The Chickens are Restless

Far Side Collection #14

by Gary Larson

A collection of cartoons by the American creator of the Far Side, whose demonic and subtle views of the fauna of our planet have made him one of the world's best selling cartoonists.
1993 FarWorks, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Far Side and the Larson signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc.

Genres: Humor, Comics, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Cartoon, Comic Strips, Graphic Novels Comics

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Gary Larson was born and raised in Tacoma, Washington. His parents were Vern, a car salesman, and Doris, a secretary. He attended Curtis High School before attending Washington State University and graduated in 1972 with a degree in communications. In 1987, Larson married Toni Carmichael, an archaeologist.
Larson credits his older brother Dan for his "paranoid" sense of humor. Dan would pull countless pranks on Gary, taking advantage of his phobia of monsters under the bed by, for example, waiting in the closet for the right moment to pounce out at Gary. Dan is also credited with giving Gary his love of science. They caught animals in Puget Sound and placed them in terrariums in the basement; even making a small desert ecosystem, which their parents apparently did not mind. His adept use of snakes in his cartoons stems from his long-standing interest in herpetology.
Since retiring from the Far Side, Larson has occasionally done some cartooning work, such as magazine illustrations and promotional artwork for Far Side merchandise.
In 1998, Larson published his first post-Far Side book, There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story, an illustrated story with the unmistakable Far Side mindset.

Reviews

[Manny · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Sapphir · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absurd, sometimes hilariously funny, very Gary Larson. There are only a few cartoons where I didn’t get the joke (in German), maybe because the translator didn’t understand it (i. e. the English version) either?
4 stars.

[Evan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In looking at a scene depicting the meat-cutting line at the Red Hen Poultry Co. it took me a longer-than-average time to spot the little basketball backboard and hoop over the gizzard barrel; a reference to that eminently '80s fad of having a hoop suctioned to the wall over one's office trash can.

In another panel, a street scene is marred by a white smudge in which only the legs of an unfortunate pedestrian can be seen, to the horror of onlookers who observe with alarm, "My God! That could have been one of us." The caption reads "Drive-by erasings." Larson breaks the fourth wall.

In this volume of classic Far Side panels we again encounter our old favorites: cowboys in women's attire, Rex the dog, mad scientists with killer robots, tapeworms exploring the human intestinal tract, Medieval fortress defenders, the spectre of Death, and a parade of confounded chickens and cows.

It occurred to me while laughing at virtually everything here that Larson's absurdist comic sensibility might be the closest that an American humorist has come to Monty Python. I bought this and Larson's Cows of Our Planet yesterday to give to one of my sons for Christmas, but I have to admit that parting with them is going to be hard since I enjoyed them so much.

One of my all-time favorites is here. It shows a monkey swinging on a vine, obviously in the zone, enjoying the ride of his life with one arm outstretched to catch the wind:
(caption:)
"He had seen Tanzania, and most of Mozambique was already behind him. There was no mistake. Chippy had done what most chimps only dream about: He had caught the perfect vine."

I laughed my ass off at that one.

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Octopus obedience school." Hahaha

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection from 1993 (I read the 1994 Warner Books version), this features the cartoon as I assume it would have appeared in newspapers, with 6 regular panels then a full page one. As ever, there’s plenty of love and my highlights include “We taste a little like chicken”, butlers of the world, Mohammed and his mountain, snuffed out Sid, Dodge City, trees fall on mimes, not rocket scientists, Claire the cow, Zoombies the driving dead, Chippy, Tuffy and “do you ever have trouble coming up with ideas?”. A fantastic collection that was a great (and much needed) fun read, this is highly recommended.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Gary Larson. His sense of humor is just so.... odd, and I completely relate. I might have to go through my Mom's old books and find more of these Far Side collections, because I really do miss reading these. I especially miss the cartoon of the day calendars!

[Ville · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aiemmin olen lukenut vain yksittäisiä hubailuja, tuntuu että kirjamuodossa tämä ei niin hyvin toiminut. Kuvitushan on toki mitä miellyttävin, tuntuu että se jo itsessään riittää pitkälle. Mutta hieman ähkyä meinasi kirjamuodossa tulla, ja ihan kaikkia vitsejä en myöskään tajunnut. Verrattain hyvin tämä kuitenkin on kestänyt aikaa, olkoonkin että mukana oli myös kyseenalaisia juttuja. Taso tietenkin heilahteli hieman juttujen välillä, mutta se nyt lienee melkein välttämättömyys.

[Kevin Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gary Larson is the master. There are some I still don't get but it's probably my fault.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very few examples of the type of humor I am always looking for. (And, over the years, I've gotten pickier.)

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone needs to laugh...I can't tell you how many times I've laughed my way through this books when I needed to. Do it...you won't regret it (or any Gary Larsen comics).

[Zachary · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was very confusing

[s0ul_34t3r]

...but one of them is a duck.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

'This is not a step"

[Seb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've taken to reading comic strips before bed, and folks, The Far Side holds up.

Larson's greatest ability is to imply and entire world (or impending disaster) just out of the frame. A New Yorker cartoon is usually just a pun, but a Far Side is a pun with a strange sense of history behind it. Hard to explain, but if you've read Far Side I think you know what I mean.

One of my favourites in this volume is a panel with a caption that says something like: "Melvin was just trying to recline his seat, when he made a grave mistake." And it's an image of a kid on an airplane hitting a button that says "'wings fall off."

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this one for my husband because of its silly cover, and ended up reading it after him.

Loved it! The only thing keeping it from 5 stars is that I doubt I'll re-read it, but you never know.

There were a couple that I couldn't figure out, but I enjoyed the rest. My favorite was "The woods were dark and foreboding, and Alice sensed that sinister eyes were watching her every step. Worst of all, she knew that Nature abhorred a vacuum."

I also enjoyed the specter of death cartoons, and the angel of migraines.

[Mackenzie Guthrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uhh- the title is covered in some smashed eggs.... so this is already a lil darker than expected goin' in.

Prank called by god, off to a great start!

Then immediately followed by cow cannibalism. Yikies.

I wanna car with a dragon head in the front like a ship's mast!!

Let. Captain Hook. Be. A. Masseuse.

Oh, the Bambi one hurt.

The devil is a butthead- you heard it here first.

So, turns out that this book is not in fact the fun children's book I thought I was gonna read. It is still a wonderfully illustrated book, just full of funny adult comics!

[Angel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, this is an amusing collection of Far Side cartoons. It's a nice light read with some good humor at times. There is a virus cartoon that is amusing as well and relevant in these COVID-19 times. I liked it.

[Laurel Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alllllll of the Dad Jokes.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these were way out of my league, but so many I just sat and giggled. Larson is so warped and funny.

[Kasey Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not gonna lie....I read this in the bathroom. Hide out from the family and get lost in the wonder of one panel comics.
Perfection.
chickens, man, chickens.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some, if not all, of these cartoons have been published in other book editions

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not much to say about these Far Side books except that they are too funny. Brings out laughter & smiles to your face.

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was hysterical. A fun fast read.

[Bmw800 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good ol' Far Side.

[Pug · Rating 5 out of 5]

Octopus obedience school: "Don't let them pull!... Keep the leash slack!... Praise them! Praise is good!... Don't let them suck on to anything!"

[Deb Chapman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dated.

[Kei Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gary Larson is right. I DO cuss for asparagus.

[Karlin Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of Larson's bizarre humor. Of course it's good!

[Thrifty Geek · Rating 4 out of 5]

These comics are always delightful and funny, glad to have this collection.

[Rosemary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun, full of groan-worthy puns done in the more absurd fashion and truly bleak hysterical humor!