# Was Gary Larson the best cartoonist there ever was? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 5, 2007, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841 "2007-06-05T14:41:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/141 "2007-06-08T22:50:49Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] I’m boggled that you think such a quote is necessary. [/QUOTE] If it’s true you should have no problems supporting it. Tamerlane has provided a secondary reference to it, but it’s kind of thin, and we have a competing claim that Larson has said he knew nothing of cartooning. So far you’ve only presented your own opinion. I asked for evidence. The opinion that Kliban influenced Larson isn’t hard to find if you search for it, though half the claims misspell “Larson” so I’m not sure how much trust to put in those, and it’s also been claimed that Kliban invented the technique of a third person narrative outside the single panel cartoon. (This, to my mind, is clearly his greatest influence on cartooning, if true.) Saying Larson was just “ripping off” Kliban, however, strikes me as preposterous. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/142 "2007-06-09T00:12:14Z")
K thanks. There’s ample “cite” in the examples linked to. If you choose to claim not to see the parallels, I’m personally not all that interested in trying to convince you. Your opinion doesn’t change the shape of my universe in the least, especially when it’s apparent you’re not really willing to come into the discussion–such as it is–in good faith. Further, if you want to dismiss my experience as a sentient consumer of culture in the years that spanned Kliban’s meteoric popularity and Larson’s initial forays–basically call me a liar when I tell you that the similarity was a given at the time–then, again, not interested, don’t care. I’m thrilled you’ve found an issue important enough to you to defend to the death, but you’ll be doing it into the wind from here. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/143 "2007-06-09T00:33:58Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] K thanks. There’s ample “cite” in the examples linked to. If you choose to claim not to see the parallels, I’m personally not all that interested in trying to convince you. Your opinion doesn’t change the shape of my universe in the least, especially when it’s apparent you’re not really willing to come into the discussion–such as it is–in good faith. Further, if you want to dismiss my experience as a sentient consumer of culture in the years that spanned Kliban’s meteoric popularity and Larson’s initial forays–basically call me a liar when I tell you that the similarity was a given at the time–then, again, not interested, don’t care. I’m thrilled you’ve found an issue important enough to you to defend to the death, but you’ll be doing it into the wind from here. [/QUOTE] Oh come on. It is, of course, nice to have an expert on - well, damn near every cultural art - on this board. We certainly need someone to condescendingly correct us on all aspects of art. We’re glad you’re here. It would, however, be nice if you could back up your pronouncements with some sort of critical consensus other than, “You’re just too blind to see it.” I was born in 1957, and Kliban’s “meteoric popularity” somehow missed me. Larson’s didn’t. **Tamerlane** made a bit of a case; he provided a bit of evidence. You’ve done neither. You’ve only sneered. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/144 "2007-06-09T00:46:47Z")
[QUOTE=lissener] There’s ample “cite” in the examples linked to. If you choose to claim not to see the parallels, I’m personally not all that interested in trying to convince you. Your opinion doesn’t change the shape of my universe in the least, especially when it’s apparent you’re not really willing to come into the discussion–such as it is–in good faith. [/QUOTE] What in the hell are you talking about? I asked a question. If you don’t want to answer it, or can’t, just say so. I asked for something to back up your claims. I haven’t insulted anyone, done anything in bad faith, or called anyone a liar. I’m asking you to explain a rather dramatic statement. Do you or don’t you have some reason for saying what you’re saying? ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/145 "2007-06-09T00:53:19Z")
I have sold about 20 Far Side coffee mugs on Ebay over the past couple of years and they have all be very good money makers. The one that did the best had the dog scientists trying to understand the doorknob principle while a cat sat just outside the window. ---
**Author:** ![BlackKnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb8c5e/32.png) [@BlackKnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlackKnight)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/146 "2007-06-09T01:02:04Z")
The second page of [this](http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,962949-1,00.html) article, from Time Magazine’s website, reads: > [@](#): > > Larson credits Don Martin of Mad magazine, George Booth of The New Yorker and _B. Kliban_, famed for his cat cartoons, with influencing his style; his work also seems informed by the bloated grotesqueries of Gahan Wilson (Playboy, The New Yorker). (emphasis added) Personally, I didn’t see any resemblance whatsoever between Larson and the Kliban comics that lissener linked to. However, Kliban’s “[Genghis and Sylvia Khan](http://www.blackjelly.com/Mag/gallery/kli18.htm)” is _very_ reminiscent of Larson. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/147 "2007-06-09T02:13:15Z")
Now, that’s definitely more like it. The joke is very Larson and you can see actual parallels in visual style there. (And verbal style too. “Sylvia” is a name you’d expect to see in “The Far Side.”) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/148 "2007-06-09T02:18:49Z")
