[BOOK REVIEW] The Far Side Gallery by Gary Larson

Title:  The Far Side Gallery

Author:  Gary Larson

Genre: Animals / Comedy / Comic Strips

Year Published: 1984

Year Read:  2/23/2014

Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC

Series: The Far Side Gallery

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Suggestive Themes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

Introduction:

After reading “The Far Side Gallery 3,” I was dying to check out more of Gary Larson’s “Far Side Gallery” series and I stumbled upon a collection of Gary Larson’s “Far Side Gallery” series in “The Far Side Gallery” (man, I am talking about the “Far Side Gallery” so much in this review)!  Anyway, this collection of “Far Side Gallery” stories is just as memorable and hilarious as the “Far Side Gallery 3!”

What is this story about?

Basically, this “Far Side Gallery” collection contains comic strips from “The Far Side,” “Beyond the Far Side,” and “In Search of the Far Side” and the comic strips all contain hilarious situations that involve various animals and human beings.

What I loved about this story:

Gary Larson’s writing: Gary Larson’s writing is as usual hilarious and witty to read as the various characters in these comic strips are always making sarcastic comments about the situations they are thrown into.  As usual, Gary Larson managed to make some of the puns such as “Hat Hunters” and “Water Buffaloes” come to life in a literal sense and I just rolled over laughing when I read these strips! Some of my favorite comic strips in this collection are:

“Big Bob says he’s getting tired of you saying he doesn’t really exist.” (When the boy’s imaginary friend grabs the boy’s father roughly by the shirt).

“We’ve made it, Warren! ...The moon!” (When two astronauts landed on the moon, but one of the astronauts accidentally hit the other astronaut’s helmet, cracking it).

The real reason dinosaurs became extinct (Showing the dinosaurs smoking cigarettes).

“For twelve perfect years I was a car-chaser.  Pontiacs, Fords, Chryslers…I took them all on…and yesterday my stupid owner backs over me in the driveway.” (A dog tells another dog in heaven how his owner killed him with a car).

Gary Larson’s artwork:  Gary Larson’s artwork as usual is hilarious to look at as the characters have exaggerated bodies such as their bodies being larger than their heads.  I also loved how hilarious the artwork becomes during the collection’s most hilarious moments such as the artwork of the astronaut smashing another astronaut’s helmet after pronouncing that they are on the moon at last.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

For anyone who feels uncomfortable about dealing with the concept of heaven and hell, there are a couple comic strips in this collection that deals with heaven and hell, although it is not as frequent as it was in the “Far Side Gallery 3.”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Far Side Gallery” is a fantastic collection of Gary Larson’s best work in the “Far Side Gallery” series and anyone who is a huge fan of Gary Larson’s work in the “Far Side” series will easily enjoy this collection!