As strange as formula for Gary Larson's comic was simple: his cartoons comprised a drawing, plus words. Except, sometimes, Larson let his illustrations speak for themselves, eschewing a caption entirely. Throughout The Far Side's history, captionless comics proved to be some of the strip's most perplexing – but also, some of its funniest.
Whenever Larson chose to forego a caption when crafting a Far Side cartoon, he was in effect forfeiting 50% of a 's ability to explain itself to the reader. Sometimes, he did this because the image was self-evident; in other instances, he wanted readers to be puzzled, and to have to study the comic closer.
In other words, some of Larson's captionless Far Side comics could have used words to help get across their humor, some were able to get a laugh on the strength of the visual alone.
10 With The Far Side, Gary Larson Intentionally Confused Beauty And Ugliness
First Published: December 19, 1994
The humor of this relies on an accident of perspective, but it speaks to the ways Gary Larson deliberately eschewed the subjectivity of beauty on a regular basis with The Far Side. The cartoon depicts a woman sitting for a painting – except the seemingly oblivious painter doesn't realize a fly has been sitting on his spectacles, leading him to warp the two together in his portrait.
Larson might have been able to build on this joke's premise with a caption, but it wasn't necessary in order to explain the joke, and evidently, The Far Side's artist decided that the 's best chance of getting a reaction was to draw readers' attention immediately to the fly-woman hybrid on the canvas, and then let them discover the fly on the painter's glasses.
9 For Gary Larson, Drawing The Far Side Was Both Work And (Horse)Play
First Published: January 7, 1987
Cartooning was Gary Larson's career. The success of The Far Side brought financial stability for him, but also increased pressure to produce funny drawings on time, in perpetuity – to the point where it led to what many would call the Larson sat down at his desk every night, it was work for him. Yet it was also play, and that playful quality is clear in many of his cartoons.
Take for example this wordless , which features horses driving cars on the highway – with one car having a trailer attached, with a human's butt sticking out the back. It is a simple, playful role-reversal, one that will be immediately recognizable to the majority of readers, and that is what makes it memorable to readers.
8 Froggy Went A Courtin' The Wrong Jet In This Highly Amusing Far Side Comic
First Published: August 14, 1984
Frogs got into all manner of hilarious situations in the amphibians' many Far Side appearances, but this ranks as the funniest. That is because of its simplicity; not only is the action of the cartoon immediately clear to readers, but so are the consequences, as the unfortunate frog in this comic adheres to the bottom of an airplane with its tongue, as the plane takes off and its landing gear starts to fold inward.
How The Far Side's Gary Larson REALLY Felt About the Banjo, Explained (the Truth Is Simple, But Hilarious)
Gary Larson's legendary cartoon The Far Side took multiple jabs at banjo players, but how did the artist really feel about the instrument?
Even if this doesn't strike readers as obvious right away, just a few moments analyzing this comic will make the tragic fate of the frog unavoidable. What is unmistakable from the jump, though, is the visual comedy of the image, which borders on the slapstick side of The Far Side's style of humor.
7 The Far Side Poses A Terrifying Question: If The Pilot Is Playing Airplane, Who's Flying The Actual Airplane?
First Published: October 15, 1983
In another of The Far Side's funniest airplane cartoons, the nose of a jumbo jet takes up the entire frame, giving readers a clear view through the front windshield into the cockpit – where the pilot has his arms outstretched like wings, a delightfully goofy smile on his face, as he plays make believe plane, despite being at the controls of the real thing.
This is a great example of Gary Larson's ability to take a terrifying "What-if?" question – that is, what if a plane's pilot is incompetent, or not taking their job seriously – and spin it into one of his most innocuous jokes. Visually, this Far Side is especially memorable because of the contrast between the massiveness of the plane, in contrast with the diminutive figure of the pilot.
6 This Far Side Cartoon Makes The Most Of A Niche Musical Joke
First Published: January 24, 1983
In this Far Side , one of Larson's many tortured artists tries to figure out how to tune his ukelele, working through successive incorrect iterations of the "my dog has fleas" mnemonic devic on a chalkboard as he grows increasingly frustrated.
ittedly, the words on the board function as a pseudo-caption for this cartoon – yet it requires the reader to have knowledge of the mnemonic, and its specific application to the ukelele, in order to get the joke. An actual caption could have contextualized this, but Gary Larson chose to let the image stand on its own, because even for readers unfamiliar with the ukelele, the jumble of words crossed out on the board and the look of exasperation on the man's face should be enough to elicit a laugh.
