The Complete Far Side

I have been a fan of The Far Side from the very beginning, and I was glad to find a complete collection of these gems. However, I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 because:

1. The books (two volumes) are hardbound, heavy, and not easy to carry around or even to put on a bookshelf because of their size.

2. Many of the cartoons are printed in color. I'm sure some people like that, but I feel that the cartoons always looked better in plain old black-and-white.

Finally, but not directly related to this 2-volume set, I'd love to see a CD collection of these wonderful cartoons someday.

I've read most of the Far Side comics through the years but i was afraid we might have missed some. So we bought the Complete Far Side because we didn't want to miss one hilarious comic written by Gary Larson. I wish he would write more. He has talent too good to waste.

This compliation is hilarious. From the real reason dinosaurs got extinct via Roy's inadvertant dooming the entire earth to annihilation to aw-blah es-pan-yol sounds it's one great laugh after another.

This is the ultimate comfort reading material. No matter how depressing this world gets, an evening with Larson always brings a smile back to my face. You can keep fame and fortune; when I die I want to take these books with me to the Far Side.

The first aspect that you will notice is the quality of the paper and printing,
then comes the best: year after years of Gary Larson humor packed in a two volume box!
If you are simply a cartoon fan then don't worry... buy it!

As all fans of Gary Larson's work know, The Far Side stood brilliantly alone for over a dozen years among the other offerings of the comic pages. His unique perspectives and sterling wit deserve to be preserved and showcased in this lavishly produced two volume set. You won't be disappointed.

Okay, this book is a must for any Larson fan -- I mean, how can you resist EVERY SINGLE FAR SIDE in one big box? You can't.
At 22 pounds, though, it's a beast. I wonder if it's possible to hurt yourself reading an 11 pound book (lap damage?)
It's worth it.

This is even better than I had expected. The background notes and supplemental response letters are fantastic. I've missed his humor through theses years and now, when the desire arises, all I have to do is pick up a book and open to a page.

The amount of love that when in to making this is obvious. This is a book to be displayed proudly in a library, its so beautifully made. Be warned, this is a heavy set, you could seriously hurt yourself with it.

Check beforehand whether your bookshelves will be able to carry this heavy two-volume box... but it's a well-bound edition, on quality paper, with sharp images (partially b/w, partially in colour, but I guess that's all Larson's original).

I am able to keep this review very short: these books are awesome!
I have been admiring Larson's work for years and I am very pleased the complete Far Side are gathered in this box.
Highly recommended!

Great books. I have a complete collection of calendars and Far Side video this completes the collection. Heavy books to hold which makes you want to read them sitting by a table. Excellent binding, well made books. A chuckle on every page.

What a great set. The ultimate Gary Larson. Full of great characters and some wonderful stories about Gary's career. A must for every fan. Thanks to the store for getting it to me in such great condition.

If you enjoyed Gary Larson's quirky sense of humor in his cartoons - this collection is a must have. I can lose track of time as I read through the cartoons often laughing aloud. The two volume set is well made and quite hefty. This is the type of gift that can be enjoyed for a long time.

I love these comics.Not only are all the great comics here, but the producton quality of these two books is Phenomenal. If the price was a little lower I would recommend this set to everyone. If you love Gary Larson's sense of humor like I do then streching for these books is worth it.

From the point of view of the contents Larson is funny and one of the best comic writer I ever read. Besides this, the giant size of this volumes, prevents a bit the reading (you need to sit on a larg armchair to hold the book), obviously they look gorgeus and perfectly make the price, however I usually prefer content rather than form, in this case the form hinders a bit fruition of the content.

This item was a HUGE disappointment! I've been a Far Side fan ever since I can remember, collecting any cartoons any way I could get my hands on them. When I saw this collection, even though it was quite pricey, I thought "At last, all Gary Larson's work in one place ... big, bold and side splitting!" The books are beautifully bound and weigh enough to raise a guy's voice a few octaves, but as I anxiously parted the covers my enthusiasm drained. Except for chapter beginnings, all the cartoons are tiny! There is nothing larger than the ones published on the countless desk calendars I have collected through the years ... I have larger reprints on my wall! I'll probably keep the books, because they do 'collate' everything into one place and present my favorite Far Sides in chronological order but it's a high price to pay merely for organization. Everything is carefully planned and executed, except for Larson's creations themselves ... some of the funniest stuff from one of the most creative cartoonists ever to view the world through a crooked keyhole!

If you love the Far Side, please read this for your consideration. It is inexplicable how the publishers designed and laid out this book. About 50% of the page is white space, with only four smaller-than-how-it-originally appeared in newsprint comics per page. Also, they used heavy paper and really packed these books in. You can't read it in any other setting other than at a table. You cant hold it in bed and read it, or even read it sitting on a couch or sofa. It's too heavy, and with the small print and drawings, you are forced to let gravity do it's thing on the table and read that way.

They could have easily put six comics per page and made the book lighter, or made this into 6 or 8 booklets rather than the 8.

It's really odd...as if a relative or friend who needed work was given the task of publishing this.

Of course the comics are hilarious, but I am returning this because it isn't fun to read when you get carpel tunnel reading for leisure. I like to read in a chair or in bed, and you cannot do this with these books. A bummer!

Now for the real enthusiast, they won't care. They just want to have every Far Side ever, and have it out on a coffee table to peruse. That's what this is - a coffee table book.

If you were a fan of Gary Larson's Far Side cartoons, this comprehensive collection of Gary's goodies will keep you going for years to come! New discoveries and old favorites are all in here on high quality paper. A wonderful gift for the guy who doesn't know what he wants and seems to be hard to buy for! It's a little pricey, but is very worthy.

OMG, I'm waiting on this book with gr8 anticipation!!!!!!!!!! Thank you to all for the amazing incites to the book, next time I'll be sending my, ( no doubt, with painful wrists, my own personal review, & probably a broken coffee table or two ) Thanks guys....

This hardcover boxed set contains all of Gary Larson's wonderful cartoons, which is its virtue. In my opinion, however, the pages are not particularly well-designed, the books are in a very large format, and (most of all) are printed on a very heavy coated paper, making the books just too heavy and unwieldly to browse easily for me. The paperback edition of The Complete Far Side might be less punishing.

Been a long time since I had a laughing fit. This time it was triggered by the one that has the farmer walking from the chicken coop to the house with a basket of eggs, passing a hen going the other way, carrying the farmer's baby. It all makes sense somehow...

The photo seems to indicate the books are small like normal paperback books, but the volumes are BIG (about 8" x 12" x 1" thick) and heavy. Printing is beautiful on thick-stock quality coated paper. Some comics are just a tad small compared to original, so a little extra light may be required for older readers.

If you're a Far Side fan, and you've given or lent your individual books, this complete set is awesome to get and awesome to give as a gift.

I will keep this short and sweet. I love Farside and this is for any fan. However I know other people have brought up binding issues and I hear a tearing noise every time I turn a page. I may remove the binding myself and pt this into a large 3 ring binder on my own.

I bought this set in 2007. It is big and well bound.

The problem with it is that each volume is big & heavy and takes a lot of space to read. In a lot of ways, someone might be better off with a collection of lighter, paper bound versions. It is sort of like do you buy hard bound books or paper bound? I usually buy paper bound as they are more convenient and are easy to carry around. Others, who primarily read in one place, prefer hard bound.

Also, I am not a fan of colouring images that originally were black and white. To me, they are more subtle and interesting when in their original black and white.

Not exactly what I was expecting, but a comprehensive collection none the less. Could only find it used, and the price was ridiculous. The 2 volume hardcover set is very large and unwieldy. A lot of the early artwork is not in color. The production format/packaging could have been much better - the books are too large and heavy.

This is one massive collection, and it took me months to get through. I haven't read through the entirety of Gary Larson's Far Side cartoons since receiving the collection as a gift when I was a child. It was nice to revisit; like seeing old friends. If your old friends are strange anthropomorphic animals (cows and chickens mostly), neolithic goofballs, people trapped on desert islands, fleas and termites, monsters, aliens, cowboys, nerds, gods, or a whole host of other outlandish (and sometimes insulting) individuals.

Unlike your typical syndicated comic, Larson's consist of just one panel. They are not drawn particularly well, and wouldn't draw the eye of any artistically fueled paper-reader, but nevertheless they drew an immense following. Why? Because Larson is damn funny, and smart too. He's also not afraid to draw the ire of the Sunday morning masses (as evidenced by the large list of complaint letters he included in the collection; and yes, they were hilarious). The result of his work is a comic that just about everyone can get a kick out of at one point or another, and that just about everyone has been utterly confused by from time to time (also as evidenced by the many letters desiring clarification he included; it seems that sometime folks looked too hard into Gary's work for meaning). This collection is the perfect coffee table book; excellent to have on-hand for anyone that may need a quick chuckle or two. And of course, it's just fine for those who want to get their eyes on Gary's entire line of work at once. Worked for me.

So look up some of his work. Buy one of his collections. Take a trip to the Far Side..

Great comic, review is on the quality of the paperback version. As others have noted, many of the panels have colors added, which is pointless. The layout of the pages is dumb, typography on the titles is as well. Books were bent on arrival, the pages themselves felt cheap. I don't get it, other collections have a quality build (even by the same publisher), is there some reason the Far Side doesn't deserve a quality build?

This two volume, 18+ pound collection is an incredible deal. Both volumes have strong covers and bindings and the paper is of an extremely high quality. Many of the cartoons have been colored in.

Mr. Larson's work appears in chronological order. At the start of each year, Larson has written an essay about his life, inspiration, a particular type of cartoon, and/or other thoughts on his work. Throughout the volumes, there appears letters of praise or criticism (more of these than the former) next to the cartoon they refer to. At the end of the second volume, there are a number of cartoons that appeared in a final collection that never made newspapers, as well as a number of extra pieces that Mr. Larson gave to the New York Times in the early years after his retirement.

The quality of the construction of the books, the humor and beauty of the cartoons, and the extras make this an outstanding collection. Mr. Larson's work has aged well, and it deserves a rightful place in the pantheon of comics.

"Every one of these cartoons is just something that drifted into my head when I was alone with my thoughts. And, for better or worse, I `jotted them down. It was only later, when perhaps I received an angry letter from someone, that it struck me: Hey! Some one's been reading my diary!"
Gary Larson, from the preface to The Complete Far Side

How do you explain 'Far Side'? A brilliant comedic view of the absurd and unusual? An inspiring cartoon that entertains and inspires? My family loves cards and for each birthday we all receive more than a few cards, and most of them are from 'Far Side'. We look forward to those cards. At Christmas there are calendars and mugs. We are a family of Far Side. But it took my best friend to give me the gift of Far Side that is impressive.

When the first Far Side appeared millions of us could not get enough. The cartoons debuted in January 1980 and we have bought more than 40 million Far Side books and more than 60 million calendars. The demand for The Far Side has been insatiable. I received the hefty, deluxe, two-volume slip cased set as a gift. The slipcase is gorgeous with a lovely ribbon surrounding it. The volumes are printed in full color, milled paper, The Complete Far Side is a superb gift that takes its place alongside collector's-edition art books.

