The far sidecreated by Gary Larson, is one of the most popular comic books of all time. From 1979 to 1985, Larson produced almost daily cartoons that reached passionate readers around the world. Larson’s absurdist humor reinvented common expressions and his artistic skills condensed layers of meaning into a single image, making even his most underrated work accessible to a wide audience.
Even though Larson stopped drawing Far side BD in 1985, his comics continue to make people laugh today. They also continue to make people think. A daily selection of bands is available for free on the Larson websiteallowing readers to enjoy old favorites and find new gems they may have missed before.
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Updated January 7, 2025 by Christopher Raley: Gary Larson’s absurd sense of humor touches on a shared experience that relies on a multitude of individual jokes (often without a word or with only a few words) for its expression. However, some of his jokes are underrated, which is why more panels have been added to this article. It has also been updated to comply with CBR’s current publishing standards.
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Marie Antoinette begins to backtrack
Cake is better with ice cream
Gary Larson has written several Far side comics that commented on history or told it in a way that satisfied Larson’s dark sense of humor. From medieval scientists to George Washington crossing the street, Larson has made fun of every era of human history. The French Revolution is a particularly dark example of what happens when oppressed people revolt.
Thousands of French nobles were guillotined and executed, whether guilty of crimes or not. Larson’s view of the Reign of Terror shows how Marie Antoinette may have attempted to negotiate to avoid execution. She said if people don’t have bread, let them eat cake. Here she adds ice cream to the menu.
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The penultimate wave of the Mohicans Hello
This is The Far Side’s take on American literature
In his time creating The far side, Gary Larson made numerous references to literature. In one comic strip, readers find Herman Melville going through a list of names before landing on “Call Me Ishmael.” In this panel, Larson makes a silly joke based on The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore.
In the panel, a group of Native people appear to be waiting in line, waiting for something. They all stare straight ahead, except for the second-to-last person in line, who looks at the reader and waves with an awkward smile. The joke is an absurd play on words, but the awkwardness of the panel, in contrast to the seriousness of the issues surrounding indigenous culture, elicits a laugh of surprise.
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See who has a new friend
Hippos replace dogs in this Far Side comic
Sometimes Larson simply wants to alter his readers’ perspective with panels that essentially ask, “What if?” In this case, the implicit question is: “What if dogs were rhinos?” » Larson makes fans laugh by superimposing the latter on the former. How can you not laugh at the idea of a rhino acting like a dog?
In this panel, an owner is outside with her pet Rhino, King. They watch another couple and their pet Rhino move as they unpack a moving van and enter their house next door. Larson shows what a great artist he is in the way he draws the rhinos to “look” like dogs through some very simple cues. King wags his tail. Meanwhile, the other runs behind its owners, looking very much like a dog.
17
The Hellbillies welcome new souls
They think they’re coming
Some of Gary Larson’s most underrated panels simply trade one context for another. Only Larson could turn Hillbillies into Hellbillies and turn it into a comic book about hell. And that’s exactly what he does in this panel that looks eerily similar to Marceline’s lakeside house in Adventure Time’s Cave. But probably no connection.
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In this panel, two Hellbillies sit on their porch, wearing jumpsuits and holding pitchforks, watching indifferently as a line of people parade in the foreground, looking hot and dejected. Hellbilly chickens even have horns on their heads when they peck at the ground of hell. The Hellbillies believe that more and more souls are entering through the doors.
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It’s yet another dead end for the Snake Cowboys
Only armless cowboys can exist on the other side
In this underestimated panel, Larson takes fans into his truly bizarre imagination. Other comic book writers might think of anthropomorphic snake cowboys, then realize that it won’t work because of the lack of weapons. Not Gary Larson. He takes the lack of weapons and builds an absurd situation around it using his love of westerns.
In this panel, two snake cowboys face off in a saloon. Who knows how much time has passed since the beginning, but one snake finally says to the other, “Who are we kidding, Luke? We know this will be just another standoff.” Although the situation seems absurd, snakes highlight human dilemmas where people repeatedly find themselves in absurd situations without a reasonable solution.
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Vampires are everywhere!
The proof is in the thinking
In this Far side On one sign, a man stands near a street corner on a box, much like a street preacher warning that the world is about to end. But this man warns everyone around him that vampires are everywhere. Meanwhile, two workers carry a large mirror in front of the stage, showing the man in the reflection but no one else. Some of Larson’s Underrated Far side the comics get a little dark; this one is no exception.
The fact that this man is preaching a warning about vampires to people who are vampires is somewhat disturbing and harkens back to – sorry – the street preacher warning people about the end of the world. This is recalled by the literal reflection in the comic’s mirror. Folklore has it that mirrors reflect the soul, which is why vampires have no reflections. The fact that the street is empty in the comic is beyond scary.
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Demons worry about the guy who’s happy
Whistling while you work does not apply to hell
Larson often used popular religious conventions of heaven and hell as an argument. frame for his jokes The far side. There are probably more jokes about hell than heaven. Here, demons (one of whom is probably the devil, given his pitchfork) watch over the workers who dig the rocks and sweat in the heat of the flames.
