Ask a fan of The Far Side can't be told without cows, making it worth taking a look at how Larson's depiction of the farm animals developed over time.
A closer look at first year in publication reveals that Larson's artistic style, and his confidence in his own abilities as a cartoonist, both clearly evolved over time. One great example of that is the way Larson's depiction of cows developed from their early appearances to their final s.
Both the way cows were illustrated and what kind of jokes they appeared in advanced significantly between the years 1980 and 1994, and a study of this progression is a great way to understand more about Gary Larson's career as an artist.
Given how ubiquitous The Far Side's cows would become, it is surprising to discover that Gary Larson actually drew several bulls before the more familiar cows were introduced into his comic's lexicon of recurring elements.
"The Great Conf": Far Side's Gary Larson On How & Why His Weirdest Cartoons Got Published
According to Gary Larson, once his comic strip The Far Side developed a reputation for being "weird" and "confusing," there was no looking back.
10 The Far Side's Cows Light It Up In Their Debut
First Published: March 13, 1980
The first Far Side cow comic is an iconic example of Gary Larson's penchant for punchlines that evoked real-world history. In this case, two cows watch from their pasture as the Great Chicago Fire rages – with the caption hilariously revealing that the conflagration, infamously started by a cow, was no accident, as one bovine comments to the other: "It seems that agent 6373 has accomplished her mission."
In of humor, everything that made The Far Side great is firing on all cylinders here, from the historical reference, to the anthropomorphization of its animals characters, to the tenor of the joke, which suggests a world where humans are far from dominant as a species. On an artistic level, here Larson's cows are illustrated in a somewhat lumpy style, in a way that they generally wouldn't be throughout their many future appearances.
9 This Early On, The Far Side's Cows Still Had No Idea What Is In Store For Them
First Published: April 29, 1980
The Far Side's second cow cartoon is a perfect example of Gary Larson's use of grim irony in his humor. It also exhibits his tendency to find comedy in humor behaviors by transposing them onto animal characters. Here, an impatient cow turns to the bovine behind her in line and irately proclaims, "they'll never get me to come back here again!" – which is both hilarious and chilling at once, given that readers will have already ed that the line is leading into "Johnson's Meatpacking."
Visually, this is one of Larson's sketch-style s, and so the cows here are depicted as little more than outlined bodies, with the detail of the two cows' faces at the bottom of the frame emphasizing the humor in contrast to the sparseness of the rest of the drawing.
8 As Gary Larson's Cow Comics Show, Practice Makes Perfect
First Published: May 22, 1980
This early Far Side cow is an example of Gary Larson's affinity for taking familiar pop culture – everything from blockbuster films, to beloved nursery rhymes – and tweaking it to get a laugh out of his reader. This is the case of the latter, as Larson elaborates on the famous "Hey Diddle Diddle" folk rhyme; in the , a cat with a fiddle and a man watch as a cow fails to vault over a pole, with one remarking to the other, "we've still got a couple years to go before we're ready for the moon."
While his cows took time to develop into their signature form, things like Larson's emphasis on facial features are evident in these early cartoons, as is the case here, where they carry a lot of the weight of the 's humor.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can't 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.
7 These Primitive Far Side's Cows Were Not Fans Of Technological Innovation
First Published: December 2, 1980
Rounding out The Far Side's cow cartoons from its first year was this one, in which a cow mutters "I don't like the look of this" at the troublesome sight of her farmer assembling a "Milk-O-Man" robot. Gary Larson was, at his core, a naturalist, and in this , he embodies a skepticism about technological advancement, as told from the perspective of a pair of farm cows.
Once again, this black-and-white Far Side sketch- focuses on facial expressions in order to drive home its joke – not just the narrowed eyes and scornful snouts of the cows, but also the blank expression on the face of the robot, which is equal parts hilarious and horrifying. Similarly, small details – like the slogan "Watch him go!" on the side of the robot's packaging – would prove throughout The Far Side's run to be an essential quality of Gary Larson's humor.
6 One Of These Far Side Cows Is Not Like The Others
First Published: March 21, 1981
"The revolution has been postponed," a brown cow standing on a podium says to an assembly of its bovine brethren, "we've discovered a leak" – with one of their number standing out as an obvious fake, at least to the reader, as a seemingly human spy lurks among them wearing an obviously sewn-together cow suit.
