The Far Side ran in newspapers daily from the start of 1980 through New Year's Day 1995 – and with just a few exceptions, that meant a fresh Far Side cartoon on the morning of New Year's Eve. This list collects every one of Gary Larson's comics that ran on December 31, from start to finish.

Stylistically, The Far Side – which was a vehicle for Gary Larson's strange sense of humor – didn't change dramatically between its early and later years, but it did evolve, slowly and steadily, in a number of ways that become increasingly evident to fans as they become more familiar with the artist's work.

To explore the small, yet notable ways The Far Side developed, it is best to pick something to look for over time; Larson's New Years comics offer a perfect way to look at the note he ended each year of his career on.

12 This Far Side Is Gary Larson Asking, "What's The Use Hiding What I'm Doing?"

First Published: December 31, 1980

In The Far Side's first New Year's Eve cartoon, a hunter-gatherer duo try – and fail – to go undercover as a buffalo, in the hopes of spearing the real thing, with one depicted onishing the other that to "act nonchalant" precludes whistling, as a bison in the foreground of the side-eyes them in annoyance.

By ending the first year of The Far Side with this cartoon, it is almost as though Gary Larson, consciously or subconsciously, was wrestling with the fact that there was no sense in obfuscating, or trying to hide, the weirdness of his sense of humor, even if he wanted to. Like the buffalo in the comic, readers had quickly recognized that The Far Side was no ordinary comic strip.

11 The Far Side's Brutal Biblical Answer To The Question, "Why Don't Unicorns Exist?"

First Published: December 31, 1981

Gary Larson didn't shy away from setting comics in heaven and hell, or delivering his share of Biblical allusions with The Far Side. A particular favorite religious tale for him to riff on was the story of Noah's Ark, which he made a number of jokes about over the years, most of which skillfully toed the line between the sacrilegious and the profound.

This early instance features Larson's hilarious, if bloody, explanation for why unicorns aren't real – that is, they were, until the other animals on the Ark devoured them, leading an annoyed Noah to accept the loss, while also stipulating that "all carnivores will be confined to 'C' deck" for the remainder of the voyage.

10 A Far Side Comic For Readers Who Feel Like The Last Year Crushed Them

First Published: December 31, 1982​​​​​​​

In this Far Side cartoon, a crowd gathers around the fallen body of King Kong, including a woman who narrowly avoided being crushed by the falling Giant Ape, thankfully only losing her groceries in the process. Other Far Side characters were not so lucky, including a character who suffers the same fate as the tomatoes in this cartoon, in one of Gary Larson's most low-key dark jokes.

Though this was not necessarily Larson's intent, it isn't hard to imagine someone who had a tough year opening up the newspaper, taking a look at this cartoon, and relating to the bag of produce squashed in this comic – and hopefully, laughing their way into a better year ahead.

9 The Far Side Ends The Year On A Quiet Note – Well, Sort Of

First Published: December 31, 1983

Of the many things The Far Side is famous for, among the most memorable are its skewed "slice-of-life" cartoons, such as this one, which depicts a praying mantis family at the dinner table, as one sibling complains about the other "making that clicking sound again" to their mother.

Like so many of the best Far Side comics, the humor here is the result of Gary Larson's incredible ability to transpose human experiences onto animal, or in this case, insect behaviors; everyone can relate to the sensation of being annoyed by a family member, roommate, or romantic partner's everyday human habits, and here, Larson highlights the innate absurd comedy of that by substituting an example from the insect world.

8 A Far Side Comic For Readers Who Are Just Proud To Have Survived Another Year

First Published: December 31, 1984

"Unwittingly, Irwin has a brush with Death," the caption of this Far Side comic informs readers, as the depicts a man bumping into the Grim Reaper on the sidewalk; one of Gary Larson's funniest renditions of the Reaper, this cartoon makes a mockery of dwelling on mortality – something Larson obviously did a lot.

