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Posted on 10/01/2025 8:22:15 PM PDT by nickcarraway
CBR senior staff writer Brian Cronin has been writing professionally about comic books for over fifteen years now at CBR (primarily with his “Comics Should Be Good” series of columns, including Comic Book Legends Revealed). He has written two books about comics for Penguin-Random House – Was Superman a Spy? And Other Comic Book Legends Revealed and Why Does Batman Carry Shark Repellent? And Other Amazing Comic Book Trivia! and one book, 100 Things X-Men Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, from Triumph Books. His writing has been featured at ESPN.com, the Los Angeles Times, About.com, the Huffington Post, Vulture and Gizmodo. He features legends about entertainment and sports at his website, Legends Revealed and other pop culture features at Pop Culture References. Follow him on Twitter at @Brian_Cronin and feel free to e-mail him suggestions for stories about comic books that you'd like to see featured at brianc@cbr.com!
Welcome to the 944th installment of Comic Book Legends Revealed, a column where we examine three comic book myths, rumors and legends and confirm or debunk them. This is the second of TWO special themed installments combining Peanuts legends and Far Side legends (so that I don't have three straight Peanuts legends or three straight Far Side legends). In this first legend, learn the surprising truth behind the alleged "feud" between The Far Side's Gary Larson and the iconic zoologist and primatologist, Dr. Jane Goodall.
As a general note, as I've pointed out before, Gary Larson has said that he doesn't want people to share his Far Side comic strips online, and even though the usage of it in this context would be, I think, pretty clearly fair use, I'm just going to go by Larson's wishes, and not share the actual Far Side comic strip in this article. I'm not begruding anyone ELSE who shares the strips, but I'm not going to do it myself.
As I pointed out in a recent Comic Book Legends Revealed, Gary Larson is no stranger to offending people in his hilarious The Far Side comic strip, as he would occasionally tackle real people and/or real pieces of popular culture in the strip (as I noted in the aforementioned legend, one of those times Larson felt bad, as he had insulted a film he had only HEARD was bad, and hadn't actually seen it himself, and when he DID see it, he thought it was okay). However, rarely did Larson ever apologize, as it was always pretty clear that he never meant anything malicious with his humor.
That, though, was apparently NOT the take that Dr. Jane Goodall had when Larson used her as a punchline in an August 1987 strip...or WAS it?
In the latest Comic Book Legends Revealed, find out how close Jack Kirby came to drawing an erotic comic book series
Jane Goodall, of course, is a famous zoologist and primatologist, known for her work that she began in her 20s over SIXTY YEARS AGO (she is currently 90 years old). As The Jane Goodall Institute notes (that's where I got the above images from):
Equipped with little more than a notebook, binoculars, and her fascination with wildlife, Jane Goodall braved a realm of unknowns to give the world a remarkable window into humankind’s closest living relatives. Through nearly 60 years of groundbreaking work, Dr. Jane Goodall has not only shown us the urgent need to protect chimpanzees from extinction; she has also redefined species conservation to include the needs of local people and the environment. Today she travels the world, speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees and environmental crises, urging each of us to take action on behalf of all living things and planet we share.
Okay, in August 1987, Larson did a strip where the punchline involved Goodall. The strip drew the following letter to the editor at the Arizona Daily Star...
To the editor:
I was appalled when I saw Gary Larson's "The Far Side" cartoon in the Star Aug. 26. This was of two Larson animals - presumably chimpanzees - in a tree. One, which was evidently supposed to be the female, was picking a long hair from the other's shoulder. The caption read: "Well, well - another blond hair...Conducting a little more 'research' with that Jane Goodall tramp?"
To refer to Dr. Goodall as a tramp is inexcusable - even by a self-described "loony" as Larson. The cartoon was incredibly offensive and in such poor taste that readers might well question the editorial judgment of running such an atrocity in a newspaper that reputes to be supplying the news to persons with a better than average intelligence. The cartoon and its message were absolutely stupid.
Dr. Goodall is a world-renowned scientist who has devoted 28 years of her life to studying chimpanzees in the wild. Her findings have caused the scientific world to redefine the meaning of the word "mankind" with her discoveries that include the erroneous presumption that man was the only primate to make and use tools, a distinction that - until her findings disproved it - been a measure of superiority of human beings over other primates.
With no alignment to any animal welfare group, Dr. Goodall is working very hard to instigate better treatment of chimpanzees in biomedical laboratories. Dr. Goodall has vowed to speak out for those animals that cannot speak for themselves.
"Tramp?" Hardly.
The irresponsibility of the Star in choosing to run such an obscenity is disgusting. In fact, any woman should be insulted by the reference that the female - in this case, a typical Larson eyeglass-wearing animal - would be unaware of what Dr. Goodall's research really is, its seriousness and the assumption that a female only would have the mentality to look for sexual implications.
Sue Engel
Executive Director
The Jane Goodall Institute
Yikes, so I guess Larson really offended Goodall, huh? Well, not so fast...
What was Jane Goodall's actual reaction to The Far Side comic strip by Gary Larson? Goodall hadn't actually seen the strip herself, and when she DID see it, she thought it was funny. She didn't think it was ACTUALLY calling her a tramp (and that's clearly not the implication of the strip). She would later write an introduction to one of Larson's Far Side collections.
Going further, she even licensed the strip for shirts that were sold at The Jane Goodall Institute for years! Here's one of the shirts, courtesy of Reddit...
So, yeah, there was no feud between Goodall and Larson, she was cool with it all!
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Oh, FFS. Has everybody lost their sense of humor?
CC
I think it’s funny as it is meant to be
Yes.
Even back in 1987 we had women searching for ways to be offended.
My wife (girlfriend then) and I attended a smallish event in Southern California where Goodall presented some of her early fascinating work. We were upper division anthro students then - circa 1973 or so. She had a great presence, spoke well, and seemed pretty normal for someone on the edge of the Bell curve.
My wife was taken by Goodall’s take on primate child rearing. She used much of it in the raising of our own son and daughter, both who seem to have survived splendidly.
It’s easy to see why Larson can make it in his own.
It’s nothing but funny - anthropomorphizing the chimps so that the wife is very suspicious and accusatory. Honestly, it was making g fun of jealous wives or girlfriends, not Jane Goodall.
?
You didn’t read it? Jane Goodall was not offended. She thought it was hilarious.
I think it’s funny, that the wife anthropomorphized, but the husband looks like just a chimp.
Yes I read it. I referred to the 1987 letter. It was written by Sue Engel. The letter is in the article.
Larson is funny. Comic Book Guy teased a simple behind-the-rumors story to death.
Those looking to be offended will be successful 100% of the time.
In relation to your post, someone once said “we do not choose to be hurt, but we do choose whether or not we are miserable about it”
Not sayi g the larson comic hurt anyone, but like your post suggests, some folks are choosing to be miserable over it. But the silver lini g is that they hzve to live with their miserable selves, we dont have to live with them.
Goodall found the cartoon funny.
It doesn't affect the humor of the cartoon, although it takes a little of the edge off of it (part of the humor is the bitchiness of the wife).
I can understand why they did it -- respect for Goodall. I wonder if Larson approved of the change or just overlooked it....
Long love Far Side, long live Gary Larson. His comics are exactly my humor and brought me so many laughs during many ups and downs of life. Sometimes it’s all the little things that get you through, like a comic strip that makes you laugh, or a great steak. 😋
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