One classic Far Side recurring joke focused on the final moments before death and disaster struck its characters, often without them realizing it, in what amounted to Gary Larson's warped way of reminding his readers that every moment is precious, and to appreciate life while they have it, because it could be taken away in the weirdest and most unexpected way at any time.

The Far Side's style of humor regularly relied on a healthy dose of irony, and that often meant introducing characters to the audience at the moment preceding catastrophe, thrusting readers into the position of knowing a character is doomed, at times before they did, and laughing at their fate.

This led to many s that stand the test of time as classic Far Side cartoons, which captured the comic's high-wire balancing act of navigating between dark humor, and the downright silly side of Larson's comedic sensibilities.

10 Prelude To A Piranha Attack; Inside The Far Side's Plan To Inflict Pain On Its Characters

First Published: November 14, 1980

In this fan-favorite Far Side cartoon, a troop of hunters wades through a river, holding this equipment up above the water to keep it dry, while neglecting to consider the dangers lurking below the surface, such as a group of piranha planning to attack their ankles and exposed legs.

What makes this an exemplary Far Side comic? In this case, it is the expert use of perspective, in both the comedic and artistic sense. That is, the 's even split between the action above and below water, coupled with the use of the piranha as the cartoon's POV characters, rather than focusing on the humans, combines to make this impending vicious wildlife attack into a chuckle-inducing moment of levity.

9 A Poorly Planned But Perfectly Executed Far Side Prison Break

First Published: July 21, 1981

In another memorable Far Side , a group of prisoners, in classic black-and-white stripes, tunnel their way out of the penitentiary, and it seems to them like they're on the verge of achieving their freedom as the lead digger shouts that he "just felt the first drop of rain," while the reader knows the grim truth: they are about to tunnel through the ocean floor, leading to a gruesome death by drowning for everyone involved.

Gary Larson's use of irony is particularly grim here, as the escapees' moment of triumph is nullified by the reader's advanced knowledge of their imminent fate. While some Far Side comics are certainly more surface-level dark, this one is particularly existentially unsettling, given the disparity of feelings it manages to evoke.

8 The Far Side's Doomed Characters Were A Reminder To Savor Every Moment

First Published: November 5, 1981

With The Far Side, Gary Larson was unafraid to make jokes about taboo topics, and he frequently returned to executions as a dark scenario that could be made to yield unexpected humor. This is among the best examples, as its absurd humor also contains a note of dark commentary on capital punishment, as well as a latent message to appreciate every moment, because once one's time is up, reprieves like the one featured here are exceedingly rare.

In this case, a condemned man's execution by hanging is carried out, but the rope snaps due to an improperly tied knot; as the executioner gives his apprentice a stern lecture on procedure, the prisoner sits, shocked, soaking in a few precious extra moments of life. For a solitary cartoon , this Far Side packs in the highs and lows of human experience to an impressive degree.

7 A Cozy Detour On A Ski Trip Goes Awry, Far Side Style

First Published: December 25, 1981

In this captionless Far Side cartoon, a pair of skis and their accompanying ski poles are stuck in the snow outside a cave, with ski tracks leading right up to it...and abruptly cutting off where a set of bear tracks begins. The implication being that the skier went directly into the bear's clutches, and was promptly carried back into the ursine layer to be devoured.

While a bit of a divergence from Gary Larson's jokes depicting the moment before a character's demise, this is a notable representation of how the artist was able to subvert his own Far Side tropes early and often. Here, rather than being privy to the moment before the action, readers are almost like detectives, arriving on the scene in the aftermath, forced to put together the pieces.

6 An All-Time Great Far Side Dinosaur Comic Is The Ultimate "Final Moments" Gag

First Published:​​​​​​​ February 4, 1982

This Far Side dinosaur cartoon ranks among the most highly regarded s Gary Larson ever produced, and rightfully so. It is a perfectly framed joke, both at the level of illustration, and in the way the punchline relies on the combination of the reader's anticipation and the characters' total lack of awareness of what is to come.

In the comic, a pair of paleontologists Marvel at their latest find, some suspiciously fresh-looking dinosaur eggs, fatally neglecting to consider the possibility that they really were "laid yesterday," while also proving to be completely unaware of their surroundings, as the shadow of a fully grown T-Rex looms behind them, about it protect its nest. The composition of the art perfectly compliments a laugh-out-loud joke, making this a GOAT Far Side.