"A masterpiece of comic brilliance, The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever syndicated -- over 4,000 if you must know -- presented in (more or less) chronological order by year of publication, with more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book." publisher.

There are more Far Side cartoons in these volumes that Larson created after his retirement: 13 of them appeared in the last Far Side book, Last Chapter and Worse, and six cartoons that ran as a special feature in The New York Times' Science Times section as The Far Side of Science. Gary Larson offers a glimpse into the mind of The Far Side in quirky and introductions to each of the 14 chapters. Complaint letters, fan letters, and queries from readers appear. Actor, author, and comedian Steve Martin offers his thoughts in a foreword, and Gary Larson's former editor describes what it was like to be "the guy who could explain every Far Side cartoon."

During its 14-year run, The Far Side was syndicated to over 1,900 daily newspapers. It has been translated into a total of 17 different languages.

For his work with The Far Side, Gary Larson received the Reuben Award for Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year from the National Cartoonists Society in both 1991 and 1994. The National Cartoonists Society also named The Far Side Best Syndicated Panel in 1985 and 1987. In 1993 The Far Side was awarded the Max & Moritz Prize for Best International Comic Strip/Panel by the International Comics Salon. In 1995, Larson's animated film Gary Larson's Tales From The Far Side won the Grand Prix at the Annecy International Animation Festival in Annecy, France. His second animated film, Gary Larson's Tales From The Far Side II, premiered in 1997 in the United States at the Telluride Film Festival and in Europe at the Venice International Film Festival.

Gary Larson has always made use of biology and science. It seems he likes to put animals in human situations, like the praying mantis woman accusing another of having an affair with her mate and being told "Surely you know that I would only eat my own husband", or the cow with a bib and knife and fork sitting behind a big pile of steaks proclaiming to the herd that they tasted a bit like chicken. Surreal, crazy talk, if you like it you'll love it. Some people never understand the humour. It can vary from simple & obvious, to oblique and obscure. However, most of my family and friends understand the humor all too well:-)

It has taken me awhile to read every page of these two volumes. A laugh out loud and/or guffaw, but always, always a smile on my face when I was faced with the humor. Some are so obscure that I am still wondering what they really were all about. but I enjoyed them all the same. This is a gift of a lifetime. My family when visiting all seem to veer toward the two volumes in their slipcase perched so invitingly on my coffee table. One of us will start reading out loud, and soon we will all be engulfed in laughter.

Highly, Highly Recommended. prisrob 07-22-08

Last Chapter and Worse

Unnatural Selections

Back in the day while I was still being brainwashed into what is socially appropriate came an introduction to Far Side comics. Though I'll probably never recall exactly how they were introduced, I'll never forget the memories that were embraced with countless hours of laughter. Every year on Christmas I would get another Far Side calender, unable to restrain myself from reading the entire yearly collection in just a few days. Again and again and again.....

Years have passed since those days and those memories. That is, I say, until this Christmas. Imagine my blissful intoxication when I received this set of two books containing every Far Side strip ever printed! Now I have the chance to form new memories with new appreciation, there is nothing more a fan of Far Side could humbly ask for.

Ive some of the negative complaints about excess "space" on the pages from the size of the strips contrasted to the size of the page, but I would argue this gives the the reader space to comfortably flow from one comic to the next. The layout is absolutely beautiful, the paper is high quality, and the binding is simply classic. The only complaint I have (and its a rather small one) are the page numbers need to be a tad bigger. Mainly because I dont want to accidentally miss a page when reliving and recreating some of the best memories in my life.

But really.... No excuses, get this book. Some may think the prices are a bit steep but given the content, its a bargain!

This is a must own for everyone. It's sad that these comics no longer appear in any newspapers (remember those, kids!). Even in rerun they would be reason enough for me go get the paper again in print form. Back in the 80s and 90s it was so ground breaking, funny and at times confusing and they still are today.
As for the book. Get it and keep it in your living room for everyone to see. People of a certain age will get nostalgic and search for their favorites and get lost for some time. For those too young to see them in it's original form it is a joy to expose them to Larsen's humor for the first time. Hours will be spent on this by nearly everyone so the price is ultimately justified.
The production in HC is outstanding. My only gripe is that it could use an index of some sort to help you locate your favorite. Though heavy and cumbersome, I think it was correct to have only 2 volumes in HC. Beautiful. Forget the cost and own this

WOW, I love Gary Larson's "Far Side" and have have always wanted this massive two volume set but never could justify buying it for myself, so I was absolutely thrilled to receive it as a gift this year!

First thing to note that while these are cartoons, it is not "light" reading since each volume weighs more that I comfortably hold on my lap (seriously, they must come in at almost ten pounds each). The books and case are generally high quality and should hold up well for years of repeated viewing.

The cartoons are the complete run of the Far Side, from 1980-1994, and contain over 4300 individual cartoons. I am surprised how many of them I didn't originally see and even more surprised about how many I remember and still find absolutely hysterical. The forward and commentary by Larson is also an enjoyable look into the creative process that went coming up these offbeat cartoons.

Not necessarily relevant to the review, but definitely to my enjoyment of the collection, Larson liked to pick on the name "Carl", which happens to be my first name.

Highly Recommended

CFH

When it comes to cartoons, Larson is still King. His twisted sense of humor isn't for all, and I notice elderly people just don't get it. So if you're over 65, save your money. For the rest, spend away - you won't regret it.

The letters from detractors and questioners are also funny and add a lot to this collection.

Not too long ago, almost every scientific meeting from the North American Benthological Society or the Desert Fishes Council to the American Academy of Family Practice would have lecture after lecture with slides from the Far Side as part of the lecture. These slides saved an awful lot of boring lectures. Then Gary Larson and his team of crack lawyers tracked down and shot everyone who used these without permission - and he never gives permission. So I've been forced to sleep through many lectures that I would have formerly been awake for. Many of these cartoons have a science background so they are best understood and appreciated from that background.

Since I can no longer get my Larson fix free in the comics pages nor in power-point presentations at scientific meetings, I guess the only thing to do is buy this book. (And yes those are real scientific societies I have personally attended.)

And one more thing. I rarely comment on the presentation of the reading material. I'm usually indifferent to the grade of paper, font, cover art or dust jacket but I must say that these books are very well made.

Not a day goes by that fail to see something that otherwise would just drift by... but instead I grab hold of it and remember it as Gary Larson portrayed it. I often share his cartoons with others... who look back with this blank stare. Guess that's what insane looks like, and Gary, and his followers and I get it !

At one point Gary Larson's work was featured at a museum in New York City as an exhibit. I saw it in the late 80s, (1988?) The exhibit covered the first part of the 1st book this series comprises. Its rare to see a crowded museum with people laughing, but that's just what I experienced. Since that day, I've been blessed to receive a few Far Side books and calendars. This past christmas I received "The Complete Far Side". Myself and other reviewers have left praise for Mr. Larson's work for good reason. How can a man who did these strips for over 10 years NOT be good? It would be unfair to judge these works against other strips such as Dilbert or Garfield or any other work that can come up with characters and plot. The one panel snap-shots are a genre all their own. (and have spawned some less-talented knock offs since Gary stopped drawing) The books illustrate not only the depth and breadth of humor it covers, but also the evolution of Mr. Larson's creative ability and his illustrative ability as well. (The drawings of the 80s are not like the 90s... you'll see what I mean.)
If you are reading this review, you are more than likely one of the converted to Gary's humor. If you haven't purchased it for yourself, put it on your wishlist as I did. While it weighs as much as a bowling ball, these books are a testament to one of the most creative artists to ever fill the "funnies" section of a newspaper.

One cannot help but admire the care and thought that went into the making of this of this anthology of Gary Larson's Far Side comics...Larson takes up the mantle of the late Charles Addams with his own stylized brand of macabre humor, and it is a treat to have such a collection at your disposal...However, I must protest the decision to house such a mammoth undertaking in only two volumes. The books can only be read while on a flat surface due to the weight of the pages. Take note, that should you attempt to read these while having them propped on your lap, while sitting in your favorite easy chair, you will eventually cause damage to the binding, as you will undoubtly note how the pages will sag towards you. Over time, this can cause the bind to separate from the spine. You will also damage some selected portions of your anatomy as the edge of the binding burrows itself deep into your flesh! The presentation of these fine cartoons would have been better served had they been divided into four, rather than two volumes. It's a minor annoyance, and does not detract (too much) from enjoying the set, but take caution on how you handle these hernia inducing books.... Recommended with the slightest of reservations...

My shelves were already cluttered with several volumes of "Far Side" collections (sitting proudly beside my "Bloom County" and "Calvin and Hobbes" volumes) when I strolled past these beauties at a book store. My eyes must have nearly popped out of my head and I had to walk over and gently remove these hefty volumes from the protective box. The price tag caught the corner of my eye and I have to be honest - you have GOT to be a hard-core comic lover to drop over 80 bucks for a collection of comics. The Mrs. gave me a funny look. "You don't need THAT, do you?" Turns out the Mrs. had secretly just purchased this very collection as a present. What a wife! You still with me? If you can see yourself spending 90 dollars buying a "comic book" - you've got to get this collection.
Gary Larson doesn't have quite the visual flair of Bill Watterson or Berkely Breathed, but the lack of artistic sophistication is part of the charm of this fantastic series. Crude line drawings get right to the point and Larson's captions hit the nail squarely on the head.
In the universe of the Far Side cows and ducks and often microscopic organisms have equal status with humans. Larson looks at many of our most commonly held misconceptions and frailties, has us gaze into the mirror, then twists the mirror to hilarious result.
To "get" the Far Side requires some basic education. You have to know about bacteria and space exploration and a little history to know what the heck the joke is, but he doesn't pander to us. It's also decidedly NOT all "high-brow". My personal favorite frame shows the aftermath of a messy barroom brawl, with bodies and broken furniture strewn about. A barmaid is trying to explain to a cop how "the little sailor guy" went crazy after eating some spinach and crazy music started playing. How many episodes of "Popeye" would you have to see to "get" that joke? I don't know - but knowledge of the folklore about Popeye is essential for that joke. He similarly skews fairy tales along with legends about vampires and devils and angels.
Another fantastic element to this collection are Mr. Larson's insightful comments which separate the "chapters" - describing some of his inspirational process as well as struggles he encountered along the way trying to produce The Far Side.

This volume is a MUST HAVE!!! I bought it at full price because I was frightened it might disappear one day - It will go down as some of the best money I've ever spent - down to the last penny. I feel sorry for the postal carriers who delivered it - You practically need a wheelbarrow to haul this baby into your house! I've cleared a special area on my shelf just for these volumes. Thank God for the Internet and the store search engines or I never would have known it exists! Gary Larson was the only reason I read the funnies and since his strip ended I now promptly skip that section altogether - Other cartooists pale in comparison. Larson will stand the test of time and his departure left a void that remains to this day - and no doubt always will. I love the fact that he even included some hate mail he's received over the years! They're hilarious! - We'll miss you Gary! I also highly recommend...

