The Complete Far Side

Rating:
Summary: One thousand stars please
Review: God, I love this guy. I can't imagine life without Gary Larson and his wonderfully twisted sense of humor. A day doesn't go by that I don't laugh to myself over one of his cartoons. And when I was interviewing for employees, I used to show them some of his work---if they didn't laugh, they didn't get hired! Truly, he's is one of the planet's funniest animals! My all-time favorite: The Modern Anteater.

Also recommended: Bark of the Dogwood

Rating:
Summary: Greater than great!
Review:

I recieve the Far Side day-by-day calendar as a gift every year for Christmas and always found myself saving more and more of the days every year. I recently threw out my scrapbook of yellowing calendar pages and bought this wonderful collection. Wow, what a move up! After a tough day at work, on a rainy day or basically any other time is perfect to thumb through this deluxe collection. It is not a rush-to-production, strike-while the iron is hot collection. This set was well thought out, well-packaged and even better made than anything I have seen, deluxe is almost not enought to describe it.

My favorite personal Far Side story is the day (about twelve years ago) I wore a shirt to high school with a reproduction of the "Midvale School for the Gifted" panel on it, with my alma matter's name substituted. I was ordered to turn the shirt inside out or go home. Duh, I took the day off! As I read the excerpts of letters included from people who haven't been blessed with a sense of humor, I keep expecting to see one from my high school principal! Thanks for the memories Gary Larson!!

Rating:
Summary: The greatest collection of the greatest comic
Review: There is so much in this collection beyond the comics themselves, although certainly without them there would be little more than twenty pages. What I enjoyed most about this volumous work was Larson's hilarious and insightful essays that preceded each year's comics, Steve Martin's great foreword, and, more than anything else, the countless letters from the public on various subjects. Most of them are enemies, shaking their finger at Gary Larson for some kind of offense they took from a cartoon. The funniest thing is, the most potentially offensive ones are often ignored, while the minutest interpretation of an innocent cartoon often elicit the most angry responses. They are absolutely hilarious to read because they make you think "How the hell could people possibly read such a thing into this?" (Something I'm sure Mr. Larson asked himself many a time). Mr. Larson, if perchance you read this, may I suggest, if you still have them, publishing a book purely of letters from fans/enemies about your comics? I would pay good money for that.
In short, this is a must-buy for any Far Side fan; if all this hasn't convinced you and you think "I have all the books, why do I need this?", well, consider that there are over A THOUSAND panels in this tome that have never been published in book form before. Buy this book now.

Rating:
Summary: The Complete Far Side
Review: This collection of far side cartoons will have you rolling around on the floor if not for what they say inside then for the 18 pounds of books you will be carrying around. They could not only reach your fuuny bone but could help you lose pounds yourself carrying them from room to room. You won't want to put them down. The cartoons are fuuny enough, but what people have written in about the cartoons are even better yet. Pick the books up and laugh some pounds off. Larry Hobson-Author- The Day Of The Rose"

Rating:
Summary: Hours and Hours of laughs
Review: Gary Larson's essays at the beginning of each section are hilarious and give insight into his creative genius. He kind of answers the question, "How on EARTH did he think of THAT?"

Sprinkled throughout the book are letters written by humor-impaired readers protesting some of the comics. I would have enjoyed reading more of those letters!

These books are very heavy -- definitely not for popping into your carry-on luggage for a short plane ride. However, they are awesome for reading at home. And great for using as a temporary table to set at glass of water and plate of cookies on the couch....

Read and enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect...
Review: Four caveats...

1. This edition is complete, but not "compleat." Though it includes all the syndicated strips, it doesn't include several classics that never made it to syndication -- eg, the panel that shows husband-and-wife beetles with the caption "I'm leaving you, Ralph, and I'm taking the grubs with me." was originally two _flies_ -- "I'm leaving you, Ralph, and I'm taking the maggots with me." The original is notably superior -- but it's not included. Don't toss out your "Prehistory of the Far Side."

2. Incredibly, there is no caption or subject index! You'll have to manually locate your own favorites, then make up your own index -- or insert PostIt bookmarks.

3. The temptation to read 100 pages at a time is overwhelming, but resist it. The ironic weirdness of "The Far Side" is blunted by excess exposure.

4. Gary Larson's interpretation of the infamous "cow tools" panel is incorrect. It's really about the fact that cattle view the world differently from humans, and would therefore create different sorts of tools -- if they made tools at all. (It is indeed possible for a critic to understand an artist's work better than the artist. So there, Mr. Larson.)

Rating:
Summary: Awesome-but not *quite* complete...
Review: As far as reviewing this book and its stunning presentation, let me add a hearty "Me too!" Incredible publishing project, and quality the whole way.

To bulid on what another reviewer said, to be a true completist you will need "The Prehistory Of The Far Side," "Weiner Dog Art," and (I haven't seen anyone mention this) "The Curse Of Madame C.," which features a very bizarre extended strip about a fortune-telling cow.

Also, if you really want to get extreme, you can dig up "Tales From The Far Side" 1 & 2, the 1994 & 1997 TV specials.

As far as the book, however, these are nitpicks. An impressive tome by one of the most influential cartoonists of our time.

Rating:
Summary: Gary Larson's anthropomorphic wonderland shines.
Review: I'm a long time Far Side fan. My wife got this collection for me for Christmas and I have been savoring it slowly since. There is only one word to describe these books-awesome.

Not only are there over 4000 great far side cartoons, there is also an excellent forward that details the origins and evolution of the series. Each year's section is preseded by an introduction by Larson wherein he discusses various aspects of his personal history and how it impacted the Far Side cartoon series. Seeded throughout the books are letters to and from Larson dealing with concerns, objections, interesting "true life" consequences or just plain reader bewilderment relating to the cartoons.

Probably somewhere around 60% of the cartoons are in color. The books are-to say te least-sturdily constructed. These are printed on high quality glossy paper with formidable covers. Larson has referred to these books as "hernia machines". That's not far off. You aren't going to be reading these puppies while lounging sedately in bed, that's for sure!

But it the end all the bells and whistles-as contributory as they are-fade to insignificance in the face of the cartoons themselves. Larson has a wonderfully skewed world view and a real knack of adopting common objects and anthropomorphizing common critters into human wannabe's.

Obviously, given a price that hovers around three figures and given the heft and size of the tow volumes involved, this is really aimed at the serious Far Side fan. If that's you, you're going to love this collection.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Comic Strip Ever gets the Treatment it Deserves
Review: 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."

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Splurge!
Review: "The Complete Far Side" is the ultimate set of books for any fan of the Far Side. It is literally hours of amusement and page after page of laughs. Of course, you would expect this from a book of 'cartoons'.

What you wouldn't necessarily expect is the "art book treatment" these books received. We're talking high quality all the way - awesome box, excellent binding, good quality paper, amazing printing, vibrant colors, crisp lines... and it's HUGE! Over a thousand pages. (It contains every syndicated cartoon and over a thousand that have never before been seen!)

Back to the laughs for a second though - I keep at least one of these books on the coffee table at all times. Nearly every single person that comes to visit picks 'em up (always with comments on the weight) and laughs and laughs.

This is just an awesome set. Do yourself a favor and splurge for it.