Before there was Nature's Way – several of which were later reprinted as early Far Side cartoons. Despite the name change, these early cartoons show that all the elements that made Larson's humor a staple of American newspapers in the 1980s and '90s were there from the very beginning of his career.

From Larson's characteristic outsider perspective, to his evidence preference for animals over humans, to his unique knack for flipping the familiar so that, as seen from a different angle, it became strange and hilarious – all of these attributes that would make The Far Side great were first developed in the short-lived Nature's Way strip.

In fact, as Larson explained in the book The Prehistory of The Far Side, it was actually his publisher who repackaged his work as The Far Side; if not for this editorial intervention, fans would be singing the praises of Nature's Way to this day.

10 This Nature's Way Joke Illustrates Gary Larson's Skill With Words Was Present From The Start

A Totally Far Side-Style Pun

Nature's Way, a man at a restaurant gets a 'snake sandwich' instead of a 'steak sandwich'

Show any Far Side fan a Nature's Way comic out of context, and only the most hardcore would be able to identify the difference. That is certainly true of this early Gary Larson cartoon, in which a man at a restaurant irately looks at the serpent between two pieces of bread on the table before him and remarks, "What is this? I distinctly ordered the steak sandwich," rather than the "snake sandwich."

In addition to presaging Wordplay was a constant fixture of The Far Side; the ability to illustrate puns was one of the comic's shining glories, and this Nature's Way fits right in among the artist's most amusing, and inane, linguistic punchlines.

9 Nature's Way Established A Foundational Far Side Maxim: You Never Know What's Lurking Beneath The Surface

What Was Lurking In Gary Larson's Subtext

Nature's Way, a bird pulls at a worm which is actually attached to a subterranean monster's head

This highly amusing Nature's Way cartoon shows that the cartoon set a precedent for The Far Side – that Gary Larson's humor, while often strange and inexplicable, just as frequently communicated clearly without the need for a caption. Here, a worm struggles to pull a tasty-looking worm from the ground, not realizing that it is actually an appendage on the head of a one-eyed monster burrowed beneath the surface, encapsulating the idea of "biting off more than one can chew" in distinctly Larsonian style.

In retrospect, this comic also represents the reader experience that made The Far Side so memorable; often, the surface-level aspects of a that grabbed readers' attention belied a much deeper meaning, and much more nuanced humor, lurking in the subtext of Larson's images and captions.

8 This Proto-Far Side Comic Captures Gary Larson's "The World Is A Fishbowl" Approach

Larson Was A Master Of Perspective

Nature's Way, a woman looks into her fishbowl as a giant monstrous eye looks in her window

In this Nature's Way cartoon, a woman presses her face against the side of her fishbowl, in order to get a closer look at her pet fish – except she neglects to consider how horrifying that might be for the fish, a point that is emphasized by the giant, monstrous eye glaring in her living room window.

Far Side wide-eyed grinning man (color, left) and the
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Far Side fans will recognize how this encapsulates much about Gary Larson's sense of humor; The Far Side's quasi-observational humor places Larson, and the reader, in the position of both the woman and the giant eye. That is, every one of the artist's s was akin to peeking in on a captive subject, while at the same time, the comic was always keen to remind readers that the human perspective was not the be-all-end-all of existence – something that led Larson to become a master of perspective-based humor with The Far Side.

7 The Far Side's Predecessor Make Gary Larson's Position Toward Humans Clear Early & Often

Later Republished As A Far Side Cartoon

Nature's Way, two dragons stand over a pit full of discarded suits of armor

Readers will recognize this Nature's Way cartoon, because it was later republished as the second-ever Far Side installment. The – which features two dragons looming over a pit full of discarded suits of armor, with one remarking to the other, "of course, I never eat the shells" – was another early indicator of Gary Larson's warped perspective, and his willingness to inflict death and mayhem on his human characters.

Nature's Way's best comics, of which this can be considered one, did more than just give Gary Larson a space to develop his sense of humor – they made clear precisely why Larson's humor stood out from other comic creators, which is why his work was eventually picked up for wider syndication, leading to The Far Side skyrocketing to national popularity in the early-to-mid 1980s.

6 The Far Side's War Between The Natural World & Human Civilization Started With "Nature's Way"

Gary Larson Fires The First Shots

Nature's Way, surveying a destroyed landscape, one man tells another these aren't 'ordinary locust' they're facing

"I don't think we're dealing here with your everyday locust swarm," an environmental official says to his coworker, as they survey the scene of a devastated farm – where not only the crops have been devoured, but also the farmers themselves, leaving only skeletons behind.

