Editing The Far Side (section)

== History ==
===Creation (1979)===
''The Far Side'' was created by [[Gary Larson]], a cartoonist based in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. Larson enjoyed drawing as a child but never thought he would become a cartoonist; thus, he never studied art in school outside of required classes.{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=13}} Larson had been inspired to draw comics when he was younger from the strip ''[[Alley Oop]]'', and later drew further inspiration from ''[[MAD Magazine]]'' and the work of [[Don Martin (cartoonist)|Don Martin]].<ref name="nytimes dec2019"/> He also enjoys comics from [[Gahan Wilson]], [[B. Kliban]] and [[George Booth (cartoonist)|George Booth]] where humor was derived more from the comics' composition than dialogue, which Larson considered "something almost organic going on between the humor and the art that conveyed it".<ref name="nytimes dec2019"/>

In 1976, Larson was working as a cashier at a retail music store<ref name="SalonInter">{{cite web |last1=McCarthy |first1=Susan |title=Gary Larson |url=https://www.salon.com/1999/12/21/larson_2/ |website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]] |access-date=September 15, 2018 |date=December 21, 1999}}</ref> when he realized how much he hated his job. Two days into this "career crisis", Larson sat down at his kitchen table and drew six cartoons.{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=25}} The next day, he showed the cartoons to an editor at the local magazine ''Pacific Search''. The editor was impressed and paid him {{US$}}90, so Larson quit his job to start cartooning and created ''[[Nature's Way (comic strip)|Nature's Way]]'', a single-panel comic strip that served as the basis for ''The Far Side''. Larson showed ''Nature's Way'' to the editor of the weekly newspaper ''Summer News Review'', who began to publish it on a regular basis.{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=28}}

Although Larson was initially excited to be published, he was only paid {{US$}}3 a cartoon. Eventually, he stopped and became an investigator for the local [[humane society]]. In 1979, a reporter for the ''[[Seattle Times]]'' who had met Larson while investigating "pony abuse"<ref name="PeopleInter">{{cite web |last1=Bernstein |first1=Fred |title=Loony 'Toonist Gary Larson Takes Millions for a Daily Walk on the Far Side |url=https://people.com/archive/loony-toonist-gary-larson-takes-millions-for-a-daily-walk-on-the-far-side-vol-23-no-5/ |website=[[People (magazine)|People]] |access-date=September 16, 2018 |date=February 4, 1985}}</ref><ref name="nytimes dec2019"/> showed ''Nature's Way'' to her editor. It was revived and began appearing in the Saturday edition of the paper.{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=28}} Larson was paid {{US$}}15 a cartoon. After about a year, Larson took a vacation from his humane society work to drive to [[San Francisco]] at the encouragement of his girlfriend. In what he called a "daring plan to expand this 'publication empire'", Larson left a portfolio with his work at the headquarters of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''.<ref name="PeopleInter"/>{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=36}}<ref name=Salon99>{{Cite web|last=McCarthy|first=Susan|url=http://www.salon.com/people/bc/1999/12/21/larson/|title=Gary Larson|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|date=21 December 1999}}</ref> After several days, Larson was informed that editor Stan Arnold wanted to speak with him. Arnold was impressed by his work and mentioned that, should the ''Chronicle'' be interested in Larson's work, it could become [[Print syndication|syndicated]].{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=37}}

When Larson returned to Seattle, he received a letter informing him ''Nature's Way'' had been canceled because it generated too many complaints; he attributes this to the fact it ran next to a [[crossword]] puzzle aimed at children. Larson believes had this happened a week before, he would not have gone to San Francisco.{{sfn|Larson|1989|pp=37–38}} The next day, Arnold called Larson and told him the syndicate affiliate of the ''Chronicle'' decided to syndicate his work. The affiliate, Chronicle Features, coined the name ''The Far Side''; Larson joked Chronicle "could have called it {{'}}''Revenge of the Zucchini People''{{'}} for all I cared."{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=38}} Larson's initial contract for ''The Far Side'' called for it to have a cast of recurring characters (like how ''[[Peanuts]]'' had [[Charlie Brown]]), because Chronicle believed newspaper comics needed familiar characters to be successful.<ref name="NPRInter">{{cite web |title='Far Side' Cartoonist Gary Larson |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1469480?storyId=1469480 |publisher=[[NPR]] |access-date=September 15, 2018 |date=October 17, 2003}}</ref> However, Larson disagreed, feeling it would be limiting and diminish the humor of the strip.<ref name="LATimesInter">{{cite web |last1=Morrissey |first1=Jake |title=The Far Side of Retirement |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-10-07-ls-51445-story.html |website=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=September 15, 2018 |date=October 7, 1996}}</ref> In his first month of syndication, Larson made about {{US$}}100.<ref name="PeopleInter"/> The contract with Chronicle lasted four years. After it expired, [[Universal Press Syndicate]] picked up the syndication rights.{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=38}}

