Gary Larson, creator of The Far Side, once gave the perfect explanation for his comic’s dark worldview, in a roundabout way – as it came in the form of a description his writing space, along with an insight into his daily routine. In the manner of his characteristic sly humor, Larson offered a great metaphor for the tone and style of The Far Side.
In the Preface to The Complete Far Side: Volume One, Gary Larson briefly wrote about the legacy of his enduringly popular syndicated newspaper strip, which became famous – and to some, infamous – for its notoriously skewed sense of humor.
Through The Far Side, Larson offered an unrepentant perspective on the human condition, often as bleak as it was absurd. As the author and illustrator reflected on his work in its collected form, he reflected on how the comic was crafted – in typical idiosyncratic Gary Larson fashion.
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1 Far Side Comic Proves Creator Gary Larson’s Humor Was ALWAYS That Dark
One throwback installment of Gary Larson’s Far Side revealed that his signature sense of dark humor developed long before the comic began.
Gary Larson Wrote The Far Side After Dark
Staring Into Darkness
Gary Larson’s The Far Side wasn’t always dark, or depressing, nor was it always as controversial as some of its installments proved to be. Neither was it nihilistic, as some of its critics have errantly charged it with being over the years. In fact, The Far Side was a celebration of life – filtered through the novel perspective of its creator, who was more acutely tuned into the absurdity of existence than most of his audience. This made the comic’s humor stand-out in the way it did, and in large part contributes to the continued legacy of Far Side to this day.
As Gary Larson put it in the Preface to The Complete Far Side: Volume One, readers can extract something valuable from considering how the strip was produced. Of course, as was often the case with his work, Larson communicated this in a way that left his audience to actively puzzle out the precise meaning of his statement. He described his writing space and routine this way:
But maybe it would be helpful if I told you this: My drafting table, where I drew The Far Side for most of my career, faced a window that overlooked a beautiful garden; beyond the garden was a lake, and beyond the lake Mount Rainier rose majestically into the Washington Sky.
I worked at night.
In this quote, Larson playfully references the “darkness” of his humor – but unpacking his statement a bit more, fans of The Far Side will realize there is more to it than that.
Writing The Far Side Was A Solitary, Late-Night Effort
Gary Larson’s Routine Reflected His Art
There are several different ways Gary Larson’s “I worked at night” comment can be interpreted. The first is the funnier of the two, and the more apropos given the nature of his writing. That is, consider his comment as having a set-up/punchline structure. He describes an idyllic scene: a garden, a lake, a “majestic” mountain, all of it just outside the window he would sit near when he wrote The Far Side. Yet, while he was sitting there working, it would be night out, obscuring all of these beautiful features from his view.
This certainly has the quality of a Far Side comic, in that it delivers a swerve on the reader’s expectation, in just the span of a few sentences. It also has an edge of sadness to it, like many of Larson’s best jokes. In this interpretation, Gary Larson seems to be saying that there is beauty in the world – but all he can see is darkness, which in turn informs the work he is doing on the page in front of him.
Gary Larson’s Humor Celebrated Life – As Only He Could
Finding Light Through Dark Humor
Many readers of The Far Side may very well gravitate toward this first explanation, given that it seems to reflect the overall worldview that accrued over fifteen years of Far Side’s publication. At the same time, there is a more positive alternative that can be taken from Gary Larson’s “I work at night” quote. Larson’s habit of noctural creativity raises the question of what his day-time activities were like, what he did with his time from sunrise to sunset, before going to work for the night.
In other words, it is entirely possible that The Far Side’s creator was out in the world, enjoying the beauty of nature – so that later in the evening, he could go back to his drafting table and construct his twisted, usually-hilarious insights into the silliness of humanity’s place in the world. Rather than provoking a feeling of sadness on Gary Larson’s behalf, readers could very well take this as an expression of the full life he did lead outside of writing The Far Side.
Like the best Far Side comics, Larson’s comments about his work habits, and the view from his workspace, don’t offer a straightforward answer. Instead, it gives the reader an opportunity to ponder the precise nature of his words’ meaning. Whatever the interpretation readers subscribe to, the behind-the-scenes tidbits about the creation of The Far Side are invaluable to fans of his work, both those for who the strip’s publication in newspapers is a fond memory, and those who continue to discover and fall in love with it in perpetuity.
Source: Preface, The Complete Far Side: Volume One (1980-1986)
The Far Side
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.
