Product Description:

Gary Larson calls The Complete Far Side, the massive two-volume collection of his Far Side cartoons, an '18-pound hernia giver.' Sure to give any coffee table a solid workout, the handsome and heavy 1,250-page 'legacy book' is a must for fervent fans; over 4,300 single-panel comics with more than half in color and 1,100 that have not appeared in any book form before (the popular--and far less weighty--paperback collections).

Set in rough chronological order, the comics share pages with occasional letters from fans, detractors, editors, folks made famous by a particular cartoon, and those begging for explanations. Though few explanations are provided (Larson personally supplies merely one, plus a single apology), this collection helps answer the inevitable 'how do you think up these things' conundrum. Before each year's cartoons, Larson provides insight with essays about his childhood, various travels, occupational hazards, and his official rules for dealing with bedtime monsters (which often turned out to be his older brother). Most wonderful is the first essay on how the comic started. (His longtime editor Jake Morrissey's long introduction is a must read on The Far Side's story).

Despite no central characters, it's easy to spot patterns in Larson's wild and wacky cartoons. Animals, insects, and inanimate objects often exhibit all-too-human impulses. Larson's subjects are often in scenes of peril--disasters, visits to hell, and perhaps a hundred cartoons set on a one-palm tree deserted island. It is what Larson's fertile imagination mined from those situations that created fans and enemies for 14 years. (Larson retired at his peak and then went into jazz music). The comics are not indexed (how could they be--first lines? listings of cartoons with cows?); finding a favorite requires a great memory for its publication date. Best simply to peruse the pages of this beautiful collection in which you will certainly find more than a few new chuckles before landing on your beloved Larson sketch. --Doug Thomas

Customer Reviews

Average Rating: 4.83 out of 5 stars

Rating:

- A Piece of History
The first thing you notice about The Complete Far Side is its weight. This is a heavy item. (...) Even the slipcase is made of some super-industrial-strength cardboard, because a regular thickness just wouldn't be up to the task of housing the two absolutely massive bound volumes within.

You really can't imagine how big and heavy this thing is. Get a rough estimate in your mind. Now double it. Good, you're getting close. (...)P>The second thing you notice is quality. Everything from the full-color pages (even when the comics are in black-and-white) to the cloth binding with gold embossing, to the full-color plates decorating the outside of the slipcase shouts "We are the nicest-looking books you will ever own."Read More

Rating:

- Two of the world's greatest word-jewellers.
Gary Larson and Steve Martin in one volume? Get it, whatever the price.

Both authors polish their words until they shine; until they sound so familiar that they ease into your ear, yet literally contain such astonishing content that you can't contain your laughter.

Larson, I think, is more a wordsmith than a cartoonist. How many of his cartoons are just literal depictions of a verbal pun? And how many quite funny cartoons become gems though their perfect captions? ("Latte, Jed?", or the incomparable "She's lookin' good, Vern..." stick in my memory)

Larson uses the rhythms and patterns of normal speech to lull us into a false sense of security, then subverts our interpretation of of the sentence with a surprising image. A true master of uniting the verbal and ... Read More

Rating:

- The Far Side: Greatest Comic of all time
I have not yet read all of The Complete Far Side. I have been a Far Side fan since I can remember. I have to say that The Far Side is the one and only greatest comic ever. Gary Larson has amazing powers of comedy. He can make the cheesiest joke hilarious just by putting it out on his comic. I am yet to read a far side I have not found funny. The closest to The Far Side humor would have to be Mr. Boffo. There are other great comic strips such as Dilbert or Calvin and Hobbes, but they both have bad strips. Whereas The Far Side has continued to amaze me. Congratulations Gary Larson on a wonderful career. Come back to us and create more.

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