No one knewThe Far Sidebetter than Gary Larson’s editor, Jake Morrissey, arguably not even Larson himself, and so his explanation of “what bothered people most about The Far Side” is noteworthy, because it reveals a clear insight into the divisive nature of Larson’s work, one that can be informative for readers seeking to understandThe Far Sidebetter.
In the “Introduction” toThe Complete Far Side, Morrissey proclaimed that he “became the guy that could explain every Far Sidecartoon,” having worked closely with Gary Larson to prepare his work for publication.
Over time, Morrissey became the de facto expert onLarson’s creative process, and his work itself; at the same time,he was on the front lines of fielding responses toThe Far Side, particularly criticism from people who didn’t “get” it, which led him to understand that “what bothered people most"about the comic wasn’t actually its content, but something deeper.
The Far Side’s Editor Explains The Most “Disturbing” Part Of The Comic
Hint: It’s Not Dungeons, Or The Devil
Of course, as many people as there were who foundThe Far Sidefunny during its time in publication, there were plenty who had viscerally negative reactions, arguably over-reactions, to the comic. Certainly, some of this was based on what Gary Larson chose to joke about; as Jake Morrissey alluded to inThe Complete Far Side, some readers took offense toLarson’s use of torture as a punchline, while others were upset by his depiction of Satan, just to name a few ofThe Far Side’s more controversial subjects.
However, in Morrissey’s view, there was something more to these critical reactions, something that unnerved certain readers, more than any singletaboo topic Gary Larson touched on. To Morrissey, it was the abstract unpredictability ofThe Far Sidethat was “disturbing” at its core, to many people, an underlying condition of criticism of the cartoon that he recognized as the years went on. As the editor explained:
I became adroit at replying to a litany of protests about the cartoon: how it was pro-torture, pro-Satan, and pro-violence against animals. None of this was true, of course, as I tried over and over to explain. I came to understand that what bothered people most aboutThe Far Sidewas that they couldn’t predict where Gary would find his humor, and that can be disturbing.
Much has been said aboutThe Far Side’sunpredictability, or “randomness,” but in this context, it is arguably the most important aspect of Larson’s work.
According to Jake Morrissey, people who findThe Far Sidefunny, and people who findThe Far Sidenot-funny, are actually responding to the exact same thing, in diametrically opposite ways.
Why is that? Because it can be said that thisunpredictability is at the root of what makesThe Far Sidefunny to its fans, which makes it all the more fascinating that it is the polar opposite for Gary Larson’s detractors. In other words, according to Jake Morrissey, people who findThe Far Sidefunny, and people who findThe Far Sidenot-funny, are actually responding to the exact same thing, in diametrically opposite ways. This says a lot about the psychological dimension ofThe Far Sideas it relates to readers.
The Far Side’s “Unpredictability Factor” Was What Made People Love It, And Hate It
Two Sides Of The Same Reaction
Later inThe Complete Far Side: Volume I,Gary Larson himself elaborated on his goals withThe Far Side; simply put, Larson wanted to get a reaction out of readers, and not to bore them. A boring comic “is death,” as the author wrote, while a “successful” panel can produce a variety of reactions, beyond just laughter, including whatLarson described as the “What the?” reflex, describing a comic that leaves a reader perplexed, or a “My God!” reaction, the result of a dark and/or shockingFar Side.
Anything and everything could spark an idea for a joke in Gary Larson’s mind, and the product of this was, ultimately,The Far Side’sascension to nationwide prominence in the 1980s and ’90s.
Key to this effort wasThe Far Side’sunpredictability factor. Even as the comic progressed, and Gary Larson’s creative obsessions, his go-to tropes, and his overall comedic style became more recognizable over time, this unpredictable quality was not compromised. Meaning,an astuteFar Sidereader might be able to guess that a talking cow would appear in the next week’s batch of comics, but they could never be quite sure what that cow would be doing, or what words Gary Larson might put in the cow’s mouth.
The Far Side Complete Collection
This is what Jake Morrissey meant when he wrote that readers “couldn’t predict where Gary would find his humor.“The Far Sidewas the product of Larson’s observations about the world, and his niche knowledge of popular culture, and his wide set of interests, from jazz music to cultural anthropology. Anything and everything could spark an idea for a joke in Gary Larson’s mind, and the product of this was, ultimately,The Far Side’sascension to nationwide prominence in the 1980s and ’90s.
The Same Thing That Made Far Side Beloved By Some Made It Divisive For Others
Gary Larson’s Humor Wasn’t For Everybody
As much as Gary Larson, along with his editor, Jake Morrissey, might have anticipated certain reactions to aFar Sidecartoon, once it was “out in the wild,” so to speak, there was no telling precisely what readers would, or could, do with it. That is because from themost obviousFar Sidejoke, to the most obscure, the comic relied so much on taking readers by surprise, or throwing them for a loop, or in general, serving up some idiosyncratic twist on a familiar trope or setting that they didn’t see coming.
This style of humor is pleasurable for many people, but it can be a turn-off for others, especially when combined with potentially divisive subject matter. As mild asThe Far Side’sversion of “shock value” humor might be, especially by retrospective standards, it still relies on a manner of joke delivery that doesn’t work for everyone. However, this is important to note when judgingThe Far Side’shumor: the question might not be whether it is empirically funny or not, but rather if it is “for” that individual reader.
The Far Side’s Divisive Nature Was Crucial To Its Nationwide Success
Love It Or Hate It, Larson’s Humor Caught People’s Attention
So, yes, it is fair to say thatThe Far Sideisn’t “for” everybody; of course, no piece of art is. However, it is also worth pointing out that Gary Larson wanted his work to be “for” as wide an audience as possible. His own style of humor was peculiar, and certainly niche, which made it hard to decipher for some, and full-on impenetrable for others. Beyond that,however, whether readers “got"The Far Sideor didn’t was largely a matter of personal taste, and that remains true for the new generation of fans who continue to discover the comic.
That is to say, Gary Larson’s work wasn’t intentionally divisive, but its divisive quality came about naturally, and in turn was pivotal in settingThe Far Sideapart from its contemporaries in the comic medium. This is, in essence, what editor Jake Morrissey identified as the thing that gave rise to most criticism ofThe Far Side, something that is worth reflecting on forfans and critics alike of Larson’s humor, the next time they encounter one of his cartoons.
