Appreciating all that makes America special

Americana: The Far Side

A Gary Larson classic. Uploaded by ejblog.wordpress.com.

A Gary Larson classic. Uploaded by ejblog.wordpress.com.

It’s been fourteen and a half years since new panels of The Far Side took our funny bones by surprise in the daily paper. And you know, daily papers have been going downhill ever since. Coincidence?

Gary Larson looks at the world differently than you and I. He sees aliens we miss, knows how cavemen lived, and has exclusive access to talking animals. Not everyone “gets” The Far Side. I’ll admit I scratched my head a time or two. But that pales beside the number of times I laughed out loud.

Oh, yes. Talking cows. Uploaded on Flickr by sictransitdiesoccident.

Oh, yes. Talking cows. Uploaded on Flickr by sictransitdiesoccident.

The Far Side is the only comic that people could have conversations about. You’d be at a party, and people would describe their favorite panels. Everyone loved “Boneless Chicken Ranch.” Someone would mention the polar bear eating an igloo, saying “I just love these things!…Crunchy on the outside, and a chewy center!” Then I’d describe mine – the kid at the Midvale School for the Gifted trying to push open a door under a sign that says “PULL.”

Larson stumbled into an ingenious way to sell The Far Side books. He published a collection and let it get on the best seller list. He’d do this two or three times, then he’d publish a huge book, such as The Far Side Gallery. Finally, he collected all the Gallery books into The Complete Far Side. But he deserves every penny.

You may not remember, but Larson turned The Far Side into two animated television specials. Today’s video is a segment from one of them: Tales from the Far Side.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLOZ6rGcMHk&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6&border=1]

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2 Comments

  1. I do like the cartoon where the boy is pushing on the door when it says pull.
    I need it for work because I tell people to pull on the doors to go to ER detp. to get well from seeingthe Doctor and nurses. I really like this cartoon….

  2. I really like this cartoon. I would like to use it at work because I tell so many peolpe to pull on the doors at work. I work in a hospital and I always have to tell peolpe to pull on the doors to go into the ER room…….. Kool cartoon……..