Hysterical look into a fabricated and all-to-real history of one of the most popular comics of all time.

books:


	• The PreHistory of The Far Side ®:: A 10th Anniversary Exhibit (Far Side Series) Gary Larson Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1989 - 288 pages average customer review:based on 39 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

A must for every Larson fan (excuse the cliche)

I first saw this in my school library, and after reading a bit I decided to buy my own copy as it was so good. It is kind of like a short biography of Larson combined with special features like his earliest cartoons that weren't published and others he decided not to publish for various reasons. He includes annotated versions of some of his best cartoons, which make you think "Oh, so THAT'S what he meant..."

It's like a Larson bible. You need it.

Hysterical look into a fabricated and all-to-real history of one of the most popular comics of all time.

I would totally recommend this book for anyone who would like some insight into the mind of the man who brought us the Far Side as well as anyone with an interest in the cartooning industry.

My favorite part being a section of mistakes made when the cartoons were published, for example, when his caption was switched with one from Dennis the Menace (my childhood nemesis, by the way). The result is hilarious.

The first Farside reads, "Lucky thing I learned to make peanut butter sandwiches or we woulda starved to death by now" as a family of snakes sits around a table for dinner. The first Dennis the Menace reads, "Oh, brother!... Not hamsters again!" as he and his friend walk through the house holding peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

The second Far Side reads, "If I get as big as Dad, won't my skin be too tight?" (not very funny but...) The second Dennis the Menace reads, "I see your little, petrified skull... labeled and resting on a shelf somewhere." Said as Dennis looks Thoughfully at his mother. REally Funny!

Great book. Get it!

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A must for fans of Larson and "The Far Side"

Gary Larson has one of the sickest, most demented senses of humor and we are all better for it. In this book, he describes some of the major points in his development as a cartoonist. There is not a great deal of insight into his mentality, although he does include some of his cartoons that were rejected as being in too bad of taste. Those are of course the most interesting ones in the collection.
If you love the slightly macabre touch that Gary Larson expresses in his "The Far Side" comic strip, then this is a book you should read. It all started in a music store and the rest is twisted history.

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Essential book for "Far Side" fans

So you've got the massive two-volume "Complete Far Side" and figure you're all set, Gary Larson-wise. If so, you're a few cows short of a herd, because you need this book to round out your collection. It's not just a collection of his comics. The book has a discussion of how his career as a cartoonist got started and has examples of his previous effort, a one-newspaper comic in the same style as "The Far Side." It goes on to show particular cartoons, with his comments on them, both positive and negative, on how they worked, where ideas came from or even the mechanics of drawing them, amongst other criteria. He also shares some sketchbook drawings, some of which led to final, published comics and some which did not. (One of the latter, about a frontiersman named Jeremiah and rhubarb, would have been a good one.) And he discusses how editing had sometimes unexpectedly changed his cartoons, and he relates the letters from people about specific cartoons, some very negative as you might imagine; for certain ones, he engages in a detailed discussion of what he tried to do, contrasting this with how others saw it upon publication. Larson also shares some UNpublished panels, some of which are hilarious. There's also a giant picture of a louse. He ends with a generous helping of his favorite panels, some in color. All in all, it's a lot of fun, and it gives a lot of insight into how Larson went about creating his famous comic that so many of us miss seeing in our newspapers daily.

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The Essential Far Side

This is a fantastic book and a must for any Far Side afficianado. Not only does it have the usual great material, but includes stuff never published and commentary by Gary Larson as he takes you through his creative process during various stages of his career.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

The Far Side® and the Larson® signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc.

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