The Far Side is infamous for its dark humor, but fans of the cartoon will know that creator Gary Larson's darkness came in different shades, depending on the panel. While some of his comics were outright shocking, others obscured just how bleak their punchlines actually were under a layer of absurdity, or even outright silliness.
This list celebrates the Far Side panels that take a moment to hit readers; while they might not evoke an immediate shout of “My god!,” the stark, and at times even caustic humor of these comics is what leaves a lasting impact on readers.
That is, the darkness of these cartoons is what Far Side fans will be thinking about hours later, even after the joke itself has faded from memory. In this sense, they rank among the most relevant to Gary Larson's legacy as an artist, even if they don't have the reputation of some others.
10 This Cartoon Embodies The Far Side's "No Braking" Philosophy Toward Criticism
First Published: January 26, 1981
Riffing on the popular "I Brake For _________" bumper sticker trend, this simple, but surprisingly dark Far Side cartoon features a car on the road with an "I Don't Brake" bumper sticker instead, suggesting that this driver would just as happily run someone down, if they were crossing the road, as stop to let them pass.
Beyond that, however, the bumper sticker suggests a deeply misanthropic character, one whose alienation from the people around him is near-total. In any case, this early Far Side cartoon is also notable for the way it reflects Gary Larson's approach to criticism and controversy surrounding his work – that is, always keep moving forward, and don't slow down for anybody else's opinion of his work, aside from his editors, and his own.
9 The Far Side's Success Came From Frequently Mixing Taboo Topics & Fanciful Humor
First Published: March 24, 1982
This Far Side cartoon sticks out in many readers' minds as a potent example of Gary Larson's keen artistic ability to layer his humor; that is, there is a lighthearted quality to this panel, but it belies a grave punchline. The cartoon features two angry parents berating the witch they hired to babysit their kids for "cook[ing] and [eating] them instead."
The humor of this comic stems, in large part, from the disconnect between the parents' reaction – depicted standing hands-on-hips and looking irate, but not abjectly horrified at their childrens' gruesome deaths – and how the reader themselves would react. There is a level of absurdity in the fact that they hired the witch in the first place, but nevertheless, there is a tragic, shocking vein to this Far Side premise.
8 Sometimes, The Far Side's Obscure Humor Covered Up Its Dark Reality
First Published: March 15, 1983
This Far Side cartoon has a reputation for being difficult to decipher at first glance – at least, until readers recognize the heart-shaped locket that has dropped from a cube of compressed metal at "Al's Metal Compacting" yard, leading them to scrutinize the cube itself more closely, where they can make out the pulverized form of the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz.
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This Early Far Side Comic Was "Cow Tools" Months Before "Cow Tools" Was Published
"Cow Tools" is widely considered the most infamous Far Side comic, but few fans remember Gary Larson made a nearly identical joke months prior.
The brutal death of a beloved pop culture figure is a macabre premise for a punchline, but Gary Larson "buries the lede," so to speak. In other words, it takes a beat for this joke to register with many readers, but when it finally does, it packs all the more of a punch.
7 Far Side Comics Were All About The Moment, Not The Lasting Implications
First Published: November 6, 1984
This wordless Far Side panel features a poodle standing in the street, looking at the prone body of King Kong – who has just crushed the dog's owner, its leash still stuck beneath the massive ape. It is the kind of Far Side joke that is best chuckled at and moved on from, because to dwell on it for too long is certain to make any dog-owner melancholy.
By its nature as a single-panel cartoon, as a general rule – one that naturally, Gary Larson did manage to break – The Far Side depicted single moments in time, but some carried the suggestion of longer-term resonance than others. That is, readers can readily conjure tragedy from this joke, by thinking on how the poodle doesn't understand what happened to its owner, nor why it will never see them again.
6 This Far Side Cowboy Joke Highlights Gary Larson's Attitude Toward Questions About His Work
First Published: February 10, 1986
This hilariously dark Far Side cowboy cartoon depicts one resident of an Old West town who has just gunned another man down in the street – and is now shouting trivia questions at the corpse, including "who wrote the 'The Odyssey' and 'The Iliad'?" and "What's the circumference of the Earth?" All the while, a bystander shouts in dismay that "you can't shoot first and ask questions later."
The surface level obviousness of the punchline belies the use of cold-blooded murder as part of the joke's premise – a Far Side staple – but beyond that, astute readers will recognize a hint of Gary Larson's own perspective on his work. That is, he wanted his cartoons to have an immediate impact on readers, and then for them to start asking questions after the fact; or preferably, for Larson, not at all.