===Publication (1979–1995)===

''The Far Side'' made its debut in the January 1, 1980, edition of the ''Chronicle'', and a few months later, Chronicle Features began to offer it to other papers.{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=38}} While it was only in four papers by 1982,{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=139}} by 1983 that number had increased to eighty, and by 1985 it had reached two hundred.<ref name="SalonInter"/> Initially, Larson drew six cartoons a week,<ref name="NPRInter"/> which were sent to papers a few weeks in advance.{{sfn|Larson|1989|p=125}} By 1987, he was drawing seven cartoons a week. From October 1988 to January 1990, Larson took a hiatus from ''The Far Side'' to travel abroad and study [[jazz guitar]] with [[Jim Hall (musician)|Jim Hall]]. When he resumed working on ''The Far Side'' in 1990, he negotiated an agreement in which he would only have to draw five cartoons a week.<ref name="SalonInter"/> The final ''Far Side'' comic was run in newspapers on January 1, 1995.<ref name="SCPR">{{cite web |last1=Solomon |first1=Charles |title=20 years later, 'The Far Side' is still far out, and the new collection is lighter! |url=https://www.scpr.org/blogs/offramp/2014/12/02/17624/20-years-later-the-far-side-is-still-far-out-and-t/ |publisher=SCPR |access-date=September 16, 2018 |date=December 2, 2014}}</ref><ref name="nytimes dec2019"/> Larson wrote a letter to his followers in October 1994 that explained he was ending the series due to "simple fatigue" and avoid having ''The Far Side'' fall into the "Graveyard of Mediocre Cartoons" if he continued.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1994-10-04-9410040026-story.html | title = Cartoonist To Quit Drawing 'Far Side' | first = Karen | last =Schmidt | date = October 4, 1994 | access-date = July 26, 2020 | work = [[Hartford Courant]] }}</ref><ref name="SalonInter"/> Larson also later stated he wanted to pursue a career as a jazz guitarist.<ref name="LJWorldComplete"/>

During its 15-year run, Larson produced a total of 4,337 ''Far Side'' cartoons.<ref name="NPRInter"/> By the time of its conclusion, the series was carried in more than 1,900 papers and translated into 17 languages.<ref name="SalonInter"/> Universal briefly re-syndicated ''The Far Side'' for a three-month period in late 2003 to promote the release of the anthology ''The Complete Far Side: 1980–1994'',<ref name="LJWorldComplete">{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Rebecca |title=Gary Larson revisits 'The Far Side' |url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/nov/30/gary_larson_revisits/ |website=[[Lawrence Journal-World]] |access-date=September 16, 2018 |date=November 30, 2003}}</ref> and many newspapers still publish reprints.<ref name="InfiniteFire"/>

=== Hiatus (1995–2019) ===
Larson has expressed disapproval of the distribution of his cartoons on the internet and has requested that fans do not do so; he wrote in a letter that his work is too personal and important to him to have others "take control of it".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Larson |first1=Gary |title=Gary Larson Cartoon of the Week |url=http://www.portmann.com/farside/index.html?home.html |website=portmann.com |access-date=September 19, 2018}}</ref> For this reason, Universal's online service [[GoComics]] does not offer ''Far Side'' cartoons.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hughes |first1=Joseph |title=New App Makes 'Calvin and Hobbes', 'Peanuts', and More Classic Strips Available for Free |url=http://comicsalliance.com/comic-strip-app-gocomics-calvin-and-hobbes-the-far-side-peanuts/ |website=[[ComicsAlliance]] |access-date=September 21, 2018 |date=April 23, 2013}}</ref> In at least one case, he had sent out a [[cease and desist]] letter to a comics-aggregation site for reproducing ''The Far Side'' online.<ref name="nytimes sept2019"/> While an official ''Far Side'' site existed, it only offered information related to the comic and published books, but did not offer any of the strips.<ref name="nytimes dec2019"/>