5 "Sandwiches!": These Far Side Campers Picked The Wrong Clearing

First Published: July 23, 1982

In this laugh-out-loud Far Side bear comic, a group of outdoors enthusiasts on an overnight hike stretch out in their sleeping bags in a clearing, unaware that a pair of bears have crept up on them, with one excitedly calling the defenseless humans "sandwiches!"

This is just one of Gary Larson's many great jokes about humanity's intrusion on nature, one that firmly falls into the "nature wins" category. Again, an essential characteristic of the humor here is that the reader can forecast the gruesome next moments in these human characters lives, with the macabre fate they're going to awaken to being in stark contrast to the lighthearted feeling of the scene from the bears' perspective, as captured by this Far Side cartoon.

4 Another Iconic Far Side Cartoon Strikes A Balance Between Violence And Comedy

First Published:​​​​​​​ October 29, 1982

Dogs were among The Far Side's most reliable recurring characters, and this remains one of the most fondly ed canine comics in Gary Larson's imposing ouvre. Foregoing a caption, Larson fully immerses readers in the absurd tension of this moment, as a dog in a samurai outfit, holding a very real, very sharp-looking samurai sword in its paws, waits around the corner of a suburban home, preparing to leap out and ambush the unsuspecting mail carrier.

The effect of this cartoon is that the reader is both shouting for the postal worker to get out of there while he still can, while also laughing at the over-the-top anthropomorphization of the samurai dog. It is one of Gary Larson's best jokes about looming violence, as well as an example of his obsession with the perennial beef between dogs and mailmen. By framing the illustration this way, Larson makes readers comedically complicit in what is about to happen, with hilarious results.

3 Some Far Side Characters Didn't Realize They Were Doomed Even As It Stared Them In The Face

First Published: October 11, 1987

While The Far Side often featured characters in the moment before they realized they were doomed, or the moment after, this Far Side shark cartoon is perhaps the closest to an example of one in which Gary Laraon depicts his character at the precise moment their fate dawns on them.

In this case, it features a diver who has been lowered down into the ocean in one of "Don's Discount Shark Cages," only to discover a swarm of oversized sharks waiting for him, including an absolutely massive one that actually has two wrecked "Don's" cages still stuck to its body, making it all-too-clear that the cage won't protect this diver, and in fact, might actually provoke the sharks to attack, making him their next meal.

2 One Of The Far Side's Darkest Comics Highlights The Suddeness Of Tragedy

First Published: November 30, 1990​​​​​​​

This is one of The Far Side's most outrageous jokes, in the sense that it is both one of The Far Side's more controversial comics, and also one of its most over-the-top bits of wordplay, as the manager at "Ace Marbles Inc." misinterprets the meaning of "his employees' screams of 'Simmons has lost his marbles'," leading him to burst out of his office and put himself directly in the line of fire, in what readers know moments before he does is, in truth, a tragic workplace shooting.

As much as the subject of this cartoon might be grim, even moreso in retrospect than it might have been in 1990, the silver lining of this joke is that it can still inspire readers to appreciate the fragility of life, in the face of the abruptness of death, hopefully prompting them to at least try not to take things for granted with that existential knowledge in mind.

1 The Far Side's Smartest Horse Knows Things Take More Than One Attempt To Get Right

First Published: June 11, 1992​​​​​​​

This hilarious Far Side horse comic features one of Gary Larson's many unfortunate cowboys, with this one being particularly ill-fated, as his attempt to jump a ravine on his trusted steed results in him being sent plummeting down the chasm to his death, as his horse backs up and thinks "shoot...I'm gonna go back and try that again."

It is a laugh-out-loud image, made that much funnier by the horse's internal monologue, in which it comes off as intelligent, in the sense that it knew it couldn't make the jump the first go around, and also totally ignorant, as it seemingly doesn't realize, or care, that it has just pitched its rider into the ravine. Funniest of all is the mix of shock, terror, and incredulity on the rider's face as he flies headfirst into oblivion, in what is certainly an underappreciated Far Side cartoon.