Few comic strips manage to stop the brain in its tracks quite like The Far Side. Creator Gary Larson has a knack for keeping audiences guessing whenever possible. His creative process is why his comics are so weird, but that same weirdness helps them subvert expectations.

Just when readers think they have the answers, The Far Side changes the questions. Oftentimes, the narrative at the center of the strip can be rather mild-mannered, but in no time, enough chaos ensues to make the reader pause, do a double take, and then re-read it to confirm the strangeness at hand. The Far Side knows exactly how to turn the mundane into something hilarious and the familiar into something perplexing. Larson can make a twist out of anything, and these are some examples.

8 The Mailman's Last Run

First Published: May 16, 1981

Not every Far Side comic has captions, but maybe this one should've. After all, it is almost impossible to figure out exactly what is happening or why it is happening. Within the first trio of s, everything is normal and business as usual for the local mailman inserting a piece of mail into a box. Little does this mailman know that this mailbox suspects human flesh afoot, and so goes out of its way to eat the mailman whole. Why this mailbox decides to eat the mailman and how it became an omnipresent devourer of postal workers is unknown.

What is known, though, is that the series of s is the last thing that readers would ever come to expect at any point in the comic. Each in the strip escalates further and further away from what could be expected as the incredibly mundane turns strange and supernatural almost instantly. It is a prime example of how anything can happen in a Far Side comic strip.

7 A Bear's Survival Tactics

First Published: November 26, 1981

One of the keys to early success for The Far Side was Gary Larson's ability to set up expectations and then defy them. It made for some funny moments, but it also led to some dark and oddly thought-provoking ones. Take, for example, this four-part story. The first starts off serene with a bear in its natural habitat taking a drink of water, when, suddenly, in the next , he's shot by a hunter. The bear curls up dead in the next, and by the fourth, he's mounted and positioned by the hunter in his home.

What makes this particular tale so telling is in that fourth , where the bear is propped up by its killer as if the bear itself is the hunter. Naturally, in a given scenario, the bear would be man's hunter, but with the tables turned, the poacher frames the bear as if this bear could be the predator against its prey. It's a hint of dramatic irony that some will call more bittersweet than gut-bustingly hilarious. Most audiences come to The Far Side for a quick chuckle, not to have an existential dilemma about Darwinism.

6 "Maybe it is Just the Wind"

First Published: January 10, 1984

Anyone who has been awoken by a loud ruckus while living with their partner has most likely heard this one a thousand times: "It's probably just the wind," says anyone who doesn't feel like waking up from their slumber to investigate at 2 a.m. Frank's wife is assured as such in this , but the truth is far more absurd than expected. Not only is it not the wind, but a monster band.

Why these noisy, monstrous neighbors decide to practice their instruments so late into the night (or, rather, early in the morning, technically speaking) is anyone's guess. It's definitely not a sight that either Frank or his spouse would expect to find, nor want to find. The Far Side turns a classic experience on its head by not only creating a noise that doesn't belong to the wind for once, but also making the source of the noise the last thing that Frank, his spouse, or the reader would ever expect.

5 The Alamo Merch Table

First Published: March 21, 1987

The story of The Alamo is one of the more infamous historical tales to take place in Texas. The Battle of the Alamo took place between February 23 and March 6, serving as a pivotal point in U.S. history that quickly became a must-learn event in every educational history course willing to teach it. As the fight between Texans and Mexicans grew closer to an end over the course of 13 days, the battle grew increasingly bleaker by the day. What most don't know is that there was a gentleman selling "I Kicked Santa Anna's butt at the Alamo" shirts on the premises.

The Far Side knows how to take real-world events, often tragic ones, and put a hysterical twist on them.

Okay, that last part is a farce that never happened, but the concept is a hilarious one. It's strips like this that show why The Far Side is such a classic entity. Few comics know how to put a spin on real history quite like The Far Side can. The Far Side knows how to take real-world events, often tragic ones, and put a hysterical twist on them. This is just one example that ranks among the best comic strips that Gary Larson ever produced.

