‘The Far Side’ Returns After 25 Years as a Digital Comic Strip

The famous comic strip The Far Side written and drawn by Gary Larson has returned in a series of new digital comic strips, the first new comics released since January 1995.

The Verge reports that Gary Larson, the creator of the popular comic strip The Far Side, has released the first new comic strips in the series since 1995. Larson has cautioned that this is “not a resurrection of The Far Side daily cartoons,” but does bode well for fans of the series.

Larson began publishing his older comic strips online late last year, the first of the new comics in the series features bears, aliens, and taxidermy all in the familiar Far Side comic strip style. While the original Far Side comics were painted in watercolor by Larson, the new comics are created digitally with a few changes to Larson’s signature style such as fewer outlines around characters and more vibrant colors.

The style changes and the comic suddenly returning after many years is partly due to Larson beginning to use a digital drawing tablet. Larson decided that after years of using traditional art mediums, he would try giving digital art a chance. In an opening letter for New Stuff, the title of his new Far Side entries, Larson writes: “I was stunned at all the tools the thing offered, all the creative potential it contained. I simply had no idea how far these things had evolved. Perhaps fittingly, the first thing I drew was a caveman.”

At the end of the letter, Larson asked readers to remember “I’m just exploring, experimenting, and trying stuff.” Fans of The Far Side will surely be excited to see what Larson creates with these new tools at his disposal.

Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com