Tag / Farcus

We regret that this feature cannot be discussed at CIDU, because the authors have demonstrated (via a copyright takedown order) that they lack a sense of humor.

by Kilby

Beyond the far side of reason

Over the past few weeks, I have discovered several CIDU submissions of comics from The Far Side. These were never posted for a simple reason: back in July 2023, FarWorks issued a “take-down” copyright complaint to WordPress, and WP summarily deleted about a dozen comics from various CIDU posts.

Even though CIDU has always operated under the principle of “fair use”, none of us has the time, nor the money, nor the legal standing to pursue this issue. I find it especially aggravating that CIDU has been used as a scapegoat (via WordPress): FarWorks has done nothing about the thousands of Far Side cartoons posted to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or Xitter. It would seem as if Gary Larson doesn’t really care so much about his work appearing elsewhere, the real sin is to present and discuss The Far Side outside of Larson’s belatedly established “hallowed grounds”.

Therefore, for this singular special occasion, I will use the same technique as in the recent “NSFW Experiment” post, providing links for the following comics (to external websites), so that everyone can confirm which one was meant, along with the text of the CIDU reader’s original submission.

Keera submitted this one (from 1981, rerun on 29-Mar-2024) as a CIDU. It shows a creature lying on its back on a standard mattress in the middle of a field, surrounded by three observers of the same kind of animal, one of which appears to have folded paws. Keera wrote: “There’s usually a caption. There are also people who comment. But I haven’t read those. I’ve decided to let you guys tell me if these are porcupines (?) at a funeral, or testing a mattress, or what.“

Solution: The animals are indeed porcupines, and it is a mattress, but it’s not a funeral. The gag is simply an inversion of the classic comic meme of a fakir “resting” on a bed of nails:

For the “Welcome POTP” comic that was originally published on 13-Aug-1988, here is the description that J-L provided: “This … appears to show a meeting/reunion of people, with a banner above reading ‘WELCOME POTP‘. The caption reads: ‘The 25th annual “Part of the Problem” convention‘.“

J-L went on to write: “I don’t get it. I found this cartoon as #3 in an article showcasing a set of ten confusing/strange ‘Far Side’ Comics from 1988 that can be found here(+). The author of the article can’t explain this one, either. Can you?“

It’s not a big laugh, but the humorous incongruity is that these idiots (for lack of a better term) are celebrating their long-term problematic status, instead of trying to correct their stupid behavior.

P.S. (+) It remains to be seen just how long FarWorks will permit Ambrose Tardive’s “Screen Rant” to remain online and unmutilated.

Finally, Maggie the Cartoonist submitted “The Old Cartoonists’ Home” (rerun on 31-May-2023) for the Sunday Funnies, because (as she put it) “… eventually you, me, and Gary Larson will all end up in The Old Cartoonists’ Home.“

P.P.S. For obvious reasons, this will be the last appearance of the Far Side at CIDU: no future submissions will be posted in any form. I wish Mr. Larson the best of luck in his mercenary campaign to close the barn doors after the horses have already left.

P.P.P.S. A similar takedown order was also executed by WordPress for “Farcus” on 22-Feb-2024, despite the fact that the authors “… are now on an extended leave of absence to pursue other creative projects… their popular comic feature continues to appear…” (as reruns). Since they have demonstrated the same lack of humor as Mr. Larson, Farcus will henceforth no longer be discussed at CIDU.

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, July 16th, 2023

A pair from Maggiethecartoonist, who liked the recent Farcus and noted that it reminded her of the older Far Side.

… And Maggie asked the question which also reminded the editors of at least the title of They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? (1969), a film which made quite a splash in its time but isn’t much mentioned these days.

Speaking of Farcus, Targuman sent in this one, and asks “do you think he has written in the dust on the windshields or used a paint pen?”

Names given in first panel are maybe necessary, since we won’t see a face.

Some content on this page was disabled on February 22, 2024 as a result of a DMCA takedown notice from David Waisglass and Gordon Coulthart. You can learn more about the DMCA here: https://wordpress.com/support/copyright-and-the-dmca/
by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, June 18th, 2023

Here are a few laughs from maggiethecartoonist, including a couple of Garfields:

Since the latest Windows 11 update, the face recognition to automatically sign me in to my PC has been hit-and-miss, and yes, it IS worrying me! (zbicyclist)

Basic Instructions went on a pause of new comics in 2015 and GoComics ran only reruns, for several years. Earlier this year (I think) he brought it back, after trying out a few new strips and making a few alterations to the style and framing. IMO the new run is going well! ==mitch

One aspect that changed was that he aged the appearance of several characters. This image below is one GoComics uses in the corner of their page for this comic. The guy on the left is of course Scott himself, and comparing the old version lets us note that the new version has gained the glasses, the graying beard, and something of a belly under that same black tee shirt. (The person on the right is a different character in the two cases.)

Scott Metzger revisits a comic he did ten years ago. We were going to save it for next week’s OY list, but then realized it should be squeezed in for Fathers’ Day.

Some content on this page was disabled on July 27, 2023 as a result of a DMCA takedown notice from FarWorks, Inc. You can learn more about the DMCA here: https://wordpress.com/support/copyright-and-the-dmca/ Some content on this page was disabled on February 22, 2024 as a result of a DMCA takedown notice from David Waisglass and Gordon Coulthart. You can learn more about the DMCA here: https://wordpress.com/support/copyright-and-the-dmca/
by multipleciduers

Saturday Morning OYs – May 27th, 2023

[Farcus for 22-May-2023 removed by WordPress.]

If you’re thinking “Didn’t we just see this same joke?” you may be remembering this Life On Earth we posted recently. (Hey, that was in Sunday Funnies – LOLs, May 7th, 2023 . How come the Farcus today goes in the OYs?)

Found on Facebook without good information. We’ve tagged for “Frank Svoboda” based on the (c) line; but searching that name finds someone who was a collector / dealer / agent but doesn’t say he was also a creator, and those roles could fit with copyright holder. So maybe the writing on the side of the bar is the signature? It seems to say “Phranque” and while there is a band with that name I didn’t find any cartoonists or illustrators. And maybe that brings us back around to Frank S, who could have liked stylizing his first name.

A suggestion from Maggiethecartoonist:

Discussion among Maggie and the editors suggested that there are several informations perhaps not immediately known to all readers, which are useful to unpacking the multiple jokes/OYs here. So something of a semi-CIDU.

by multipleciduers

Saturday Morning OYs – November 5th, 2022

Some of these are somewhat CIDU for me, actually. I’m just guessing “Frankenstein’s Castle” is a thing, and “Vampire Bass” draws a blank.

Since we seem to have a subcategory under Oy for “Literalizing an Idiom”, might as well provide it some examples!

When he dons it, is it part of his gay apparel?

Should this strip have appeared on a Throwback Thursday?

Some content on this page was disabled on February 22, 2024 as a result of a DMCA takedown notice from David Waisglass and Gordon Coulthart. You can learn more about the DMCA here: https://wordpress.com/support/copyright-and-the-dmca/