creator Gary Larson considered it a success – yet many of his s achieve a whole other level of artistic triumph beyond that, by sticking in people's minds and keeping them laughing long after they looked at the .
Readers familiar with The Far Side will recognize this experience, and fans just getting acclimated to Larson's work will come to know it well soon enough: that moment hours, or days, or maybe even years after reading a Far Side comic, when they're going about their business, and their mind starts to wander, and then suddenly, an absurd and uproarious Gary Larson punchline makes them laugh out loud.
In other words, not only are these Far Side cartoons are still hilarious to this day, they're all-but-certain to have a lingering impact on the reader, making them some of Larson's best.
10 With The Far Side, Gary Larson Often Converted Tragedy Into Comedy
First Published: December 21, 1994
This is one of the The Far Side's many detectives explains to the grieving wife that the cat was the target, and her husband was collateral.
Often, what made a Far Side memorable was a specific image, or bit of dialogue; in this case, it is the detective's casual aside that the dog "had training in operating heavy machinery" that is likely to stick with readers and prompt a belated chuckle.
9 Frog Legs Are A Dish Best Served Hot, Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold
First Published: August 11, 1993
More than one memorable Far Side cartoon featured animals enacting vengeance on humans, but this is without a doubt one of the funniest. In the , a frog – missing a leg, with its stump bandaged, suggesting it was recently cut off – wields a smoking shotgun, as its spouse looks on horrified, while a dead chef lies face down at the foot of their bed, knife still in hand.
"I always knew he'd come back one day to get the other one!" the frog declares, vindicated. What is particularly funny about this cartoon is its sense of scale. Gary Larson often depicted anthropomorphic animals living in human-like houses, but here it is made clear by the chef's giant stature that the setting is, in fact, a miniature frog-sized home.
8 Tough Wildabeests On The Far Side Of Town
First Published: April 6, 1992
Here, Gary Larson lampoons the fear of getting caught in "the bad part of town" by transposing that concept onto an African safari, as a man exits "the safari club" to find his car surrounded by a trio of wildebeests that seemingly have bad intentions. The premise of the joke in this Far Side is amusing, but what will have readers laughing hours later are Larson's illustrations of the animal street toughs.
"Compared To the Next Cartoon, It's Very Normal": Far Side's Longtime Editor On What Made Gary Larson's Creative Process So Unique
In his introduction to "The Complete Far Side," Gary Larson's longtime editor revealed what he ired most about the artist's singular creativity.
Hilariously, the wildebeests are depicted with casual, human-like postures, capturing the familiar feeling of characters like this that the reader is likely to be familiar with from pop culture, which Gary Larson is riffing on. Naturally, to further heighten this effect, and in this Far Side comic's most amusing touch, they are all smoking cigarettes. It is this image that will imprint on readers' minds, and come back to make them laugh after the fact.
7 Does Anyone Know The Dorkonian Equivalent Of The Heimlich Maneuver?
First Published: April 18, 1991
Of course, one of the defining qualities that people associate with The Far Side is its absurdity. This is highly ridiculous, but also highly detailed, and consequently, makes for one of Gary Larson's more unforgettable depictions of extraterrestrials. In the cartoon, a diner full of "Dorkonians" is disrupted when one of them has something "[go] down the wrong pipe" – made especially alarming by the fact that this alien species is covered in dangling trunk-like appendages, making which "pipe" it is hard to diagnose.
The way Larson depicts the Dorkonian as it "flagellate[s] hysterically," and the wide eyes of the surrounding concerned patrons, are expertly arranged details, and over all, the level of specificity and detail in every aspect of this makes it likely to leave an impression.
6 The Far Side's Greatest "Greens" Singer Takes The Spotlight
First Published: July 5, 1990
In addition to being a cartoonist, depictions of musicians in The Far Side tend to stand out, with this being perhaps the pinnacle. Once more, a frog takes center stage – this time wearing shades and a wide-brimmed hat, sporting a pencil-thin mustache, and strumming a gorgeously-rendered hollow-body guitar, singing "the greens" in a smokey club full of amphibian patrons.
