Comments on: The Argyle Sweater – Scott Hilburn and Gary Larson

By: Pandi

Pandi — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:31:00 +0000

I agree with letting Argyle Sweater live. I can agree with those of you that Gary Larson should sue, etc., etc. But above all, I would hate to see the comic leave. I really miss Far Side. Argyle Sweater has taken it’s place. I even e-mailed Scott once accusing him of being Gary Larson. He promptly responded to me saying how honored he was that I thought that. Keep the Argyle Sweater! Short of Gary Larson coming out of retirement it’s the only fix we have!

By: David Priever

David Priever — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:33:12 +0000

I miss the Farside and the Argyle Sweater conjures up great and funny memories of my reading , everyday, Gary Larson’s Farside. Scott and Gary, it would be nice if you are one and the same. Talented and Funny. I love it. From “The Holsteins visit the Grand Canyon” to the “Horseless Headman”…Keep them coming. We need them.

By: cjathensga

cjathensga — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 04:17:59 +0000

I may as well throw in my 2 cents and say I think everybody should lighten up. If the material Scott Hilburn puts his name on makes you laugh and you enjoy it, buy it and read it; if it doesn’t, for whatever reason, then don’t. If you really need something to be angry about, find something that matters. Gary Larson is a grownup, and if he believes he’s been wronged, he can deal with it, hire an attorney, sue, or whatever. He doesn’t need the peanut gallery making pronouncements about what is or isn’t plagiarism or about what’s in his interest. “If I were Gary Larson, I’d . . .” is pointless and just plain silly. There’s a reason why plaintiffs need to have standing in order to file suit.

By: Pissed...

Pissed... — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 23:25:40 +0000

I’m pretty pissed. I bought a daily calendar today, thinking it was a Far Side, by Gary Larson calendar. I saw the pic on the cover, grabbed it, got it home and opened it—-and then I saw the name of the “artist”. WTF?! This is a blatant Far Side ripoff. I can’t return it, b/c I opened it. Now I’m stuck with a plagiarism-by-day calendar…

By: Just Some Guy

Just Some Guy — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:10:33 +0000

Thanks for the free content Tom. Just because you took the time to type it up, doesn’t mean it should belong to you, so I will be passing it off as my own work. Oh and I am making a pretty sweat dime on it since I am selling to to a syndicated service.

So what if you had some ideas, I mean, no one own’s gravity, so that will surely justify my plagiarism and profit of your work. Thanks!

By: Just Some Guy

Just Some Guy — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 20:09:16 +0000

So what if you had some ideas, I mean, no one own’s gravity, so that will surely justify my plagerism and profit of your work. Thanks!

By: Topper

Topper — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:40:51 +0000

According to Wikipedia, in copyright law there’s a concept referred to as the idea–expression dichotomy, which limits the scope of copyright protection by differentiating an idea from the expression or manifestation of that idea.
In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court stated that “Unlike a patent, a copyright gives no exclusive right to the art disclosed; protection is given only to the EXPRESSION of the idea—not the idea itself.”
So it seems to me that the people who say Hilburn is not ripping off Larson’s slant on what’s funny are right up to a point, but in terms of how he expresses his humor, it seems pretty clear that he’s appropriated more than a little of his form of expression from Larson, and that’s protected. Anyone familiar with The Far Side will, on first inspection, assume, as I did, that it’s Larson’s work, not because of the humor, but the artwork, which is not merely derivative, but slavishly imitative.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 01:09:55 +0000

I googled this Scott hillburn after seeing the calendar at the register of a convenience store.
I lived and breathed Larson until he quit. it’s was painful to lose him. I based my “sustainable agriculture” thesis presentation on THERE’S A HAIR IN MY DIRT.
I will go buy this calendar and pretend it is Gary.
because I am an addict. it will not be a stretch to imagine Larson is working again.
I am comparing the experience to purchasing a knock-off of a fine perfume at riteaid because the
original brand is not available locally.
shameful in certain circles but I’m a junkie and I think it’s soooo obviously larsonesque I can’t look away. Larson isn’t dead. he was probably turned on to this work before it ever went to print.
let it ride.

By: Son of a Mitch

Son of a Mitch — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 22:45:11 +0000

Why are you blasting everyone criticizing Hilburn, don’t they have a right to their opinion? I’m sure you don’t like it because you’re Scott’s friend, so of course you’re going to defend him! The fact of the matter is his strip is too similar to the Far Side. As the other comments have suggested he could at least add something significantly new to his genre- that’s what great artists do. But instead he is simply covering ground that’s been covered already. Sure, he can come up with funny jokes, but so can my uncle Tony. The context of the jokes, the presentation, art and themes are all directly derivative of The Far Side. Pablo Picasso once said that a great artist takes something great from previous artists and adds something to it. Scott just takes from previous artists and adds his name to it.
He’s not unique, but his cartoon will stand on it’s own….inescapably directly under Gary Larson’s shadow.
Hmmm…”goober knuckleheads”…..really, Mitch?

By: thedezineboy

thedezineboy — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:05:47 +0000

If you read The Far Side during the late ’80s – ’90s then you know Larson. If you can’t make the CLEAR connection between these two strips then you are either in DENIAL or BLIND. Focusing on microscopic dissimilarities is ludicrous and evidence toward either your mental state or visual impairment.