So I was thinking this morning about comedic influences and how our senses of humor get shaped and morphed and distorted while we're younger. And I realized that whenever I look back, I often neglect to acknowledge what's perhaps my greatest personal influence, simply because it's not a TV show or movie.
For me it was Gary Larson's The Far Side. So dark, really smart, and sooooo god damn funny. I would get a little awkwardly-shaped book collection every year for either Christmas or my birthday, and would write the page numbers of my favorite one's on the inside cover.
Anyway, here's a letter that Larson wrote to his online fans who were posting his work on the Internet, kindly asking them to stop. It's not much, but there's something really honest and appreciative about it. Enough so, where I thought I'd share it.
He's also got some comedic advice, which I think is pretty dead-on: "Be honest to yourself and -- most important -- respect your audience."
Friday, December 03, 2004
Thank you, Mr. Larson
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4 comments:
Right on. I was an absolute Far Side freak when I was a kid -- all the books, the calendars, everything. The Prehistory of The Far Side was one of the best things I ever read. The Far Side formed one part of the Holy Triptych of Far Side, Calvin & Hobbes, and Bloom County -- all amazingly well-written, literate comics that always maintained that central intelligence, sweetness and wit. The fact that they never talked down or dumbed down the material was awesome. I don't know what comics I would claim do that now -- maybe FoxTrot, Get Fuzzy or the Boondocks, though I can't say I've been a regular reader of any of them recently (friggin' Times not carrying comics for some reason). But yeah. Respect the audience. It's important. And people notice.
Of course, I could write volumes about how I would die for Bill Watterson if he asked me too. Which I'm pretty sure he wouldn't, so I'm fairly safe making that claim.
Funny story about that. I recently re-read Far Side Gallery 4, and was thinking how it didn't age well for me at all.
About 1 out of every 20 panels were actually funny, and the rest were just puns.
However, the ones that were funny, were VERY funny.
On the other hand, Calvin & Hobbes remains as amazing and heartfelt as ever, and Bloom County is brilliant.
Also, early Doonesbury is rather fantastic, although I didn't read that (obviously), until much later.
Maybe all the Far Side knock-offs have soured me a bit on the format...
Sorry, I meant to say BAD puns. I actually think puns can be great if done well, and don't want to perpetuate the idea that something is bad just cause it's punny.
It's been documented on the Internet, people! ALEX HATES PUNS!
Yeah, no doubt there are some really corny Far Sides out there, but you can't deny how dark some of them get. He's really a sick guy, which is why I love him.
And of course, who could deny the amazing weekly adventures of Prince Valiant?
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