1994 was the last year of The Far Side, concluding a fourteen-year run in publication that astounded and confounded readers, providing countless laughs and provoking endless iterations of the question, "What the?" As was the cause throughout the cartoon's run, the final year of Far Side cartoons was as full of wonderfully strange moments as ever.

Creator Gary Larson retired at the start of 1995, after "pull the plug" on The Far Side, the end was still a disappointing surprise to legions of fans, one that left readers with many unanswered questions.

It is fair to say that Larson went out at the top of his game; The Far Side was evolving in 1994, but what it might have become is a matter that Gary Larson devotees can only speculate about.

12 The Far Side Chewed Up & Spit Out Countless Characters During Its Run

First Published: January 18, 1994

Far Side, January 18, 1994, a room full of pens is alarmed when a chewed pencil walks in

The Far Side was a rough place to exist – the cartoon's cast of characters were as likely to fall victim to tragedy as hilarious fits of irony, simple wordplay could lead to death or disfigurement, and perhaps worst of all, its characters could at times be incredibly judgmental.

Case in point, this cartoon, in which two anthropomorphized pens at a bar look askance at "a chewed-up No. 2 pencil" as he walks in the door, a goofy smile and googly eyes on his face. Larson leaves it to the reader to ponder the class distinctions between fountain pens and used pencils, but the cartoon reflects just enough of a familiar human scenario that readers can situate themselves in the humor of the , though many instead will find themselves asking "What the?"

11 Sometimes Even Obvious Far Side Jokes Might Confuse Readers At First

First Published: February 4, 1994

Far Side, February 4, 1994, 'strawbrothers' a group of scarecrows in a field

"Strawbrothers" has gained a reputation as one of Gary Larson's strangest late-era Far Side cartoons, largely because its punchline is slyly left for the reader to infer. Once more, Larson brings inanimate objects to life, as three scarecrows are depicted in a field, as two of them seemingly pressure the third into swapping straw, at which point, they will "all be strawbrothers."

A play on the "blood brothers" ritual, even readers familiar with the concept often find themselves flummoxed, at first, by this punchline. Far Side comics often reveal themselves to readers upon closer examination, but Larson's goal was to evoke an immediate reaction, and so it is important to catalog when confusion precedes clarity in engaging with individual Far Side s.

10 When A Far Side's Joke Is Too Obvious, Readers Might Find Themselves Asking "What The?"

First Published: March 11, 1994

Far Side, March 11, 1994, a school bus full of cows on a 'basic field trip'

Some cows, Far Side's most reliable characters, take a tour through various fallow meadows, with their guide explaining that "next spring, this will all be green and lush."

From the first Far Side cartoon to the last, one reliable type of "What the?" response was: "What the? Why is this funny?" There isn't much more to "get" about this comic than its surface level premise, making it similar to the infamous "Cow Tools" , with the humor of the cartoon not necessarily leaping off the page at readers.

9 Classic Far Side Wordplay Is Rendered In Strange, Hilarious Form

First Published:​​​​​​​ April 28, 1994​​​​​​​

Far Side, April 28, 1994, a factory worker with a second head is looked at by his coworkers

"He's got a good head on his shoulders," the foreman at a factory tells a new employee about his coworker, Mueller, who has a second head growing out of his right shoulder, "but best not to mention it." This is an example of The Far Side's penchant for absurdist literalizations, as here, Gary Larson takes a familiar idiom and depicts it at face value, to great comedic effect.

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By 1992, The Far Side's reputation for obscure humor was well established, and Gary Larson continued to expertly deliver inexplicable punchlines.

For Far Side readers, an immediate "What the?" reaction didn't preclude laughter, as the details of this – particularly the eyes of Mueller, and his second head, in contrast to the ocular opacity of the other characters, a classic Gary Larson trick – will certainly strike readers as funny, while the very idea of it will be met with incredulity.​​​​​​​

8 A Unique Far Side Family Is Faced With A Difficult Conversation

First Published: May 5, 1994​​​​​​​

Far Side, May 5 1994, centaur parents try to explain to their fully human son why he is the way he is

Far Side cartoons were frequently remixes and mash-ups of different elements; Gary Larson might, for example, take a contemporary pop culture reference and mix it with a historical anecdote, or combine a high-brow scientific concept with a low-brow comedic gag. Sometimes, this amounted to a deliberate clash of tones – in this case, the real and the surreal.

