Gary Larson's idiosyncratic brand of comedy.
Larson's zoo humor and his museum jokes are stylistically similar; with each, he frequently flipped the purpose of these places, often populating them with strange, unexpected subjects.
The Far Side's zoo cartoons offer a unique angle on reflect his interests in anthropology, history and sociology. In other words, Larson lampooned zoos and museums in a way that indicated his intelligence and intellectual ions, even if the end result on the page ultimately tended to be very silly.
10 This Far Side Snake Handler Has Reached His Limit
First Published: May 28, 1982
This features the unfortunate "Ernie Schwartz," a snake handler who suffers the onset of "a cumulative attack of the willies" – packing twenty-three years of unease at serpents into a single moment, as he backs himself into a corner and quakes with absolute terror.
Snakes were a favorite of Gary Larson, making frequent Far Side appearances, with this one being particularly funny at both the level of its premise, and its execution. Visually, the illustration of Ernie in the grip of an avalanche of fear is strikingly amusing, while conceptually, the idea of being suddenly struck by decades of a "cumulative" feeling – especially fear – is evocative. Larson effectively extracts the humor from it here, thanks in large part to the "snakehouse" setting, as many readers will relate to Ernie's "willies."
9 Gary Larson Gives New Meaning To The Idea Of A "Children's Zoo"
First Published: May 25, 1987
With some of the best Far Side s, it almost seemed like the punchline was just waiting there until the right comedian came along to make it, and Gary Larson was often precisely that artist. Of course, the idea of a "children's zoo" is one geared toward children – yet the joke of a zoo that contains children is an obvious one to make, and Larson illustrates it flawlessly here.
Far Side's Gary Larson On the Difference Between the First Cow He Drew & the Last
According to Gary Larson, readers who want to develop and understanding of how his artistic style progressed have to look no further than his cows.
It is a simple, yet delightfully effective , as a trench-coat wearing observer stands idly near the wall of the enclosure, watching as a trio of kids play across the artificial landscape. Certainly, this stands a chance of prompting perplexed readers to shout "What-the?", as many Far Side cartoons did, but the joke is so straightforward that it will be a response of incredulity at the very premise.
8 This Hints At The Idea Of Museums On The Far Side Of The Universe
First Published: November 15, 1987
Rather than a location, this Far Side cartoon uses the idea of the zoo as its punchline. In the cartoon, a boy and his dog hide behind a tree and watch as aliens with large nets capture specimens to bring back to their flying saucer – only for Jake, the dog, to blow their cover by barking, leading him and his owner to "[share] a small but interesting diorama in the Venutian Natural History Museum."
Gary Larson frames the image as a single moment in time, while using the caption to explain the end result of that moment. It is a deliberate creative decision that gives this comic a dynamic feeling, as the humor also includes a note of tension, as readers recognize that the Earthling protagonists are about to be captured.
7 The Far Side Offers A Strange Glimpse Of The Future
First Published: February 13, 1988
In one of the The Far Side's many trenchcoat-wearing men as he observes the skeleton of a television, with the bones of a refrigerator and vacuum cleaner against the opposite wall behind him.
Gary Larson often anthropomorphized animals, as well as inanimate objects – yet embodying them with life is one thing, while imagining that they have the internal structures of living vertebrate creatures is an entirely different level of strange. Still, there is something about it that tickles the funny bone, so to speak, with the absurdity of the cartoon adding to its humor, rather than obscuring it.
6 During The Far Side's Run, No One Could Beat Gary Larson At His Own Game
First Published: October 16, 1988
Captioned, "In the Hall of Beets," this downright surreal Far Side cartoon features a museum that substitutes enormous beets for dinosaur skeletons, as a teacher tours her students around the massive vegetables, explaining that "Fifty million years ago, these giant creatures ruled the land, the sea, and the sky...it was the 'Age of Beats."
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can't 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.
How Gary Larson arrived at the idea of swapping beets for dinosaurs – themselves frequent Far Side fodder – is one of the many mysterious of his strange and wonderful mind, but the effect on the reader can be essentially described a form of astonishment. Just as an actual history museum can provoke a sense of wonder in the visitor, this Far Side museum joke will leave them amazed at its absurdity.
