The Far Side ® Gallery 4 [Paperback]

Gary Larson (Author), Robin Williams (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1993

The Far Side® and the Larson® signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 172 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (September 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836217241
• ISBN-13: 978-0836217247
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #70 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Comic Strips

More About the Author

Gary Larson lives in Oregon with his wife and a Big dog. Although retired from his job as a daily syndicated cartoonist, he is now turning his graphical talent to new forms of technology.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant cartoons from a gloriously warped mind, November 12, 2000

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Far Side ® Gallery 4 (Paperback)

Every one of Gary Larson's books has been a work of twisted genius, and "The Far Side Gallery 4" continues that tradition. A collection of hundreds of Larson's distinctive cartoons, this book will sometimes shock, sometimes mystify, but always amuse.

Larson's overall vision is a bizarre, yet oddly coherent blend of fantasy, science fiction, horror, theological speculation, anthropological/zoological observation, and cultural criticism, all distilled through the mind of a master parodist. His trademark technique--the anthropomorphization of the unexpected--is on abundant display in "Gallery 4." Larson's is a world in which squirrels read newspapers, alien juvenile delinquents abuse human astronauts, tapeworms go on vacation, bowling pins hold cocktail parties, and buzzards give poetry readings.

Larson will take on the most taboo subject in order to get a laugh, and he usually succeeds--often brilliantly. Trichinosis, obesity, conjoined twins, suicide, political protest, Native American culture, cryogenics, suffocation, old age, serial killers--nothing is off limits in "Gallery 4." Larson even makes fun of his own cartoon series.

Another of the pleasures of reading "The Far Side Gallery 4" is the fact that you never know who you'll run into next. Larson's deranged imagination captures a whole host of fictional and historical figures: Albert Einstein, Humpty Dumpty, Tito Puente, Dr. Jekyll, Stephen King, and many, many more. When the floating head of Zsa Zsa Gabor threatens the crew of the starship "Enterprise," you know you're in Larson territory.

The short foreword by Robin Williams (he describes Larson's vision as "a National Geographic special on Prozac") is an added bonus to this collection. For fans of "The Far Side," this is an indispensable collection; for those who haven't yet sampled the insane genius of Gary Larson, this is a great introduction.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read With Glasses On Or Off But You Must Own This Comedy Classic!, January 15, 2007

By 

James N Simpson (Gold Coast, QLD Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Far Side ® Gallery 4 (Paperback)

Gary Larson has created the funniest cartoons in the history of mankind. Unlike other comics you do not need to read them in a series as each individual cartoon tells its own hilarious story in a stand alone fashion. Therefore you do not need to have read the previous volumes to enjoy this edition to its fullest.

Fourth in the series of Far Side collections, the 1994 originally released Gallery 4's cartoons come from the smaller books Wildlife Preserves, Wiener Dog Art and Unnatural Selections. This volume is forwarded by Robin Williams who gives a four paragraph opinion on Larson and his work. Far Side Gallery 4 also have a unique cover where the lenses of the woman's glasses have been cut out, meaning when you open the cover, still viewing the exact same drawing, the glasses are on their own on the next page. This however does mean Gallery 4 has the most fragile cover of all the galleries.

A mixture of four comics to a page and full page comics make up this volume, most are black and white but with the occasional coloured pages every now and then. Classic Far Sides in this volume include aliens with the moon landing astronauts in a jar about to shake the jar to see if they'll fight, the hospital for mothers whose children stepped on sidewalk cracks, the famous Mr Ed verse Francis the talking mule debates, punk accountants and many more hilarious cartoons such a chicken reading a sign on the other side of the road saying Why Do You Need a Reason?

This like all Larson's work is a must own!

5.0 out of 5 stars Still more laughs from Gary Larson..., January 13, 2012

By 

Cotton Bunny - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Far Side ® Gallery 4 (Paperback)

Some comics lose their charm after 10 years or so, but Gary Larson has not. His humor is just too witty and clever. The Far Side Gallery 4 is another installment of The Far Side Gallery series. Needless to say, the humor is still as good as ever. The beginning of the book has a foreword by Robin Williams and about 160 whole pages of hilarious comics from start-to-finish. In all, this book is a perfect addition to any Far Side collector's shelf.