In 2003, Gary Larson drew a cover for the November 17 edition of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' magazine<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/11/17 | title = The New Yorker cover November 17, 2003 | date = November 17, 2003 | access-date = July 26, 2020 | magazine = [[The New Yorker]] }}</ref> (the Cartoon Issue), a prestigious offer he said he could not refuse.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2003/nov/30/gary_larson_revisits/ | title =  Gary Larson revisits 'The Far Side'  |date = November 30, 2003 | first= Rebecca | last = Cook | publisher = [[Associated Press]] | via = [[The Lawrence Journal-World]] | access-date = July 26, 2020 }}</ref>

=== Online revival (2019–present) ===
On September 13, 2019, the official ''Far Side'' site was updated with a major redesign, teasing that "[a] new online era of ''The Far Side''" would be forthcoming.<ref name="nytimes sept2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/16/arts/the-far-side-gary-larson-comic.html|title=The Far Side Teases Its Return|first=George Gene|last=Gustines|date=September 16, 2019|access-date=December 17, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Burton |first1=Bonnie |title=The Far Side could be back from extinction, and the timing's so right |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/the-far-side-could-be-back-from-extinction-and-the-timings-so-right/ |website=[[CNET]] |access-date=September 21, 2019 |date=September 16, 2019}}</ref> The full site was launched on December 17, 2019. It features a "daily dose" of several randomly selected ''Far Side'' comics, a weekly themed collection, and additional material including art from Larson's sketchbooks. Larson wrote in an open letter announcing the site that he hoped that the official online presence of ''The Far Side'' would encourage sites presently hosting his comics to take them down and direct readers to the official site.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thenewstribune.com/entertainment/article238489738.html|title=Gary Larson went from Tacoma to 'The Far Side.' Now he's back, but on a new format|first=Craig|last=Sailor|date=December 18, 2019|access-date=December 18, 2019|work=[[The News Tribune]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Larson |first=Gary |date=September 26, 2019 |title=A Letter From Gary Larson |url=https://www.thefarside.com/about/48/a-letter-from-gary-larson |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191224050308/https://www.thefarside.com/about/48/a-letter-from-gary-larson |archive-date=December 24, 2019 |access-date=2022-09-20 |website=TheFarSide.com}}</ref> Larson said that while he does not plan to draw regular ''Far Side'' comics, he may include new material every once in a while when updating the site.<ref name="nytimes dec2019">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/arts/far-side-gary-larson.html|title='The Far Side' Is Back. Sort Of. Gary Larson Will Explain.|first=George Gene|last=Gustines|date=December 17, 2019|access-date=December 17, 2019|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

On July 7, 2020, Larson released new ''Far Side'' strips for the first time in 25 years on the website. Unlike his previous work with pen and paper, Larson transitioned to using a [[graphics tablet]] for the comic. In an accompanying post, Larson explained that frustration with his pens clogging from disuse on the rare occasions when he drew following his retirement (primarily for his annual Christmas card) led him to try working on a digital tablet. The new freedom and possibilities offered by the digital medium meant that he soon found he "was having fun drawing again". Larson made it clear that he was not resuming production of a daily cartoon, but was "exploring, experimenting and trying stuff."<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.theverge.com/21317458/far-side-new-comics-creator-gary-larson-25-years-digital-tablet | title = The Far Side returns after 25 years, and it's all digital | first= William | last = Joel | date = July 8, 2020 | access-date = July 8, 2020 | work = [[The Verge]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Larson |first1=Gary |title=New Work by Gary Larson |url=https://www.thefarside.com/new-stuff |website=The Far Side |access-date=7 July 2020}}</ref>

As of March 30, 2024, Larson has not uploaded any new work since December 7, 2023.