1.There's A Hair In My Dirt.. (Great story for teaching your kid

about nature and life - especially pertaining to worms).

2.Pre-History of The Far Side

3.Wiener Dog Art

PS: BUY THIS COLLECTORS SET... NOW!!

I'm a long time Far Side fan. My wife got this collection for me for Christmas and I have been savoring it slowly since. There is only one word to describe these books-awesome.
Not only are there over 4000 great far side cartoons, there is also an excellent forward that details the origins and evolution of the series. Each year's section is preseded by an introduction by Larson wherein he discusses various aspects of his personal history and how it impacted the Far Side cartoon series. Seeded throughout the books are letters to and from Larson dealing with concerns, objections, interesting "true life" consequences or just plain reader bewilderment relating to the cartoons.
Probably somewhere around 60% of the cartoons are in color. The books are-to say te least-sturdily constructed. These are printed on high quality glossy paper with formidable covers. Larson has referred to these books as "hernia machines". That's not far off. You aren't going to be reading these puppies while lounging sedately in bed, that's for sure!
But it the end all the bells and whistles-as contributory as they are-fade to insignificance in the face of the cartoons themselves. Larson has a wonderfully skewed world view and a real knack of adopting common objects and anthropomorphizing common critters into human wannabe's.
Obviously, given a price that hovers around three figures and given the heft and size of the tow volumes involved, this is really aimed at the serious Far Side fan. If that's you, you're going to love this collection.

While the price tag may seem hefty, it's easily worth the money.
This "Complete" collection is far more than I ever expected. Since I had so many of the older collections, I made the assumption that this was just a cool way to put all the stuff in one place. Not so... It's not just convenience, it simply better than any combination of older volumes you will ever find.
Here are some observations:
1. The collection includes a ton of cartoons that have NEVER been published in book form. These classics have not been seen anywhere since their original newspaper publication.
2. Even though the original cartoons were in black and white, a large percentage of these classics have been colorized! The color versions are seemlessly sprinkled into the pages, keeping the flow. Both older and newer cartoons are equally colorized.
3. The quality of the package itself is top-notch. They use high quality paper, printing, binding and packaging.
4. The set is very large and VERY HEAVY. You may have trouble lifting it.
5. The cartoons are layed out in a variety of sizes. Some are expanded to the entire page, where others are mixed in about the same size as they were in the original newspapers.
6. Lastly... These cartoons are FUNNY!!!!!! All the fancy packaging and quality are just gravy. The bottom line is that these cartoons will have you laughing for years to come.

This is the Holy Grail for Far Side fans; a two-volume, leatherbound, slipcase edition of every single Far Side strip ever produced, including ones that were never anthologized. It carries a hefty price tag, but this should not be an issue for a true Larson fan; the price of admission pales in comparison to the endless amount of humor and satisfaction that one will get time and time again. The Far Side never gets old, and it's like having a long-lost friend come back.
The pages are thick and glossy and extremely well-bound; it's like an encyclopedia, only with a lot more relevant information and more interesting pictures. Organized chronologically and with a two-page cartoon introducing the year, the Complete Far Side shows the progression of Larson's humor and the transformation of the public reaction to his cartoons (this is done with various letters from editors and such, though not in a way that mimics The Pre-History of the Far Side). Some of the strips are presented in color, something that will perhaps be seen as a disappointment to some, but to the majority it is nothing short of a bonus; most of these that are in color have been previously anthologized in black and white.
I personally find Steve Martin's introduction to be a brilliant homage to Gary Larson, and the comments from Larson's editor prove to be tongue-in-cheek moments where one who truly "gets" The Far Side can laugh at the ignorant masses.
This is the centerpiece of my library now, and while it is somewhat bulky, when it's in your lap or on the table, the ten pounds per book seems irrelevant when you realize the sheer scope of what you have in your hands.
And if you ever visit the Midvale School for the Gifted...pull, don't push.

This is the ultimate set of books for any fan of the Far Side. It is literally hours of amusement and page after page of laughs. Of course, you would expect this from a book of `cartoons'.

What you wouldn't necessarily expect is the "art book treatment" these books received. We're talking high quality all the way - awesome box, excellent binding, good quality paper, amazing printing, vibrant colors, crisp lines... and it's HUGE! Over a thousand pages. (It contains every syndicated cartoon and over a thousand that have never before been seen!)

Back to the laughs for a second though - I keep at least one of these books on the coffee table at all times. Nearly every single person that comes to visit picks 'em up (always with comments on the weight) and laughs and laughs.

This is just an awesome set. Do yourself a favor and splurge for it.

Genius of Larson. It is as detailed and exhaustive looking at all the complaints he received for the supposed offense some of his work to some people. Why 4 stars? Larson deserves a 7 out of 5 for his genius, my main gripe with this is that its SO HEAVY! its a pain! They really should have split it into something easier and could be held comfortably during reading. This is a like a thick encyclopedia

I was hoping to get the Complete Far Side for Christmas last year, so I held off on purchasing a copy for myself. Well, Christmas came and the books didn't (probably because nobody wanted to lug the 18-pounder around the store!), so when I went to buy it after Christmas, it was sold out everywhere I went. Bummer! The only copies you could get for several months were through auctions and sellers asking over the full price for used copies. So I decided to wait to see if it would be reissued.
Success! When I saw this on the the store site for sale at the nice discounted price, I purchased it in world record time. And boy am I glad I did. I bought this about 6 or 7 weeks ago and I'm still in the first book as I take my time to review the strips and the various articles. Some of the strips still miss the mark as they did when I first saw them, but still, a good percentage are still pretty darn funny 10 years after Larson retired the strip. The presentation is tremendous. So much so, my wife (a home-decorating-aholic) actaully allowed me to display these books on my desk in our house (and believe me, most of my stuff is relegated to the closet).
The high quality binding and paper make this a must for the Far Side fan. I just wish that other comic compilations (like the new Complete Peanuts series) would have taken a lesson from Larson.

As others have commented, these volumes are heavy and massive, 18 pounds to be exact, according to one of Larson's essays which introduce each year of cartoons. The content is well worth the weight of the volumes and the hefty price. Have you ever seen coffee table books called "The Works of __________" (fill in famous artist's name)? This is the equivalent for a famous artist of our time. I think Larson's works deserve it. For a dozen years and more (with the calendars) I have laughed or moaned daily at the Far Side comics. Yes, it's true, now and again I couldn't figure out what Larson's point was, but over the years I cut out hundreds of Far Sides and kept them. Those yellowed and dried pieces of paper have now been replaced by these magnificently printed and bound volumes that should preserve all that amusement in pristine condition for a very long time. And, lest we forget, Larson frequently enough made pointed comments about the odd directions modern society sometimes headed in in the last half of the 20th century. To have his works complete is almost more than anyone could have expected. These books are a treasure. Save up and get them. What a gift the endless hours of laughter they provide would make.

This two volume edition of the Far Side would make a wonderful graduation gift (or birthday or whatever occasion gift) -- especially at its current $54, down from the listed price of $130. (As an aside, I paid double for my copy a year ago.) Image the Library of America giving its lavish production style to the complete works of Gary Larson and you have an idea of the quality of the binding/printing/paper quality of this set.

The reader needs to be aware that each book is oversize and heavy (about ten lbs per volume: 1980-1986 and 1987-1994). Nor is it a book that one would read straight thru (not with 4,000+ cartoons), but rather to read one year's worth of drawings, laugh aloud, put down and pick again later for another browsing. There are brief essays that go with the color and B/W cartoons (up to 6 to a page).

The only humor set that I would compare this edition to would be the eventual 25 volume set of "The Complete Peanuts" by Charles Schulz (only three books have been published so far: 1950-1952, 1953-1954, and 1955-1956). While Peanuts can appeal to any age group, The Far Side needs an older teen or older to appreciate its absurd, but with a straight face style of humor. I highly recommend this box edition.

The recipient loves the books. They were read when I was younger in the newspaper comic section. So, now when I visit and the conversation gets kinda slow and all I hear is "blah, blah,blah, my name, blah, blah, blah", this set will pick up the conversation with cows walking on two legged, talking animals, aliens, etc. Now I wonder if I purchased it for me when I visit...Hmm.... Anyway. great humor. Thanks!

Do you remember the scene from the "Sorcerer's Stone" in the Library where Hermione plops down the book she took out for "a little light" reading? If you do you get an idea just how heavy "The Complete Far Side" is. And, just like the book from that movie these books were created to last a long time.

But unlike Hermione's library book this one contains a lot of light reading. Although you might get a hernia if you carry them for any length of time. Every Far Side ever published is in here. Which is great because there are some that were never published in book form before.

If you are a fan of Gary Larson's "The Far Side" you truely must buy these books. Otherwise you just will not have "The Complete Far Side". And, that would be a shame.

The Far Side is something that I miss from my younger years. The truly great comic strips of the 1980, which include Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County, and even every now and then, Doonesbury (who's true greatness was exhibited in the '70's), along with the revered Far Side... Don't know what else can really be said. There aren't many strips today that are worthwhile. Maybe Dilbert and Get Fuzzy. But Dilbert jumped the shark a while back. And Get Fuzzy is not consistently great. They don't make strips like Far Side any longer.
The greatness of The Far Side can probably be summed in the fact that Gary Larson never looked down on the people who read his strip. He always (1) assumed that people were intelligent enough to figure out what he was trying to say, even when they weren't, and (2) never assumed that what he was saying has great cosmic significance. This, of course, gave The Far Side great cosmic significance.
To have all the Far Side in one place... can, if only for a brief moment, make this planet an all right place to be.

I recieve the Far Side day-by-day calendar as a gift every year for Christmas and always found myself saving more and more of the days every year. I recently threw out my scrapbook of yellowing calendar pages and bought this wonderful collection. Wow, what a move up! After a tough day at work, on a rainy day or basically any other time is perfect to thumb through this deluxe collection. It is not a rush-to-production, strike-while the iron is hot collection. This set was well thought out, well-packaged and even better made than anything I have seen, deluxe is almost not enought to describe it.

My favorite personal Far Side story is the day (about twelve years ago) I wore a shirt to high school with a reproduction of the "Midvale School for the Gifted" panel on it, with my alma matter's name substituted. I was ordered to turn the shirt inside out or go home. Duh, I took the day off! As I read the excerpts of letters included from people who haven't been blessed with a sense of humor, I keep expecting to see one from my high school principal! Thanks for the memories Gary Larson!!

