The Far Side became legendary for its out-of-this-world perspective on the foibles of human existence, with Gary Larson's comics often carrying the underlying message that life on Earth was a big cosmic joke. Time and again, Larson's punchlines reminded readers that the universe was laughing at them, not with them.

The humor of The Far Side often involved a degree of alienation – an effect Larson achieved repeatedly throughout the years by using other recurring character types and elements that upended readers' conception of things.

At times, this included taking an extraterrestrial view of Earth itself, or otherwise, crafting s that prompted readers to ruminate on the truly startling scope and grandeur of existence in comparison to themselves.

10 From The Start Of The Far Side, Gary Larson Was Interested In Asking The Big Questions

First Published: July 9, 1980

Before Gary Larson ventured into outer space itself with The Far Side, he had already established that the comic's cosmology was one in which the beings of Earth playe just a small – some would say insignificant – role in the grand scheme of things. Here, two ants sit on a mushroom, staring up at the stars, as one notes that the vastness of space leads them to "feel sort of small and insignificant."

Humans and ants are never more comparable than when discussing space and its infinite reaches, and this Far Side astutely encapsulates that, emphasizing that on the scale of the entire universe, there is actually no discernible different between the smallest insect life and the most prosperous humans.

9 Gary Larson Had The World Of The Far Side On A String

First Published: October 4, 1980

In this classic early Far Side astronaut , two space explorers get into orbit only to make a disconcerting discovery – the planet Earth is actually a balloon, attached to a string, leading to who knows where. Hilariously, one turns to the other and says, "Listen. I think we better keep this quiet."

One of the fundamental precepts of The Far Side's humor was the idea of discovering that the world was not as readers expected it; this cartoon helped set the precedent for Gary Larson's style, by executing that idea in a wholly literal way. As time went on, Larson crafted more esoteric iterations of this premise, but because this joke is hard to miss, this remains one of the most unforgettable Far Side comics.

8 Humanity Was Little More Than A Light Snack In Far Side's Cosmic Buffet

First Published: February 27, 1982

The Far Side's aliens didn't have a monolithic opinion of the Earth; some considered it a nice place to visit, while others held a disdainful opinion of humanity. That said, the closest to a universal position on the planet as Gary Larson's extraterrestrials could be said to have is that it was a backwater, a relatively unimportant stop on a tour of the Milky Way galaxy.

In more than one case, Larson depicted Earth as the equivalent of a fast food t – with the implication in this Far Side cartoon being that the bite to eat these aliens are about to grab will be an Earthling or two. In other words, rather than a new species to make first with, humankind are little more than a snack.

7 More Than Once, Gary Larson Envisioned A Spectacular & Tragic Ending For Planet Earth

First Published: October 5, 1982

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Gary Larson frequently depicted the end of the world, and some of his best "Armageddon" cartoons took an outside perspective on humanity's self-destruction. This is the premiere example of that, as this Far Side cartoon features a group of aliens watching in awe as the Earth erupts in a spectacular explosion, mushroom clouds from nuclear bombs blossoming across the globe.

Larson's Cold War anxieties are subtly evident here, as the explosions seem to correspond to North America and what was, at the time, the Soviet Union. More than just a product of fear, however, this Far Side in particular comes across as a subtle expression of anger at the very idea that humanity could endanger itself on a civilization scale with atomic weapons.

6 The Far Side Reveals The "Half-Baked" Nature Of Life On Earth

First Published: November 23, 1985

Some of Far Side s depicting God, which some readers complained were sacriligious. However, rather than lampooning religion, Larson instead used the popular conception of the Christian Almighty to put a familiar face on his cosmic humor. Rather than poking fun at believers, in other words, the author teased the abstract idea of a creator diety itself.

This is perhaps the most potent example of that, as God takes a steaming Earth out of the oven, while thinking to himself, "something tells me this thing's only half-baked." Few other Far Side cartoons so effectively convey the idea that there is something off, imperfect, or otherwise rushed about the very nature of existence itself, whether it was created or evolved naturally.

