It has been thirty years since The Far Side ended, and forty-five since it began – and Gary Larson comics have not only stood the test of time, but in many cases, have gotten even funnier with time. This list takes a look back at some memorable s that have only grown in esteem over the years, from the iconic to the underappreciated.

Certainly, some of The Far Side's more topical references – which might have been hit-or-miss even at the time of the cartoon's initial publication – and its more over-the-top references have grown increasingly obscure with age, but many more of Larson's jokes have aged like fine wine.

Exploring the distinction between the two is a great way to learn more about what made The Far Side a fan-favorite, and why its legacy has continued to gain renown in the decades since Larson retired from cartooning in 1995.

10 "My Couch! My Couch!" The Far Side Goes Full Slasher Movie In This Hilarious Late-Career Gary Larson Comic

First Published: November 18, 1994

Published in the final stretch of Gary Larson's career, this comic deserves more attention for being a perfect Far Side . The joke is darkly hilarious, mixing humor and horror in equal measures, while the composition of the illustration ranks among Larson's most fully-realized.

In the cartoon, a woman sits casually drinking coffee, telling guests about the "painting" her son just this afternoon, entitled "It's My Couch! My Couch! Don't they understand?" – with the portrait seeming to actually be a mirror, which shows "Leonard" sneaking up on the unwitting couple with a knife. Completing the punchline is the vague outline of Leonard's shadow poking out of the bottom left corner of the frame, suggesting that these Far Side characters are doomed to suffer for their treses.

9 "God At His Computer": Gary Larson's Reminder That Fate Was Making Cruel Jokes Long Before The Far Side

First Published: September 17, 1991

In this Gary Larson's dark sense of humor garners a lot of attention, because it was key to making The Far Side stand out from its competition in newspaper funny pages, but with this punchline, it is as though Larson is saying that God, or the Universe, or whatever one calls it, has had a wicked sense of humor for far longer than he has.

Visually, this remains a stand-out Far Side cartoon because of the imagery, which straddles the border between iconic and iconoclastic. The illustration of the Lord's finger hovering over the button, as on screen a piano dangles precariously from a rope, imbues the joke with the perfect amount of tension, while still getting a solid laugh.

8 "That Big Button": This Low-Key Highly Relatable Far Side Comic Is Funnier The More Readers Look At It

First Published: February 19, 1988

"One day," the caption of this Far Side comic reads, "Irwin knew he was just going to have to push that big button," as a man with a clipboard stews in the foreground of the frame, with a control full of buttons, including one massive one, fills the rest of the image.

It is a simple, straightforward joke, emphasizing that the most unforgettable Far Side comics were not always the most ambitious, or most high-concept. Here, the humor rests on the visual gag of the oversized button, with Gary Larson banking on the fact that most readers will relate to the character's increasingly overwhelming desire to push the button, simply to find out what it does.

7 "Michelangelo's Father": Gary Larson Makes An Incredibly Familiar Dad Joke

First Published: November 16, 1987

Once again, this Far Side joke is very simple, which allows readers to connect with it immediately – resulting in a more immediate impact than some of Gary Larson's more esoteric punchlines. The bit here is that Michelangelo is in the middle of creating one of the all time greatest works of art in human history, and even he can't avoid the familiar experience of having his father stand at the bottom of the ladder, unhelpfully critiquing his "flesh tones," asking "how much they paying you for this?" and remarking that "back in [his] day, [they'd] finish a ceiling twice as fast."

For anyone with an unnecessarily critical father, this joke hits too close to home, and that is exactly why it has remained a must-read Far Side comic, even as others haven't stood the test of time as gracefully.

6 "What Kind Of Monster Are You?": Popeye Lets The Mask Slip In This Hilarious Far Side Court Scene

First Published: November 10, 1987

In one of the stand-out Far Side pop culture reference from 1987, Popeye is on trial for an unidentified crime – though, whatever it is, it was evidently gruesome enough for the prosecution to label the legendary Sailor "a monster," leading Popeye to slip and tacitly it his culpability by uttering his "I yam what I yam catchphrase."

Popeye continues to be popular to this day, and as a result, this ranks among The Far Side's most recognizable references; in turn, this is what has helped the joke remain timelessly funny. Readers from any generation, of practically any age, will be able to appreciate this punchline, as long as they have a baseline understanding of the Popeye character.

