Larson, Gary (1950-)

Okay, all you Larson freaks, someone please tell me WHY the GROSSLY disproportionate interest in Larson vis-a-vis every single other cartoonist on this site? Sure, he put out some great stuff, but he dominates the number of hits this site receives and the number of inquiries I get.

Okay, okay, okay: here's your Larson fix:

American syndicated cartoonist, known for his offbeat humor. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, and educated at Washington State University. An avid reader of comic books as a child, and fond of keeping snakes, frogs, and tarantulas as pets, Larson began sketching animals for his own amusement. After graduating from college in 1972, he played jazz guitar and banjo in local nightclubs and then worked in a music store for several years before concentrating on drawing. In 1979, encouraged by the sale of some cartoons to a magazine, he showed his work to the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper, which soon led to a syndication contract for a regular cartoon feature called “The Far Side.” Although some readers found his cartoons offensive, most readers were delighted with his brand of offbeat, sardonic, and sometimes macabre humor.

By 1985 Larson's cartoons appeared in more than 200 newspapers and on coffee mugs, posters, calendars, T-shirts, and other merchandise. He received the National Cartoonist Society's award for best comic panel in 1985 and 1988, the Reuben Award for outstanding cartoonist of the year in 1991 and 1994, and was awarded the Max and Moritz Prize for best international comic strip/panel by the International Comics Salon in 1993. His cartoons were regularly published in collections that became best-sellers, and in 1994 Larson's company, FarWorks, Inc., produced an animated television program, “Gary Larson's Tales from the Far Side.” Internationally popular, “The Far Side” cartoons have been published in more than 17 languages and have appeared in 1900 newspapers worldwide. Although Larson retired in 1995, his previously published cartoons continued to be syndicated.

Source: MSN Encarta
http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761551666/Larson_Gary.html

For a good article, see:
http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/12/21/larson/

So why aren't there any good Far Side websites? Check out the following letter, puportedly sent by Larson:

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

I'm walking a fine line here.

On the one hand, I confess to finding it quite flattering that some of my fans have created web sites displaying and / or distributing my work on the Internet. And, on the other, I'm struggling to find the words that convincingly but sensitively persuade these Far Side enthusiasts to "cease and desist" before they have to read these words from some lawyer.

What impact this unauthorized use has had (and is having) in tangible terms is, naturally, of great concern to my publishers and therefore to me -- but it's not the focus of this letter. My effort here is to try and speak to the intangible impact, the emotional cost to me, personally, of seeing my work collected, digitized, and offered up in cyberspace beyond my control.

Years ago I was having lunch one day with the cartoonist Richard Guindon, and the subject came up how neither one of us ever solicited or accepted ideas from others. But, until Richard summed it up quite neatly, I never really understood my own aversions to doing this: ''It's like having someone else write in your diary," he said. And how true that statement rang with me . In effect, we drew cartoons that we hoped would be entertaining or, at the very least, not boring; but regardless, they would always come from an intensely personal, and therefore original perspective.

To attempt to be "funny" is a very scary, risk-laden proposition. (Ask any stand-up comic who has ever "bombed" on stage.) But if there was ever an axiom to follow in this business, it would be this: be honest to yourself and -- most important -- respect your audience.

So, in a nutshell (probably an unfortunate choice of words for me), I only ask that this respect be returned, and the way for anyone to do that is to please, please refrain from putting The Far Side out on the Internet. These cartoons are my "children," of sorts, and like a parent, I'm concerned about where they go at night without telling me. And, seeing them at someone's web site is like getting the call at 2:00 a.m. that goes, "Uh, Dad, you're not going to like this much, but guess where I am."

I hope my explanation helps you to understand the importance this has for me, personally, and why I'm making this request.

Please send my "kids" home. I'll be eternally grateful.

Most respectfully,

Gary Larson

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Added on April 21, 2007: a copy of In Search of the Far Side featuring an original drawing, the only one I've ever seen inside a Larson book. See below.