But there’s this guy who happily whistles, making the best of his situation. Echoing lines uttered in countless prison-based films, the two devils confer, and we find that “we just can’t reach this guy.” The phrase prompts a pause of thought after a laugh. Just as hell is meant to punish and not rehabilitate, are prisons really the same thing?
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God Makes a Lasting Mistake
He releases humans onto Earth
Far side the comics sometimes let slip a perspective that may be closely related to that of Gary Larson. That being said, this panel is perhaps as close to a theological statement as readers are likely to get from Larson. In God, a broken jar lies on the side of a hill, and beyond it, a group of humans run free. “Uh-oh” is spoken from above, indicating that God accidentally dropped the pot. Given humans’ propensity for destruction, the idea that they are a mistake is a joke that most people can relate to.
But there’s another layer to this comic. In the foreground of this panel, two animals are watching. It’s like they’re saying everything was fine until humans arrived. Given Larson’s respect for nature, this might be close to his view of man’s role in the world. Although this is not exactly the concept of original sin, it nevertheless indicates an imperfect humanity ruining a perfect natural order.
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Cows run into a truism
If cows tasted themselves, what would they taste like?
There is a truism that if you give someone a new meat to try, it will taste like chicken to that person. It’s become more of a joke than anything else, with people commenting on everything from unusual fruits to exotic foods, saying, “It tastes like chicken.” But Larson brings a different touch on the saying in The far side.
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Larson has many jokes about cows and their use as meat. In this panel, four cows stand around another cow sitting at a table eating a steak. As if the situation were between humans, the other cows want to know what the meat tastes like. First, there is the irony of the cannibalization of cows, but also the use of the phrase “tastes like chicken,” which shows how limited the human description of taste is.
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“Four wrongs make a right” shows the limits of intelligence
It also shows how absurd it is to justify wrongs.
Thanks to his Far side In the comics, Gary Larson liked to hold up a mirror to society and highlight the absurdities of life. In doing so, Larson often described seemingly idiotic groups, like cavemen, as highly intelligent groups, and seemingly intelligent groups, like doctors or scientists, as people whose intelligence makes them particularly vulnerable to a certain type of stupidity.
In “Four Wrongs Make a Right,” a group of mathematicians ponder an equation. The legend explains that even though they all know that “two wrongs don’t make a right”, they can turn four wrongs into a right using the equation. The comic is a commentary on the fact that intelligence does not always equal common sense and can lead to ridiculous results without this lens. He also comments on how far people will go to justify a bad action.
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The Teapot Kid rises again
This comic makes you laugh purely for its absurdity
A few Far side the panels are funny because they reference an intersection of science and folk wisdom or make a bizarre connection through a common phrase (like in water off a duck’s back). Others are laugh-out-loud funny simply because they are absurd. This panel falls into the latter category. It shows a cowboy standing in the middle of a saloon singing the “Teapot Song”.
If it was consistent with Western tropessomeone on the panel would challenge the Teapot Kid to a duel. But, absurdly, this particular cowboy exerts a certain level of intimidation in the hearts of other spectators. No one is ridiculing the Teapot Kid. The contrast with normal western villains makes this panel so funny.
9
“Saturday morning in the garden” revisits the Garden of Eden
This transforms Eden into an external market
Many comic strips feature animals, and The far side relies heavily on them. Gary Larson’s love of nature and the environment led him to depict animals in his comics and give them a voice. Larson also frequently presents original twists on theological themes and images in his work, including many comic strips about God and the Devil.
Most readers know the story of the Garden of Eden, where a serpent convinced Eve to eat forbidden fruit. In this panel, Larson uses his absurdist humor to take this situation further by adding other animals that attempt to trap Adam and Eve with various fruits. This version of Eden twists a well-known tale and escalates it to a level that makes it absurd.
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‘Nine Ways to Serve Venison’ Shows Santa’s Dark Side
Readers now know what happens to the reindeer
The far side generally elicits zany and absurd humor which draws on acceptable levels of comedy but occasionally veers into darker territory. For example, in a Christmas cartoon, Larson depicts Santa Claus at his typewriter, typing “Nine Ways to Serve Venison.” The implication is that Santa has eaten his famous team of flying reindeer (or that he has a ruthless retirement plan for them).
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Of course, many cultures around the world eat deer or even reindeer. But in this case, the deer in question are universally loved characters, especially among children. Their names are often synonymous with the joy of the season. The idea of Santa betraying his faithful companions is extraordinarily dark and unexpected. However, it is this shocking twist that gives this strip its humor.
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“Laughter is the best medicine” makes an idiom literal
But the doctors are wrong
The English language is full of a wide range of idioms. Some of these expressions make sense and come from real experiences. Others are stranger and more difficult to understand. But all of them have literal meanings that can make you smile. A common trope in Far side comics take an English expression and depict it as literal rather than idiomatic.
