The Far Side's "therapist's office" cartoons. In retrospect, these comics stand out for how they poke fun at prevailing misconceptions about psychoanalysis, but to Larson, they had a very different meaning.
In The Prehistory of The Far Side, released in 1990 to celebrate a decade of Gary Larson’s career up to that point, the author/artist itted that he disliked the “therapy joke” cliché, but still deployed it now and then.
Notably, Larson also put forward the claim that these cartoons revealed the absurdity of The Far Side’s use of anthropomorphic animals as characters, in a way not quite like any other repeat gag or scenario that he depicted over the years, an argument worth taking a closer look at.
Unpacking Gary Larson's Comments On The Far Side's Therapy Jokes
From The Prehistory Of The Far Side (1990)
By nature, Gary Larson's tendency was to shy away from hardcore Far Side fans to this day. At times in the book, Larson's behind-the-scenes commentary on his own work is as curious as it is insightful. Case in point, his comments on the "psychiatrist's couch cliché."
As Larson wrote in The Prehistory:
I hate the cartoon cliché of someone (or in my case, some animal) on a psychiatrist's couch. I'll do them, obviously, but for some reason this situation always points out the lunacy of mixing animal and human behavior. If the psychiatrist was also a dog, I'd be more comfortable with it. But the approach I've used here makes me want to say, "Wait a minute – dogs don't visit psychiatrists! How'd he even find the right floor?" Before long, I start analyzing the improbabilities in everything I've drawn and I might end up having to lie down on the couch for awhile.
Brief as it is, there is quite a bit to unpack here. First, it is worth noting Larson’s approach to a comedic trope he professes to “hate.” Rather than avoiding the cliche, The Far Side’s author willfully embraced it, using it to get a laugh because he knew it would appeal to readers. If nothing else, this raises the question of how many other classic Far Side recurring jokes Gary Larson penned in spite of his own personal tastes.
10 Brilliant Far Side Comics Where Humans and Animals Co-Exist
The Far Side is full of humans that act like animals and animals that act like humans, so here are examples of the two co-existing in harmony.
Beyond that, what is fascinating about this note from Larson is how it seems to capture the author in a moment of self-awareness, genuine or not, in the way that the author depicts himself overanalyzing his own joke in the way a critical Far Side reader might. This is at odds with his more measured approach, in other sources, in which he largely disavows the deconstruction of his cartoons, affirming instead that the surface-level punchline and readers’ immediate reactions are all there is to a Far Side joke.
Far Side's Creator Says Psychiatrist Comics Made Mixing Human And Animal Behavior Seem Especially Absurd
Larson On The "Lunacy" Of His Most Reliable Technique
It is worth digging deeper into Larson’s comments about his therapy comics, and their bearing on his use of anthropomorphic animal characters, because it can help shape how readers themselves read and engage with The Far Side. Most curious of all is his point that these cartoons “points out the lunacy of mixing animal and human behavior,” not because he’s necessarily wrong, but because most Far Side fans would agree that they thought the “lunacy” is the point. Or, to put it another way: isn’t absurdity what Gary Larson was aiming for?
Because assuming that is the case, The Far Side's therapy jokes rank among the strip's most reliably successful. Of course, many Far Side jokes left readers scratching their heads, with more questions than answers, but Larson's therapy jokes are rarely included in this group. In the majority of cases, their humor comes across clearly enough, with the underlying structure of the cliché actually aiding Gary Larson's ability to take it somewhere unpredictable through the use of anthropomorphic characters. So, if anything, it can be argued that the trope actually made The Far Side's humor more potent.
Unpacking Gary Larson's Fit Of Self-Consciousness Over The Far Side's Therapy Comics
"Analyzing The Improbabilities"
As if finding himself on the therapist's couch himself, Gary Larson's comments in The Prehistory of the Far Side reflect a surprising burst of self-awareness, which leads him down a rabbit hole of doubt about his work and career. Later in his career, Larson notably described The Far Side as being designed to elicit an immediate reaction from readers; that is to say, if one finds themselves questioning the logic of a Far Side comic, it is probably not working for them. Which is what makes it interesting that Larson does exactly that in The Prehistory.
There is a subtle lesson readers can learn from Larson’s words here: that the artist, in this case, is not the final arbiter of quality when it comes to The Far Side.
Larson’s comments find him spiraling into "analyzing the improbabilities" of his jokes in a way he would strongly advocate against his readers doing. To be fair, there is an element of hyperbole, along with his trademark tongue-in-cheek tone, to this “self-aware” critique, and as such, it must be taken with a grain of salt. Still, there is a subtle lesson readers can learn from Larson’s words here: that the artist, in this case, is not the final arbiter of quality when it comes to The Far Side.
That is to say, the comics Gary Larson considered to be his most "successful" are not necessarily those that might be considered his best work, or declared "perfect" Far Side comics in posterity. On the flip side, many cartoons that Larson would likely point to and say he is proud of go underappreciated even by die-hard Far Side fans, because they don't resonate with a large portion of readers the way Larson expected them to, or the way they did for Larson himself.
The Far Side's Therapy Jokes And The Intuitive Nature Of Gary Larson's Humor
Why The Far Side Remains So Mysterious
If there is one thing The Prehistory of The Far Side makes abundantly clear, it is that Gary Larson's creative process, and the end result, were often as inscrutable to him, especially in retrospect, as to his readers. Larson's attempt to grapple with his own process emphasizes just how intuitive his work truly was, stemming from his subconscious in a way that it would take a team of psychoanalysts to unpack. By shying away from his own use of anthropomorphic characters, especially when placed upon psychiatrist's couches, the author revealed the limits of his own understanding of his humor.
Individual Far Side cartoons can be unpacked, and deconstructed ad nauseum, but the overall allure and mystery of Gary Larson himself, and the sum total of his career, remains as intriguing as ever.
Still, if anything, that makes The Far Side, as a whole, even more quixotic and mysterious than it was before. Individual Far Side cartoons can be unpacked, and deconstructed ad nauseum, but the overall allure and mystery of Gary Larson himself, and the sum total of his career, remains as intriguing as ever. That is why, even decades after The Far Side ceased publication, close readings of the minute details of Larson's work, from the comics themselves to his sparse commentary on them, continues to capture the imaginations of legions of fans.
Source: The Prehistory of The Far Side
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