'The Far Side' is finally online — and new comics are coming

Rejoice, cartoon fans. The Far Side is no longer quite so far out of reach.

Though he’s previously resisted efforts to have his beloved comic strip — famed for its deadpan humor and anthropomorphic themes —available online, cartoonist Gary Larson has come out of retirement to launch a new website, TheFarSide.com, devoted to his archives as well as some new material.

The site launched on Tuesday, nearly 25 years after the now-69-year-old Larson retired on Jan. 1, 1995. Though new work will appear in 2020 to coincide with the 40th anniversary of The Far Side, Larson told the New York Times that it will be on his terms.

“I’m not ‘back,’ at least in the sense I think you’re asking,” he told the paper. “Returning to the world of deadlines isn’t exactly on my to-do list.”

The website also features a “Daily Dose” selection of past work as well as themed round-ups and drawings from Larson’s sketchbook.

In an open letter posted to the site, Larson got candid about his past reservations regarding having his content online, citing fears over control, copyright, screen quality and hackers. (“If they wanted to, I’m sure the Russians could get inside this thing and start messing with my captions,” he joked.)

“Truthfully, I still have some ambivalence about officially entering the online world — I previously equated it to a rabbit hole, although ‘black hole’ sometimes seems more apropos — but my change of heart on this has been due not only to some evolution in my own thinking, but also in two areas I’ve always cared about when it comes to this computer/internet ‘stuff’: security and graphics,” he shared, noting that new technology means readers can enjoy the comics just as much online as they can with a tangible book.

“I also concede I’m a little exhausted,” he added. “Trying to exert some control over my cartoons has always been an uphill slog, and I’ve sometimes wondered if my absence from the web may have inadvertently fueled someone’s belief my cartoons were up for grabs. They’re not. But it’s always been inherently awkward to chase down a Far Side–festooned website when the person behind it is often simply a fan. (Although not everyone is quite so uncomplicated in their motives; my cartoons have been taken and used to help sell everything from doughnuts to rodent control. At least I offer range.)

“So I’m hopeful this official website will help temper the impulses of the infringement-inclined. Please, whoever you are, taketh down my cartoons and let this website become your place to stop by for a smile, a laugh, or a good ol’ fashioned recoiling. And I won’t have to release the Krakencow.”

The online project will have Larson digging through his archives — for better or worse.

“I’ve always been more inclined to remember the ones I wish I hadn’t done,” he told the Times. “There was a time when I felt embarrassed about a fair number of them, mostly because I thought they were kind of stupid or corny. Or they flat-out tanked. But now when I look back at those cartoons, I think many of them have a kind of innocence to them, and they don’t bother me so much.

“As for favorites, these days I’m actually having a harder time just remembering many of them. I don’t have cause to look at them very often, and when I do it feels sort of like bumping into an old friend you haven’t seen or thought about for years.”

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