The Complete Far Side 1980-1994 (2 vol set)
by Gary Larson, Steve Martin
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Book Reviews of The Complete Far Side 1980-1994 (2 vol set)
Book Review: Everything you expect
Summary: 5 Stars
You know what is to be found on The Far Side - here it is, only more of it. This is a wonderful collection of humor for the INTELLIGENT. It is queer that people knock America as a philistine culture when only America has produced this wonderful visual poet of the humor of science.
No other English-speaking country has anyone to touch it, though in the print medium the British Daily Telegraph's columnist "Peter Simple" and his books in a wild, strange way come close, showing a society and a world at once recognisable as our own yet transmogrified with a strange blend of wonder, laughter and anger. In Peter Simple, too, (Gary Larson Fans, please look up his books on Amazon and order them, you won't be disappointed!) we feel the same profund care for what trendies call "The Environment" and he calls "The Creation."
Normally, when people say a book is for people with "open minds", the open minds is question are recepticles for garbage about the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, Twelth Planets, Astronauts in Ancient Sumeria and so on. Not this time. Gary Larson not only makes you laugh, he really makes you look at the world a bit differently.
There are too many favourites among the cartoons to list; the alien tripping over as it majectically descends from the space-ship? The vultures and the cow-boy? The cow poetry-readings? The shark's slide-show? The dung-beatles going visiting? The father summoning the Floating Head of Death? The rat in the singles bar? The wolf-kill group photograph? The boa-constrictor in the play-pen? The throwaway, almost reminiscent of the old master's Fall of Icarus (to be pretentious), of the stone-age scene with, near the bottom, Fred Flintstone sinking into the Le Brea tar pit?
Is there a message? Larson, thank goodness, avoids overt political preaching, and there's nothing party-political here. It can appeal to left or right, indeed it seems to transcend both. But somewhere, and it's fairly subtle and cumulative, a message comes through.
In the meantime, this collection is a treasure. Buy it, read it over and over. You'll never get tired of it and neither will your children.
Thank you, Gary Larson.
Book Review: The Greatest Comic Strip Ever gets the Treatment it Deserves
Summary: 5 Stars
Without a doubt Gary Larson's iconic "The Far Side" is the greatest comic strip ever. Each single panel story is sublime, surreal, and superb."The Complete Far Side" is a huge, dual volume tome that collects every single one of the more then 4,000 comics that appeared during The Far Side's still too brief 14 year run. Each comic is given a full 1/3 of a page, often referenced with reader's letters and newspaper article that mention the strip. About a quarter of the strips are in full color.
The book is chronologically indexed into chapters with each chapter representing a full year of the strip. Anyone of these chapters in and of itself would make a glorious book. Gary Larson writes a whimsical introduction to each chapter and the entire collection is forwared with wonderful wit by Steve Martin.
The books themselves are sturdy and well constructed. The two volumes are housed in a slipcover with a "Far Side" motifed cover.
Very few real down sides to this volume other then it's hefty price and the fact that it is rapidly getting hard to find. I hope a paperback version of this collection appears for less devoted "The Far Side." This is NOT a compact book. It's a huge, coffee table book, not something you can slide into your back pocket. The excellent behind the scenes material from "The Prehistory of the Far Side" is not contained, nor are the wonderful prefaces written by Jane Goodall, Stephen King, Stephen Jay Gould, and Robin Williams for the previous "Far Side Galleries." Some of the Sunday strips (which are wider then the standard square weekday strips) are truncated back into squares for this volume. And oddly a couple of dozen of the strips are later versions of the cartoons that have tacked on "Christmas" motiffs that were added later for Christmas cards and t-shirts.
Still this is without an incrediable collection that I have waited many years for. It's the ultimate collection of "The Far Side."
Book Review: Totally awesome book
Summary: 5 Stars
The Complete Far Side book set needs to have a health warning on it. Readers of the Far Side are a special group and to tackle this will show the world you can handle anything. The Complete Far Side book set is an awesome, totally side splitting , back breakingly heavy book set. I know that after reading it I'm going to look like some of the characters from these comics. So a little disclaimer if you please, to protect you from looking bent over with warped facial muscles do the following: 1. Have a friend help you carry the books
2. If you don't have a friend get a dolly ( Raggedy Ann, Andy's to lazy. No? When was the last time you saw him?)
3. Lift with your legs
4. On call Doctor, oh sorry wrong century. Be sure your HMO covers side splitting and facial distortions from hysterical laughing.
