Early cartoon work According to Larson in his 1989 anthology
The Prehistory of The Far Side, he was working in a music store Goodall wrote a preface to
The Far Side Gallery 5, detailing her version of the "Jane Goodall Tramp" controversy. She praised Larson's creative ideas, which often compare and contrast the behavior of humans and animals. Larson's
The Far Side cartoons were syndicated worldwide and published in many collections. They were also reproduced extensively on
greeting cards which were very popular, but these were discontinued in March 2009. Two animated versions were produced for television:
Tales from the Far Side (1994) and
Tales from the Far Side II (1997). A 2007
The Far Side calendar donated all author royalties to
Conservation International. The significance of many of Larson's cartoons resulted in a major display of over 400 of his original works at the
California Academy of Sciences in 1985.
Retirement By late 1994, Larson thought the series was getting repetitive and did not want to enter what he called the "Graveyard of Mediocre Cartoons." In 2020, Larson began sporadically posting new cartoons on his website; he attributed the appearance of new material to his newfound motivation gained by using a
graphics tablet.
''There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story'' In 1998, Larson published his first post-
The Far Side book ''There's a Hair in My Dirt!: A Worm's Story
, an illustrated book with thematic similarities to The Far Side''. The short book tells the story of an
earthworm who feels that his life is insignificant. The main plot is told by the young worm's father and follows the beautiful (but slightly dim) human maiden Harriet, who takes a stroll across a woodland trail, encountering different aspects of the ecological world. She admires it but knows little about the land around her, and that eventually leads to her downfall. The story became a
New York Times Best Seller on May 24, 1998.
Other works and interests Larson has been playing
jazz guitar since his teen years. He took advanced lessons from jazz guitarists
Remo Palmier and
Herb Ellis. In exchange for guitar lessons from Ellis, Larson provided him with the cover illustration for the album ''Doggin' Around'' (Concord, 1988) by Ellis and bassist
Red Mitchell. Larson drew a cover for the November 17, 2003, edition of
The New Yorker magazine, an offer he felt was too prestigious to refuse. Larson voices himself in
The Simpsons 2010 episode "
Once Upon a Time in Springfield". ==Awards and honors==