5 It's All Fun And Games Until The Nerdy Kid Pulls Out The Hot Iron
First Published: November 7, 1986
Despite the smile on The Far Side's familiar nerdy kid's face here, he's up to no good, as he brands the ants from his ant farm with a flaming-hot iron. This is a dark joke, with upsetting connotations, but once again, Gary Larson uses certain techniques to off-set the abrasive quality of the punchline.
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The Far Side Complete Collection
$71 $125 Save $54
Fans of the far side can't pass up this master collection of Gary Larson's finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
In this case, Larson crafts the image to be surface-level cheery – setting the action against an unusually bright, yellow backdrop – while the use of ants as the subjects of the nerdy kid's cruel and unusual punishment allows for the branding itself to be scaled down. Readers will have to look closely to see the "R" for "Robby" on each of the ants' backs, and only belatedly will most realize just how cynical of a joke this actually is.
4 The Far Side Reminds Readers To Double-Check Their Fallout Shelters Are Fully Stocked
First Published: December 16, 1986
Of all the comic's recurring themes, The Far Side's nuclear armageddon jokes are perhaps its bleakest by default. Yet if just one can be chosen to represent this whole category here, it is this one, once again, because the grim long-term fallout of the joke can be surmised.
There is the literal fallout from the atomic bombs going off on the surface, of course, but the true darkness of the cartoon is that its characters have safely made it into their bomb shelter, only to face slow, excruciating death by starvation because the man, Harold, didn't heed his wife's advice to "make sure that bomb shelter's got a can opener." In other words, this punchline is Gary Larson at his most gleefully cruel, evoking both a big laugh, as well as overt empathy for the characters, at the same time.
3 Death Was All Fun And Games To Gary Larson – Especially When It Came To The Far Side's Hunters
First Published: November 13, 1987
As far as The Far Side ever presented a bias, it was against hunters, and in favor of their prey. This panel is one example of many Far Side cartoons where hunters got their comeuppance, at least from the perspective of the animals they targeted. In this case, one of Gary Larson's ubiquitous ursine characters ties a dead hunter to his body in a desperate bid to get a laugh from its peers, as the caption informs readers that "Bernie's sense of humor was rarely appreciated."
Interestingly, both the bear's name, and the joke's concept, strangely presage the beloved 1989 comedy Weekend at Bernies. Though it might go too far to suggest that the film's premise was lifted from Larson's work, it is a notable example of a time that he predicted pop culture, rather than reacting to it.
2 This Ranks Up There As One Of The Far Side's "Edgiest" Jokes
First Published: April 4, 1991
The Far Side was no stranger to violence, but there is something particularly abrasive about a "shooting spree" joke – even if the shooter in this cartoon is, in fact, a squirrel. What is particularly striking about this panel is the way the frame is littered with bodies, innocent victims of the "squirrel gun," as two police officers take cover and try to get a clear line-of-sight on the squirrel shooter, who is "on the birch tree, second branch from top, and chattering away like crazy."
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This Dark Recurring Far Side Joke Charts How Gary Larson's Humor Evolved Over Time
One joke that Gary Larson repeated a handful of times early in The Far Side's run exhibits the ways his idiosyncratic humor morphed over time.
With this cartoon, Gary Larson takes his humor right up to the boundary of poor taste – and deliberately so, as for better or worse, the joke relies on the dissonance between its grim reality and its over-the-top absurdity in order to evoke a strong reaction from readers, as The Far Side was always intended to do.
First Published: June 22, 1993
It might be hyperbolic to call this Far Side cartoon morally complex, but it does offer a plausible self-defense explanation for a crime that has just happened – except in ridiculous Far Side fashion, that crime is "Ol' Jeb Halloway," being vaporized after tormenting an alien at the local saloon by "stickin' his head in one of the critter's orifices and yellin' 'Jimmy crack corn!"
Combining Gary Larson's love of aliens with his common use of cowboys, this cartoon is out-of-this-world funny, but it also underscores the author's pessimistic view of humanity. That is, were aliens really to arrive on Earth, at any point in its history – past, present, or future – some human beings would not be able to stop themselves from antagonizing the visitors, a truth that The Far Side brilliantly renders with one of its most underrated jokes.
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The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
English (US) ·