Culture

The Far Side arrives online, along with the promise of new comics

Gary Larson finally brings his oddball wit to the web.

Rae Hodge Former senior editor

Rae Hodge was a senior editor at CNET. She led CNET's coverage of privacy and cybersecurity tools from July 2019 to January 2023. As a data-driven investigative journalist on the software and services team, she reviewed VPNs, password managers, antivirus software, anti-surveillance methods and ethics in tech. Prior to joining CNET in 2019, Rae spent nearly a decade covering politics and protests for the AP, NPR, the BBC and other local and international outlets.

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Rae Hodge

Dec. 17, 2019 9:58 a.m. PT

The Far Side is now officially online. Anticipated by fans since an announcement in September, Gary Larson's single-panel comics finally have their very own website, 24 years after ending their newspaper run. The site, run by Andrews McMeel Universal, made its debut Tuesday. It's also home to merchandise for sale, and it's even promised that next year it'll run new work from Larson from time to time.

The first classic comic, one from 1995, on the Daily Dose page takes inspiration from The Wizard of Oz: "Why, Gary, you've always had the power to go home!" It's a fitting welcome to Larson and his new home on the web.

In a letter on the site, Larson said his motives for officially going online included the desire to temper the impulses of fans who want to redistribute his work.

"I also concede I'm a little exhausted. Trying to exert some control over my cartoons has always been an uphill slog, and I've sometimes wondered if my absence from the web may have inadvertently fueled someone's belief my cartoons were up for grabs. They're not," he said.

The letter also detailed Larson's enthusiasm for working with the latest graphics technology to bring to life oddball visions that may or may not include vultures attempting to eat a glass eye.

Originally published Dec. 17, 9:58 a.m. PT.
Update, 4:15 p.m. PT: Adds new details throughout.