Grand Larsony -- Readers' Cartoons Bid A Zany Farewell To `Far Side' Creator

Last month I asked if you had a "Far Side" cartoon in you. I thought that would be one way to say goodbye to Gary Larson, who on Jan. 1, 1995, is calling it quits.

He's been the prototypical Seattle celebrity; low-key, unassuming about his great success.

There was no major press conference to announce his retirement; no big farewell parties; no farewell round of interviews with Larry and Oprah and Barbara and the rest.

The syndicate carrying Larson's cartoons simply sent out a faxed press release.

After 15 years of drawing cartoons, except for a 14-month sabbatical that began in 1988, he didn't want his works easing "into the Graveyard of Mediocre Cartoons." That was it.

And so it occurred to me that one way we could say farewell to this modest friend whose work adorns our refrigerator doors and our office cubicles, and whose calendars give us a smile each day, was in the medium we've all known him best: cartoons.

A wide-ranging response

How you responded. More than 400 cartoons arrived in the mail. The response cut across all ages, walks of life and philosophies. There was the cartooning dentist, the cartooning pastor, the cartooning insurance underwriter, the cartooning wildlife biologist, the cartooning grandmother, the cartooning class of sixth-graders, the cartooning banker, the cartooning hair salon operator. All of you paying homage to "The Far Side."

Today we're printing a sampling of the cartoons. I wish we could print more, but reducing them in size wouldn't do them justice. That's why, in January, after the last "Far Side" runs, we'll print more of your cartoons in Scene.

It wasn't easy selecting the ones to run. We - myself and Paul Schmid, a Times graphic artist - chose a few that were obvious "goodbye" Larson cartoons in theme to use today.

But the criterion for selecting the rest was simply, "Is it funny?" Although today's selections include a number of professional illustrators, some of the funniest cartoons weren't necessarily the best-drawn.

One kid from Friday Harbor High School sent in a cartoon that we'd like to run, but the kid never put his name on it. The art teacher from the class that sent in the drawings said she'll figure out the author of the limbo-dancing snakes cartoon and let us know.

A couple of cartoons we couldn't print, even though they were quite funny, like the one about the kissing anteaters. Even Larson had problems with a few of his cartoons being considered a bit tasteless.

Admittedly, the final few we selected to run (about 15 for today, and 27 in January) were subjective choices. That's the way humor is. What I can tell you is that we were unanimous about the ones we thought were genuinely funny. It did cross my mind that among the submissions there might be another Gary Larson. The problem is being able to come up with 200 or 300 such funny cartoons a year.

"I had the idea for the cartoon I sent you wandering in the recesses of my mind. I don't think I could come up with another cartoon in two or three months," said Steven McMacken, an art director for an advertising agency.

Accustomed to analysis

Many of you sent letters along with your cartoons. I'm sure that over the years, with his cartoons published in more than 1,900 newspapers, and the collections of his cartoons selling in the millions, Larson has become used to fan mail, and to being analyzed.

A cartooning biologist told how it seems that every laboratory he's ever visited has "Far Side" cartoons taped on the walls. Scientists have always appreciated how Larson's interest in everything from bugs and snakes to archaeology and anthropology has shown up in his cartoons.

Gina King, a wildlife biologist for the Yakima Indian Nation, was one of the scientists who sent me a cartoon, reprinted today. It is very Larsonish, about a post-rut deer antler sale.

"You can tell Larson has studied biology," she said. "There is a ring of truth to his cartoons."

Others told how they appreciated not only Larson's depictions of cows, bears and the other characters that populated his cartoons, but also Larson's writing.

"While not the first cartoonist to utilize both the speech and the caption in the same gag, Larson succeeds hilariously with the juxtaposition, using the caption not only to indicate speech, but to narrate, explain or set the tone. It's commonplace now, but single-panel cartoons before `The Far Side' rarely let the caption clarify the action as did Larson in his classic, `What really happened to the dinosaurs' (illustrated with a gaggle of the prehistoric creatures puffing away on cigarettes)," wrote Keith Ellis.

Ellis is the publisher of Northwest Metalworker, and might seem an unusual choice for such in-depth analysis of Larson's work. That's what I mean about the appeal of "The Far Side."

I liked Joe LeDosquet's explanation for Larson's appeal best of all.

Joe's cartoon also is running today, and, looking at it, I expected to be talking to an adult when I phoned his Kent home. Joe is in seventh grade, and he started drawing cartoons a couple of months ago.

"Why do I like Gary Larson's stuff?" Joe said. "I like the way he thinks. He's like a kid."

From all of us, Gary, these cartoons are our way of saying thanks. Don't stay a stranger.