5 This Far Side Elephant Is Never Going Back To The Zoo
First Published: September 3, 1993
Elephants were a common sight in The Far Side, and here, Gary Larson envisions a pachyderm recounting its elaborate plot to escape from the Cleveland Zoo and return to "his native India," which it miraculously pulled off. Once again, Larson makes a highly effective joke about a zoo, without actually using it as the joke's primary location.
Of all The Far Side's zoo jokes, this one also perhaps best encapsulates Gary Larson's naturalist sentiments; Larson extrapolates the punchline here from the idea that most animals, especially large wildlife such as elephants, would be much better suited in their natural habitats, rather than artificial enclosures. In other words, rather than directly spoofing the zoo, the artist crafted a joke that would potentially prompt readers to think more about the ethical implications of such institutions.
4 This Wax Museum Contains The Opposite Of Celebrity Sculptures
First Published: September 7, 1993
This Far Side cartoon, set at the "Insurance Agent Wax Museum," seemingly derives from the idea of a museum devoted to the ordinary, rather than the exceptional. Featuring various people gawking at figures of men holding forms and briefcases, the true humor of this , like many Gary Larson illustrations, is contained in the facial expressions of the museum attendees.
The people wandering the museum, particularly the man with his son in the foreground, are depicted with mouths agape, looking up at the wax insurance salesman figures with the same kind of amazement that would befit actual historical artifacts – or even giant beets – but wouldn't necessarily be associated with the otherwise mundane profession that has been enshrined here.
3 Gary Larson Reveals The Terrible Cost Of Being A Veterinarian At The Zoo
First Published: January 19, 1994
Once again, Gary Larson uses the zoo as part of the joke here – though in this case, as part of the joke's set-up, rather than its punchline. The features a professor welcoming the class's "guest lecturer" for the day, "Dr. Clarence Tibbs," explaining that he is there to discuss his autobiography "Zoo Vet – I Quit!"
Gary Larson its His Biggest Regret in Far Side History
According to Gary Larson, a seemingly innocuous error of omission from a classic Far Side cartoon actually haunted him well into retirement.
As Dr. Tibbs takes the stage, readers will notice his eye-patch, hook-hand, and peg-leg, giving him more in common with writers Larson portrayed over the years. The joke is again rotted in the idea that zoos are unnatural, though the emphasis is on the fact that Dr. Tibbs has finally called it a career after two decades of suffering egregious injuries as part of his profession.
2 Security Is No Joke "At The Dog Museum"
First Published: April 19, 1994
Certainly, this is one of The Far Side's funniest museum jokes. In the cartoon, two canine security guards flank a bone encased in glass, which rests under a sign proclaiming, "the perfect stick" – with one of the guards having to shoo away an approaching onlooker, telling the dog, "that's close enough, fella."
While many of Gary Larson's museum punchlines poke fun at museums in general, this one highlights a specific part of the museum experience – that is, either intentionally or inadvertently getting too close to the exhibit. By making the characters here dogs, standing in awe as they gaze upon "the perfect stick," Larson offers a pitch-perfect rendition of this experience, warped through his characteristic filter.
1 Don't Everybody Rush To The "Cowboy Wax Museum" At Once
First Published: August 23, 1994
In this , Gary Larson revisits the "Wax Museum" premise, and delivers an even funnier incarnation of the joke – this time at the "Cowboy Wax Museum," as two Wild West characters stand in front of "the stampede with cleats" exhibit, featuring a herd of cows wearing the spiked shoes rushing forward against a lightning-filled sky.
The detail work here is what makes this cartoon especially funny; in addition to signs for other exhibits, notably "sheep ranchers from hell," the looks on the cows faces, and the face of one of the cowboys standing in front of the exhibit, help to draw readers into this cartoon, elevating it from an amusing premise to a outright hilarious final form. In that sense, it is perhaps Gary Larson's greatest museum joke in The Far Side's history.
- Writer
- Gary Larson
- Colorist
- Gary Larson
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.