5 The Far Side's Goofy Version Of Tarzan Lays On The Horn
First Published: January 7, 1983
In this wordless, but hilarious Far Side cartoon, Gary Larson's recurring Tarzan character rides an elephant at the head of a stampede – honking a horn to warn anyone who might be in the way, as though he's in traffic, and as though anyone is going to hear it over the rumbling of an entire elephant herd coming their way.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can't up this master collection of Gary Larson's finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
This wordless Far Side lacks a caption because the joke and the premise here are one and the same; the humor of the cartoon comes from the wild expression on Tarzan's face, and the sheer absurdity of his behavior. All of that comes through simply from the image, particularly in the contrast between the elephants' faces and the man of the jungle's.
4 This Far Side Comic Depicts A Darkly Hilarious Quid Pro Quo Between Chickens & Farmers
First Published: January 2, 1982
In a classic Far Side comic that is as certain to leave readers asking "What-the?" as it will have them burst out laughing, a woman walks back toward her house from her chicken coop with a basket of fresh eggs – while one of her hens walks the other way, carrying an infant human toward the coop.
Speculating too much about the chicken's intentions is where this funny Far Side comic starts to get unsettling, yet the moment that Gary Larson captures here is unabashedly hilarious, and absurd to the point of outrageousness. Moreover, it tells readers exactly what they need to know, without actually using any words – as the twisted symmetry of the two characters going in different directions will easily hit the mark with readers.
3 The Far Side Highlights A Symbiotic Relationship At The Old Sailor's Home
First Published: August 28, 1981
Without a doubt, this is one of Gary Larson's most amusing early Far Side cartoons published without a caption. Once more, the simplicity of the comic is its greatest asset. The cartoon features an old sailor sitting on the deck of a house, smoking his pipe – as a cat uses his peg leg as a scratching post.
Again, it is worth questioning whether Larson could have elevated this Far Side by building on this funny premise with a further punchline in a caption. Yet it arguably isn't necessary, as the idea here is funny enough, and well-executed enough, that it stands as one of The Far Side's most straightforward comics, even without words.
2 Blink And You Might Miss The Joke In This Far Side Knight Cartoon
First Published: March 14, 1981
Here, Gary Larson depicts two chivalrous knights at the greatest moment of anticipation in a joust, right before, their lances connect – yet the knight coming toward the reader from the back left of the frame has apparently lost his nerve, as he covers his eyes with his hand at the worst possible time.
Why Gary Larson Changed One Of The Far Side's Weirdest Cartoons Nearly 20 Years After It Was Published (Is the Second Version Funnier?)
In 2003's "The Complete Far Side," Gary Larson offered a revised caption for one of his strangest comics ever, 1984's "Slug Worship" .
The joke here is clear, but it is also subtle. A reader who is just quickly scanning the page, who only spares this cartoon a glance, might not even why it is funny at all. Still, upon closer examination, the joke jumps out at the reader as an example of a particularly funny Far Side knight comic, of which there are surprisingly more than even dedicated fans of Larson's work might realize throughout The Far Side's history.
1 A Classic "Turning The Tables" Far Side Nature Comic
First Published: April 8, 1980
A staple of The Far Side involved jokes that centered around animals, insects, and even flowers getting comeuppance toward humans for their behavior toward the natural world. This is a potent early example, one that doesn't need a caption to make it clear that Gary Larson sides with the butterflies in this case.
In the cartoon, a man stalks through tall grass with a net, looking for insect specimens to catch, as a gang of butterflies sneak up behind him, ready to drop an even bigger net on him and carry him off to who knows where. The joke here is clear, and the absence of a caption allows this Far Side image to take up the reader's undivided attention – which it deserves, because it is such a straightforward, but incredibly funny visual.
- Writer
- Gary Larson
- Colorist
- Gary Larson
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