5 These Far Side Aliens Plowed Through Earth's Front Yard As An Afterthought

First Published: July 13, 1986

Returning to the idea of Earth as a detour, this Far Side extraterrestrial comic is captioned, "alien student drivers," and features a flying sauer that has made a perilous by Earth. This makes fun of a familiar human situation – teenagers learning to drive, and the terror that ensues – but by using aliens to achieve that end result, the byproduct is that Gary Larson offers another reminder that humanity is part of the punchline to the rest of the universe.

Larson's sense of humor resultred in different layers that many his jokes operated on, and the different elements that he used were calibrated to evoke different responses from his readers. As is the case here, when aliens appeared in The Far Side, the idea was to capture a sense of wonder, as well as elicting laughter.

4 Gary Larson Contrasts The Wonder Of Space & The Space Between Humans' Ears

First Published: November 6, 1987

This Far Side contrasts the wonder of the universe with the vapid nature of the human experience – in what is possibly one of Gary Larson's most blunt declarations of his feelings about humanity. Captioned, "a full moon and an empty head" the depicts exactly that: a vibrant full moon in the top right corner of the frame, while in the bottom left, a man stares out of an apartment window with a goofy, absent-minded look on his face.

Interestingly, there seems to be an "ignorance is bliss" subtext to this joke; the man with the "empty head" is smiling, taking in the sight of the moon – but the trade-off for this serenity is that he is not taking this lunar view as a pretext to think too deeply about his role in the cosmos.

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3 The Biblical Origin Of Humanity, Far Side Style

First Published: April 9, 1988​​​​​​​

In this Far Side cartoon, Gary Larson reinterprets the Bibilical origin of humanity, in his own signature style. Captioned "mankind arrives on Earth," Adam and Eve are depicted tumbling to the planet's surface after being spit out by God, as a voice from the clouds says, "I'm sorry sir, I don't know how they got in your soup!"

The humor of this comes from subverting the Adam/Eve story in a way that makes the first humans a nuisance, inadvertantly discarded on Earth, rather than having been carefully and lovingly crafted by the divine. Here, humanity is firmly the crux of the punchline, which has ontological implications for how Larson viewed humanity's role in creation. That is to say, Larson seemed to consider humans irritants, rather than inheritors of the Earth.

2 One Giant Leap For Mankind, One More Minor Nuisance For This Alien Janitor

First Published: June 12, 1988

Here, Gary Larson depicts a giant purple custodian cleaning up the moon – which includes spearing the U.S.'s left behind lunar landing module like any piece of space trash. Without need for a caption, this Far Side perfectly expresses Larson's perspective on how humanity fits into the cosmic pecking order.

Akin to the earlier "Ants Stargazing" cartoon, this Far Side cartoon plays with perspective in order to achieve great comedic effect. More than just perspective in the image though, here Larson throws a wrench into readers' perspective of humanity's relative prominence. Not only are the remnants of the greatest technological achievement in world history nothing more than trash to this alien, they are tiny, and easily disposed of.

1 "A Sprinkling Of Jerks": The Far Side Confirms The Joke Is On Us

First Published: July 22, 1994

Here, Gary Larson revisits the premise of God as a cook, this time adding spice to the Earth, thinking "..and just to make it interesting..." as he sprinkles a healthy dosage of jerks on the planet. Again, this Far Side cartoon uses the image of God as a manifestation of the cosmic unknown; that is, the joke seemingly stems from Larson questioning the inequities and conflicts of human life, and then imagining a force, deity or otherwise, doing that for its own amusement.

In this sense, this is the ultimate "the universe is laughing at humanity, not with humanity" Far Side – as why God would want to make the Earth "interesting" rather than "perfect" is, like the classic question of good and evil, beyond human comprehension.