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 pithy thoughts in a foreword, and Gary

Larson’s genius knew no sacred cows, and he probed and needled at just about everything. Whether providing insight into the meaning of life, by depicting God as an over adventuress chef...Its unpretentious, surrealistic humor had broad appeal and could be enjoyed on multiple levels. At times, it was silly and sweet and designed simply to spread smiles. Music has also been an important part of Larson’s life. He started playing the guitar at an early age, moved to the banjo for a few years, and then ultimately returned to the guitar. Since retiring from daily newspaper syndication, Larson has focused his creative efforts on the guitar and his passion for jazz. Other times, the humor had such a cleverness to it that the smiles didn’t simply spread so much as explode across the reader’s face.

While I consumed it in a way far faster than nature and Gary Larson intended, The Complete Far Side - Book One was an amusing read. Bring on the next four year chunk! Four out of five cows.

urn:lcp:completefarside0001lars:epub:f3048e85-6ee7-4ff3-8b68-cc645fe33e25 Foldoutcount 0 Grant_report Arcadia #4117 Identifier completefarside0001lars Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t25b98636 Invoice 1853 Isbn 0740721135 During its 14-year run, The Far Side was syndicated internationally to over 1,900 daily newspapers. It spawned 22 books and has been translated into a total of 17 different languages. While its single panel format and light-hearted depiction of awkward social situations and shared pain bore some resemblance to earlier comics like Ziggy and Larson’s own Nature’s Way, The Far Side was an anthropomorphic animal all its own, and dominated the public’s consciousness for the decade and a half that it was being produced.