Musings from Brian J. Noggle

Book Review: The Far Side Gallery by Gary Larsen (1984)

This book is 20 years old. You like the Far Side? That's yesterday's newspaper. The Far Side has been out of business for so long, most young people today--indeed, most in that coveted 18-34 demographic--won't remember it. Sort of like if you talk about Opus, or Bloom County, or Calvin and Hobbes in five years, or Dilbert in ten or fifteen (although perhaps Dilbert, like Hagar the Horrible, will remain in the funny pages longer than in the culture).

So I'm ashamed that this book is now one of those cultural artifacts I'm fond of reading--especially since I remember it in its pre-artifact days. The wry, outlandish humor remains, but I wonder how much of it would fly in today's world. Particularly the gags with the mushroom clouds. Of course, in the early eighties, we had a Republican president that contemporary conventional wisdom thought was bringing humanity to the brink of its extinction. Looking back, the sepia-toned memories are less frightening since the bigger story turned out well. But I digress. Mushroom clouds? Not so funny. Office politics and corporate shenanigans? Funny and relevant, for a couple years yet.

Still, the book's amusing enough in itself. One typically encounters Far Side cartoons individually, tacked on cubicle walls from Far Side calendars (or at least that's how I encounter them on my beautiful wife's cubicle wall). En masse, such as a great book like this, one encounters a greater number of cartoons of varied punchlines, which means the end result is average--wherein the cubicle wall is very selective, choosing one or two cartoons from a year's worth of cartoons reprinted from several years' worth of cartoons.

Perhaps I just read this book too quickly (a single night). But I didn't spend too much on it (4 books for 4 bucks plus shipping and handling from Quality Paperback Club), so I'm pleased with it. If you're a Far Side fan, it's worth it. If you're not, it's like a collection of Andy Capp's greatest hits. Well, no, probably a bit better than that since most of us can identify with cattle on the moon better than English ruggers, but you get my point.

- posted by Brian J. @ 8:59 PM