[QUOTE=Just1Lurk] Another one: An old man is sitting in his study reading an Indian Dictionary. The thought bubble over his head reads, “Oh, here it is…‘Kemosabe: Apache expression for a horse’s rear end’…What the hey?..” Caption: “The Lone Ranger, long since retired, makes an unpleasant discovery.” [/QUOTE] Even better: Tonto is shouting at a crescent-moon-door outhouse which, for no adequately explained reason, is standing out there in the middle of the badlands. Caption: “Kemosabe! The music’s starting! The music’s starting!” ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/149 "2007-06-09T02:24:47Z")
[QUOTE=BrainGlutton] Not quite. That would be [Gahan Wilson.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gahan_wilson) He did it first and he did it better and he’s still doing it. View samples [here.](http://www.gahanwilson.com/) [/QUOTE] Errr, sorry, but after perusing the galleries there I’m gonna have to disagree about as strongly as it’s possible to disagree. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/150 "2007-06-09T02:40:53Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] 😕😕😕😕😕 [/QUOTE] Yeah I gotta agree. That was some of the lamest, unfunny shit I’ve seen. As far as Far Side favorites: Spamelopes. The wolf and sheep love affair (the wolf was worried about what the pack would think and Agnes just kept eating the flowers) The family who feigns death so that their guests, “sensing the sudden awkwardness” finally leave. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/151 "2007-06-09T03:24:43Z")
Some jungle explorers crossing a river, with a group of piranha watching them. “Just a nibble at first, but when you hear them scream “piranha!”, go for it!” ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Klutz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captain_klutz/32/4993_2.png) [@Captain\_Klutz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Klutz)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/152 "2007-06-09T03:47:48Z")
So many great cartoons. Some of my favourites: The four basic personality types. “Welcome to heaven, here’s your harp” “Welcome to hell, here’s your accordion” (I play the accordion, so I’ve been given this one several times) A stone age family sitting in a cave, staring at the wall. Caption “In the days before television”. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/153 "2007-06-09T04:26:41Z")
**lissener** , you are [invited.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=424189) ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/154 "2007-06-09T05:29:41Z")
I think my favourite _Far Side_ is one of the early ones showing two gorillas lazing under a tree after a full meal, and one of them says, “You know Hank, I really like bananas. Heck, I know we all do, but for me it goes much beyond that.” Interesting to see the Kliban images (I’d never heard of him). I agree with what somebody said upthread that it’s very difficult to attribute influence or even plagiarism to this type of frame cartooning. My possible favourite ever “newspaper” cartoon was one of [Michael Leunig](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leunig)’s pieces (he can be funny, but his morality gets annoying to me sometimes - well, you can have too much of it): there was a single frame depicting a rather tranquil hillside with several houses on it. Here and there, were goats grazing on the lush grass. The caption read, simply, “A goated community”. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/155 "2007-06-09T07:13:59Z")
My two favorites: An elephant with an amputated foot is in a phone booth, talking to someone: “They turned it into a what?” And the captionless picture of a building on fire and floating down a river toward some rapids. On the building is a sign: “Crisis Clinic”. And another: A white whale in a car has rear-ended another car, and getting out of that car is Captain Ahab. The whale is thinking, “Cripes! Of all the cars in New York to run into…” ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/156 "2007-06-09T12:08:40Z")
> [@Opalcat](#): > > Yeah I gotta agree. That was some of the lamest, unfunny shit I’ve seen. Really? Well…I defy _anyone_ to look at [this](http://www.pbfcomics.com/?cid=PBF212-Contamination_Zone.jpg#198) cartoon without at least giggling a little bit 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/157 "2007-06-09T16:59:20Z")
Um. Ok, I looked at it. I didn’t giggle even a little bit. It ranks about down there with Family Circus for me. I mean I can at least see what the joke is, I just don’t think it is done in a very funny way. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/158 "2007-06-09T17:28:18Z")
[QUOTE=movingfinger] An elephant with an amputated foot is in a phone booth, talking to someone: “They turned it into a what?” [/QUOTE] IIRC: “What? They turned it into a **waste** basket?!” On a busy city street, a guy lies sprawled on the sidewalk with a boomerang next to his head and a crowd around him. A kangaroo stands nearby, peering sideways, thinking, “That was meant for me.” ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/159 "2007-06-09T17:53:31Z")
Slight tangent, but does anyone else feel like the [Taco Bell commercials with the two lions](http://youtube.com/results?search_query=taco+bell+lions) are very reminiscent of the Far Side? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2007, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841/160 "2007-06-09T18:00:02Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] Slight tangent, but does anyone else feel like the [Taco Bell commercials with the two lions](http://youtube.com/results?search_query=taco+bell+lions) are very reminiscent of the Far Side? [/QUOTE] Good observation! There’s another (I forget the product) with a couple of apes being photographed that has the same tone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-gary-larson-the-best-cartoonist-there-ever-was/406841.md?page=9)