A Far Side Strip Prompted Legal Fears and Later Friendship

An August 1987 Far Side strip showed two apes, one accusing the other of having seen the "Goodall Tramp" after finding a blonde hair. Sue Engel, executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute, wrote to the Arizona Daily Star, calling the cartoon "an obscenity" and saying, "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." Larson, who respected Goodall and admired her work, was deeply affected and pulled the comic from future publications, even declining to let National Geographic reprint it.

He cited concern about further controversy and potential legal action. Legal claims over cartoons rarely succeed; cases such as Tolley v. J.S. Fry & Sons (1931), Yorty v. Chandler (1970) and Hustler v.

United States, Arizona

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