# The Far Side books back on sale **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822 "2014-12-21T15:37:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/1 "2014-12-21T15:37:09Z")
After many years of no books being on sale Gary Larson has released the complete Far Side in 3 books sold together. $100 in stores but cheaper online. He still isn’t selling any mugs, calendars, shirts , etc. unless you buy them used. No info on what made him change his mind. The strip stopped in 1995. I really miss the strip. I also miss Bloom County and the other strips Breathed wrote , but he’s still around doing a few things. He tried a few movies but the last one , Mars Needs Moms, was a major box office bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/2 "2014-12-21T15:43:14Z")
Missed edit window: I noticed his older books are for sale on Amazon, not sure if they have been on sale all along or they were reissued recently. (but I am not sure if the ones for sale are used , they might be) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/3 "2014-12-21T16:00:05Z")
A small bit of [_ **serendipity** _](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=17981842&postcount=135) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Carryon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc29f/32.png) [@Carryon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carryon)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/4 "2014-12-21T20:13:10Z")
I love the Far Side, I hope this will come out in eBook form someday. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/5 "2014-12-21T20:22:08Z")
I bought the [boxed set](http://smile.amazon.com/Complete-Far-Side-1980-1994/dp/B009CV0UE4) several years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/6 "2014-12-21T21:30:17Z")
Not much hope of any ebook editions since he retired in 95, way before ebooks caught on for most people. Unless someone wants to pay to convert the stuff to ebook format which is not likely. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/7 "2014-12-21T23:39:58Z")
Out of Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes and Far Side…Far Side is the one I don’t understand why he’s completly retired. Take a break, only publish when you want…I get it. But out of all three, surely Larson has accidentally thought of some ideas that would make brilliant strips. ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/8 "2014-12-22T00:24:50Z")
JD Salinger quit writing at age 45 and so did Larson. I guess that is just a coincidence. Of course Harper Lee quit at 34. (assuming she actually wrote that book) ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/9 "2014-12-22T00:36:41Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Not much hope of any ebook editions since he retired in 95, way before ebooks caught on for most people. Unless someone wants to pay to convert the stuff to ebook format which is not likely. Why not? Do you think someone set the print for The Complete Far Side by hand? It obviously exists as a computer file somewhere and if Larsen (or his publishers) want to convert it to an ebook format, there’s no logistical reason why they can’t. ETA: Damn, who knew my Complete Far Side purchase would turn out to be an investment? I could really use $500. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/10 "2014-12-22T00:37:09Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > (assuming she actually wrote that book) [Evidence says she did](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5244492). But that’s a debate for another thread, and I don’t have a dog in the fight. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/11 "2014-12-22T02:50:03Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Not much hope of any ebook editions since he retired in 95, way before ebooks caught on for most people. Unless someone wants to pay to convert the stuff to ebook format which is not likely. Well, I don’t see why not. Calvin and Hobbes has most (but not all) of the treasuries available now as e-books. They still need to release _There’s Treasure Everywhere_ and _It’s a Magical World_ (and apparently there’s something wrong with _The Days Are Just Packed_) but I think that’s it and should be all the strips. They make for some pretty hefty files (several hundred megabytes) and they don’t work on most Kindles (but do on the various Kindle Fires). Heck, you can now get basically all the Peanuts strips as well, and a good number of the collections are available on Kindle Unlimited. I’m making my way through the first three years now. (Boy, was that a different strip through about half of 1952). ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/12 "2014-12-22T09:51:22Z")
I first checked to see if this Thread was a zombie. I’ve bought two _Far Side_ books in the last year. I had already bought the hardcover box set when it had first come out, but I realized that my nieces were not at all familiar with _The Far Side_. I walked into a Barnes and Noble (I’m thinking it was sometime last spring) and I picked two books right off the shelf, no special ordering or anything like that. I don’t remember which two they were, but they were two of the large paperback collections. If I recall correctly, the original publishing history was that four or five small paperback books would be released then a large paperback collecting those previous small books would come out. Then a few more small books followed by a large collection of those. This repeated a few times over. The books I bought were not the final comprehensive set, nor were they “best of” compilations. They were two of the collections as originally published (new reprints, not original copies). ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/13 "2014-12-22T09:59:41Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > I don’t remember which two they were, but they were two of the large paperback collections. If I recall correctly, the original publishing history was that four or five small paperback books would be released then a large paperback collecting those previous small books would come out. Gallery is the word I was looking for. The smaller books would be collected into a larger book called _The Far Side Gallery_ numbered as the number of Gallery books increased. A few small books then _The Far Side Gallery_, then a few more small books then _The Far Side Gallery 2_, and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/14 "2014-12-22T14:58:30Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > Gallery is the word I was looking for. > The smaller books would be collected into a larger book called _The Far Side Gallery_ numbered as the number of Gallery books increased. A few small books then _The Far Side Gallery_, then a few more small books then _The Far Side Gallery 2_, and so on. IIRC, neither the small books nor the Gallery collections were comprehensive. Both “Complete” sets are and include every strip. ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/15 "2014-12-22T22:48:14Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Why not? Do you think someone set the print for The Complete Far Side by hand? It obviously exists as a computer file somewhere and if Larsen (or his publishers) want to convert it to an ebook format, there’s no logistical reason why they can’t. That’s an eternity in computer years. Whatever format was used may not be readable by modern programs. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/16 "2014-12-23T01:35:44Z")
> [@Flyer](#): > > That’s an eternity in computer years. Whatever format was used may not be readable by modern programs. The Complete Collection was released less than ten years ago. I don’t think image formats have changed that much. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/17 "2014-12-23T09:07:55Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > IIRC, neither the small books nor the Gallery collections were comprehensive. Both “Complete” sets are and include every strip. I understand fan excitement about the completeness, I was more reacting to the Thread title “ **The Far Side books back on sale** ” as well as the OP’s opening line: > [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > After many years of no books being on sale Gary Larson has released the complete Far Side in 3 books sold together. I don’t know when or for how long a time period it may have been true that no books have been available but, as mentioned above, I walked into a Barnes and Noble last spring and plucked two Gallery collections off the shelf without any special ordering nor any anxiety that I may not be able to find them available. ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/18 "2014-12-23T15:44:43Z")
The small Far Side collections? We had a stack of them on a shelf in the basement for years. I just unloaded them at the public library (for their big fund-raising book sale), in October. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-far-side-books-back-on-sale/707822/19 "2014-12-23T16:29:25Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > JD Salinger quit writing at age 45 and so did Larson. I guess that is just a coincidence. > > Of course Harper Lee quit at 34. (assuming she actually wrote that book) Whaaaaaa ?