Yes, I bought this 25-pounder and I got teased for spending a wad of cash on what is essentially a collection of cartoons I mostly already owned and probably could have acquired volume by volume at thrift stores and yard sales for 5 bucks total, but you know, I don't regret it. Gary Larson's intelligence, genius and bold, dark humor, rank him up there with Edward Gorey and Charles Addams as a master of this art form. It's nice to have every Far Side ever published, but this is NOT an easy way to read the works. Whereas the paperback collections can be read with ease, this thing tires your arms out inside of fifteen minutes. And forget trying to peruse this in bed: if you doze off and it falls on your face, you just might spend the rest of your life resembling a pug dog. Still, it's a tribute to one of the all-time great comic strips that such an anthology was ever published, and that a decade after it perished an untimely death The Far Side lives on in memory, in sentimental fondness, and in this new comprehensive titan of a collection. As I said, it's worth the money!

If you are of a certain age then you grew up with the daily Far Side and likely had a Far Side calendar on your desk at some point. I love Larson's humor and this two volume set (as some have noted it is very very heavy) is well worth reading and re-reading. All the normal Larson favorites are there: the bugs, the nerds, and animals of all sorts. I've enjoyed coming across those special cartoons that touched me at some point in my life in the 80's and 90's.

I found the introductory comments for each year by Gary Larson to be fluff pieces, hardly worth reading and they don't add much to the overall edition. Perhaps as funny as some of the cartoons are the letters from people and companies who have been impinged upon by Gary's humor; some of the letters against his cartoons are funny because of the poor grammar, spelling mistakes, and indicate that the world indeed is populated by people as strange as anything ever included in a cartoon.

After reading through the volumes over the Christmas vacation I'm not sure what to do with the books now. They are too large and heavy for bedside reading and don't fit the mold for a coffee table book. I guess they will go back on the shelf until the next time I need a Larson fix.

My acquaintance with Gary Larson's comics was more or less accidental. I bought (out of pure curiosity) his "Far side Gallery 5". The rest was basically the same that happened to anyone who ever came into contact with the Far Side: i became a harcore addict.
I've read all the collections i could get my hands on and eversince Larson retired his pen I haven't been able to find a comic as subversive as this or as funny as this (with the possible exception of Dilbert but on a different dimension).
This box containing all the far Sides plus a whooping 1100 unpublished strips must be the wet dream of every Larson fan.
Gary Larson has got the charisma that all great comic makers have: he has the ability to see the world from a completely different angle, may that be upside down, inside-out, from above or from way below. Whichever the case, those that are well broken into the Far Side sense of humor know well what I mean.

For those that are not familiar with Larson (and man, if i ever said you're missing out and meant it big time then this is the time) do yourself a massive favor and pick this up. It's the only drug i know printed on paper.
Other than that, and considering the rather juicy price this gorgeously packaged collection is rather intended for the die-hard fans, allthough i know no Far Side fan who's anything less than die-hard.
I also predict that even though most of us Larsonites probably own most if not all of the stuff on the market by Larson this box will achieve some bulky sales too.
Possibly the funniest comic series in recent memory (and, uhm, my memory goes way back) and at the same time the work of a great artist (great drawing) and a master with plots as his captions are exemplary of making your comic idea work.
A super-must...

For those who got this book before the price drop, I feel sorry for you. I got it for Christmas and I'm afraid my mom paid the full, original price for the Complete Far Side. If she did, it's still worth it. 1300 pages of Gary Larson, with four of his great cartoons per page, arranged in mostly chronological order are worth any price. This book also has some explainations of certain cartoons which caused controversy, were mis-understood, or just deserved a word from the creator. The Complete Far Side doesn't have all that is in the Prehistory of the Far Side; I recomend either keeping the Prehistory or, if you don't already have it, picking it up as an 'apendix' to this set.

Overall, for a fan of the genius of Gary Larson, a great set to replace all your smaller books, and now at a great price.

The first thing you notice about The Complete Far Side is its weight. This is a heavy item. (...) Even the slipcase is made of some super-industrial-strength cardboard, because a regular thickness just wouldn't be up to the task of housing the two absolutely massive bound volumes within.
You really can't imagine how big and heavy this thing is. Get a rough estimate in your mind. Now double it. Good, you're getting close. (...)P>The second thing you notice is quality. Everything from the full-color pages (even when the comics are in black-and-white) to the cloth binding with gold embossing, to the full-color plates decorating the outside of the slipcase shouts "We are the nicest-looking books you will ever own."<P(...) So, you may want to buy it in a bookstore where you can ensure your copy is perfect).
Even if the contents were the Detroit Yellow Pages, these books would still be a pleasure just to look at and feel. Fortunately, the contents are a long way better than the Yellow Pages. And that brings us to the third thing you'll notice: the absolute, pure, unalloyed genius of Gary Larson. You get every Far Side ever published along with a heap that never have been. Lots of old comics I remembered as being in black and white, are redone in color here. Plus you get several meaty essays by Gary Larson himself, that add even more context to the Far Side phenomenon.
But the best part of The Complete Far Side may not even be Larson's work -- rather, it's the exhaustive documentation of people's reaction to it. Every time some nutjob with too much time on his hands wrote an angry letter to the newspaper complaining about a Far Side, that letter is reproduced here next to the panel in question. Often, the syndicate's response is included as well.
People who complain that they've already read, and bought, many of the comics in this compendium are missing the point. This is the book equivalent of a DVD Ultimate Edition. No, it's better than that. This is more than a bunch of comics; it's a historical record of an artist's life's work and the impact it had on the world around him. This is a work of art that you will keep in your family and hand down through the generations, unless you sell it on Ebay in a few years for five times its current price. It's the highest-quality version possible of one of the highest-quality comics ever created.
Ultimately, I can say only this: the Complete Far Side belongs in the collection of anyone who loves books. Or humor itself. Or weiner dogs. Cows. Primates. Scientists. Insects. Grannies in those pointy glasses. Dinosaurs...

'The Complete Far Side 1980-1994' is an absolute must buy for all Far Side fans that want to have the complete collection of his work all in one bound set. Yes this collection is expensive and yes it is heavy but what you are buying is quality, not only in bounding but in the work itself. A career spanning 15 years and hundreds upon hundreds of cartoons, to say that Larson's work was groundbreaking would be an understatement. Larson took the cartooning field and flipped it upside down with his unique wit and style.

If you are a Gary Larson Far Side fan pick up this set and either relive the days of one of the great cartoons or prepare to enter a new world that you will no doubt enjoy and laugh at.

***** HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I used to half wonder if the hilarious cartoonist Gary Larson should be locked away in a padded room. After all, how can someone with such a tilted and iconoclastic view of the world be sane? The Far Side is long gone from newspaper funny pages, but I'll admit that the thought crossed my mind again as I flipped through the pages of this massive collection.
Yes, "massive" is the right word. A few days ago in a bookstore in Milan, I saw what was reported to be the first copy of the book in Italy. It took both hands to transfer the collection to the viewing table, and I almost had to remind myself to lift with my knees and not my back. The literature that came with it said it tipped the scales at around 9 kilos or nearly 20 pounds. That's almost as much as the spare tire for a car, or more than a case of wine. Obviously, Mr. Larson would be more likely to compare the weight to a family of talking chickens or that troublemaker Rex, the dog-philosopher -- but the uninitiated wouldn't figure that out until the books are actually open.
When open, of course, the warped humor of the Far Side takes over. I loved the strip from the first time I saw it: this time around I felt very nostalgic about re-experiencing the brief instant between when I finish looking at the panel and when I "get" it, and the personal recognition at feel when I see the puzzled look or knowing smirk that the child-like drawings manage to convey.
Looking at this new book, another quality to Mr. Larson's work came into focus: I think it speaks directly to the creative and self-deprecating side of American culture we have seen too little of lately. It's not universal ... few non-Americans understand it. In a busy bookstore in the center of Milan, with customers poking around the latest releases on subjects as mundane as writing HTML code and gossip about the Formula 1 race car circuit, I got lost in the pages of this collection for more than 45 minutes without anyone looking over my shoulder or asking me when I'd be finished. It had been on display for 10 days or two weeks, and yet the pages looked almost untouched.
There's more here than just Far Side cartoons -- its pages incorporate angry reader responses to cartoons, and some of the clever responses. They include essays (including one from Steve Martin!), explanations, and anecdotes, all of it with top quality binding.
All in all, it's not surprising that it's such a hefty production. I didn't buy it (there was a weight limit for my baggage), but I will. It's a perfect gift for any Far Side lover you know, or, better yet, for the Far Side lover you are.

I bought this collection when it was originally published in hardcover. It's a perennial favorite. I was happy to see it in this format because it made it an affordable gift for a loved one who appreciates Gary Larson's extraordinary sense of humor. The only problem is that my loved one can't decide whether to leave it at home or keep it at work.

As I believe most fans were, I was pretty sad when Gary Larson put up his pen for good. This incredible set includes all of his Far Side comics in 2 beautiful hardback books 3x thicker than most coffee table books (each). I bought it as soon as it came out and dove in. I go back and read them all at least once a year, his cartoons have made me laugh til my sides hurt sometimes, and I'm so glad they came out with this. ... I just wish it came with a Hunky man to lug it around for me ;)

The extra 1,000+ never-before-seen cartoons make this collection worthwhile, but the sheer weight of each volume, plus the oversized pages, make it awkward to view. I can only read this at the dining table, but as a Far Side fan for decades, I consider it a small inconvenience. My main complaint is about the weight, not the oversized pages. Each book really is unusually heavy. I think the compilation would have been more user-friendly in 3 or 4 volumes (as was done with the revised annotated Sherlock Holmes). Unlike some reviewers, I appreciated the colorized cartoons, but I do wish more of them could have been enlarged. There were several Far Side collections where iconic cartoons were printed in full-page format, and I would have liked more of that. One other (minor) quibble - the slip-case for the set and the bindings of the books seem to be a brushed material that collects dust easily and doesn't clean well.

You know what is to be found on The Far Side - here it is, only more of it. This is a wonderful collection of humor for the INTELLIGENT.
It is queer that people knock America as a philistine culture when only America has produced this wonderful visual poet of the humor of science.
No other English-speaking country has anyone to touch it, though in the print medium the British Daily Telegraph's columnist "Peter Simple" and his books in a wild, strange way come close, showing a society and a world at once recognisable as our own yet transmogrified with a strange blend of wonder, laughter and anger. In Peter Simple, too, (Gary Larson Fans, please look up his books on the store and order them, you won't be disappointed!) we feel the same profund care for what trendies call "The Environment" and he calls "The Creation."
Normally, when people say a book is for people with "open minds", the open minds is question are recepticles for garbage about the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail, Twelth Planets, Astronauts in Ancient Sumeria and so on. Not this time. Gary Larson not only makes you laugh, he really makes you look at the world a bit differently.
There are too many favourites among the cartoons to list; the alien tripping over as it majectically descends from the space-ship? The vultures and the cow-boy? The cow poetry-readings? The shark's slide-show? The dung-beatles going visiting? The father summoning the Floating Head of Death? The rat in the singles bar? The wolf-kill group photograph? The boa-constrictor in the play-pen? The throwaway, almost reminiscent of the old master's Fall of Icarus (to be pretentious), of the stone-age scene with, near the bottom, Fred Flintstone sinking into the Le Brea tar pit?
Is there a message? Larson, thank goodness, avoids overt political preaching, and there's nothing party-political here. It can appeal to left or right, indeed it seems to transcend both. But somewhere, and it's fairly subtle and cumulative, a message comes through.
In the meantime, this collection is a treasure. Buy it, read it over and over. You'll never get tired of it and neither will your children.
Thank you, Gary Larson.

