Comebacks we'd like to see: #1 -- The Far Side
Filed under: Extracurriculars
This post is part of our series ranking the top 25 bygone products and trends we'd like to see return.
The comics page of my newspaper lost interest for me on January 1st, 1995. That was the day that Gary Larson, author of the single-panel strip The Far Side, put down his inking pen, leaving those of us devoted to his warped sense of humor bereft.
It is impossible for me to choose my favorite cartoon from his decade and a half of brilliance. The farm wife walking toward her house carrying a basket of eggs, passed by a chicken leaving the house carrying a baby? One deer telling another deer, whose flank is covered by a target circle, 'Bummer of a birthmark, Carl?" Cows lined up at the slaughterhouse door, one complaining about another cutting in line? The boneless chicken ranch? Two alligators sunning their full bellies, one saying, "That was incredible. No fur, horns, antlers or nothin'... just soft and pink?"
I wonder how the next generation will learn the lessons taught by Larson's genius. That nature has a way of eventually evening up the score. That the difference between looking ridiculous and suave is merely the point of view. That there is indeed something under your bed. And that you are the something under another's bed.
You'll never learn that from Ziggy, Garfield or Blondie.
What comics would you like to see return to the funny pages?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
5-16-2008 @ 6:35AM
catberr said...
What? Calvin and Hobbes by a mile.........
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5-16-2008 @ 6:48AM
geoff groedner said...
Gary Larson is the only public person I truly miss. His comic genius is unique. He is a rarity in the world of humor as he copied no one and was not, proudly, a graduate of the Midvale School for the Gifted, but was, when they were both children, a great friend of the Grim Reaper. WHAT A MIND!!
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5-16-2008 @ 7:11AM
g said...
yes, i have wailed in the name of lost gary larsen for years. nothing quite made a day at the old lab better than tearing out the new far side to stick on the board for all to see. now instead of just laughing at his frowsy women - ive become one tsktsk...
gary, come back to us...
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5-16-2008 @ 7:23AM
ragtop said...
My favorite Larson had two spiders who had made a web at the bottom of a slide, with one saying " If we pull this off, we'll eat like kings." I agree that Larson is number one on this list.
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5-21-2008 @ 8:18AM
Susan said...
Come back 'Calvin & Hobbs'!!!!!
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5-16-2008 @ 8:37AM
Jilly said...
My favorite Far Side of all times was two families of dogs greeting each other and one of the mother dogs says to her pup "Junior, where's your manners? Go smell the Hendersons' butts". Ha! It cracks me up to this day!
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5-16-2008 @ 9:04AM
golfer said...
Calvin & Hobbes was the best!
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5-16-2008 @ 9:24AM
Mary Brown said...
I really miss The Far Side. It was the BEST!
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5-16-2008 @ 9:43AM
andyb61670 said...
I agree, I miss the Far Side too. My favorite strip was the cows in the barn with one of them eating steak, saying "we do taste like chicken". Sick, irreverant, etc. but that was made the strip great.
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5-16-2008 @ 9:57AM
Mcgetnet said...
So many great Far Sides, love the one of the two dogs driving with the grandmom in the back with her out the window.
What happend to Larsen? Would he ever consider a comeback? Truly the best (in my opinion) comic ever. Bring back Gary!
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5-17-2008 @ 2:01AM
Greg said...
OK, here's my favourite "The Far Side."
One dog's being driven in a car past another dog who's walking on the sidewalk. The dog in the car is shouting to the dog on the sidewalk, something to the affect, "yo Rex, lucky me! I just over heard my master mention that he's taking me to the vet to be TUTORED!"
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5-24-2008 @ 11:56AM
Bud Becker said...
I have gotten a FAR SIDE calendar for years from my family. This past year when they were not available they found RUBES by Leigh Rubin - - everyday is a great laugh - - miss Gary but thank God for Leigh!
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5-16-2008 @ 11:19AM
TW said...
I was very happy to see them bring back some of the calendars around Christmas. Those years without one were brutal. Last year I got the Far Side Scared Silly 2008 Desk Calendat for Christmas-excellent gift.
5-16-2008 @ 10:53AM
bman said...
It was "Bummer of a birthmark Hal" - a much funnier name for a deer than Carl. Don't you think?
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5-16-2008 @ 11:04AM
TW said...
"Hey Bob, did I scare you or what?" That is my favorite.
Plus the one that had the cat in a pet store with peg legs. A fish bowl with a pirhana for sale was on the table. No captions. just a fish, a cat with no front legs and a very relieved looking parrott in cage.Classic
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5-16-2008 @ 11:05AM
Randy Howard said...
I still have the final Calvin & Hobbs.... "Let's go explor."
I would hope they found lots of new things and will, someday, come back and share their discoveries!
Surely he (Calvin) will not be forever remembered for peeing on Fords, Ceveys, and other brands of cars and also politicians.
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5-16-2008 @ 11:29AM
JustinOstrich said...
the far side.... ahhhhhhhh..... im only sixteen, but for my 13th birthday, i asked (and recieved) the full collections of Gary Larson's cartoons... all that had ever been in print... Nothing has ever held a candle to the genius that Gary Larson created, the way he didnt make comics a dumbed down form of drawing/writing, but made intellect a necessity to get his jokes. The use of his history knowledge and science knowledge makes me enjoy his comics so much more, and there will never be anyone like him ever again.
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5-16-2008 @ 11:34AM
FJ said...
Car on the driveway, driver in front seat, Dog in the back seat with it's head out the window. Neighbor dog sitting on lawn next to driveway. Dog in the car with a happy look on its face says "Hey Biff, after we go to the hardware store, I'm going to the vet to get tutored!" That is just one that cracks me up every single time, but then again all of Larsen's comics seem to do that. They never get old
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5-16-2008 @ 11:53AM
Ray Kotowski said...
I would like to see the return of "Calvin and Hobbs.
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5-16-2008 @ 3:38PM
ken said...
no question is the Far Side on the top of my list. Calvin and Hobbes are up there too. But for Comic strip fans today, Pearls before Swine is absolutely right up there with the best of em! i like Big nate too!
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