5 "Only Mack Went On To Fame": With The Far Side, Objects Unexpectedly Took On Lives Of Their Own

First Published: April 6, 1987

This Far Side reference might not be as accessible to contemporary readers as the previous entry, but the circuitous route that Gary Larson takes to this musical shout-out remains among the most attention-grabbing, laugh-out-loud funny jokes the author ever crafted. While not the only inanimate objects anthropomorphized by Larson, this is perhaps the shining example.

Based on the famed jazz standard "Mack the Knife," this cartoon envisions his less successful peers, "Bob the Spoon," and "Ernie the Fork," who "wound up in an old silverware drawer," while Mack went on to make a name for himself that would endure for generations. Even readers who don't "get" the reference hold this comic in high regard, and it continues to jump to the top of the queue when fans debate the best Far Side comics of all time.

4 "Bedtime, Leroy": This Woman Isn't The Far Side's Worst Pet Owner, But She's In The Conversation

First Published: December 7, 1984

In this Far Side cartoon, an elderly woman unwittingly tortures her pet bird, covering his cage for the night with an "animal blanket" that features an assortment of carnivores, including a cat, a dog, a snake, and an alligator. This joke is conceptually amusing, and is elevated by the colorful illustration of the ; as with countless Gary Larson drawings, the eyes of the caged bird are meant to draw the reader's attention, and consequently get the biggest laugh.

The Far Side featured many downright reprehensible pet owners over the years, and while this woman might not rank among them, she is definitely not far off, though the trade-off is that readers won't feel bad about having a hearty chuckle at this scenario. There is, after all, something almost tender about her desire to make her pet comfortable, even if it has gone totally awry, in predictably unpredictable Far Side fashion.

3 "I Was Struck By Lightning Twice Too!": This All-Time Great Far Side Joke Still Hits Readers Where It Hurts

First Published: September 8, 1981

This is, without question, one of the most unforgettable that Gary Larson produced during The Far Side's run, and it came early in the cartoon's publication history. Featuring a pair of men convalescing after both surviving the million-to-one improbable shock of being struck by lightning twice, they marvel at meeting one another – just as a massive meteoroid careens into frame to crush them, finishing what the bolts from the blue started.

Again, the visual and the caption are in perfect harmony with this Far Side cartoon, representing the highest form of success that Larson's creative formula for the comic could possibly achieve. The joke itself, meanwhile, captures the sense that there is nothing fair about fate; whatever era people engage with this punchline in, it is almost guaranteed to elicit a solid laugh-out-loud reaction. Ask readers to close their eyes and conjure to mind the first Far Side they can think of, and for many, this will be at the top of the list.

2 "I Think They're Through": This Far Side Comic Says It The Meek Won't Inherit The Earth, But Insects Will

First Published: November 19, 1980

This cartoon represents many of The Far Side's jokes about nuclear war; while Gary Larson's Cold War fears might not resonate the same way they did in the 1980s, that isn't to say they perhaps shouldn't. In other words, there is nothing outdated about concerns over humanity's potential for self-destruction, whether that comes as the result of an atomic exchange, or some other horrible human foible.

Here, two insects crawl out from amongst the wreckage of "Main Street," with the mushroom clouds from nuclear detonations still looming in the horizon, to proclaim "I think they're through," as they prepare to be elevated up the food chain, with the elimination of Earth's dominant species at their own hands.

1 "Go": The Far Side Puts A Perennial Question To Rest With An Unexpected Answer

First Published: August 4, 1980

This Far Side doesn't need a caption to get its joke across, which is part of why it remains effortlessly funny to this day. In the comic, a tortoise and a hare line up for a race, and while common wisdom holds that the rabbit's hubris will lead to an unexpected victory for the turtle, Gary Larson dispenses with this moral lesson entirely by having an "Ace Moving Company" truck squash both competitors as it speeds by.

It is a nasty, brutish, and short punchline, the kind that The Far Side excelled at, and once again, anyone who understands the classic "Tortoise and Hare" tale can recognize why this joke is funny – which, in the forty-five years since its publication, has continued to earn it the distinction of being an all-time great Far Side cartoon, one which continues to get funnier with age.