Cows, chickens, dinosaurs, microorganisms. It's not difficult to identify the influence of The Far Side , Gary Larson's iconic comic strip, on The Argyle Sweater--an influence which lends both strengths and weaknesses to Scott Hilburn's strip. While readers will enjoy the same skewed sense of humour and subject matter, a feeling of deja-vu lingers over many of the panels and, like most pastiches, it's a level below the original. However, Hilburn does hit the mark with many of his gags (you'll hate yourself for laughing at a strip with the Pillsbury Dough Boy) and fans of The Far Side who are still going through withdrawl are well-advised to take a look. (It'll be interesting to see if Hilburn can inject more individuality within Larson's formula).

My two boys both asked me if this was a "Far Side" collection in disguise, and that's honestly how I'd have to characterize this comic panel collection. The art is fairly different, but the style of humor is unmistakeable. And if it's a concious imitation of Gary Larson's stuff, it's quite a good one, with several worthy of the master himself. I do prefer Larson's cleaner and more stylish artwork, but that's a minor quibble in a strip like this. ( )

Along the clever spirit of ye "Far Side" of olde, with the flair of visual puns. A good, fun quick escapist half hour. Some are definitely chuckle-worthy, others exist on the quieter side of an internal response of, "Ooh. Nice one." As for the packaging - man, I wish this sort of high-quality coloring & paper existed for the comics strips of my youth. ( )

The Argyle Sweater is about the closest cartoon one can find these days to Gary Larson's Far Side. From the drawing style, the single-panel framing (for most of the strips), and the absurd, punny humor, it is clear that this strip was inspired by (and pays homage to) The Far Side. Unfortunately, this means that the reader finds him or herself comparing it to Larson's inimitable creations.

While a decent collection in its own right, one comes away feeling that the best Argyle Sweater cartoons only begin to approach the Far Side. This being said, for someone who has felt a hole in his or her cartoon humor intake since Larson stopped publishing the Far Side, The Argyle Sweater is about as close as you'll come. For anyone who loved the Far Side, give this one a look. It may go a fair way in filling the void. ( )

There have been many cartoonists who have tried to fill Gary "The Far Side" Larson's wackily skewed clown shoes. Some have come close with the art, some (very few) have been in the general vicinity of the humor. Well, Scott Hilburn nailed the art and came closer to grasping the humor than any of the competition. In fact, about a quarter of the panels are virtually impossible to tell from Mr. Larsons, a percentage high enough to give Far Side fans hope the Mr. Hilburn keeps knitting on that sweater. ( )

The Argyle Sweater is one of the many comics that attempt to fill the giant void left when Gary Larson's Far Side ended. Unlike manyof the others, however, Hilburn's work often both reminds me of Far Side and surprises me with its originality. While not as consistently side-splitting as Larson, I did laugh out loud at quite a few of the comics in The Argyle Sweater. I handed it to my father, also a big Far Side fan, when he last visited, and he also enjoyed it. ( )

Has its moments, but overall reads like a watered-down Far Side.

As many others have said, the first thing cartoonist Scott Hilburn's work will remind you of is The Far Side. However, The Argyle Sweater's humor has a slightly different tilt to it, which is sometimes a positive thing. There were a couple of laughs and a few chuckles to be had, but this seems very much like a first compilation of a strip that has a lot of growing left to do. (Also, I think that the best strip ended up on the cover. Kind of reminds me of a movie whose best scenes are all in the trailer.) I'll be curious to see what the next book is like. In the end, though, it's unfortunate that Hilburn's artwork--and I'm sorry, but simply squaring off a feature or two really doesn't count as differentiation, IMHO--is so heavily reminiscent of Gary Larson's; I suspect that the unevenness of the former's wit might’ve been less evident otherwise. ( )

This was a fun book!! Very reminiscent of Far Side comics and a very fun read. "Is it as good as Far Side?" you may be thinking? Well, lets put it this way: it is not as consistently funny as Far Side, but it is good on its own and will provide you with plenty of laughs. Isn't that the whole point?? Four stars. ( )

Humourous, and reminds me of the Far Side. A lot. As though it were completely intentional (and what do I know, it may very well be). In a way it feels like no-name brand cola. It tastes fine and is a fair replacement for the name brand cola, but in a way, it doesn't satisfy quite as deeply as the more popular brand. Still, it clearly has a future and I'll be buying it in the future. ( )

A collection of one-panel cartoons that range from mildly amusing to funny. The art usually works well with the humor. This book seems to benefit from a casual read - a few pages, or a few panels at a time - to better appreciate each cartoon. ( )

a rather flat collection that consistently amounts to illustrations of extremely stretched puns, or jokes that require that much text to explain that the caption is frequently bigger than the cartoon. Laboured to say the least. ( )

Funny stuff for the most part. Reminiscent of The Far Side. ( )

Early Reviewer copy, for which many thanks.

I laughed out loud at a couple of these jokes, but mostly chuckled at the subtle visual punning. As I'm from Britain, some of the jokes were a little too specific to American pop culture for me to really apreciate. The collection reminds me a little of "The Dark Side", but has a lot of it's own character. ( )

I loved the graphics in this book. Although I didn't find a lot of the jokes funny and a lot of them I didn't understand, there were some that I enjoyed. Some of my favorites were the moths on page 11, the three pigs on page 16, the dung beetles on page 22, the pigeon on page 34, pick up sticks on page 37, three-tailed dog on page 38, and the cave people on page 57. ( )

This comic made me think that Gary Larson had come out of retirement, learned to draw a little better, and started writing some more complicated jokes. Being a Far Side fan, that means I enjoyed this collection quite a bit. There are a few comics in the book that fall a little flat, but over all the book is definitely worth picking up, if for no other reason than the buttskin hat on the cover. ( )

This FarSide inspired comic is cute. I found the the crooked letters slightly anoying to read and the third grader jokes cheesy. I found the material confusing, as some of it was designed for kids, and some with PG ratings. Give it a shot. ( )

Cartoonist Scott Hillburn and I have a lot in common. We both share the same first name and we were both exposed to dangerous amounts of radiation as children. We also have all our teeth, a weird sense of humor, and a strong affection for puns. Unlike me, however, Hillman is also a talented artist, and a hilarious cartoonist.

