Gary Larson shocked the comic world when he suddenly retired from making Far Side in 1995; however, the talented artist attributed burnout as the major reason he stepped away from making the newspaper strip. However, Larson surprised readers of Far Side once again when he returned to making the comic strip more than 25 years later, as he had an excellent reason for coming back: He found his passion again after transitioning to digital art.

From 1980 to 1995, Gary Larson's Far Side was a staple among newspaper comic strips, as the award-winning surrealist one-panel comics, usually starring anthropomorphic animals, were among the most-read in the entire world. So, when Larson stepped away from Far Side after making the comic strips for a decade and a half, it seemed like readers would never get more stories from the legendary artist. However, Larson's return in 2020 to making Far Side strips on his personal website happened for one major reason, as going digital ultimately brought him back to the comic he once retired from.

Related: 10 Darkest Far Side Comics By Gary Larson

In a 2020 interview with Newsweek, Gary Larson explained why he retired from making Far Side comics and what ultimately brought him back. While Larson said he "thoroughly enjoyed" his career and job as a cartoonist, he admitted the process exhausted him after 15 years. Larson shared that retiring from syndication with Far Side and not drawing on deadline "felt good" and that he embraced other interests outside of drawing. However, Larson would return to the medium after an annoyance with a pen introduced him to the world of digital art.

Digital Art Brought Gary Larson Back To Far Side

Far Side Gary Larson Split

Larson shared in the Newsweek interview that while he still worked on Christmas cards and other smaller projects, a clogged pen made him switch to drawing digitally with a tablet. Admitting he knew nothing about digital art when he used the tablet initially, "something totally unexpected happened" as he was "having fun drawing again." While Larson revealed there was a learning curve transition from physical to digital art, the "sense of adventure" brought him back to the world of Far Side.

Ultimately, Larson's new normal after unretiring from Far Side when it came to cartooning allowed the artist and writer to be free from the constraints and deadlines of creating a syndicated comic strip. Instead, with his digital tools, he could work at his own pace and release Far Side comics whenever he chose. As a result, Larson's passion returned, and readers are still getting Far Side comic strips more than 25 years after he initially retired from the series.

Next: Far Side's 'Talking Dogs' Comic Is Scientifically Accurate (Really)

Source: Newsweek