Once upon a time in a place far away, lived a man named Gary Larson who used to draw cartoons. It was a cartoon that appeared for many years in daily newspapers and was loved by millions. (And was confusing to millions more.) But one day he stopped.

Gary went into hiding. He made a couple short films. He played his guitar. He threw sticks for his dogs. They threw some back.

Yet Gary was restless. He couldn't sleep nights. Something haunted him. (Besides Gramps.) Something that would return him to his roots in biology, drawing and dementia--a tale called There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story.

It begins a few inches underground, when a young worm, during a typical family dinner, discovers there's a hair in his plate of dirt. He becomes rather upset, not just about his tainted meal but about his entire miserable, wormy life. This, in turn, spurs his father to tell him a story--a story to inspire the children of invertebrates everywhere.

And so Father Worm describes the saga of a fair young maiden and her adventuresome stroll through her favorite forest, a perambulator's paradise. It is a journey filled with mystery and magic. Or so she thinks.

Which is all we'll say for now.
What exactly does the maiden encounter?
Does Son Worm learn a lesson?
More important, does he eat his plate of fresh dirt?

Well, you'll have to read to find out, but let's just say the answers are right under your feet.

Written and illustrated in a children's storybook style, There's a Hair in My Dirt! A Worm's Story is a twisted take on the difference between our idealized view of Nature and the sometimes cold, hard reality of life for the birds and the bees and the worms (not to mention our own species).

Told with his trademark off-kilter humor, this first original non--Far Side book is the unique work of a comic master.

Now Larson can finally sleep at night. Question is, will you?

This is a compilation of cartoons from three best-selling Far Side collections, Wildlife Preserves, Wiener Dog Art, and Unnatural Selections, featuring more than 20 full-color pages.

The curious cosmology of "The Far Side" has taken the otherwise normal world by storm. Now insatiable fans of "The Far Side" have a new collectible: The Far Side Gallery 3, featuring all the cartoons from the bestselling collections Night of the Crash-Test Dummies, The Far Side Observer, and Hound of The Far Side.

Copyright (c) 1984 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. The Far Side(R), FarWorks, Inc.(R), and the Larson(R) signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.

The Far Side (R) is back in this much-anticipated three-volume slipcased paperback edition of The Complete Far Side! "Every one of these cartoons is just something that drifted into my head when I was alone with my thoughts. And, for better or worse, I 'jotted' them down. It was only later, when perhaps I received an angry letter from someone, that it struck me: Hey! Someone's been reading my diary!" --Gary Larson, from the preface to The Complete Far Side Originally published in hardcover in 2003, The Complete Far Side was a New York Times bestseller. Now it's back as a paperback set with a newly designed slipcase that will delight Far Side fans. Revered by its fans as the funniest, most original, most "What the ... ?"-inspiring cartoon ever, The Far Side (R) debuted in January 1980 and enjoyed an illustrious 14 years on the world's comics pages until Gary Larson's retirement in 1994. The Complete Far Side celebrates Larson's twisted, irreverent genius in this ultimate Far Side book. A masterpiece of comic brilliance, The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever syndicated--over 4,000 if you must know--presented in (more or less) chronological order by year of publication, with more than 1,100 that had never before appeared in a book. Also included are additional Far Side cartoons Larson created after his retirement: 13 that appeared in the last Far Side book, Last Chapter and Worse, and six cartoons that periodically ran as a special feature in the New York Times Science Times section as The Far Side (R) of Science. Creator Gary Larson offers a rare glimpse into the mind of The Far Side (R) in quirky and thoughtful introductions to each of the 14 chapters. Complaint letters, fan letters, and queries from puzzled readers appear alongside some of the more provocative or elusive panels. Actor, author, and comedian Steve Martin offers his sagacious thoughts in a foreword, and Larson's former editor describes what it was like to be "the guy who could explain every Far Side cartoon." During its 14-year run, The Far Side (R) was syndicated internationally to over 1,900 daily newspapers. It spawned 23 books and has been translated into 17 different languages. Copyright (c) 2014, 2003 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. The Far Side (R), FarWorks, Inc. (R), and the Larson (R) signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.

Copyright (c) 1984 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. The Far Side (R), FarWorks, Inc. (R), and the Larson (R) signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.

Copyright (c) 1986 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. The Far Side(R), FarWorks, Inc.(R), and the Larson(R) signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.

Here, in this eighth all-new collection of The Far Side, are gathered all the denizens from that often strange but always funny world--creatures who first were seen in such newspapers as the New York Daily News and the Washington Post. Illustrated.

The second Far Side treasury. Copyright (c) 1986 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. The Far Side(R), FarWorks, Inc.(R), and the Larson(R) signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.

The second The Far Side(R) collection. Copyright (c) 1983 FarWorks, Inc. All rights reserved. The Far Side(R), FarWorks, Inc.(R), and the Larson(R) signature are registered trademarks of FarWorks, Inc. in certain countries.