I decided to read some of my "Complete Far Side" today. In a brilliant move it was decided to include letters to the editor from offended readers, when the cartoon was originally published.
It continues to floor me how little sense of humor some people have. The most famous example being that of the cartoon that mentions Jane Goodall. A big mucky muck in her Institute was offended and wrote a letter. Later the National Geographic wanted to include the cartoon (they've got a sense of humor) in an anniversary issue and the Larson syndicate says better not, Jane doesn't like it. Well, the NG knows better and it turns out she's a fan of the strip and that particular cartoon is a favorite of hers.
What happens to me often when reading Larson's stuff, is either it falls flat, or I don't get it. I credit that to the fact that Larson is often working with out a net, he's really out there and to the fact that I just don't get it. Just because I don't get it, doesn't mean there's not a good joke there. After encountering a mystifying on non-funny one (for me) cartoon, the next one will almost crack my ribs with laughter.
Were you ever truly offended by a Gary Larson cartoon?
Here's an example of one I don't get. On page 141 of volume 2, there a cartoon of two explorers paddling away with a giant gem stolen from a native idol. The natives are rushing to their canoes to catch them. The caption is "In the quiet of the early dawn, before the village had awakened, Frank and Vern removed the fire god's emerald eye and fled the island--not calculating how soon the inhabitants would notice their defiled temple." There's a joke in there, but I don't see it.
An example of how hit and miss his humor can be is illustrated by this: I've bookmarked some of the pages so I can scan a particular cartoon for wallpaper on my pc. Not for distribution of course, and I've not gotten around to doing it yet. On this reading, I found one bookmark and I looked on the page for the cartoon that really caught my eye. There wasn't one there that stood out for me, so I removed the bookmark. Previously though, one had really impressed me.
Besides the Goodall cartoon, another favorite is the caveman lecturer pointing to an illustration of a nasty set of spikes on a dino's tale and he says "...and this is called the Thagomizer, named after the late Thag Simmons." I may have got the caption wrong, doing it from memory. I bust a gut over that one.
It continues to floor me how little sense of humor some people have. The most famous example being that of the cartoon that mentions Jane Goodall. A big mucky muck in her Institute was offended and wrote a letter. Later the National Geographic wanted to include the cartoon (they've got a sense of humor) in an anniversary issue and the Larson syndicate says better not, Jane doesn't like it. Well, the NG knows better and it turns out she's a fan of the strip and that particular cartoon is a favorite of hers.
What happens to me often when reading Larson's stuff, is either it falls flat, or I don't get it. I credit that to the fact that Larson is often working with out a net, he's really out there and to the fact that I just don't get it. Just because I don't get it, doesn't mean there's not a good joke there. After encountering a mystifying on non-funny one (for me) cartoon, the next one will almost crack my ribs with laughter.
Were you ever truly offended by a Gary Larson cartoon?
Here's an example of one I don't get. On page 141 of volume 2, there a cartoon of two explorers paddling away with a giant gem stolen from a native idol. The natives are rushing to their canoes to catch them. The caption is "In the quiet of the early dawn, before the village had awakened, Frank and Vern removed the fire god's emerald eye and fled the island--not calculating how soon the inhabitants would notice their defiled temple." There's a joke in there, but I don't see it.
An example of how hit and miss his humor can be is illustrated by this: I've bookmarked some of the pages so I can scan a particular cartoon for wallpaper on my pc. Not for distribution of course, and I've not gotten around to doing it yet. On this reading, I found one bookmark and I looked on the page for the cartoon that really caught my eye. There wasn't one there that stood out for me, so I removed the bookmark. Previously though, one had really impressed me.
Besides the Goodall cartoon, another favorite is the caveman lecturer pointing to an illustration of a nasty set of spikes on a dino's tale and he says "...and this is called the Thagomizer, named after the late Thag Simmons." I may have got the caption wrong, doing it from memory. I bust a gut over that one.
