Summary
According to Gary Larson, creator ofThe Far Side,aspiring cartoonists would do well to avoid using the word “boink” as a sound effect– and in general, should be careful with their word choice. As he amusingly illustrated with this one example, a seemingly innocuous word usage can result in a totally unintended response from readers.
Looking back on his career in retrospect for the two-volume collectionThe Complete Far Side, Larson penned several illuminatingessays on his his creative process, as well as his career – making sure to cover the ups and downs of both.
The low moments often came in the form of accidental controversies; whileThe Far Sidewas often designed to shock the reader, occasionally Gary Larson achieved this effect without even trying. Ultimately, these were the times that proved to be among the most memorable for the artist.
This Recurring Far Side Joke Is the Perfect Metaphor For Gary Larson’s Humor
Though it didn’t appear with the frequency of the comic’s infamous dogs, ducks, cats, & chickens, one repeat gag perfectly sums up The Far Side.
Gary Larson Advises Artists To Watch Their Language – Because The Audience Certainly Is
An Unintentional Faux Pas
That said, Larson’s exhortation against the word “boink” does, in fact, contain a nugget of valuable advice that emerging artists can extrapolate from his experience.
The Complete Far Sideis full of anecdotes that are both amusing and insightful; as the ancient poet Horace once said, poetry should “delight and instruct” its readers, and Gary Larson’s retrospective essays onThe Far Sideare poetic in the sense they do exactly that. With his signature wit, Larson gives fans of his work a detailed behind-the-scenes account, offering a tour of his idiosyncratic mind, while reflecting on his greatest triumphs and most unforgettable fumbles alike. A particularly funny example of the latter comes as Larson expounds on the inevitability of offending some readers.
As Larson explained, while he knew – or at least suspected – thatsomeFar Sidecartoons could cause controversy, there were many more times when he offended readers entirely by accident. To emphasize his point, he gave an example of a time when he utilizedwhat he thought was a classic sound effect, only to learn from readers that it was, in fact, charged with a much more risqué meaning. Larson stated:
Some land mines you unwittingly plant for yourself, without a clue in the world of what you’re doing. For example, the word “boink.”
From there, he elaborated further, humorously advising his cartoonist colleagues to avoid the word entirely.
As Gary Larson wrote:
Warning to other cartoonists: Do not use “boink” as a sound effect for something smacking into something else. “Boink,” as it turns out, can be considered a verb. (Especially by the Brits, who first brought the boink issue to my attention.) And as a verb, “boink” is a bad thing to say. Unless, of course, you meant to say “boink.” Then I suppose “boink” is a beautiful thing, if perhaps not the most romantic way of expressing the thing that “boink” means, as a verb, you see. Whatever. Let’s drop it.
Of course, the author is being playful here; the heavy repetition of the word in question, leading up to “let’s drop it,” is a clear signal that Larson is having fun here, and that he doesn’t take his own advice too seriously. That said, Larson’s exhortation against the word “boink” does, in fact, contain a nugget of valuable advice that emerging artists can extrapolate from his experience. Namely, to be prepared for the audience to pick up on things in their work that they might not even have known were there.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
Gary Larson And The Eternal “Separate The Art From The Artist Debate”
The Far SideRides The Fence
It is equally fulfilling, in distinct ways, to analyze eachFar Sidecartoon in isolation, or alternatively, to look at the entire corpus of Gary Larson’s creative output.
20th and 21st century art has been dominated, at times, by the foundational question of whether art can be separated from its creator. Should a story’s meaning be interpreted just on the basis of what it contains, or should the author’s intentions be taken into account – this is the essential formulation of the question, which has been ruthlessly debated across every artistic medium for over a century. Notably, Gary Larson’sThe Far Sideoffers a great way to explore both sides of the argument.
By design,Larson intended for eachFar Sidecartoonto work in isolation; readers did not even need to know the name of the artist – aside from his scribbled signature in one corner of the frame – in order to enjoy (or thoroughly dislike) his work. This was actually how Larson preferred it; one gets the sense that, were he have been able to submit his work anonymously, he would have, at least so long as he was still being paid.
On the other hand,The Far Sidewas a product ofGary Larson’s incredibly idiosyncratic creative mind. It is hard to argue thatFar Sidecartoons are not more enjoyable – or at least, more understandable – the more a reader develops an understanding of Larson as an artist and an individual. In this sense, the artist in his work are rich conduits for the perennial “art vs. artist” debate. It is equally fulfilling, in distinct ways, to analyze eachFar Sidecartoon in isolation, or alternatively to look at the entire corpus of Gary Larson’s creative output.
Far Side Creator Gary Larson Explained the “Huge Difference” Between Cartoonists And Writers
According to Far Side creator Gary Larson, while there is certainly overlap between cartoonists & prose writers, there is one significant distinction.
Gary Larson And The Perils Of Artistic Misinterpretation
“Boink” As A Cautionary Tale
Larson’s inclusion of this story inThe Complete Far Sidesuggests that he recognized navigating the world as an artist includes being comfortable with potential misinterpretation.
All of that is to say, how a reader chooses to approachThe Far Sideplays an important role in shaping their reaction to it. Gary Larson’s “boink” anecdote is an effective, if silly, example of that. Readers familiar with theFar Sidecartoons, and with Larson as a creator, will know that he rarely indulged in “bawdy” or “salacious” humor; asobsessed with death as the comic was, it seldom joked about sex. Larson’s use of “boink,” then, could be surmised to be an unintended use of a word with a meaning he wasn’t aware of.
Someone looking atThe Far Sidecomiccontaining the “boink” sound effect in isolation and potentially read more into it than there actually was to be deciphered;only by engaging with the artist’s explanation of his own work would someone know that it was completely incidental.As much as he may have been half-joking when he suggested fellow cartoonists avoid the word all-together, Larson’s inclusion of this story inThe Complete Far Sidesuggests that he recognized navigating the world as an artist includes being comfortable with potential misinterpretation.
Portrait Of An Artist Who Just Wants To Be Left To His Own Devices
Gary Larson’s Complex Reaction To Being A “Star”
[InThe Complete Far Side, Gary Larson offered] at least some guiding thoughts for future generations ofFar Sidefans, as well as some valuable perspective for up-and-coming artists.
Gary Larson was an artist down to the bone, but he wasn’t necessarily a natural at being perceived as an artist. In a way,for Larson, this was both a blessing and a curse. While he shirked his increasing notoriety as much as he could during the course of his career,working onThe Far Sideat nightand mailing bundles of panels to his editor every week, he inevitably had to confront the public perception ofnot only his cartoons, but of himself.
This was ultimately what led Larson to retire from cartooning; yet years later, he proved to be more forthcoming than ever in his essays included inThe Complete Far Side. In a sense, it was almostas if Larson recognized that the longer his “confusing” and “obscure” art was out in the world, the more it would be misinterpreted, and so he acquiesced to offering at least some guiding thoughtsfor future generations ofFar Sidefans, as well as some valuable perspective for up-and-coming artists.
Source:The Complete Far Side Volume Two
The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
