write this， there are rumors that Larson will be bringing back The Far Side， and I can’t begin to tell you how happy that makes me！ 。。。more

Peter ，

This is the book of books for Larson’s “The Far Side”。 Choke full of cows， clowns， aliens， spiders and all the characters that make this comic strip phenomenon。 It’s been 25 years since the strip wrapped but feels like it was written last month。 With rumors of new “Far Side” strips coming in 2020， it’s the perfect time to recap on the previous material。

Andreas ，

I grew up reading Far Side comics and used to love its weird sense of humor。 Reading them again I have to say that while I don't laugh as hard as I did when I was a child， some of these comics still gave me a chuckle， which is far from normal for me。 This will certainly not apply to everyone， but I prefer stories， even single panel comedic ones， to have a point， which is where Far Side falls short， as they are just bizarre jokes。 Again， funny， but not quite my speed。 I grew up reading Far Side comics and used to love its weird sense of humor。 Reading them again I have to say that while I don't laugh as hard as I did when I was a child， some of these comics still gave me a chuckle， which is far from normal for me。 This will certainly not apply to everyone， but I prefer stories， even single panel comedic ones， to have a point， which is where Far Side falls short， as they are just bizarre jokes。 Again， funny， but not quite my speed。 。。。more

-kevin- ，

LOL。

Caleb Guice ，

Dated jokes that don’t always hold up over the years。 Particularly references to then-current pop culture that has fallen out of favor， trends and references that aren’t relevant anymore， and lots and lots of phrases and idioms that no one uses anymore—and when a lot of the humor relies on understanding these references， many of the panels fall flat。 There’s also a strong reliance on puns that often come across as contrived or cringey。 Still， there’s plenty of truly fantastic， genuinely clever， Dated jokes that don’t always hold up over the years。 Particularly references to then-current pop culture that has fallen out of favor， trends and references that aren’t relevant anymore， and lots and lots of phrases and idioms that no one uses anymore—and when a lot of the humor relies on understanding these references， many of the panels fall flat。 There’s also a strong reliance on puns that often come across as contrived or cringey。 Still， there’s plenty of truly fantastic， genuinely clever， hilarious panels， even if the ratio of good ones are 1:5 and truly funny ones 1:10 or 1:20。 。。。more

Jerry Baird ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I laughed till I was in tears on Gary Larson's complete collection of the Far Side。 Volume I is just a major blast from the past。 How these cartoons still reverberate to reflect our people and society today。 A wonderful entertaining treat from 20 years of humor from one of the greatest cartoonists of my era。 I laughed till I was in tears on Gary Larson's complete collection of the Far Side。 Volume I is just a major blast from the past。 How these cartoons still reverberate to reflect our people and society today。 A wonderful entertaining treat from 20 years of humor from one of the greatest cartoonists of my era。 。。。more

John Gentry ，

Honestly the genesis of my humor。 LONG LIVE THE FAR SIDE。

Josée Leon ，

Finally finished this！ I've always loved The Far Side， so I was happy to get the complete collection， although I admit I didn't "get" all of them。Each decade was preceded by a story or thoughts from Gary about his life in general or his career。 There were also letters throughout from people who were offended by some of the cartoons - pretty hilarious to see how seriously people take things。 People also wrote in asking for an explanation on some - it's not just me :）This collection was great for Finally finished this！ I've always loved The Far Side， so I was happy to get the complete collection， although I admit I didn't "get" all of them。Each decade was preceded by a story or thoughts from Gary about his life in general or his career。 There were also letters throughout from people who were offended by some of the cartoons - pretty hilarious to see how seriously people take things。 People also wrote in asking for an explanation on some - it's not just me :）This collection was great for lots of chuckles in between my other reading。 Highly recommended！ 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Complete Far Side

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Complete Far Side&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Complete Far Side&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0