Bought at Costco when it came out in 2003. Not sure why I purchased. $80 for 18 lbs of mind bending, sick, frequently twisted and inappropriate... Umm, humor. The wife was buying stuff she didn't need so I had to weigh in with my own contribution. The thing is, because of its size and weight, you just can't ditch this set in the back of the bookshelf when you get home. This scenario was probably anticipated by Gary and resulted in the oblisqian products design. I'm sure Larsen still chuckles when he thinks about all of us fans trying to operate his book. So anyway, the set served as a faux utility table in my bedroom for the last 8 years. It remained there against the wall under the windows for me to look at as I drifted off to sleep on my left side. A few dozen times over the years before I'd tire I'd look at the spine over there facing me and think, "why don't I read a few pages tonight?" Then I'd remember the injuries. You not only have to be in good shape to lift and transport the book, you also have to learn how to 'operate' it. Read the book in bed? Fagedaboutit! That's an 18lb spine digging into your own spine. Serious case of hematoma of the tummy there. Not even the couch will work. No lap action is advised. You need a good strong dining or coffee table.
Ah, but when you do learn how to operate the book, it's all good! I'm a big fan of subtle humor. I enjoy humor that is laced with puzzle. Humuzzle. The Far Side is the best humuzzle cartoon series out there. There are a couple dozen Far Side strips that I haven't solved yet. But solve them I will, unless the books kills me first.
On a more over-the-top note, I've been rereading the Far Side collection recently for its inspirational aspects. There is this unmistakable underpinning to Far Side strips that convey the uplifting message, "nothing may be as it seems in life, and death." It's up to you how you see and understand the things and events that shape your life. Your life is yours for the shaping. Perspective. Gain it! Read 20 Far Side strips every night. Tuck your smart cow into bed, and then dream about it jumping over the moon after you close your big alien bug eyes.
Great quality book set. Beautiful art. Strong, and solid physical design. The set will literally last forever.

I have always enjoyed Far Side and mourned its passing. The Complete Far Side serves two purposes: it allows me to enjoy the remembered and forgotten joys of the series, and it also allows me to revisit the series the context of their original time frame.
Unlike the other reader from Columbus, I find the series as funny as when it was originally presented. Not every panel is fall down funny, but the gems will still make me laugh out loud and a few even bring tears to my eyes.
There are many Larsen-wannabes on the comics page today (i.e., Six Chicks, Cloer to Home). If you enjoy them, you should read this collection to see how the true maaster of the genre works.

Where BILL WATTERSON is philosophical and whimsical, GARRY LARSON is absurdly surprising and devilishly creative! He will come at your funny bone from all directions - including the ones you knew not they existed.

I remember ordering his large sized collections one by one from the Book-Of-The-Month-Club and then laughing out loud all weekend!
Animals and humans never have existed so harmoniously. This is the universe of the absurd, the weird, the what-if, the I-know-this-is-not-possible-but-then-why-does-it-feel-so-familiar?

Own most his cartoons in these 2 beautifully bound volumes.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

I don't know if it's more dangerous to weightlift while laughing, or to laugh while weightlifting, and I don't care. This is a marvelous collection of cartoons - all the ones missing from the other Far Side books are here (except, as noted by others, Weiner Dogs and Prehistory). I now can revisit the ones faded by sunlight or torn off my office door (the fiends!).

The intro and essays are almost worth the price of admission, as they say, but it's just plain fun bordering on the joyous to be able to flip through the pages and revisit all these cartoons, from the hilarious to the cute to the "huh?".

Thanks for the memories - new and old.

Without a doubt Gary Larson's iconic "The Far Side" is the greatest comic strip ever. Each single panel story is sublime, surreal, and superb.
"The Complete Far Side" is a huge, dual volume tome that collects every single one of the more then 4,000 comics that appeared during The Far Side's still too brief 14 year run. Each comic is given a full 1/3 of a page, often referenced with reader's letters and newspaper article that mention the strip. About a quarter of the strips are in full color.
The book is chronologically indexed into chapters with each chapter representing a full year of the strip. Anyone of these chapters in and of itself would make a glorious book. Gary Larson writes a whimsical introduction to each chapter and the entire collection is forwared with wonderful wit by Steve Martin.
The books themselves are sturdy and well constructed. The two volumes are housed in a slipcover with a "Far Side" motifed cover.
Very few real down sides to this volume other then it's hefty price and the fact that it is rapidly getting hard to find. I hope a paperback version of this collection appears for less devoted "The Far Side." This is NOT a compact book. It's a huge, coffee table book, not something you can slide into your back pocket. The excellent behind the scenes material from "The Prehistory of the Far Side" is not contained, nor are the wonderful prefaces written by Jane Goodall, Stephen King, Stephen Jay Gould, and Robin Williams for the previous "Far Side Galleries." Some of the Sunday strips (which are wider then the standard square weekday strips) are truncated back into squares for this volume. And oddly a couple of dozen of the strips are later versions of the cartoons that have tacked on "Christmas" motiffs that were added later for Christmas cards and t-shirts.
Still this is without an incrediable collection that I have waited many years for. It's the ultimate collection of "The Far Side."

As far as reviewing this book and its stunning presentation, let me add a hearty "Me too!" Incredible publishing project, and quality the whole way.
To bulid on what another reviewer said, to be a true completist you will need "The Prehistory Of The Far Side," "Weiner Dog Art," and (I haven't seen anyone mention this) "The Curse Of Madame C.," which features a very bizarre extended strip about a fortune-telling cow.
Also, if you really want to get extreme, you can dig up "Tales From The Far Side" 1 & 2, the 1994 & 1997 TV specials.
As far as the book, however, these are nitpicks. An impressive tome by one of the most influential cartoonists of our time.

One of the funniest, if not the funniest, cartoonist ever. The original paperbacks make the best toilet reading one can find - I have had many visits to the bathroom delayed by 10-15 minutes after opening a Far Side book while doing my business. This is a great buy and a great book.

I received this rather large (21 lbs!) tome for Christmas this year, and boy was it a welcome gift. Not only does it seem well made, but there's just something fun about reading a book with this much heft to it.
All far side comics from 1980 to 1994 are included, along with letters from both happy and disturbed "fans," text from Gary Larson and his editors, etc.
Well worth it if you're a Far Side fan. My only complaint so far is that the ink used in printing the book smells fairly strong.. Hopefully that will wear off over time.

Thank you Gary Larson. Your legacy work has been reviewed and approved with my highest regards.

No fan of "The Far Side" should be without these two large books that completely encompass the entire life of the cartoon. I can think of nothing (with the exception of the Far Side animated works and the "rejected" and sketchbook stuff from the Prehistory book) that has been held back.

This will come to be known as the definitive collection, and it has been appropriately constructed with the highest quality of materials and design. If you don't purchase this set, you'll end up wishing you had.

At last the complete Far Side collection is contained in one set. Every cartoon drawn by Gary Larson is included herein. Far Side fans will revel in the fact that they no longer have to pour through old microfilm versions of local newspapers at libraries to find all the off the wall, bizarre humor of cxavemen in outhouses, or bears, cows, sheep all behaving like nerdy humans, or any of the other strange concoctions Larson came up with. This set is rather expensive, but the tru fan will find the money for it.

This has always been my favorite comic as I was growing up. I lost track of it after it left the papers, and I am sad to say I had nearly forgotten good old Gary when I heard about this box set. It is amazing. I paid full retail for it, but it was still worth every penny. This book is amazing, and you will not be disappointed. From both the quality of the humor and the essays that provide intersting depth to what the Far Side was all about, this is a book for completists, leaving out only a small bit of material that was in the book Prehistory of the Far Side. Also, unlike the Calvin and Hobbes Set, this has high waulity and stays together. The pictures are on the materials, not lame stickers that fall off after putting it away once or twice. This set rocks, buy it.

I've watched hysterically funny movies, read incredibly funny books, seen side-splitting TV shows and laughed at unbelievably funny comedians, but nothing I've ever experienced has yet to compare to the humor in this book. I personally think that Gary Larson's simple panels present the best comedy ever produced. I've seen many of these cartoons a hundred times and still laugh and marvel at the way the were written and drawn. It seems totally impossible to me that the humor in this collection could have been written over such a short period of time .

I've always been a big fan of the Far Side. I attribute all my knowledge of American culture to Gary Larson's creation, as well as MAD magazine.

Anyway, I had in the past collected a few of the individual albums, perused through my friends' collections, but then saw this beauty on the store and could not resist. And boy was I pleased when the delivery came... It's great value for its weight, first of all! The books weigh a ton!

The contents are great as well, all cartoons are ordered chronologically, with a foreword by Mr. Larson at the beginning of each year, giving us insight on the creation of the comics, but most entertainingly, some explanations on which parts of his life caused his mind and sense of humor to be twisted in this inimitable style. Oh and there's also some mail from readers sprinkled throughout the book, some praise, some asking what the joke is on a particular cartoon, and a lot of people greatly offended at some of the humor when it insults their own version of reality...

So in closing, if like me you enjoy the Far Side, and want to have the definitive collection, as well as a great conversation starter when you bring friends to your home (and I suppose it could double as a boat anchor for an emergency), get this, you won't regret it :)

I love the Far Side but I can't, for the life of me, figure out why it's not available in ebook format. Some of us would like to enjoy Larson's comics daily without lugging around a gigantic anthology.

Hey, OK for the superb quality of the cartoons (of course!), the equally superb quality of the edition, and the weight! But the Larson's introductions and commentaries are on the level too! And the faithful facsimile reproduction of some hate mail make those letters almost as FarSidish as the cartoons themselves (and tell more about their writers, than about the Far Side). Unique stuff, sold out of course (my librarian in Brussels could lay hands on three copies, not one single more). Far Side fans who already own the regular paperback editions plus the "Far Side Prehistory" won't have the idea of having spent too much money, because of the 1,100 cartoons not published in book form previously. Yeehaaaaa!

normally i don't buy my comedy by the pound, but this compendium offers both quantity AND quality. there does seem to be some discrepancy as to the set's actual weight--and frankly, i haven't had the time nor the inclination to actually weigh it, but suffice it to say it is BIG.
the volumes are beatifully bound in hard cover and printed on a very heavy , archival bond. top notch printing and a gorgeous slip cover make these tomes a joy to behold.
i won't gush in any detail about how larson is a genius or how his comic changed my life because i figure if you are reading this review to begin with, you are familiar with the farside. i will say this however, had i been drinking milk upon my first reading of this book, it would have surely spewn from my nose. it is THAT funny.
one warning: the literal-thinking, slow witted, closed minded and/or acerebral witlings need not apply. if you don't "get" this kind of humor, buying this book will be a colossal mistake and will yield nothing more than a very nice, 20 lb paper weight. on the other hand, if you do get it--buy the book. trust me--have i ever lied to you before?

