Summary
Gary Larson, creator ofThe Far Side, once gave a fantastic account of the natural crossover between his work as a cartoonist and thetoils of prose writers, fiction and nonfiction alike, everywhere – and in the process, identified what he considered to be the “huge difference” between the two types of artists.
As Larson explained inThe Complete Far Side Volume Two, the divide came down to a matter of time; literally, henoted that the production time for a cartoon is significantly more manageable than, say, even the time it takes to complete a short story– let alone a novel, or a series of them.
Essentially,The Far Side’screator admitted that he was intimidated by the thought of “losing” time in the way, or at least on the scale, that writers often do. Yet, interestingly, in retrospect, his complete body of work is novelistic in both size and scope.
I Was Surprised By How Many Times The Far Side’s Most Famous Prehistoric Character Actually Appeared
As familiar as I’ve become with The Far Side, it’s still a thrill to discover something new, like when I realized how often “Thag” appeared.
Gary Larson On The One Major Distinction Between Authors And Comic Artists
Time Is On Cartoonists' Side
As Gary Larson argued, the scale of time over which an author’s failure might play out was too horrifying a prospect for him.
Though he discoursed on the writer-cartoonist divide – and likewise, their many connections – with his trademark wit, it is evidentGary Larson’s perspectiveon the difference between cartoonists and writers was rooted in a need to get work done. More specifically, Larson was self-aware enough to recognize that he needed to feel the creative satisfaction of finishing something that he started on a day-to-day basis. Writers, especially fiction writers, will know that this is anything but guaranteed when they sit down to write.
So, despite the many similar qualities shared by writers and cartoonists,they chase – and achieve – that satisfaction in different ways, and more crucially, at different rates. As Gary Larson put it:
I think cartoonists have more in common with writers than we do with comedians. The following writer-cartoonist parallels come to mind: loners, quiet room, favorite chair, hand puppet (just me?) and our trusty writing/drawing tools. But there is also one huge difference: If we blow it, we lose a day. If a writer blows it [they] lose, what – a year? Two years? Personally, I prefer a job where I might screw up my day, not my year.
ThoughLarson’s humor is evident here, as it is in practically everything he wrote, he outlines a very real anxiety that all but the most uninhibited artists share: that is, the very potent, very daunting prospect of failure. As Gary Larson argued, the scale of time over which an author’s failure might play out was too horrifying a prospect for him.
Gary Larson: A Novelist’s Attention To Detail, A Stand-Up Comedian’s Sense Of Timing
A Literary “What If?”
Gary Larson needed the short-term satisfaction that cartooning provided, but his attention to detail and the scope of his creativity were both fundamentally that of a novelist.
Readers familiar withThe Far Sidewill likely recognize in Gary Larson the potential to have been a novelist, were he to have taken a different creative path in life. Larson’s idiosyncratic outlook on life, the dexterity of his ideas, his ability to inhabit a variety of different perspectives and character voices, and off the page, his resolute determination tosit down at his desk at night and workall conspire to make Larson one of 20th-century literature’s great “What-if?” questions.
Nevertheless, his contributions to American humor and pop culture are not to be diminished; in fact, given the reach ofThe Far Sideas a nationally syndicated newspaper cartoon, it can be reasonably argued that Larson’s influence exceeds that of literary titans like Don DeLillo, or Thomas Pynchon, at least as far as the average reader goes. While that might stray too close to putting them in competition with one another, the comparison is only to say that Gary Larson’s work has more in common with these authors than he has ever seriously been credited with.
What separates these creators is not ability; if anything, it is patience.Gary Larson needed the short-term satisfactionthat cartooning provided, but his attention to detail and the scope of his creativity were both fundamentally that of a novelist. In a way, for Larson, cartooning providedthe ideal middle ground between the protracted satisfaction of prose-writing and the utter immediacy of doing stand-up comedy. It allowed him to produce work quickly, while keeping him at a cautious remove from his audience.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
As An Artist & A Writer, Gary Larson Pushed Himself To The Limit
Better To Burn Out…
In the end, perhaps [Gary] Larson simply believed the maxim that it is “better to burn out than to fade away.”
Of course, except for several extended breaks,Gary Larson producedThe Far Sidefor fifteen years, generating thousands of cartoons on a tight schedule in the process. That is to say, his rejection of prose writing as his creative medium was far from a matter of being able to commit to a long-term project – and in fact, it is possible that it would have kept Larson from feeling the increasing burnout that eventually led to his retirement, and the end ofThe Far Sideas a pillar of American funny pages,alongside greats likeGarfieldandPeanuts.
Gary Larson’s longest hiatus from cartooning came when he took the entire year 1989 off, with reprints of earlierFar Sidecomics running in newspapers in place of new material. Larson returned into 1990 somewhat refreshed, though the strip continued for only five more years after that.
As early as the mid-1980s, Gary Larson had begun to tell peoplethat the busy pace of being a prolific cartoonist would eventually cause him to call it quits. Though cartooning afforded him routine artistic satisfaction, as he produced panel after panel and mailed them off to his editor in bundles,it proved to be unsustainable for him in the way that it was for other veteran cartoonists, such as Jim Davisand Charles Schulz. Still, in the end, perhaps Larson simply believed the maxim that it is “better to burn out than to fade away.”
10 Genius Far Side Comics Featuring the Invention of Fire, The Wheel, & More
Far Side creator Gary Larson frequently returned to the earliest days of civilization to celebrate the origin of the species' greatest innovations.
Great Art Is Never Finished, Only Abandoned – And The Far Side Is Great Art
Gary Larson’s Unfinished Opus
While any oneFar Sidepanel might be great – hilarious, profound, outrageous, or some admixture of all that and more – but in total, the complete scope of Gary Larson’s work is an incredible, ambitious display of creative ability.
Another famous, difficult to attribute quote, which comes in many different variations, is this: “great art is never finished, only abandoned.” This can be said to apply toThe Far Sideat both levels: the daily panel, and the overall arc of Gary Larson’s career. At the micro level, any piece of art produced under a tight time frame, with a deadline looming, is necessarily compromised in some way, shape, or form. Even if this doesn’t ultimately “hurt” the art, it impacts it.
In a way, this can be a virtue; Larson also at times noted that having to finish cartoons on schedule kept him from endlessly tinkering both panels and punchlines alike into oblivion. On the other hand, the build up of pressure from constantly facing daily success and failure proved no less intense than the potential of “losing” years to a failed novel. Ultimately, at the macro level,Gary Larson had to abandonThe Far Sidefor the sake of his own mental well-being.
Thankfully, his hard work and success up to that point enabled him to step away with some degree of grace. Still,there is something of an unfinished quality toThe Far Side, as evenGary Larson himself admitted in retrospect. One thing that is certain is that while any oneFar Sidepanel might be great – hilarious, profound, outrageous, or some admixture of all that and more – but in total, the complete scope of Gary Larson’s work is an incredible, ambitious display of creative ability. In this way,The Far Sideis unquestionably an outstanding work of 20th century art.
Source:The Complete Far Side Volume Two
The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
