The Complete Far Side, Lite Bedtime Reading its Not.......
Written: Jan 02 '04 (Updated Mar 13 '04)
Product Rating:
Pros: Quality paper, printing and binding, and of course, the 4300 comic strips themselves
Cons: Price and limited availability
The Bottom Line: These books are an outstanding tribute to Gary Larson and The Far Side. The books are a bit difficult to handle, given their size and weight.
nc10's Full Review: Gary Larson - The Complete Far Side: 1980-1994
The Complete Far Side, by Gary Larson, is a two volume collector's edition containing every Far Side cartoon published during its syndication run, and a few more that were published later, over 4300 in all. If you've searched out and are reading this review, its likely you're familiar with the Far Side, so I fortunately won't have to descibe or explain the Far Side in detail (have you ever tried to describe the Far Side to anyone?). Gary Larson, the strip's creator, published the first of these 4300 single frame comics on Dec 31, 1979, and ended its run in 1994, when the highly successfuly strip was being carried in over 1900 newspapers worldwide, still growing in popularity. If you remember first seeing this comic in your paper, you probably thought, like me, "wow, this is weird, but funny". Larson's unique combination of violence (samurai dogs, or Santa threatening his Reindeer with the single word "venison" in a Dec 22nd strip), humour (snakes wearing a kick me sign on their back), life's problems (teen-aged Conestoga wagon drivers) and life's victories (butterfly hunters after a big kill) transposed into completely unexpected situations (Pleistocene mermaids, chickens working in a rubber man factory) quickly became a big favorite for most readers, or for a few readers, one of the most disliked comics, as is evidenced by a few "letters to the editor" included in this collection.
Internet reports indicate that the publisher printed 150,000 copies of The Complete Far Side in its first print run. The Complete Far Side quickly sold out at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major retail stores, though you likely can find copies on Ebay and from other smaller sellers. A second printing is due Spring 2004. I purchased my copy from Amazon, to give to a family member as a Christmas gift (have you ever chosen a gift hoping you'll get to use it also?). List price for the set was $135, though most sellers offered the first printing for under $100 when it was in stock. Hopefully the price will come down with future printings, allowing the set a wider distribution. Still, at about $5 per pound of Farside cartoons, its a good value, and the printing and binding quality are excellent.
What's in the Box? (or how many pages are in these books?)
The Complete Far Side is split into two hardback volumes, in a boxed set. Each volume, containing over 600 pages, covers several years, with the Far Side cartoons presented in chronological order. With each volume weighing in at a bit over 9 lbs, the books make for an uncomfortable bedtime read if you like to rest the book on your chest. (And if you order the book online, look for a vendor that offers free shipping.) The glossy, high quality pages are 9 1/2" X 13", and most contain 3-4 cartoons, well over half of which are in color. The box has two full color (front and back) high quality images, more detailed than most of Larson's work, but typical nonetheless. There are enough details that you will be continually saying "I didn't notice that before". The front shows a group of typical Farside characters (the chubby kid, neanderthal man, old lady, etc) posed as a family sitting together in a room with pets (squid, preying mantis, etc). On the wall are pictures of other Far Side characters, and through the window you can see an interesting outdoor scene, apparently of ducks flying in v formation near a distant mountain. The window's view is expanded and shown on the back of the boxed set, where it turns out the ducks are flying cows, being hunted by chefs with cow decoys. The covers quickly remind you of why you liked the Far Side and quickly reintroduces you to its concepts and worlds.
Besides the comics, what else is there?
Though there are not a great deal of features and back up material included, what are included are items of interest that don't detract from the cartoons themselves. Comedian Steve Martin opens the book with a two page introduction to Gary Larson and his world, at one point theorizing.....
I'll bet Gary Larson's neighbors would say that Gary is very quiet.
"He kept to himself, never bothered anybody."
"And how did you feel when you found out he wrote The Far Side?"
"I was shocked, he seemed like such a nice guy."
Jake Morrisey, Larson's editor follows with a six page introduction, explaining what it was like to work with Gary Larson, and much of a perfectionist they both were, how individual strips were created, his favorite strips (like a nine headed monster, where each head was one member of the Brady Bunch), and how often (weekly) he was asked to explain a particular cartoon.
Gary Larson follows with a few of his thoughts (it was probably wasn't a great idea to base any cartoon on some news event, fad, expression person, TV show, or commercial that was destined to fade from everyone's memory......), giving readers an impression of how he worked, though not really explaining how he worked. He does mention My drafting table, where I drew The Far Side for most of my career, faced a window that overlooked a beautiful garden: beyond the garden was a lake, and beyond the lake Mt. Rainier rose majestically into the Washington Sky............ I worked at night.
Each year's worth of Far Side cartoons are opened by a gorgeous full color two page image of some of Larson's characters. This image is followed by one or two page essay by Larson, providing a little more insight into how he thinks. One essay explains his fear of monsters. Another covered his fear of what was in his closet. The essay for 1994, the last, describes a few cartoons that Larson recently found in a desk, that were never quite finished. These lead to a discussion where Larson indicates that while he does not miss cartooning too much, he does wonder about the cartoons he hasn't written, giving some hope that he'll start creating cartoons again.
Sprinkled throughout the book are a few newspaper clippings and letters, including a few letters to the editor. One writer to the Minneapolis Tribune opens with I am quite liberal, when it comes to various types of comics and even go so far as to enjoy the cartoons and jokes in magazines like Playboy and High Society. Larson has some kind of sickness in that he has to portray animals in some kind of suffering situation. I think we have enough people in the world who inflict enough pain on helpless animals, and we don't have to encourage this craziness in comic strips.. Later this letter writer concludes The Minneapolis Tribune should drop The Far Side until Gary Larson completes psychotherapy and overcomes his problem. ......... Please send Gary Larson a copy of this letter. He needs to know that a whole lot of people don't think he's funny.
What about the comics themselves?
Most of the Farside strips are presented 3 or 4 to page, about 50% larger than what you might have seen in a newspaper. A few are shown full size, a single strip filling a page in full color. The strips are presented chronologically and each is dated by original publication date. Even the black and white strips are high quality reproductions, with sharp details where Larson occassionally intended. All are drawn in Larson's minimalist but effective and humorous style. Over half of the images are in full color, with the glossy sharp color images adding new life to Larson's animal, alien, and human characters. Anyone who's used to reading The Far Side in the newspaper or in paperback form with very much appreciate the greatly improved images included in these volumes.
Any regrets buying this book?
Most of us don't buy too many $90 cartoon books, but The Far Side is an excellent value. The packaging is superb, and the amount of material included guarantees you won't read this in one or two sittings. (To be honest, even The Far Side isn't quite good enough that you'd want to read these volumes in one sitting, fifty or hundred or so strips at a time works well.) The extra content, particularly the letters by unhappy readers, is very interesting, and adds to the enjoyment of reading these strips.
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