I'm not kidding when I say make sure your coffee table is sturdy and your postal delivery person is hernia-free, this two volume collected work of Gary Larson's THE FAR SIDE is amazing..amazingly heavy. But, despair not valiant reader, the pain of this massive tome digging into your thighs as you meander through it's pages is at best causing severe nerve damage and at the very least taking you away from the horribly crushing depression that you suffer most of the time anyway. Why, do you say? Becuase Mr. Larson has devoted his entire life, all thirteen years of it, to drawing poorly constructed, one-frame cartoons, that are sure to make you either giggle or guffaw, with enough of the good ol' "oh my God, that's sick" thrown in for balance. Let's face it, you need this. Seriously. Yes, you. C'mon, your looks are fading, the years havn't been kind, and you are starting to smell funny. Wouldn't it be nice if you could somehow, magically, travel back in time, thirteen years ago, when your teenage dreams were brought to life in every new paperback edition of THE FAR SIDE? Remember how mad you were at your parents when they threw them all out, along with you, after you dropped out of the technical college for the third time? Well, you'll show them now. YOU'LL SHOW ALL OF THEM!!! HA HA HA HA HA!!!!

Gary Larson's bizzare sense of humor entertained the world for years. However, even if you own every single far side book, this remains a must own. As funny as the cartoons are, even more hillarious are the letters frustrated people with too much time on their hands sent into complain about them. These letters, printed alongside the cartoons, can only be described as side splitting.
While the cost is high, everyone should put this on their christmas list.

I have always enjoyed the Far Side, and when this item was offered, I felt I had to buy it. At first, I felt I was being too indulgent (I did not really NEED it), but after debating the issue I realized that I would get a lot of enjoyment from owning it. I am very happy that I bought this set. The Far Side is one of the most interesting comics ever published, and the majority of pieces are extremely thought-provoking and funny. I particularly love it when I come across one that I do not truly "get". After reviewing the picture for a bit, and realizing the humor displayed, I feel a true sense of enjoyment. To have all of the pictures to look through is wonderful. I enjoy flipping through these volumes. If you enjoy the Far Side, splurge on this set. You really won't be sorry. Very entertaining.

There are numerous reviews below which all attest to the tremendous humor in Larson's comic collection. A fan of any calliber will be instantly laughing, some longer than others. For me, humor can even be found when attempting to wrangle this immense beast of a book from its case, which is rumored to be made of solid oak. Then the two volumes sit there, like those statues on Easter Island, waiting for you to summon the courage to spend two hours reading them, battling the stomach pains, the sore cheeks, and the odd looks from your freind or loved one in the other room.
I laugh every time I have to pick this book up, it even gets its own separate moving-box. I suggest you invest in this, it will always make you feel good when you read it--and you can bench-press it.

I requested this collection for my birthday. I haven't been disappointed with it at all since receiving it! The cartoons still make me smile -- or laugh out loud -- after all these years and I really enjoyed the letters interspersed throughout the pages. This isn't to be missed by fans of the strip or fans of comics in general.

At over 19 pounds in weight and containing some of the funniest cartoons ever drawn, this book can be a real side-splitter.
More than half of the cartoons have been colorized, and they actually look very good done this way, so even if you have all the individual books there are still good reasons to get this compilation (including the ~1100 or so strips that have not previously been collected I believe).
There are three or four panels per page typically, and a couple page intoduction to each chapter (year) by the author.
Steve Martin's short introduction isn't all that funny in my opinion.
For any Larson fan, this certainly is a must-have work.

It's the complete Gary Larson! Need I say more? Years of entertaining reading. Quality books with case. I thumb through a few more pages every so often and my son and I can't help telling each other about the funniest ones. Company loves thumbing through it too and why not? It's Gary Larson! Worth every penny - this set will be in my last will and testiment... hopefully many years from now, unless the cows get me...

Gary Larson and Steve Martin in one volume? Get it, whatever the price.
Both authors polish their words until they shine; until they sound so familiar that they ease into your ear, yet literally contain such astonishing content that you can't contain your laughter.
Larson, I think, is more a wordsmith than a cartoonist. How many of his cartoons are just literal depictions of a verbal pun? And how many quite funny cartoons become gems though their perfect captions? ("Latte, Jed?", or the incomparable "She's lookin' good, Vern..." stick in my memory)
Larson uses the rhythms and patterns of normal speech to lull us into a false sense of security, then subverts our interpretation of of the sentence with a surprising image. A true master of uniting the verbal and the visual.
Why did he choose the world of natural science so often for his subject matter? Maybe nature is plastic, fluid, and playful (as he shows in his visuals) whereas the way we use language nowadays, sadly, is not.
Shrug off your sticker shock (didn't Larson do a cartoon about that phrase once?) and get it.

It's GREAT. I am a cartoonist myself, and I got kind of late to know about Larson, but I bow to the master. The simplicity of the drawing, together with the lunar, hallucinating absurdity of the situations, make the perfect cocktail of cartooning. Forget about shelf space: just find it. This set is now on mine, together with the complete collection from the New Yorker. Why the heck did he quit cartooning??!!!

I was just amazed by its sheer size. Didn't realise it would be this big and bulky when I ordered it. It is a set of two very high-quality hardbound volumes and probably weighs 20 pounds. It could be easily used as a weapon.
Gary Larson's wry humor is admired worldwide and his drawings have this surreal quality which makes them so enjoyable. In 1994, he decided never to make any more of those and has kept his word. I liked the first line of his introduction to the book.... "It has been seven years since I hung up the eraser."
I have been reading a month at a time when I get a chance. It is very enjoyable. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes 'The Far Side".

I didn't know that this book was coming out. I saw it in a book store and balked at the price tag, but was rescued when I received it as a gift. Now that I have seen it I can honestly say that it is worth far more than the list price. This is simply the greatest compendium of comics ever.
The books are beautifully bound, and the set is VERY heavy (remember to lift with your legs, not with your back) and very large. That brings me to my only complaint about the set, which is that at a bit over 14 inches tall, the books will not sit in most standard bookcase shelves, so I have to figure out someplace else to put them now. It is a small price to pay for all of Larson's brilliance (and Cow Tools, too)!
The books are very well printed and many of the panels are in color (even some of the original black and white panels) which to me adds to the beauty of the books, although I understand some purists have objected to the 'colorization.' To those people I say 'get a life.' This is how Larson wanted them and I totally agree. I couldn't be happier with the set!

Everyday when my shift ended in the morning, my coworkers and I would get the daily paper and look for the new Far Side before going home. Since we worked in a medical lab, our warped minds had little difficulty grasping the content of the cartoons.
To those folks that I had to explain Far Side to, I learned to be wary of them. They were what is referred to as 'normal'. And look at where we are today under the influence of 'normal'. Too bad that we have to look at Far Side from the past, especially when Gary Larson has so much more material to work with now.
I received this as a Christmas present from my wife and it reminds me of the 'good old days' working in a hospital. I now work as a nurse (in the Dark Side) and looking back on the cartoons refreshes my spirit enough to return to work in the salt mines of our health care abomination.
I highly recommend this marvelous two volume set as an antidote to the wonders of our information driven, nacissistic, self-absorbed, malignant culture. Perhaps, if more people, especially the 'normal ones', were to be exposed to the Far Side, they'd learn to appreciate all the other Sides of life. Keep smiling, remember the lemming and the penguin.

Can anyone with a sense of humor not appreciate and cherish the contribution of Gary Larson?
His work is brilliant and hysterically funny. It is without a doubt genius in humor. This book is well worth the price. Let us not forget that laughter, aside from being the best medicine, is essential to all humans and should be done as often as possible. Especially by your bosses.
PS- don't give this to anyone that had abdominal or thoracic surgery.

If you like The Far Side, well, then you already know if you want this or not! Not much point to my saying more, just get if you do, & if you didn't "get" Gary Larson's humour*, well, there's no hope for you so you might as well forget about it... ;-)

* - [it's funnier w/ an extra "u" ya know...]

Although a little pricey it is well worth the price. It is a beautifully boxed two book set. It has vitrually all his cartoons including some never before seen. It also has letters from readers-both positive and negative, and chapter intoductions by Larson himself and a forword by Steve Martin.

Oh and it's really heavy too. I bought it at a bookstore and had to lug it to the car through the whole mall, I think I've found a new work out routine! ;>)

Everything about this publication is of the highest caliber. The reviews below already (accurately) describe the high production quality of the two volumes themselves. The slipcase is correspondingly well-constructed; it is thick enough to accommodate the bulk of the books, and it is adorned on each side with a different vibrantly colored "painting" in classic Far Side tradition (one, depicting a couple of butchers hunting a flock of flying cows, can be seen in the image above, but the thumbnail hardly does the picture justice). And maybe it's just me, but the books even smell expensive.

The fact that the comics are in (roughly) chronological order allows anyone so disposed to track the evolution of The Far Side. One thing I noticed is that the Far Sides published in any given week tend to follow a particular theme, such as shark attacks or desert scenarios. Rereading more than a decade's worth of Far Side comics in such a relatively short time frame also reveals how much repetition there is, more so than I remembered. This is not necessarily a bad thing; as one commentator put it, "one could argue that the repetitive panels are like jazz riffs on the same melody."

Also, contrary to the publisher's description, only about a third of the panels are in color. This preserves the original presentation of the majority of the comics for Far Side purists, but also provides some refreshing variety for the reader and helps to justify the hefty price tag.

It's a shame that Gary Larson no longer pens the Far Side comics, but at least you can have the whole collection here. I received this set as a gift and I loved thumbing through it and laughing at the clever humor. Most of the cartoons are in color and look so much better than I remember as a kid. Get the set, you won't be disappointed.

This is easily one my most valued purchases and we (my school going son and I) enjoy reading it together. In every page we try to pick out the one we love best and there's always some which lead to more than a chuckle. And there are some intriguing ones which need to be figured out. Once figured out, it all looks so obvious... And there are some which we debate on the real intent.

There's no question that this is an excellent collection, worth it's weight on gold. But the weight is also the downside - and the only issue I have. It's too heavy to read in bed. Only wish the publishers had a 5 or 6 volume set rather than a two volume set. But, hey, look at the brighter side, it's not in a single volume! Even with this issue it deserves 5 stars!!!

This is about the best set of cartoons ever if you have a warped sense of humor like I do. Our local paper ran The Far Side for several years but then dropped it. I was happy to see someone finally put all the cartoons in a book. I also bought an really liked Dilbert which has now been published in a book.

A fantastic collection of cartoons, which have graced countless bathroom walls in their calendar form for years. The Complete Far Side collection comes in a 2 volume box set, each one with a solid well bound cover and heavy paper which will take the punishment of constant perusal. I would recommend the books as gifts or coffee table accessories to anyone young or old. The timeless humour has enough bite to offend the occasional prude while being so universally identifiable that the prudes of the world would also likely find something within the pages of these books to bring an ashamed smile to their face. It is a meaningful addition to any humour fans collection. You will not be disappointed with the quality of the books or their content.