The joke of this cartoon returns to the concept of The Far Side's very first cow comic, depicting cows as waging a crypto-war against humanity, while the art is decidedly a step forward, as Gary Larson gets closer to his patented style of drawing cows. Here, they are still illustrated in a somewhat uneven manner, but are more fully-realized than those comics produced in the strip's first year of publication.
5 The Beginning Of The End For The Far Side (& Its Cows)
First Published: January 7, 1994
1994 was the final year of The Far Side, and it is fitting that Gary Larson produced some of his most memorable cow comics before all was said and done. Though not the centerpiece of this comic, a cow is one of several essential key players, all of whom made their mark on Larson's work over the years. Captioned, "specialized obituaries," the cartoon features a sequence of puns about death, with the cow's being "kicked the bucket," doubling as a reference to the colloquial idiom for dying, and also another shout-out to the Great Chicago fire.
An example of one of The Far Side's multi- jokes, the cow's cameo here serves as much to facilitate a natural joke as it does to anchor the comic in a way; while all of the other featured characters made many appearances in The Far Side, none were as iconic as its cows.
4 As It Neared Its End, The Far Side Went From Weird To Really Weird
First Published: May 9, 1994
The Far Side was always equal parts strange and silly, but several of Gary Larson's run of final cow cartoons rightfully rank among his most outrageous. Case in point, "Stackable Livestock." In this , one farmer ushers another into his barn, marveling that his "life's changed, ever since I discovered Stackable Livestock" and showing off his stacks of cows, chickens, and sheep.
The obviously absurd punchline, combined with the ridiculous imagery, is all-but-certain to get a reaction from its reader – whether that is a laugh, or a groan, or some ixture of the two. In of illustration, the cows here have a sense of dimension that their earlier counterparts lacked, showing a clear progression of Larson's style, as well as his ability, as an artist.
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3 The Far Side's Twisted Take On The Circle Of Life
First Published: May 25, 1994
This strange late-stage Far Side features a level of narrative progression that Gary Larson's work tended to eschew, except in certain special instances. Yet it all builds to an odd conclusion, and readers wouldn't be wrong to question what the pay-off of this joke is supposed to be, or whether they are missing something.
The features in sequence: "the goose that laid the golden egg," "the sheep that gave the silver wool," "the cow that gave the chocolate milk," and finally "the neighbor's dog that chased off the sheep and cow that killed the goose." What is notable about the cow here is that it represents the fully-formed, most iconic version of The Far Side's cows, as depicted in Larson's most infamous comic of his career.
2 The Far Side Finally Jumped The Shark With This Cow Comic
First Published: June 15, 1994
If there was one single that might have signaled to readers in 1994 that the end of The Far Side was nigh, the case can be made that it was this one. The absurdist strain of Gary Larson's humor was always one of its great appeals, but this cartoon ascends beyond absurdity and situations itself firmly in the realm of the surreal. "For a long time, Farmer Hansen and his tall chickens enjoyed immense popularity," the caption reads, "until farmer Sutton got himself a longcow," along with an illustration of these two twisted takes on traditional farm animals.
Having long since dialed-in his ability to draw cows – and chickens – Gary Larson took the opportunity to experiment here, and as over-the-top as it might be, The Far Side's "longcow" comic is a successful collusion of caption and punchline.
1 The Far Side Wraps Up Its Cow Comics With A Couple Biblical Bovines
First Published: December 30, 1994
God starred in a number of hilarious Far Side cartoons, and while the Almighty doesn't appear on- here, the crux of the joke relies on the idea that "until God warned him to knock it off," Noah was trying to the time on his ark by hustling "some of the dumber animals" at poker. Notably, a pair of cows are front and center – as if the first to be tempted by Noah to him at the table.
One of Gary Larson's final Far Side s, it is appropriate that cows were included in a place of prominence. On an artists level, their illustration here emphasizes how much Larson grew as an artist, as well as a humorist, over the course of fifteen incredible years at the helm of The Far Side.
- Writer
- Gary Larson
- Colorist
- Gary Larson
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.
