Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Inside the mind of insects

The Far side. A name synonymous to cartoonist Gary Larson. But the subjects of this cartoonist are not so common i.e. that of politics, social etc. He has made some fantastic cartoons that sounds almost surreal in nature. behaviors of birds, animals, e.t.s, extinct animals, devils, monsters, the primitive people are well caught in Larson's work. In a book 'The Far side gallery', Larson says: "As a young boy, I was plagued with an overactive imagination- compounded by the fact that we lived in a house with your standard, monster-infested basement. Occasionally, I would hear my father's command that never failed to horrify me: "Go down to the basement, Gary, and bring up some firewood." Death.
And so down I'd go, certain I was about to become the leading character in a story that would be told around campfires for generations to come.
My task nearly completed, I would begin my quick ascent back to the world of the living. And then, as I had countless times before, it would happen. With an audible click, followed by sinister laughter, the lights would go off.
Engulfed in blackness, I would scramble my way to the top of the stairs only to find the door held firmly shut. From the other side, where the light switch was controlled, I would hear my brother's voice began to chant: "It's coming for you, Gary! It's coming! Do you hear it? Do you hear it breathing, Gary?"
Unbeknownst to my parents the deep grooves in that side of the door were not caused by the dog.
Now, many years later, here I am a cartoonist. And if the cartoons i draw seem a little-well-different, I hope this story has scratched the surface of understanding my childhood: a sort of "Theodore Cleaver Meets the Thing."
In this post, have a look upon some of Larsons works on insects.




"You idiots!...We'll never get that thing down the hole!" 

"Step on it, Arnold! Step on it! " 

"God, I hate walking hrough this place at night." 

"There I was! Asleep in this little cave here, when suddenly
I was attacked by this hideous thing with five heads!" 
It's always a pleasure to observe Gary's work theme wise though the book has it all together. More from this book on another theme very soon.

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