As soon as you open the package, you'll notice the weight of these tomes. Each volume weighs close to 10 pounds and is beautifully bound and printed on vellum paper. It's almost like a religious experience to lay the book out on a table.
Then you start reading and laughing out loud. Gary Larson is simply brilliant. And the letters from the readers just add to the humor.
Buy this for everyone you know who has a quirky sense of humor. They'll enjoy it immensely.

This two set volume is a wonderful collection. We were very pleased to find stories and information along with the cartoons.
This was a CHRISTmas gift. Perfect !!! And was a total utterly terrific "surprise" gift and extremely welcomed. If any of you enjoy the Far Sides as much as we do, this total set is worth every red cent!! Enjoy and God Bless!!!

I was eyeing this marvelous collection at my local book store. The binding, presentation, etc is all fantastic and teh inside is even more appealing. Far Side will never grow old and the humor will never seem dated. There is a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy and the strip runs from being hilarious, to brilliant.

I've been reading The Far Side for as long as I can remember. When I was in school, our teacher asked us to take one of our favorite cartoons and redraw it. I chose one with cavemen fleeing a flaming building with the words "Research and Development" posted on a giant sign above the building. Below, the caption read "Fire is Invented". To this day every time I read that cartoon I laugh. Who cares how much it costs, that you can strain your back trying to lift it, or if the majority of the cartoons have been published already, this anthology is definetly worth every penny, even if just for the cartoons previously not put into books.

What can you say? The Far Side is in my opinion the funniest comic strip ever to grace print. I have found myself laughing out loud and having uncontrolable spurts of chuckling when reading The Far Side. And most of this is accomplished with ONE panel. It's a testament to the genius of Gary Larson. And these two volumes comprise almost every far side strip as well much bonus material. If you are a fan of Mr. Larson's work, I would highly suggest selling your seperate volumes and purchasing this comprehensive set. Happy laughing!

This is a terrific collection by one of the finest cartoonists ever. Cows, strange little children, aliens, and of course, the beloved wild herds of dachshunds abound.

Gary Larson is sorely missed in today's comic pages; the greatest testimony to this is of course the insipid imitators lining those pages.

Each cartoon is a joy to see once again.

I got these books for Christmas last year from my wife. She wasn't sure I liked them until I spent the next four hours chuckling to myself. This is one of the best gift I have ever been given. These books are well made, and the content is just sublime. Steve Martin's foward is great, and the rest will draw you in and have you laughing for hours.

We purchased three sets of the Complete Far Side as Christmas gifts and all the recipients were excited to get them. I've seen the set when it first came out a few years ago and bought it for my 16 year old son who loves Larsen as I do. Years later I'll find one of the big volume books in his bed when I wake him for school, he enjoys them over and over again and we still can laugh at the humor year after year. It's great stuff if you just need a good, ridiculous laugh,it's really fantastic.

It goes without saying the Far Side is sheer genius. Warped, of course, but genius. It is nice to have the complete collection in these large, impressive and HEAVY volumes. They beat the tar out of a shelf full of curling paperbacks. Buy them, enjoy them, give them to your grandkids. They are that good.

I have always been a huge fan of "The Far Side" and finally decided to treat myself to the entire collection. So far its fantastic! The book is full of the obvious comics, but a lot of stories from Gary Larson. All the comics are in chronological order from the very first to the very last, and for me this was great because you could see the art and the sense of humor evolve.

Books showed up shrink wrapped and brand new 2 days after I placed my order and I had used the 5 - 7 day free shipping!

Very worth the 80-ish dollars I spent. Highly recommended for fans of the series.

This is heavy man! Not the material but the weight of this two set volume! The twisted view of Gary Larson shines through on every page of this The Complete Far Side 1980-1994. Some may say this is light weight material but they haven't spent time with this sitting in their lap. It made quite an impression on me through my years growing up. Now as I near retirement age myself I get to appreciate his humor all over again.

The Complete Far Side book set needs to have a health warning on it. Readers of the Far Side are a special group and to tackle this will show the world you can handle anything. The Complete Far Side book set is an awesome, totally side splitting , back breakingly heavy book set. I know that after reading it I'm going to look like some of the characters from these comics. So a little disclaimer if you please, to protect you from looking bent over with warped facial muscles do the following:
1. Have a friend help you carry the books
2. If you don't have a friend get a dolly ( Raggedy Ann, Andy's to lazy. No? When was the last time you saw him?)
3. Lift with your legs
4. On call Doctor, oh sorry wrong century. Be sure your HMO covers side splitting and facial distortions from hysterical laughing.
And you have all of your referrals in place.
5. Finally a WWF wrestler to wrestle the books out of your hands, so that you don't overdose, miss sleeping, eating or whatever.
You are now Warned. The Far Side is classic humor, that sometimes makes you go huh? And other times you just look at the picture and without reading the caption you're laughing. The Complete Far Side is funny, great and is the best coffee table book that's been out in years. When you have family or friends over, just place the books on the table and walk away. Within moments people will be laughing, screaming and talking about these great cartoons.
The only criticism I can say is that, there should have been insights or commentary from Mr. Larson. Like why pick these characters, where did the inspiration come from to do these scenes and what does this scene mean?
Little tidbits of his creations would have really made this A++ book an A+++.
So I guess I need to start saving for the Ultimate Complete Far Side book set. Enjoy ( Mr. Larson, thanks for the laughs.)

This is the greatest thing I have ever owned. I am so happy to own this. This starts from day one to day whatever, basically from beginning to end of the entire comic. It really is everything. One of the greatest thing is the letters from readers and editors to Gary Larson. It is great. I highly suggest this collection.

I just managed to get my hands on a copy of the second printing, and boy, am I glad I did, and boy, am I sad I didn't earlier. The quality of the books is outstanding. They will surely last, so you can share the joys of The Far Side with your children's children. The "chapter" intros and little anecdotes help one apprieciate The Far Side even more.
All-in-all, a wonderful book, and well worth (close to) a hundred dollars.

Djhexane is entirely right, this bookset also fell on my foot at work. Trust me you do not want to drop this thing, probably go right through your floor, it ways about 60 pounds it is really heavy. But thats a good thing, you see it being really heavy means there is alot of quality that comes with it extremely heavy quantity. I would probably buy this for my dad, if it wasn't so expensive. I know my dad loves the far side, but 135 bucks he would probably get mad at me for spending so much rather than thank me for the entire collection.

After checking with customs in Norway, I found out that books doesn't add tax when bought abroad, and then I decided to buy this Complete set of Gary Larson's Far Side Gallery! The books are very well-looking, and has a complete set with small remarks from the author on some of the cartoons.

I can really recommend this book! I haven't read the whole set yet, since it's so collosal, and has so many many drawings! So when buying this book, you'll have days of entertainment!

Myge

For those of us who grew up but never outgrew The Far Side, this compendium of Larson's best is a time capsule of fun and memories. Highly recommend for any fan of the series and younger readers who were born too late and missed the beginning.

Well, at least one caption was changed. I had thought that some of the panels were worded differently than I remembered them, but was completely shocked when the cartoon of the slugs worshipping the salt shaker no longer read "Eeny Oony Wanny. Eeny Oony Wanny." It now says something like. "However, the slugs' faith in their god was based on fear, not love." C'mon, Gary! "Eeny Oony Wanny" was much funnier. What were you thinking? Don't get me wrong. I love the book, but purists beware.

In terms of content, this is *nearly* the ultimate collection of Gary Larson's wonderful Far Side comics (why do all the good cartoonists like Larson and Watterson retire early, while banal ones like Jim Davis [Garfield] go on ad nauseum?).
Books are very well made, like good art history volumes, with thoughtful notes included between each section (divided by years), and the paper and ink quality is excellent.
However, while this collection features all of the Far Side comics published since inception (and a few more never before seen by the public), it leaves out Larson's hilarious Farsidian take on classic art pieces as featured in the superb "Weiner Dog Art" collection from the 90's. Also, and I suppose this would have made what are already two massive tomes even more unruly to handle, it leaves out all of "Prehistory of the Far Side" material.
So just make sure you get "Weiner Dog Art" and "Prehistory", and then with this collection you'll have the ultimate Far Side opus.

This is an absolutely great collection if you're a fan of quirky humour. My only problem is this is really heavy. Difficult to read in bed.

I was a big fan but never owned any of the books. Seeing the ultimate collection on sale, I just had to buy!

Just brilliant! The quality of the presentation is only outdone by the hilarity of the single panel glimses into the warped mind of Larson. The additions to the comics, such as letters from irate readers and fans, and tales from Larson and friends about publishing and life in general, make this two volume set a must have for any fan. Forget the individual publications of Far Side comics - invest in the complete collection, read it, read it again, and force your friends and family to read it too.

As a professional comedian ([...]) I have always appreciated...no LOVED...Larson's work and thought "this will be nice, a couple of little books with cartoons".
It just arrived in Australia only five days after I placed the order with the store and I am soooo excited. It is so much better than I imagined.
BIG, hard cover, lovely paper, bautifully printed, Cow Heaven! I really had no idea what I was buying, it is sensational and is one of those things that is guaranteed to generate enough envy to make it worth twice the price.
For an idea of just how big it is and how excited I am - [...]

I've always been a fan of The Far Side and this is true fan's dream come true and a must for any non-fan(can't believe there would be any).If you like to laugh,then this is for you.Too bad Gary Larson doesn't draw these anymore,but at least we have this collection.....DEFINITELY WORTH HAVING!!!

I would love to reccomend this fantastic collection of one of the greatest ever comic artists, except for one thing...
The Far Side should be enjoyed under the covers, by flashlight, when your parents say you should be asleep. That's how I remember enjoying the Far Side. If you really want to LOVE this comic, buy the smaller, more portable books to snuggle up with. Happy reading!

The Far Side is one of those rare cartoon strips that remains continuously funny, no matter how many times you read them. This two volume set is beautifully bound and contained within a a holder for the set, which has clever illustrations on the outside also. This is the kind of thing that you want out in your living room for you, your family and your overnight guests to enjoy, and people will enjoy it as long as people have a sense of humor.

A must for any The Far Side fan! The PreHistory has always been my favorite, but this (The Complete) takes the cucumber! Although this is an excellent collection of Larson's work, no collection would be complete with out the once aired (OCT 95) The Tales of The Far Side (I) carton (available only at thefarside.com). Thank you Gary Larson.
Fav: "...no size restrictions and screw the limit."
Note: the local paper has just started to reprint The Far Side in the daily edition.

The set is heavy and should not be stored on an upper shelf. Actually, it should be left out so as to provide enjoyment for any passer by. This set was a big hit on Thanksgiving. We all spent quite a bit of time searching for our all time favorites. (My favorite features two polar bears -- one of them holding up an igloo. The caption: "I just love these things; Crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside.")