The image here, and the way Gary Larson reimagines the blues from a frog's perspective, are outright hilarious, but what is truly unforgettable about this Far Side cartoon are the lyrics Larson makes up, which are as catchy as they are goofy. Readers will immediately be able to hear the tune in their heads, and shouldn't be surprised if they find themselves singing "Oh I got the greens....I got the greens real bad" later in the day.
5 This Far Side Dentist Is The Textbook Definition Of "Malpractice"
First Published: May 30, 1988
In this wild Far Side , a man at the mercy of his dentist looks up with concern, with multiple tubes and dental instruments already sticking out of his mouth, as the medical "professional" leans in and says, "...we're going to see if we can also cram in this tennis ball."
What makes this one of Gary Larson's greatest cartoons is that both the image and the caption operate at peak effectiveness, and are perfectly in concert. What makes it so unforgettable are two things. First, the horror of the joke at the conceptual level will nag at readers well after they've looked at it. On top of that, the dentist's use of the phrase, "just out of curiosity" offers an explanation for the character's actions Far Side cartoons didn't always afford readers, and the fact that the answer is "because he can" is dark, but thoroughly hilarious.
4 Sometimes The Simplest Far Side Cartoons Had The Most Impact
First Published: October 31, 1987
This straightforward Far Side cartoon is also among the most effective. Once again, the image and the caption here work together pristinely to deliver the joke, which features a shark looking wistfully at a nerdy kid through an aquarium window, remarking "so close, and yet so far."
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 proves that Gary Larson's humor didn't need to be convoluted, or obscure, or over-the-top to be memorable. Here, he combines cartoon's resident nerdy kid in a simple, but incredibly funny moment. In fact, it is the joke's simplicity that makes it stand a strong chance of having staying power – to the point where even if a reader forgets it is a Far Side comic, the joke may very well resurface in their mind later on and get a chuckle.
3 There Are Days Where Every Reader Can Relate To Wayne
First Published: December 13, 1986
The Far Side was often relatable, as Gary Larson's form of observational humor led him to catalog many different minor and major facets of the human experience – except often, that relatability was buried under a thick layer of absurdity, or filtered through the warped lens of animal characters. This cartoon offers readers an illustration of a feeling that most can relate to: the sense that sometimes, the whole world is out to get them.
Gary Larson its His Biggest Regret in Far Side History
According to Gary Larson, a seemingly innocuous error of omission from a classic Far Side cartoon actually haunted him well into retirement.
That is the case for Larson's unfortunate character of Wayne, who the caption explains has become the scapegoat the world needed, as he solemnly looks out his window at a mob of protesters, wielding signs that say "Down With Wayne!" "Wayne You Nerd" and more. The fact that this comic is more overtly relatable is also what makes it likely to get it stuck in readers' imaginations.
2 The Far Side Explores The Fine Line Between "Laughing At" And "Laughing With"
First Published: March 15, 1985
Sometimes silliness was the prevailing tone of a Far Side , and in a way, Gary Larson's silliest jokes were among those that stood the best chance of being ed by readers. Here, a clown sits in the back of a crowded – though normal-sized – car, stewing as he tries to figure out whether "the other guys really listened to his ideas or regarded him only as comic relief."
As described by Gary Larson's editor, the humor of a Far Side cartoon was often contained in a character's eyes; that is exemplified by this , as all the non-clown characters are either depicted squinting, with thin slits in place of eyeballs, or in one case wearing glasses. All of this is deliberately designed to contrast with the evident frustration in the expression of Brian the clown, as he side-eyes his "friends" and slowly realizes he's being laughed at, not with.
1 The Far Side Offers An Essential "Do" Vs. "Don't" For Jungle Adventurers
First Published: July 2, 1984
Once more, the simplicity of this Far Side joke is key to making it memorable – as Gary Larson offers a split- image of the "right" and "wrong" way to dress for a safari, with the incorrect apparel being an outfit that is covered in steaks.
More than just simple, the punchline here is obvious, in a way where the obviousness itself is part of the humor – an example of Larson deliberately skewing his own tendency toward obscurity. The overt quality of the joke here is critical to its success, and at both the level of premise and execution, this Far Side offers something to the reader that they won't soon for get, something that will have them laughing hours after they read it.
- 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.
