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Gary Larson: a View from the Far Side Books in Print

Gary Larson: a View from the Far Side Books in Print

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14/The Blue Banner/Thursday, Sept. 26, ] 985 Gary Larson: A view from books in print. ous. And the public is It's not true that Gary With his slim frame, eating it up. Larson was almost crushed thinning brown hair fleck- *What began as a weekly to death by his 15-foot, ed with gray and muddy called Nature's Way at the 150-pound pet python: "She blue eves behind wire Times is now ineyes never got a hold of me. rims, the 34-year-old over 200 papers. She just rushed at me Larson looks harmless #IWo earlier books made once." enough. the top five on The New Just another close call "People always say, York Times* best-seller for the mild-mannered, 'Gee, you look so nor­ list, and The Far Side rather shy fellow wtio is mal,*" says Larson. "1 Gallery, is expected to the creator of the bi­ feel embarrassed. Like I follow suit. zarre, wildly successful should be there with one •A new line of post , The Far Side. eye in the middle of my cards, color posters and Larson’s offbeat car­ forehead." greeting cards is expand­ toons of world yanked Consider, however; a few ing. inside-out, where people panels of The Far Side: *His originals now sell are usually the victim and A couple asking a witch. for $200 each — he's em­ animals — especially We hired you to baby-sit barrassed to ask for more. snakes, cows and ducks — the kids and instead you [.arson graduated in com­ the rulers are now syndi­ cooked and ate them HOTH?" munications from cated in more than IbO A man bringing home a State Univer­ newspapers• multileggod, five-eyed sity in 1972 with thoughts And with the Nov, 1 sort of bug and saying to of going in to advertis­ publication of his fourth his wife, "Shhh...l wanna ing. book. The Far Side Gal­ surprise the kids." Instead, he played gui­ lery* there will be more Strange. Often gruesome. tar for three years as than one million Larson T^rson, creator of The Far Side But almost always hilari- half of Tom and Gary, then

fHE FAR SIDE GARY LARSON © 1985 Universal Press Syndicate half of lorn and Gary, then worked at the Seattle Humane Society. (Ite won't bring up the I’mbarrassing story about how he accidentally ran over a dog on the way to interview there.) Then the big hr(*ak in 1979: A tivp-year contract with Chronicle Foature.s tor 'fhe Far Side. Today ht^ earns more chan $l()(),oo() a yonr trom The Far Side. He currently lives in a two-story house in Seattle with more animals than furniture: three snakes; .'in Argtmtinp horn frog; a wart hog hoad; and a.ssorted other paper—mache animals. But success lias left nim virtually untouched. Ho iiv£\s a modest life, playing basketball, jamming with other musicians, watching David Letcemian, eating Rice Chex almost every day and greasy harberuo chick­ en weeklv. I © 1985 Universal Press Syndicate “Notice all the computations, theoretical scribblings, and lob equipment, Norm .... When worlds collide. Yes, curiosity killed these cats.”

1985 Universal Press Syndicate 1985 Universal Press Syndicate

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Feb. 27,1907: The duck-biiied platypus is Irivented. “Matthews... we’re getting another one ' While the city slept, Dogzilia moved those strange ‘aw blah es span yol’ sound quietly from building to building.