I think it’s time to end the debate about whether or not the other side has “recurring characters.”

I have written about it in detail here The other sideand my understanding of Gary Larson’s work has rapidly evolved the more time I spend reviewing his extensive body of work throughout his career. Case in point: When I started studying The other sideI went into this thinking that the comic “had no recurring characters” – but now I see it differently.

That’s because Larson made me rethink things like character and continuity. I’d like to delve a little deeper into why the question of “recurring characters” comes up The other side keeps popping up, especially as new generations of fans continue to find the comic.

To be completely honest, I won’t dispute that The other side actually has recurring characters in the traditional sense. Instead, I would like to suggest that we Do exactly what Gary Larson did with each of his panels – leave the conventional aside.

First of all, why is there even a debate about “recurring characters” and “The Other Side”?

Gary Larson complicates a simple question

At least when it comes to newspaper comics, characters are essentially a product of continuity. Take peanuts, For example: Creator Charles Schulz often wrote storylines that spanned days, and he sometimes drew on stories that took place days, months, or even years earlier. Another famous example is Doonesburywhich I described in a previous article as essentially the exact opposite of this The other sidebecause of its ongoing narrative, which has now spanned over fifty years.

Without question, The other side There is a lack of continuity, at least in a simple narrative sense. This is at the root of the idea that the strip has no “recurring characters.” Even if the same “character” appears in multiple strips – and there are a few select cases where I would argue that this actually happened – their appearances are not explicitly connected and could be separated by years. One appearance does not build on the other and so characters do not develop further. And yet contradictory, as fans of Larson’s work will know, The other side was full of familiar faces.

We used the term “recurring elements” to describe the ubiquitous cows, chickens, detectives, grim reapers, sharks, traveling salesmen, and more that populated the area The other side. Because Larson continued to draw the same archtypes or “stock” characters throughout the comic’s run, the author cultivated a sense of continuity in his readers over time. This led to the uncertainty that still prevails today about whether characters will return The other side – but I think there is a simple solution to this “problem”.

“The Far Side” may not have had a plot, but I would say it had a cast

What is “recurring” anyway?

As I understand it The other side has grown, I consider it in some ways analogous to a sketch TV show, such as Saturday Night Live. That said, Larson may not have developed the characters the way a sitcom would, but In various scenarios he used a rotating core cast. Cows were, of course, the stars of the show, while characters like Igor, the mad scientist’s assistant, and Tarzan, the Man of the Jungle, were supporting players who made the most of their time in the spotlight.

The Complete Collection “The Far Side”.

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Fans of the other side can’t ignore this master collection of Gary Larson’s best works. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes with a redesigned slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains all of the Far Side cartoons ever published, over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never appeared in a book before, and even some that were made after Larson’s retirement.

SNL Of course, there are well-known recurring characters – even if they don’t develop in the traditional sense, they become more familiar to viewers over time. I would say that The other side works similarly; His anthropomorphized cows or Gary Larson’s detective, perhaps the strip’s closest thing to a truly recurring character, play the same role in repeated strips, with the intention of delivering punchlines that become increasingly familiar to readers. In this way, it’s less about character continuity or ongoing storylines and more about repeating situations and scenarios.

I think it’s time to put the question of “recurring characters” aside and focus on everything else the other side has to offer

Larson’s complex and endlessly entertaining work

To be honest, I’m less concerned with finding a “definitive” answer to the question of whether The other side has recurring characters or not; What I’m more concerned about is that I feel like some fans, especially new fans, are getting stuck on this question. Ultimately, The most important thing to remember is the fact that Gary Larson himself didn’t care about continuity at allCharacter development or anything like that. To me this is the biggest indication that it shouldn’t have too much of an impact on readers’ understanding of his cartoons.

I learned to love The other side as a serial work of art and Gary Larson as an artist, because both are so endlessly fascinating. Larson has become a creative inspiration to me personally, and I find that his approach to humor and creativity offers a nearly endless wealth of things to teach other creatives. The other side Jokes are peppered with social commentary, philosophical musings and Larson’s observations about life, both human and non-human. In my opinion, fans of his work should focus on following its evolution over the course of the artist’s career.

In a way, you become fixated on the idea of ​​“character” within you The other side The comic detracts a bit from what Gary Larson is trying to achieve with a particular panel. There is a reason why the term “elements” has become popular among those of us who question The other side; Every cartoon is made up of a number of elements, including characters, setting, structure, punchline, image, caption, etc., and it is the way in which all of these elements fit together that determines whether a Far Side comic causes a reaction, and what kind.

The work of an unconventional artist like Gary Larson deserves to be viewed from a different perspective

Reorienting the reader approach The other side

Although The other side The characters may not have developed, but almost everything else about the flick did. From Gary Larson’s artistic style to his ability to write a caption to the way he found humor in recurring ideas, if you look closely, there’s a lot of growth to be seen right from the start The other side to Gary Larson’s retirement from cartooning. I would say that too provide a form of continuity The other sidefitting the artist’s use of repeated images.

In other words, to appreciate how everything, from ideas to characters, recurs in Larson’s work, the reader must adopt a somewhat unconventional perspective. That’s perhaps what I’ve come to appreciate The other side most, at least lately – the way comics’ idiosyncratic worldview forces me as a reader to think outside the box. Something about it The other side was conventional or standard, and so it just makes sense to me that we shouldn’t apply conventional or standard logic about characters to Gary Larson’s work.

The other side

The Far Side is a humorous comic series created by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and includes a wide range of comic collections, calendars, art and other items.