Tag / Gary Larson

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 zbicyclist

Comics That Haven’t Aged Well

Syndicate sites like GoComics and ComicsKingdom have a variety of reruns (or, if you prefer, vintage comics). But some of them don’t age well.

These are all old comics which are being repeated. There are certainly a number of old comics that we wouldn’t expect to see now (e.g. the drunken domestic violence played for laughs in old Andy Capp), but I’m limiting this to ones that I’ve currently found being repeated.

Here’s a few examples:

A fire at an asbestos factory (and there are still some) would likely be a major disaster, putting all those asbestos fibers into the air.

Mitch sent in this one, dated 1991.  George Burns was indeed long-lived, and continued performing into his very senior years — which is sort of the joke here, saying he might go on into the distant future.  But then he did die, in 1996 (at age 100).  

Concussions aren’t funny any more.

Hair tonics have historically been marketed as a way to make hair grow faster, but without much evidence. In recent years, there has been a shift towards more evidence-based approaches to hair care, with a focus on products that are supported by scientific research, such as medications like minoxidil and finasteride, which are approved by the FDA for the treatment of hair loss.

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, August 6th, 2023

Here’s one kind of meta idea taken to a logical conclusion.

This one I wanted to make a daily standalone CIDU, but couldn’t really justify that.

OK, it’s a general picture of some sort of “bad boyfriend behavior”, but what exactly is he saying, to get rid of who or what? (Secondarily, since the absent partner here is a stand-in for the cartoonist, she might well be taking a share of blame for so often provoking exasperation.)

But then again, here they are together for some creative brainstorming!

Oh and BTW, for others who follow this strip, does this mean he is part of the spinoff “Side Gig” business that she and her pal from work are planning to quit their jobs to go launch? Or I guess he’s just being supportive about it…

A piquant FA

And didn’t we recently see a “CTRL-Z” comic?

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

Saturday Morning OYs – July 1st, 2023

An Argyle Sweater from maggiethecartoonist

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/
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 – June 10th, 2023

Thanks to jjmcgaffey for suggesting Rae the Doe, and

for calling this “a kerning pun!” to assist anyone who may find it puzzling.

And an OY-semi-CIDU from Maggiethecartoonist:

This song is in that peculiar category of musical quasi-familiarity, where I became acquainted with a piece from its use in advertising, or as a television theme song, that I probably never would have run into otherwise. “New Soul” by Yael Naim. “You’ve Got Time” by Regina Spektor. “One Week” by The Barenaked Ladies (this one I might have found otherwise). “Flower Duet from Lakmé” by Léo Delibes (this one I surely would have run into sooner or later, but did encounter first in the British Airways ads).
Most of those I put in a playlist at some point or even bought further work from the same artist ; but “Mister Roboto” always remained for me just “that song from one of those car commercials” until last week, when this cartoon appeared and I wanted to verify the idea suggested by the pun. (BTW, the car brand turns out to have been VW, and the sketch uses comic actor Tony Hale.)

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/
by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, June 4th, 2023

Show of hands, did the term “body shop” make you think of lotions and scents, or crumpled fenders?

A couple of maggiethecartoonist suggestions:

When BillR sent this one in, we all racked our brains for common sayings, or notable events, or famous stories, involving tomatoes and lemons …

… but then it dawned on us that there is a traditional remark about comparisons, and it involves apples and oranges. So this could be a joke about literalizing that idiomatic remark, thrown into confusion by a colorist’s error! (Subsequently we found it discussed at the Comic Strip of the Day site, and there also attributed to colorist error.)

Here’s one spotted by Usual John at Comics Kingdom. It feels eerily like something we just recently saw, and discussed, with remarks about how it could stand in for a motto for CIDU. But then again, there’s today’s date, 5-31, right there in the panel; which makes it less likely this could actually be an oldie that CK happened to replay today.

Update! We put the above questions to an expert archivalist, who came thru with answers!

First of all, yes this was a rerun; but because the previous Comics Kingdom appearance was exactly a year earlier, on 2022-05-31, the date “5-31” embedded in the artwork for panel 3 does not mean this comic was actually new this week; nor does it make that date a paste-over job. (Though the syndication copyright notice running vertically between panels 1 and 2 does have the current year inserted.)

Also, it did appear at CIDU, and get discussed, on its publication date last year. Which is not really “just recently” as suggested above, but also is not absurdly far off.

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