It is a striking image, and a classic Larsonian "man vs. nature" joke, in which civilization stands no chance against the force of the natural world. This was one of The Far Side's most potent, perennial themes, and this cartoon shows how Larson's perspective on this conflict was already fully-formed by the time he became a cartoonist. In other words, he didn't figure this out as The Far Side went along; rather, his humor continually reinforced and refined his point over the years, building on this premise in new and often hilarious ways.

5 Nature's Way's "Alien Landscape" Is Another Example Of The Far Side's Humor Taking Shape

Gary Larson's Out Of This World POV

Nature's Way, extraterrestrials driving a convertible on an alien planet

Aliens starred in many iconic Far Side cartoons, and this Nature's Way cartoon shows how Gary Larson's interest in the ways extraterrestrial civilization might mirror Earthlings' far pre-dated his cartooning career. Here, an alien couple drive a space convertible across an alien landscape – while perhaps not laugh-out-loud hilarious, it offers insight into Larson's preoccupation with non-human perspectives.

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This, of course, would become the guiding ethos of The Far Side, and it started with comics like this one. If nothing else, it is a reminder that Larson's greatest virtue as a creator – beyond his drawing abilities, or his application of wit on the page – was his willingness, and in fact, eagerness, to view the world differently from how it actually was. Even when his subjects were humans, this proved to be a vital part of what made his comedy relevant to readers.

4 A Prototype For The Far Side's Style Of Comedic Inversion

Nature's Way Was A Blueprint For Gary Larson's Success

Nature's Way, a scuba diver collects fish in a bag as a fish collects scuba divers

This is an example of a consummate Gary Larson joke; while this particular Nature's Way cartoon wasn't republished under The Far Side's banner, variations on this joke's premise can be identified in a number of Far Side comics. Here, a scuba diver collects fish specimens in a bag – only to be approached by a monstrous-looking fish clutching a bag full of captured scuba divers, in a brilliant quid pro quo punchline.

This kind of comedic inversion was at the heart of Larson's idiosyncratic style. This early example actually embodies the key purpose of this; just as the diver is confronted with the opposite of his own behavior, The Far Side's readers were routinely invited to contemplate how humans acted toward nature, and how they would feel if the roles were reversed.

3 The Far Side's Patented Pop Culture References Can Be Traced Back To Gary Larson's Early Career

Republished As A Far Side Cartoon

Nature's Way, Dr. Frankenstein tells the wizard of Oz characters to 'try the wizard up the street' while his monster hides

The seeds of The Far Side's various strains of humor were planted with the original run of Nature's Way comics, including Gary Larson's tendency to reference popular culture, from The Wizard of Oz – such as in this comic – to the more obscure.

In this early , the main characters from Oz show up at Dr. Frankenstein's door, who tells them to "try the wizard up the road" if they're in need of organs, as his recently completed monster cowers just out of sight, waiting for them to leave. It makes sense why this cartoon carried over and was reprinted as a Far Side installment, given that its referential humor forged an immediate connection with readers, and reiterated that Larson's jokes wouldn't always be so "confusing, obtuse, esoteric, and strange."

An Early Ill-Fated Larsonian Cowboy

Nature's Way, a man sings 'where the buffalo roam' as a stampede of bison approach him from behind

The Far Side – and so were characters destined to meet ignominious fates. This Nature's Way cartoon is an early example of both, as a ragged frontiersman makes a comfortable camp for himself in a gorge on the edge of civilization, and sits down to pluck his guitar while singing "o give me a home, where the buffalo roam," without realizing he's getting more than he bargained for, as a stampede of bison rush toward him in the background.

Far Side wide-eyed man (foreground) and a fish in a bubble bath (background)
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As was often the case with The Far Side, the humor of this relies on putting the reader in the position of knowing something disastrous is about to happen before the characters it is about to happen to – a quixotic, but ultimately very effective, use of irony by Gary Larson to get a reaction out of the reader.

1 This Classic Nature's Way/Far Side Comic Says Everything Fans Need To Know About Gary Larson's Humor

Larson's Calls Out Humanity's Biases

Nature's Way, two unattractive cartoon characters remark that a snake is hideous

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In this Nature's Way comic, later republished as a Far Side, two humans with exaggeratedly unattractive appearances look at a snake in a terrarium and comment, "egad! What a hideous creature!" On the surface, it might seem as though the joke is the humans' outward ugliness, but actually, the punchline is designed to undermine their internal biases – showcasing how smart Gary Larson's humor actually was.

Gary Larson notably loved snakes, and his experience with pet snakes made him acutely aware of most peoples' attitudes toward these creatures; the artist perfectly captures that here, by having characters who might not adhere to an objective standard of beauty nevertheless ing judgement on the captive snakes. It is a highly effective joke, one that set the standard for The Far Side's best work in the years to come.