According to creator Gary Larson, The Far Side was, in a sense, written as a test of the readers’ reflexes – just not their physical reflexes. Instead, Larson’s iconic syndicated newspaper comic was an exercise in reflexive humor, in the sense that it relied on evoking an immediate reaction from the audience, before they could intellectually scrutinize the cartoon.
In the Preface to The Complete Far Side: Volume One, Larson’s comments on the reflexive nature of his humor offer Far Side fans an illuminating new context in which to consider his style, and its success.
Reflecting on his career, the author noted his own interest in science – evident in many of the funniest Far Side installments – and how that informed his approach to comedy. Responses are, of course, instinctual; people often react to something before they even realize it, or in spite of their better judgment. This proved to be essential to Gary Larson’s style of humor.
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The “What-The?” Reflex Was Central To The Far Side’s Comedic Effectiveness
Gary Larson’s Biology Of Humor
Humor is an essential response to the human condition – and to artist and illustrator Gary Larson, it seemed to be among the most primal responses. Underlying his fascination with prehistoric individuals, and his regular substitution of animals in familiar human situations, and in general all of his work, was Larson’s drive to understand what divided humankind from the state of nature. Coupled with his interest in science, this led The Far Side’s creator to take a biological approach to the crafting of his jokes.
Looking back at the totality of his original Far Side run, Larson assessed this as critical to the strip’s effectiveness, writing in the Preface to The Complete Far Side: Volume One:
And then there are those cartoons that trigger something a friend of mine calls the “What-the?” Reflex. This reflex is entirely involuntary, much like the way a dead frog’s leg can be made to kick with the proper stimulus. You’ll see a cartoon and “What the?” will simply burst from your voicebox. (I love biology.)
Upon considering Larson’s humor in this way, readers familiar with The Far Side will recognize the “What-the?” Reflex in their own reactions to the strip. Far Side jokes ranged from endearingly silly, to shockingly morbid – but whatever the comic’s creator served up on a day-to-day basis, one consistent response from readers was bound to be “What-the?”
The “My God!” Reflex Was Just As Important To Gary Larson’s Humor
The Far Side Wanted To Get A Rise Out Of Readers
In his comments in the The Complete Far Side: Volume One’s Preface, Gary Larson went on to say that the “What-the?” Reflex was not the only one that was important to his style of humor. As he explained:
Of course, there are a number of reflexes that could be discussed (the more upsetting My God! Reflex is sure to strike on occasion), and I’m obviously hopeful that laughter is included among them.
When it was originally in publication, The Far Side certainly had its share of critics, and caused its share of controversies. While its creator didn’t expressly seek out negative attention, getting the attention of the reader, and provoking a reaction out of them, was always the important part, in whatever form that reaction ultimately came.
It is important to note that the darkness of Gary Larson’s work was a feature, not a bug – it wasn’t as if he couldn’t help himself. Rather, he wanted audiences to emotionally invest in his art; considering he was working in a syndicated medium, usually one panel at a time, his humor had to be bold – and at times, boundary-pushing – in order to achieve that. As a result, many of Larson’s comics targeted the reader’s “My God!” Reflex, seeking to get a rise out of them, and hoping laughter would be a byproduct.
Gary Larson Was Terrified Of The Deadliest Reflex: The Yawn
The Far Side Was Never Boring
All art is about eliciting a response, in some way or another, but some artists are more acutely aware of this than others. Gary Larson was one of those artists. His work certainly had its underlying themes, its recurring ideas, and even the occasional obvious point – that said, Larson’s paramount goal was to make the audience feel something, even if different readers felt wildly different things about the same cartoon. This was because, as a creator, Larson was particularly sensitive to the opposite, particularly averse to a lack of response.
He also wrote about this in the Preface The Complete Far Side: Volume One. After explaining the “What-the?” and “My God!” Reflexes, and their utility, he turned his attention to the Reflex he worked passionately to avoid:
There is only one more I wish to mention, and one I hope you encounter rarely. Because this is the bad one. This is the one any credible cartoonist truly fears. And it is this: the silent yawn. It seems innocuous enough, perhaps even preferred to the “My God!” Reflex. It is not. It is death. To bore someone – to fail to engage them on some level, good or bad (and you hope it’s good), to fail to give something to them that sticks to their bones – even if they wish you hadn’t – that is simply a creative effort that tanked. It’s a frog’s leg that not only won’t kick, it won’t even twitch. It’s just going to lie there, cold and still. I beg you, please. Quit poking that thing and just move on. I’m sure a good solid “What-the?” is just around the corner.
On a daily basis, The Far Side would veer from absurdist folly to brutal satire, from goofy wordplay to apocalyptic warnings – all of this in pursuit of never boring the reader, first and foremost. More than just the tangible success of Larson during his time as a cartoonist, in this way he also achieved a stunning rate of creative success.
Gary Larson’s The Far Side did not often bore its reader, or fail to grab their attention. It remains memorable all these years later because of the way it tested its readers “My God!” Reflex, and their “What-the?” Reflex, and any other reflexive, immediate response it could garner. In a way, the appeal of The Far Side has only grown in the time since it ceased appearing in newspapers, as contemporary audience sensibilities and interests have caught up to where Gary Larson was decades ago.
Source: The Complete Far Side: Volume One
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.