In one comic strip, a group of doctors gather around a sick patient in a hospital bed. The doctors point to the patient and laugh, with the caption: “Test if laughter IS the best medicine.” Most readers are familiar with this phrase but understand that it is not literal and is not a substitute for actual medicine. But there is another layer in that the expression is aimed at the person laughing, i.e. the sick person. In this panel, it’s the doctors who are laughing, which means they really don’t understand the meaning of the expression.
A hand in one race is a head in another
Gary Larson featured several recurring jokes throughout Far side comics, like talking animals, clever cavemen and silly scientists. Another common theme for The far side they were aliens. Here, first contact goes very poorly, thanks to the fact that the aliens’ heads are shaped like hands. In the farmer’s mind, he only sees that it’s a hand and, being the friendly type, he shakes it.
Often using aliens in his comedic storylines, Larson presents a lens to society that allows readers to observe human customs from an outsider’s perspective, highlighting their latent absurdity. One of Gary Larson’s great talents is using just a few pen lines and a caption to explode preconceptions. This comic is as much about human customs provoking different reactions as it is about an absurd encounter between humans and extraterrestrials.
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‘I didn’t wash my hands’ reveals a man’s secret shame
It lifts the curtain on a particular form of embarrassment
Public embarrassment or humiliation can be truly devastating. In most cases, it is best to avoid putting yourself in situations where the consequences will be mortifying. That said, there are some things that people will get away with, because who really cares anyway? Like peeking into someone else’s medicine cabinet, it takes extreme measures to surprise someone.
In the brilliant comic strip “Didn’t Wash Hands”, Gary Larson creates a nightmare scenario for the character coming out of the bathroom. The restaurant alerts other diners that he did not wash his hands after using the bathroom, revealing his secret shame. As a result, readers can feel both the character’s fear and shame, and probably more than a few people can relate.
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“The chicken of depression” contrasts with the blue bird of happiness
Nobody wants a chicken on their windowsill
The phrase “the blue bird of happiness” refers to the symbolism of the blue bird as a harbinger of happiness and joy. It may reflect that good times are here or that good times are on the way. As such, the Bluebirds have an enduring place in pop culture. So, if the blue bird symbolizes happiness, which bird would symbolize depression?
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In this Far side panel, Larson places a chicken in the human character’s bedroom window, making it a harbinger of depression. Ironically, in the folklore of many cultures, the chicken symbolizes fertility, good fortune and prosperity. Sometimes he is considered a messenger between the living and the dead. But Larson seems to capitalize on the absurdity of the chicken as a common animal used primarily for eating.
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“The bee in the car” makes a common fear absurd
This bee could definitely cause some damage
Many people are afraid of stinging insects, especially bees. However, barring allergies, bee stings are hurtful but generally harmless, and bees are rarely aggressive, making these fears somewhat irrational. Irrational behavior is one of the Gary Larson’s Favorite Topics to Talk About The far sidemaking the event of a neat bee fertile ground for his comics.
In “Bee In The Car,” Larson adds a layer of absurdity to the common fear of bees and the discomfort of knowing one is in the car by making the bee human-sized. In other words, he makes it something people should be afraid of. This change turns an irrational fear into a very rational fear, but the humor comes from the fact that the driver is giving himself the same advice as he would if the bee were small.
2
Curiosity killed the cats
No need for a detective here
“Curiosity Killed The Cats” has all the hallmarks of the best Far side bands. Animals are depicted engaging in human behavior, a common expression is made literal, and human experts push the evidence to the absurd extreme. Add to that Larson’s drawing skills, and this panel is a perfect example of why Far side comics are popular.
Here, the phrase “curiosity killed the cat” takes on its full meaning when the police discover a room full of dead cats who were writing equations and using microscopes. The calm reactions of the police officers, as if the scenario were standard, add an extra dose of humor to the scene. Then add the detective’s pedantic way of unraveling the mystery (straight out of a bad detective novel), and the absurdity is enough to kill the reader with laughter.
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Cows behave “normally” to humans
When they’re gone, it’s a different story
Gary Larson displays his talent as an artist by conveying humor and meaning through a single panel in his Far side comics. He takes this skill even further in some strips by having few or no words, allowing the panel or short series of panels to speak for themselves. This classic Far side the band is a great example of how Larson can do so much with so little.
A common Far side The trope uses cows, which often involves providing them with a rich life that is a secret to humans. In doing so, Larson expresses empathy toward animals and draws attention to the fact that humans do not always understand or see everything that is happening around them – essential lessons for everyone.
The far side
Gary Larson’s The far side is a single-panel comic strip renowned for its offbeat humor and its unconventional approach to everyday life. Featuring bizarre situations, anthropomorphic animals, and quirky characters, the comic delves into surreal and absurd scenarios that challenge typical comic book norms. Often mixing dark humor and insightful commentary, it explores a range of themes from science to society, making readers laugh and think about the absurdities of existence.
- Writer
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Gary Larson
- Editor
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Universal Press Union
- Artist
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Gary Larson