The single-panel comic strips of Gary Larson (1950–) gained millions of fans with their use of the absurd, the bizarre, and the downright weird to poke fun at human nature. Produced between 1981 and 1995, the strip became hugely successful, with spin-offs into books, greeting cards, posters, T-shirts (see entry under 1910s—Fashion in volume 1), mugs, and television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3) specials.

The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson stands near an exhibit of more than five hundred of his cartoons at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.

Larson had no formal training in art or drawing. He grew up in Tacoma, Washington, and as a child showed far more interest in science than in cartooning. Much of Larson's humor is derived from his portrayal of nonhumans (such as animals...