The humor of The Far Side is fundamentally smart, even when it was willfully dumb, and these cartoons, which prominently feature books and readers in one capacity or another, are perfect examples of how author Gary Larson routinely managed to maintain that delicate balancing act, between inherent intelligence, and ingenious stupidity.

Notably, the s collected here should be differentiated from life and work of Stephen King, which The Far Side riffed on repeatedly.

Instead, these cartoons use books as props, whether that means using the library or a setting, or depicting a character’s evening reading time being interrupted by something unexpected, and often spectacular. Whatever the case might be, they are certain to hook the literary-minded and page-turner-loving contingent of The Far Side’s audience.

10 The Far Side Depicts What It's Like When A Book Hounds You To Get To The Next Chapter

First Published: January 3, 1985

The Far Side was more relatable than many people give it credit for, with this comic being a great example, as it captures the feeling every diehard book-lover will be familiar with of staying up way past one's bedtime because they can't put their current read down. Of course, it does so in characteristic Far Side fashion, by depicting the canine equivalent of a thriller novel, with a dog staying up late reading "The Mailman Carried Mace."

All of this is communicated by the simple illustration here, which is why this Far Side cartoon lacks a caption. The title of the book is the punchline, and the recognizable scenario provides all the context the reader needs to get the joke.

9 The Far Side Reminds Artists Not To Skip Any Steps In The Prcoess

First Published: March 13, 1985

"Hold on there, Dale," one man, reading from a book entitled "How To Paint Wildlife" says to his buddy, who is smearing the first streak of a fresh coat of pain on a large wild animal, which looks like a cross between an elk and a buffalo, with the first man adding "it says we should sand between coats," while the animal side-eyes him.

This Far Side cartoon exhibits Gary Larson's frequent technique of over-literalization, and its play on words is certainly amusing; the true humor of the , though, comes from the moment of anticipation that the punchline sets up, one that has no resolution, but instead leaves the reader slightly concerned for everyone involved, both man and beast.

8 Another Far Side Peak Into Animal Literature Elevates An Otherwise Simple Punchline

First Published: December 6, 1985

Captioned "invertebrate practical jokes," this Far Side features a snake wearing a bird-like mask sneaking up on another snake as it sits in an armchair and reads, but what really makes this cartoon funny is what the serpent is reading, which is "The Early Bird Cometh," with the back cover teasing, "it's 4:30 AM and he wants you!"

This is a classic Far Side play on a familiar phrase, one that salvages an otherwise less-than-memorable Gary Larson punchline; in the context of the illustration, the book title and tagline, along with the fact that the comic is set at night, are meant to convey that the snake is extra susceptible to being startled by the prankster in the mask, but in this case, the humor of this extra detail actually overtakes the punchline. In any case, the result is the same, an underrated laugh-out-loud Far Side cartoon.

7 The Far Side Solves The Mystery Behind This Flower Family's Great Tragedy

First Published: December 9, 1985

The strength of this Far Side cartoon is that it operates on several different levels; it takes the familiar practice of preserving flowers by pressing them in the pages of a book and puts a disturbing spin on it, one that has a tragic note to it, mixed with Gary Larson's patented absurdity. Here, a flower sitting down to read is confronted with a horrible truth, with the caption explaining that, "as Harriet turned the page, a scream escaped her lips: there was Donald, his strange disappearance no longer a mystery."

With this joke, Larson evokes the dark idea of a person's spouse or family member vanishing without a trace, only in the most surreal way possible, while also revealing a dark side to something that most readers will take for granted as entirely innocuous.

6 The Far Side Reveals That Every Story Remains Unfinished In Hell

First Published: August 19, 1987

This Far Side cartoon set in hell might not strike a nerve with everyone, but writers and readers alike will certainly feel the pain of this man trapped in hell, trying to find some solace in browsing the underworld's library, only to find every book is labeled "Story Problems."

ittedly, Gary Larson might have gotten a bigger laugh if he had chosen a different phrase to put down the spines of hell's books; alternatively, he might have used the caption to provide a greater degree of context for why this is funny. Literary-types, though, will be able to infer that Larson is saying hell is stocked only with books for people who are having trouble writing books, and so there will be no satisfying plot resolutions to be found in any of these pages.