And you have all of your referrals in place.
5. Finally a WWF wrestler to wrestle the books out of your hands, so that you don't overdose, miss sleeping, eating or whatever.
You are now Warned. The Far Side is classic humor, that sometimes makes you go huh? And other times you just look at the picture and without reading the caption you're laughing. The Complete Far Side is funny, great and is the best coffee table book that's been out in years. When you have family or friends over, just place the books on the table and walk away. Within moments people will be laughing, screaming and talking about these great cartoons.
The only criticism I can say is that, there should have been insights or commentary from Mr. Larson. Like why pick these characters, where did the inspiration come from to do these scenes and what does this scene mean?
Little tidbits of his creations would have really made this A++ book an A+++.
So I guess I need to start saving for the Ultimate Complete Far Side book set. Enjoy ( Mr. Larson, thanks for the laughs.)
Book Review: Very thorough and precise, but with room for more personality
Summary: 4 Stars
Much has been said about Gary Larson and his perspectives in humor. He has used his talents and insights to reach into our often mundane world and disturb the waters: to give us imagionation that we may have lost along the way or perhaps to spark new imagionations.
This is a tribute book as well as an exhaustive collective work. On a physical note, the collection is very heavy and somewhat tall; please note the dimensions listed. The colors are rich, pages glossy and binding sturdy, and covers and box made to last. Proper care should ensure multiple readings with minimal detriment to the collection's longevity.
Gary Larson provides introductory remarks to each year of comics, with several general "introductions" at the beginning of the collection by Gary Larson, his editor, and a celebrity. The collection includes every syndicated cartoon in the Far Side collection plus a FEW others. Great efforts have been made to do the following, and to do them well: color and phyical quality, precision/thoroughness, a sense of uniformity and structure.
The only negative aspect of the book is the sparse comment on individual cartoons and the questions/reactions they may raised. The essays by Gary Larson at the beginning of the book and at the beginning of each cartoon year aid in the understanding of the author in a general, almost-autobiographical sense. However, the collection itself seems to lack the zest and personality that permeates Gary Larson's art and "Prehistory of the Far Side." In other words, I find that this collection has the feel of a precise reference book rather than a zesty final collective work that catches the tone of the author's work in it's own pages.
That being said, this is a great collective work, and in my opinion becomes complete if placed side-by-side with the "Prehistory of the Far Side."
Book Review: To laugh with things no man has laughed before
Summary: 5 Stars
My acquaintance with Gary Larson's comics was more or less accidental. I bought (out of pure curiosity) his "Far side Gallery 5". The rest was basically the same that happened to anyone who ever came into contact with the Far Side: i became a harcore addict.I've read all the collections i could get my hands on and eversince Larson retired his pen I haven't been able to find a comic as subversive as this or as funny as this (with the possible exception of Dilbert but on a different dimension).
This box containing all the far Sides plus a whooping 1100 unpublished strips must be the wet dream of every Larson fan.
Gary Larson has got the charisma that all great comic makers have: he has the ability to see the world from a completely different angle, may that be upside down, inside-out, from above or from way below. Whichever the case, those that are well broken into the Far Side sense of humor know well what I mean.
For those that are not familiar with Larson (and man, if i ever said you're missing out and meant it big time then this is the time) do yourself a massive favor and pick this up. It's the only drug i know printed on paper.
Other than that, and considering the rather juicy price this gorgeously packaged collection is rather intended for the die-hard fans, allthough i know no Far Side fan who's anything less than die-hard.
I also predict that even though most of us Larsonites probably own most if not all of the stuff on the market by Larson this box will achieve some bulky sales too.
Possibly the funniest comic series in recent memory (and, uhm, my memory goes way back) and at the same time the work of a great artist (great drawing) and a master with plots as his captions are exemplary of making your comic idea work.
A super-must...