In this , a young man listens as his parents explain that "to understand what happened, you have to first understand that back in the '60s, we were all taking a lot of drugs," a very real conversation that a teenager in the early 1990s might have with their parents – except in this Far Side , the parents are centaurs, conflating actual fantasy with very true-to-life family dynamics.

7 One Thing Far Side Readers Can Say For Sure About Gary Larson: He Watched A Lot Of Movies

First Published: June 1, 1994

Far Side, June 1, 1994, astronauts discover the moon is made out of paper

The Far Side was full of movie references over the years; some are still immediately obvious to this day, while some have become more obscure over time. That is the case with this , in which two astronauts tear at the lunar surface, discovering that it is "only a paper moon," in what is seemingly a reference to the 1973 film by Peter Bogdonovich.

The Far Side Complete Collection Book Set
The Far Side Complete Collection
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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. 

Once more, this is an example of Gary Larson's ability to find humor in literalization, as well as his tendency to derive punchlines from "What if?" questions – in this case, "what if the moon turned out to actually be paper?" Still, even for readers who get the reference, the fact that this prompted Larson's illustration will surprise some readers, especially those who are expecting more from it.

6 Check Out "The Big Brain" On This Far Side Cheetah Victim

First Published: July 19, 1994​​​​​​​

Far Side, July 19, 1994, a cheetah poses for a photo with a man it has killed

In this grisly Far Side cartoon, a pair of large predatory cats have killed a human on safari, with one now posing with the body as the other snaps a photograph. "That's just not impressive, Doris..." the photograph complains, as the killer cat in question pries open the dead human's mouth, in the same way big game hunters do to their kind – instead, the speaker insists Doris go one step further, and "hold up the big brain!"

The details of this Far Side comic make it one of Gary Larson's darkest, at least from 1994, and that in itself will hit readers before it necessarily strikes them as funny, resulting in a "What the?" or even a "My god!" reaction before the macabre comedy of the impresses itself upon the reader.

5 Gary Larson Had A Knack For Combining The Serious And The Very Unserious

First Published: August 11, 1994​​​​​

Far Side, August 11, 1994, union workers suffering from effects of radiation confront management

This Far Side cartoon uses deliberately terrible art to strong comedic effect, but the way it contrasts that with the seriousness of the punchline's premise – workers from the "Plutonium Trucker's Union" being exposed to the harmful effects of radiation, resulting in all manner of mutations – will give many readers pause before they let a whisper of amusement escape their lips.

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The Far Side's "Out of Order" Comic (Both Versions) Is the Perfect Illustration Of Gary Larson's Chaotic Creative Mind

Gary Larson's "Out of Order" comic, published in 1988, perfectly illustrated of how the business of creating The Far Side wore him down over time.

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In this way, however, this Far Side perfectly exemplifies the way Gary Larson routinely mixed gravity and levity to achieve a dynamic that rarely failed to have an impact on readers, whether that was making them smile, frown, or gasp in surprise. This comic skillfully aims for a blend of all three, grabbing readers with both its image and its caption and refusing to let go.

4 The Far Side Was Always The Story Of The Odd Bear Out

First Published: September 15, 1994

Far Side, September 15, 1994, black bears on vacation are eyed suspiciously by polar bears

A Far Side theme was the idea of standing out in a crowd, or being set apart from one's peers – as is aptly illustrated by Gary Larson using bears in this cartoon, with a pair of black bears on vacation in the Arctic trying not to stand out as "tourists" among the local polar bears by eating regional cuisine the wrong way.

"Don't eat the flippers, Zeke," the bear wife onishes her husband, and while it might perplex some readers at first, considering it in the context of Larson's perennial status as an artist and cultural outsider makes this a metaphorically potent Far Side cartoon, once the initial confusion is pushed past.

3 Gary Larson Depicts Survival Of The Fittest, Far Side Style

First Published: October 11, 1994

Far Side, October 11, 1994, a man tells his son their neighbors deserved to be eaten by wild animals

In this Far Side comic, a father and son peer over their fence as wild animals overrun their neighbor's house, with the dad telling his kid, "I know you miss the Wainwrights, they were weak and stupid people...and that's why we have wolves and other large predators."

The Far Side was frequently dark, but it's humor was rarely this harsh; while the unexpected bluntness of the father's words might elicit a jolt of nervous laughter from readers, many will have an initial reaction of dismay at how mercilessly Gary Larson dispatches his human characters here, and the unexpectedly Darwinian philosophy that the dad imparts as if it is matter-of-fact wisdom.