|
 May 16, 2006 -- The image that used to be here has been removed
indefinitely. Keep checking back to see whether it returns. |
The "Far Side" cartoon at left is a model of elegant brevity.
The scene is set perfectly with only a few strokes of the pen. We know
instantly that's it's a deserted island, we know instantly that it's an
extremely small island, and we know instantly that there are only two people on
it.
And a Barcalounger.
Gary Larson, the author of the fabled "Far Side" comics, uses the Deserted
Island theme fairly often, and here he's certainly done it well. One
criticism is why the palm tree is leaning over so far, but did you
notice how Larson depicts the two men with long beards? The obvious
implication of this seemingly trivial detail is that they've been there a long time, which of course makes the
punch line even funnier.
The Deserted Island theme so tersely limned at left is
popular not just with cartoonists but with almost anyone who's thought about it.
Many questions arise if you know you're going to be stranded on a deserted
island forever. The assumption is that you will have all you need to live
but that you will never be rescued. So, if you knew you could bring with you only 100 songs, which ones would you
want to listen to for the rest of your life? What about the top 100 books
or movies or family photographs?
And if you could bring with you only one chair, which one would it be?
It's unclear exactly how two people could end up stranded on a deserted island and
possess between them only a Barcalounger, but of course that's another element of
the humor in this particular cartoon. If you are a budding cartoonist and you want to
make people laugh, this is a good example to study because it packs so much into
so little, as does the "Far Side" comic here. |
