I have written extensively about The Far Side, and one thing I can say for sure is that all roads seemingly lead back to "Cow Tools," one way or another; while I would argue it isn't the "most confusing" Far Side comic, though it is often cited as such, what I cannot dispute is that "Cow Tools" played an essential role in the success of Gary Larson's iconoclastic comic.

In a 2019 interview with The New York Times, Larson touched on the impact of "Cow Tools," on his career, specifically how the "controversy" surrounding the cartoon led to increased awareness of The Far Side among readers.

At the time "Cow Tools" first appeared in print, The Far Side was still only carried in a handful of newspapers. In the few years after, that number would grow exponentially – and I believe "Cow Tools" was a pivot point for the comic's popularity.

"Cow Tools": The Cartoon, The Myth, The Legend – And How It Shaped The Far Side's Trajectory

First Published: October 28, 1982

To me, the most remarkable thing about "Cow Tools" is the way its reputation has exceeded it. The cartoon is "controversial" because of how confusing it is, but I've come to believe that the is not so much confusing as it is, in fact, overly simple. A cow stands in front of a table with some poorly designed tools, made for cows, by cows. That's it. That's the joke. There isn't anything beyond that to "get" – yet over the past four decades, readers have expressed near-desperation levels of desire to find a deeper meaning that simply isn't there.

"Cow Tools" was the start of the snowball effect that led to The Far Side becoming a pop culture sensation by the mid-1980s, just a few years after the was published.

So, it is worth exploring in more detail how "Cow Tools" gained its reputation, and what concrete effect it had on The Far Side. What is undeniable is that "Cow Tools" generated more reader than perhaps any other Far Side; it also generated something else that was equally crucial: media attention. As Gary Larson explained to The New York Times:

When that came out, suddenly I found myself being called by reporters and doing interviews about a cartoon with the inane title, “Cow Tools.” I think one newspaper even held a contest to see if anyone could figure out what it meant. It got kind of wild.

In other words, "Cow Tools" generated buzz for The Far Side, at a critical juncture in its history. It created interest in readers – and crucially, newspaper editors – outside the markets in which the cartoon was already being published.

This led The Far Side to be picked up by more newspapers, which in turn gave Larson's work a wider audience. In effect, what I'm saying is that "Cow Tools" was the start of the snowball effect that led to The Far Side becoming a pop culture sensation by the mid-1980s, just a few years after the was published. It might not ultimately rank as Gary Larson's most inscrutable joke, but its early reputation for being confusing was foundational to The Far Side finding a wider audience.

Over Time, I've Learned That The Far Side Was About More Than Just Being Funny

"Grading" Gary Larson's Work On A Curve

Before we go any further, a confession: before I started writing about The Far Side for Screen Rant, I had legitimately never read a single one of Gary Larson's comics. It was a pop culture lapse for me, a piece of essential 20th century art that I had totally missed out on my entire life. I immediately vibed with The Far Side, and remain endlessly fascinated by it – and one of the first lessons I had to learn as I started navigating Larson's opus was that enjoying the comic's humor and "understanding" it are two entirely different things.

Another thing I've come to understand about The Far Side is that Gary Larson's primary goal was to get a reaction out of the reader. That shifted my understanding of how a Far Side comic "works," so to speak, or what makes one "successful." Now, I judge Larson's cartoons according to whether they get some kind, any kind of reaction out of me. It's not a matter of "funny vs. not funny," but rather whether a s with me or not.

If it does, I will try to go a step further and figure out why. If it doesn't , I will try to investigate that too. I've learned this about The Far Side too – that initial reaction relies a lot more on readers' interpretation than it might initially seem. Often, a Far Side joke could work both ways. If you get the obscure reference Gary Larson is making, you might laugh, and if it flies over your head, you might be left asking "What the?" Either way, in Larson's estimation, this constituted a success.

The Success Of "Cow Tools" Helped Soldify Gary Larson As An Up-And-Coming Comic Talent

Cementing The Far Side's Noteriety

So, if any reaction to a Far Side comic makes it a success, that means it is only the rare Far Side that gets no laughs, and leaves the reader with no questions, that can be said to have "failed." By this metric, I would say we should consider "Cow Tools" to be the most successful Far Side cartoon, rather than the most controversial, because of reaction it got. Readers not only reacted to the , but they acted on that reaction, reaching out for clarification in numbers rivaled by few, if any, of Gary Larson's other comics.

There are certainly Far Side cartoons that can genuinely be called controversial, either by the standards of the era it was published in, or according to contemporary readers' tastes. It is interesting to note that while many of these have provoked criticism, none have the enduring legacy of "Cow Tools," which in turn is essential to defining the legacy of The Far Side as a whole, rightly or wrongly. It was the cartoon that made legions of readers aware The Far Side for the first time – and in turn, it also made Gary Larson more aware of his readers.

Readers' Reaction To "Cow Tools" Made Gary Larson He Wasn't Producing Comics In A Vacuum

The Far Side Was For The People

Gary Larson retired from cartooning in 1995; in 2019, he began to sporadically post new Far Side cartoons online for the first time in decades, and at the time, he gave a rare interview to The New York Times. Speaking to the newspaper of record, Larson opined about the nature of his profession, noting:

Cartooning is kind of a loner endeavor. You draw stuff, you mail it in, draw stuff, mail it in.

"Cow Tools," Larson said, was actually an early reminder for him, as an artist, that the audience was out there, and that there were two sides to the equation when it came to The Far Side.

As Larson explained:

in a weird way, this ["Cow Tools"] is how I first came to realize that there was something going on, and that there were other humans actually reading my cartoons.

In closing, I would like to point out that Larson's post-"Cow Tools" success, as much as a result of the fervor surrounding the comic, should also be attributed – at least in part – to this revelation for him, which made him put more effort into considering how his work would impact readers. This resulted in Larson sharpening his abilities to equally engage and mystify his audience, which in turn helped The Far Side capture the attention of generations of fans.

Source: Gary Larson, New York Times interview