The Argyle Sweater is a collection of Scott Hillerman’s single-panel cartoon by the same name. The influence of Gary Larson’s Far Side comics is easily noticeable when enjoying Hillerman’s work, yet it never feels like he is attempting to copy or mimic Larson’s work. Hillerman’s humor is his own, a laughable blend of bad puns, unfortunate antonyms, and other fun examples of humorous wordplay.

This is where a book review would normally give a more detailed description of the contents, but I simply refuse to be the guy who sits there describing cartoons and ruining the joke. All I can tell you is that I will never look at the Pillsbury Doughboy the same way again. You can count on laughing out loud every so often, in between the giggles and chuckles that will no doubt follow any reading of The Argyle Sweater.

The Argyle Sweater is a great collection of Scott Hillerman’s past work, but there’s no need to stop there. You can also view his newest creations at theargylesweater.com, many of which no doubt comprise another wonderful collection in the near future.

There are so few cartoons left that are worth reading, let alone worthy of open laughter. Do yourself a favor and don’t miss out on this one. ( )

The internet cartoonist Scott Hilburn and his one pane strip called "The Argyle Sweater" has published his first collection of the strip. Stylistically Mr. Hilburn is a direct descendant of Gary Larson and the "Far Side" comics. Anthropomorphic animals, cavemen and seriously average looking humans act out puns and word plays in social situations. Interestingly, all the strips are in color, something that doesn't happen with a daily newspaper stip.

Overall this collection seems like the first time collection that it is. Somewhat uneven in its humor, there are more smiles than groans which is fortunate when there are as many puns are there are, especially in the beginning. The first gut laugh for me was on page 39, a strip that contained both a pun (cat-apult) and a word play (velocity versus curiosity). His humor is at its most effective when he does combine more than one joke in a strip. Another example would be a visual joke mixing the three little pigs and dominos on page 87.

The art work is very Larson-esque in a good way and the colors are bold and pleasant. I do have some quibbles with the typeface, as it is inconsistent, ranging from very clear and expressive to messy and distracting from the message. Only one strip was, in my opinion, R-rated and really un-funny to the point of disturbing, dealing with cannibal leftovers on page 78.

Overall a fine effort for a new artist. If a long career is in the future for Mr. Hilburn, then the "Best of Argyle Sweater" will be on every comic lovers shelves. ( )

You can't argue with the evidence: THE ARGYLE SWEATER sure is a lot like THE FAR SIDE. Really a lot like it . . . Like maybe THE FAR SIDE is Scott Hilburn's only comic influence/point of reference. I read this book in one short sitting, and as I turned every page I held my breath for a panel that didn't read like an idea pulled from Gary Larson's circular file. There aren't many. Even worse, most of the jokes hinge on truly awful, unimaginative puns (e.g. Klingons/cling-ons, Drive pie/drive-by, "Fining Nemo"/"Finding Nemo").

But, lest you think I'm being unfair, I do think Hilburn shows signs of a future on the ever-shrinking comics pages. His artwork is very good, and he does have a few jokes up his sleeve that point to doors out of the comfortable World of Gary Larson. (I love the Pillsbury Dougboy joke on p. 21, and the "Love Is..." tweak on p. 64.) ( )

If you enjoyed "The Far Side", you will enjoy "The Argyle Sweater". I love the geeky humor, the odd animals, the odder people. A great cast of characters! ( )

This book was quite a pleasant surprise. I was devastated when Gary Larson retired from writing The Far Side - but The Argyle Sweater just might fill the void. While I was reading and laughing, I kept finding similarities between Argyle and Far Side - the weird looking people, the bizarre, slightly sick, off the wall humor, the many hidden references. I would describe this book as a slightly edgier and more modern Far Side. I laughed out loud quite a few times and will definitely read more of The Argyle Sweater books. ( )

Gary Larson's The Far Side appeared in 1980, and made quite a splash on the staid comics pages of American newspapers. It's absurd humor and science geek gags made a big impression (not always positive) on the nation's readers. When Larson retired in 1995, a lot of potential successors appeared, few of which came close to The Far Side's spin on one-panel comics.

Now in 2009, we have Scott Hilburn's The Argyle Sweater. This comic truly is The Far Side reincarnate. The style of humor tickles the Far Side funny bone without being derivative. Many have wished for Gary Larson's return. The Argyle Sweater comes close to fulfilling that wish...very close. ( )

If this book had a lineage, it would be difficult to not see Gary Larson’s The Far Side and Mike Peter’s Mother Goose and Grimm in it. Hilburn uses single panels, tongue in check commentary, and animals as a major part of their works. He also uses nursery rhymes, puns, and popular culture references for the majority of his humor. The drawings are well-done, and this book is a fine addition to a book shelf that contains Far Side and Mother Goose and Grimm – although some of his work is a bit edgier. I highly recommend it for the humor and drawings. ( )

The next Far Side! A bit of self-referential humor (which usually I find funny but didn't work as well for me), a lot of puns (usually pretty clever), and animal behavior humor galore. A few of the comics seemed to repeat basically the same joke, which I found a bit disturbing in a book of only 128 pages (are you out of ideas already?), but, if you're looking for something to fill the shelf space next to your Far Side collection, pick up this gem. ( )