Gary Larson is genius. His off kilter humor holds up after almost 20 years since the final strip. A centerpiece to my bookshelf. The best comic strip ever, and the collection is well worth owning. My personal favorite strip is the "Bummer of a Birthmark, Hal."

This is a definate must for any cartoon connesuer's collection. Weighing in at God knows how many pounds, this huge 2 book collection is well worth the price. It includes every single Far Side cartoon ever published, even some not in previous collections. Far Side is one of my all time favorite cartoons, and is right up there with Dilbert and Calvin and Hobbes when it comes to all time greatest cartoons. An excellent collection, and worth the back strain.

I'm a casual reader of the far side, but I wanted to add this to my collection because I don't think I could get it for much cheaper than I did at the time. Needless to say, if you're even reading these reviews, you're looking to buy it. Stop wasting your time reading and buy it! Although it's not an uberly-comprehensive set, it does the job. The ONLY reason why I rated it 4 stars is because you could benchpress with these books... it would have been nice if they were broken down into smaller volumes, with more of them. I (seriously) hurt my neck the first time I was reading them... however, you're not going to find much better in the world of cartoon collections. Enjoy!!!

I have purchased the two volume set. And I find it to be a great addition especially since I have all the cartoons in one (or two) places instead of 10 or 11 places. I find the book to be of excellent quality and the art on the slipcase cover is typical Gary Larson. I would recommend this 2 book set to any true Far Side Fan. Unlike Mr M.T.R. (who gave it one star), I can say I did buy the books and I love them!!!

How can you not love The Far Side? This oversized, hardbound slipcover edition comprises the entire 14-year run of the often imitated, never duplicated series by Gary Larson. Almost as fun as the comics themselves are the reprinted letters of some readers who were either offended by, or just didn't 'get' the comics.

This is a must-have collection for all fans of the Far Side. This is my best book so far in my collection (After the bible). Spent many hours of laughs.
It does reveal though certain repetitions in the works of Gary Larson.

I mean, it's Gary Larson. Probably the strangest and funniest mind to have existed in human history. And finally, we--the delighted readers--don't have to scrounge around in used bookstores to find all his different collections.

And, as if we needed any more reason to buy this collection, it's peppered with letters, editorial comments, and newspaper clippings about individual cartoons and the reactions they've provoked.

A must have for anyone with a sense of humor.

I love the Far Side and this is truly a wonderful collection. I thought that the cartoons were beautiful and the binding was fun. I like the commentary and I also like that the cartoons are in chronological order. This is a great gift for the Larson fan friend (or yourself).

For manic Far Side fans, inclusding myself, this is a dream come true. Being born in the midst of the popularity of the Far Side, I missed quite a few of these delightful pieces of satire. With these volumes, I now see the evolution of the Far Side and its humor.
However, the fan letters, hate mail, and pleas from the confused do not compare to those in the Pre-history volume in quantity or quality, which is still my favorite.

I just received my copy of this and I was astonished. The amount of supplementary information was amazing. The twenty pages or so of foreword alone made it worth the purchase. There is only one problem with this collection: Where am I going to find a bookcase to hold this treasure?

If you like smiling (and sometimes laughing), wandering why you had never thought of how things are when they are seen by non humans (and I'not only speaking of animals but of vegetables and rocks and idiots and my boss, too)... see the world with the eyes of one of the greatest geniuses of humour.

Gary Larson is Einstein in this field.

Though this collection is nostalgic for a die hard fan like myself, I can't suppress my disappointment at how many of these cartoons have been retouched in COLOR. This coupled with the small panel size and wasted page space is actually quite aggravating dispite the 1000 cartoons not previously released in book form.

After years of glancing at Far Side from the Library and the occasional Newspaper, this collection is a highly valued addition to the few personal posessions that I hope a few of my descendents or friends will appreciate.

This is a really cool collection! It is a TON of fun to read, and a TON book to lift (hey, when was the last time you had a comic book that doubled as a peice of exercise equipment?). The binding is beautiful, and tkaes itself very seriously, but not too much!

Absolutely outstanding collection of humor. As a younger person, I used to look forward to seeing what Larson had to offer for the day. I was never disappointed and now I have the entire collection in leather bound editions. Great works and they should be brought back for this generation to enjoy.

This is one a great job of one of the best cartoonist I know. A great work edited in a de luxe format. beautiful edition for a hilarious Saga.
The book is not to put in chideren's hand (too heavy ;-)). Every page is a delight drawn on a glossy heavy paper. A perfect balans for the mind and the senses.

Considering the price I paid for this, I was expecting a beat up pair of books. They were perfect. I purchased this as a gift. Very hard for me to let it go. I hope it goes on sale again at this price.

This would be the book(set) that I would take with me to a lonely island.
Superb humor, superb edition, great books, great paper, great everything.

This is just simply the ultime Far Side. If you love, like, or even faintly are interested into the Far Side: order this!

We bought this for our son for his birthday~~something he had been hinting around for many weeks. He was delighted to receive the boxed set.

Thank-You for the prompt delivery and the excellent description of the item.

Sincerely.
Happy customers in California

When I started reading and liking the far side 1 year ago, I said that I would get this one when I earned enough money and I earned the money I needed and I bought this at costco and I was on the floor laughing for about an hour or so because it was so funny and now I am on book 2 of the set and I have to say that if you are a far side fan that Gary Larson did the right thing by creating this and if you are a fan this is the far side item for you!!! :)

I got the collection for my son's Christmas present, however I must confess that the collection is so gorgeous and beguiling, I was lured into reading it before (and during) wrapping. It is very complete, and stunningly presented. Best of all, the store had it on sale for less than anywhere else I had found!

Love these books and love the way they have been assembled. If I can just get over the weight issue...THIS SET IS AMAZINGLY HEAVY! Makes for an entertaining afternoon, evening, weekend, however long it takes to get through it all. There is so much Gary Larson. I love it.

This book gives me hours of laughter, especially for one that doesn't even have time to sit down and relax except the weekends. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys laughing, or if they are Gary Larson fans!

I bought The Far side collection for my partner's 50th. It was the best present ever! We liked the way every cartoon was displayed in order from the very first one and also dated. The books are of high quality and well presented. This is really the best of Gary Larson.

Simply the best comic of all-time.
It's indeed complete with laugh-out-louds, head scratchers, knowing nods of recognition.
You'll read in the forward what separates this from the rest is the subtleties of the Far Side: the perfect rhythm of the caption, the undersated looks and reactions of the characters. Brilliant!

This was everything I hoped for and more. I've seen countless far sides in my life but there were several hours worth of cartoons I had never seen before, very satisfied.

This is a classic set I will be cherishing for a long time.

6 of them fell on me at work. It hurt a lot. And I was mad. I would give it 1 star for that, but I could not bring myself to it. The Farside is classic and you will love it. Just don't hurt yourself.

As a college student, I grew up with Gary Larson in the comics everyday. He helped to shape my sense of humor and my childhood, and I solely thank him for where I am today.
This collection is a beautiful masterpiece, that everyone with any decency should feel obligated to buy.

If your a Gary Larson fan like myself then this fabulous set of books is a must have. Quality production, beautiful illustrations and very, very funny, this is something that you can treasure and refer back to for life !

I have not yet read all of The Complete Far Side. I have been a Far Side fan since I can remember. I have to say that The Far Side is the one and only greatest comic ever. Gary Larson has amazing powers of comedy. He can make the cheesiest joke hilarious just by putting it out on his comic. I am yet to read a far side I have not found funny. The closest to The Far Side humor would have to be Mr. Boffo. There are other great comic strips such as Dilbert or Calvin and Hobbes, but they both have bad strips. Whereas The Far Side has continued to amaze me. Congratulations Gary Larson on a wonderful career. Come back to us and create more.

I would like to ask that all readers of this review please read review #29, by mike riley.
Doesn't he have anything better to do than write incorrect reviews online about possibly the best cartoonist of all time!!??
There are so many new cartoons in this book its not even funny, and even if their weren't this book would be worth much more than the list price. It is a gorgious collection, write down to the slipcase it comes in. And that stupid cartoon he talked about showed his total and complete lack of any intelligent sense of humor. Mr. Riley, if you read this, I dont know you and therefore cannot critisize you as a person. However, I can say that if you aren't going to say anything truthfull, please don't say anything at all.
One more thing, NEVER BADMOUTH BILL WATTERSON!!

I work in a book store and i just found out these won't be reprinted. this is the last of them folks, they're beautifully made and illustrated, a true family heirloom, if your family is a little crazy. anyway, get 'em while you still can. i got two.

If you are a "Far Side" fan then this two book set is a must. This hard bound set will provide reading enjoyment for my family and friends for years to come. And as a plus feature, the books are incredible quality works!

The two books arrived not in perfect condition. The spine on both books have separated from the pages. I expected the books to be in better condition. The corners of the included box included with the books were badly dented showing rough handling.

Four caveats...
1. This edition is complete, but not "compleat." Though it includes all the syndicated strips, it doesn't include several classics that never made it to syndication -- eg, the panel that shows husband-and-wife beetles with the caption "I'm leaving you, Ralph, and I'm taking the grubs with me." was originally two _flies_ -- "I'm leaving you, Ralph, and I'm taking the maggots with me." The original is notably superior -- but it's not included. Don't toss out your "Prehistory of the Far Side."
2. Incredibly, there is no caption or subject index! You'll have to manually locate your own favorites, then make up your own index -- or insert PostIt bookmarks.
3. The temptation to read 100 pages at a time is overwhelming, but resist it. The ironic weirdness of "The Far Side" is blunted by excess exposure.
4. Gary Larson's interpretation of the infamous "cow tools" panel is incorrect. It's really about the fact that cattle view the world differently from humans, and would therefore create different sorts of tools -- if they made tools at all. (It is indeed possible for a critic to understand an artist's work better than the artist. So there, Mr. Larson.)

What is most disappointing about this collection is the format in which it is presented. So large and heavy and such poor design on each the pages. Each cartoon is framed with a phony looking bevel which I would guess was intended to be a picture frame of sorts with the copy beneath, then placed randomly (and small) on a generic pattern background.

One has to look no further than the recent and very excellent Peanuts collections or the Dennis the Menace books to find respectfully designed collections. The Far Side collection Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 are poorly done and an insult to such a wonderful and memorable cartoon that a generation of us would look forward to cracking open the paper each morning to see the daily Far Side.

The books (complete far side) itselves are marvelous. I received them much earlier than indicated by the store. The only problem was that I had to pay 10 euro extra on import duties: the custom house had opened the packet.

Having always been a fan of the Far Side, this was well worth the purchase and my wife and I have enjoyed laughing together. My only complaint are the many, many blasphemous cartoons where God is the butt of the joke. It is also annoying that there are so many cartoons promoting evolution. So discernment is needed.

I love the Far Side and would love to own it complete, but I have no room for this elephantine set. Why didn't the publisher also make a CD-ROM or DVD version, which anyone would have room for? "5" for content, "1" for format = "3" rating