The end of a year is, naturally, a time that stimulates reflection on death, and life, and so it is thematically fitting for this Far Side to have been published on New Year's Eve, as many readers would be feeling especially vulnerable to jokes about dying, especially those who might have had a "brush with Death" themselves in recent memory.

7 This Far Side Comic Is All About Breaking With The Past To Get To The Future

First Published: December 31, 1985

Truthfully, this Far Side comic could have been published at any time during the year, but once more, in posterity, it comes across as thematically appropriate for the New Years holiday, given that it evokes both the past and the future. The cartoon depicts two archeologists smashing skulls with hammers, with one of them unfurling a tiny scroll of paper and remarking "this is getting pretty eerie, Simmons...Another skull, another fortune."

Hardcore Far Side fans will recall that a prehistoric character named "Thag Simmons" appeared in several Far Side cartoons, suggesting the archeologist here may very well be smashing the skull of his own far-flung ancestor.

New Years, as a holiday, tends to be looked at as a time to let go of the past, in order to find out what the future has in store, and this Far Side cartoon humorously evokes that feeling, though in its characteristically strange way, of course.

6 A Far Side Comic For Anyone Who Wants To Get Smarter In The New Year

First Published: December 31, 1986

This strange Far Side cartoon is, ittedly, perhaps not the most accessible of Gary Larson's comics. The lacks a caption, but its punchline doesn't come across as clearly as some captionless Far Side comics manage. That isn't to say the joke is confusing, but rather it will leave many readers uncertain of why it is funny.

In the comic, two men – depicted as stereotypically "pin-headed" – walk away from "Jack's Diner," hands stuffed in their pockets, as the stained-apron-wearing cook points at a sign in the window that says, "no brains, no service." To be honest, it is a surprisingly inauspicious ending to what many consider to be the best year of The Far Side's run.

5 A Far Side Comic For Anyone Trying To Get Dating Down To A Science In The New Year

First Published: December 31, 1987

A classic "New year, new me" trope is the declaration that this is the year one finds love, or stops going after the same type of romantic partner. For anyone feeling that way as 2025 approaches, this Far Side cartoon has the perfect energy to channel, as it features a party full of scientists putting the moves on one another, with lines like "your lab, or mine?" and "has anyone ever told you your irises reflect the blue spectrum most adequately??"

In October 1988, Gary Larson began a fourteen-month hiatus from drawing The Far Side, during which time reprints of old cartoons were published in lieu of new entries. This meant that there was no New Year's Eve comic in either 1988 or 1989.

scientists made for some of The Far Side's funniest characters; what this cartoon exemplifies is the way that Larson not only thought a lot about scientific subjects, but about scientists as subjects themselves, as he sought to reveal the quirks of these otherwise serious professionals.

4 Gary Larson's Alien Jokes Reveal That He Was Waiting For The Truth To Shake Humanity To Its Foundations

First Published: December 31, 1990

It is unknown whether Gary Larson actually believed in aliens, but he certainly thought about them enough that they starred in some of The Far Side's most hilarious jokes. This cartoon is, ittedly, not one of Larson's most laugh-out-loud extraterrestrial punchlines, but it does hint at why the artist was so preoccupied with life among the stars.

Captioned "another photograph from the Hubble Space Telescope," it depicts a wobbly image of a flying saucer, its alien driver smiling and waving for the camera. The punchline humorously suggests that the Hubble Telescope produces unsteady images, a joke which in turn hints at a deeper truth: that whatever the level of human technology, proof of extraterestrials would rattle life on Earth to the core.

3 The Far Side's Niche Way Of Saying "The More Things Change..."

First Published: December 31, 1991

In this Far Side , Gary Larson depicts a bustling futuristic metropolis – in which the marquee entertainment for the night is still a performance by George Burns, the legendary comedian who was at the height of his fame in the 1950s through 1970s, and who was just a few years from ing away when this cartoon was published.

Though this is an example of a Far Side joke that hasn't exactly aged well, it is effective in its execution for those who "get" the reference, and recognize the joke as an elaborate, if also niche, way of repeating the timeless adage that "the more things change, the more they stay the same."