5 Literary Community Isn't All About Being High Brow, Says The Far Side

First Published: March 22, 1988

This Far Side cartoon riffs on the idea of book clubs and literary events by depicting a "cartoon reading," in which a group of bookworms (though not literally in this case, as one might expect from The Far Side) gather in a book shop, sit in metal folding chairs, and sip coffee as they listen to a woman read "and in the next , the cat says, 'oh boy, here we go again!'"

Despite their widespread appeal, and their underrated level of intelligent humor, comics, especially syndicated newspaper comics like The Far Side, remain underappreciated, and unfortunately, often outright dismissed, in of their legitimate literary value, and Gary Larson shrewdly calls attention to that here, by conflating the world of book readings with the common conception of comic book subject matter.

4 The Far Side Depicts A Pause In The Cat/Dog Rivalry To Research Their Next Moves

First Published: May 27, 1988

This is an example of a Far Side cartoon where the wordplay is actually set-up for a greater punchline. In the , a dog leans up against its doghouse, reading a book entitled "1001 Ways to Skin A Cat," playing off both the familiar formula for "how to" book titles, along with the "skin a cat" idiom.

However, in this case, readers will recognize that the dog intends to do so quite literally, but also that it is not the only creature with violence on its mind, as its presumed feline foe sits high up in a nearby tree with a book of its own, this one called "Why Every Dog Should Be Euthanized." It is a blunt escalation of the classic cat/dog conflict, and a hilarious counterpoint to the canine character's reading material, in this iconic interpretation of this perennial interspecies rivalry.

3 This Far Side Fish Gag Is Lowkey One Of Gary Larson's Greatest Moments Of Brilliance

First Published: May 1, 1991

Far Side fans will likely know that Gary Larson was often dissatisfied with his work, for one reason or another, and given his penchant for stiff self-criticism, it is notable when one comes across a that it seems all-but-certain that the artist must have been satisfied with upon completing it.

That is the case here, in which Larson illustrates an obvious, yet at the same time genius pun on author Salman Rushdie's name, and the name of his infamous novel The Satanic Verses; Larson tweaks this so it is instead "Salmon Rushdie," and "The Atlantic Verses," and it is being read by a large anthropomorphic fish sitting in an armchair. This is an example of a joke that was just waiting for someone to make it, and Gary Larson had the comedic wherewithal to get there first, in what is certainly a vastly underrated moment of genius on The Far Side author's part.

2 The Far Side Reveals The Real Origin Of Modern Literature

First Published: June 28, 1994

Forget the Iliad, forget The Odyssey, with this Far Side comic, Gary Larson takes readers back even further, to the true earliest example of Western literature, by depicting a primordial version of magazines, being read by prehistoric characters in a "primitive waiting room." Again, the joke here is centered around the details of the magazines in question themselves, with one reading "Mammoth Illustrated," while another is "Hominid," a riff on "People."

subtle shout-out to Larson's recurring caveman character Thag.

1 The Far Side Reveals The Perils Of Using The Oldest Phrase In The Book To Flirt

First Published: July 26, 1994

In this late-stage Far Side cartoon, a custodian at the library finally shoots his shot "after years of harboring his secret desires" for the librarian, except when he finally works up the nerve to chat her up, he opens with the line "read any good books lately?" which just seems too on-the-nose considering her profession.

Notably, this Far Side gag is a result of Gary Larson doing the opposite of his normal technique; often, he would take a familiar quote, or colloquial phrase, and render it in a wildly different context than readers would expect; in this case, Larson puts the phrase in a setting where it is overly obvious, rather than unexpected, but ultimately, this has the effect of achieving the same goal. This, along with the secondhand embarrassment many readers will feel for the janitor, make this a memorable Far Side cartoon. ​​​​​​​

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