4 Mary Made Herself a Little Lamb

First Appearance: September 10, 1987

Food and The Far Side tend to go hand in hand, as, for one reason or another, food makes for fun subject matter in Gary Larson's strips. The same can be said for whenever he decides to take a story that everyone knows in an effort to turn it on its head. He does just that with the old school "Mary Had a Little Lamb" nursery rhyme. Everyone knows the tale of Mary having herself a little lamb whose fleece was white as snow.

It's a parable meant to teach kindness as it centers around a young girl choosing to nurse a sickly lamb back to health. The Far Side opts for the exact opposite in every way possible. This Mary is a little old lady rather than a little girl. Rather than nurse an animal back to health, she turns it into today's dinner, assisted by three helpings of corn, two baked potatoes, and bread. No one is going to deny that Mary had what sounds like a delicious meal, but this version isn't going to teach anything about kindness anytime soon.

3 Zsa Zsa Gabor on Starship Enterprise

First Published: February 18, 1991

The Far Side is no stranger to referencing classic TV shows, and few shows are more classic than Star Trek. The brand remains a powerhouse today and was just as much of a pop culture juggernaut in 1991. In that year, Star Trek was six movies deep into its film franchise, just releasing The Undiscovered Country, while Star Trek: The Next Generation was one of television's most popular series. Also in 1991, Zsa Zsa Gabor had enjoyed a career in Hollywood for 58 years at that point, and in Gary Larson's mind, was ready for a Star Trek cameo.

Not every strip from The Far Side has a timeless quality, but in a case like this, that almost adds to the humor. Upon release, the absurdity came from the fact that such a huge star like Zsa Zsa Gabor was in practically everything at the time, and an actor that big was bound to show up on Star Trek one day, no matter how random the crossover seemed on paper. Today, to the younger viewers, the late actor's appearance is unexpected because most people don't think about Zsa Zsa Gabor anymore, even on The Far Side.

2 "The Other Side: Why Do You Need a Reason?"

First Published: June 12, 1991

It's hard to pinpoint the oldest joke in the book. Most people, if they had to make a bet about it, though, would likely name the "Why did the chicken cross the road?" joke. It's a joke that grew a life of its own not because it's funny necessarily, but because it states the painfully obvious. Of course, the chicken wants to cross the road simply to get to the other side. The humor stems from being ironic, if nothing else. Then again, why does the chicken need any other reason to cross the street?

That's the question that Gary Larson poses as he turns the classic punchline into a destination billboard ment. It's funny to think this comic doesn't get more attention than it does. It's a brilliant way to take a joke that everyone knows and subvert what it means by questioning the answer. The Far Side takes a surprisingly philosophical approach to telling the chicken crossing joke in a way that many never thought of considering. It's one of the funnier jokes in The Far Side's history, not to mention one of the more surprising examples of subversion.

1 A Comic Gary Larson Doesn't Give Himself Enough Credit For

First Published: April 30th, 1993

Making a daily comic strip for decades at a time isn't easy. Gary Larson always knew that and was vocal about that fact as he ends this with what is perhaps his most meta caption:

"And so," the interviewer asked, "Do you ever have trouble coming up with ideas?" Well, sometimes," the cartoonist replied.

By this point, he felt as if his well was dry and, in a surprising act of self-referential comedy, Lawson crafts what he deems to be a Far Side comic dumb enough to warrant an explanation (at the very least, a justification) for why it exists. However, clearly at his worst, Larson proves to be one of the best cartoonists because there's still some brilliance here.

The comic displays a herd of ducks quacking, until one suddenly spouts "chicken!" This prompts the others to duck for the incoming chicken before going right back to quack. This comic can be best explained as a derivative of the Duck, Duck, Goose game. This time, the children are swapped for ducks, and instead of scattering at the mention of a duck, prompting a tag, the ducks literally duck at a flying chicken. No one ever stops to think about what kind of schoolyard games ducks play, but Gary Larson does in one of The Far Side's more subtle oddities.