The Far Side is known for its bizarre sense of humor, and without question, some of its most unsettling comics are also its most unforgettable. The vibe of Gary Larson's humor routinely shifted significantly from one comic to the next, sometimes from day-to-day, other times from week-to-week, with the weirdest Far Side cartoons often coming in bunches.

One thing that can be said about Larson's body of work is that, perhaps more than any other 20th-century creator, he exposed the thinness of the line between silly and surreal. In other words, some of the creepiest Far Side comics are also its most outrageously goofy; to a degree, the more unsettling a Far Side , the more Gary Larson infused it with a sense of over-the-top levity.

This is an essential part of what makes the artist’s work so enduring, as people continue to try to reconcile the different tones clashing in any given Far Side installment.

10 Readers Lose Their Heads Over The Far Side Way More Than They Should

First Published: October 1, 1981

According to Gary Larson, his goal with every Far Side comic was no more complicated than trying to get a reaction out of the reader. In practice, though, his success in this regard relied on peoples' tendency to over-react. That is, to make more of a Far Side than there actually is to it; to complicate a simple joke, to be aghast at something mildly off-putting, and simply put, to mistake the mildly weird for the incredibly weird.

Case in point: this early Far Side comic, in which a headless man looks for his cranium in a box full of heads, as the lady working the Lost & Found booth impatiently onishes him, saying, "C'mon! C'mon! Either it's here or it isn't!" While many readers will fixate on the weirdness of the premise, in truth, the joke truly resides in the ordinariness of the characters' interaction.

9 The Far Side's Lighthearted Use Of Horror Imagery, Explained

First Published: October 9, 1981

In this Far Side riff on a nursery rhyme, the eponymous "Three Blind Mice" hide from the farmer's wife, who is depicted stalking through the house, wild-eyed, brandishing her carving knife. Here, Gary Larson amusingly subverts the classic rhyme, which reads as follows:

Three blind mice. Three blind mice.

See how the run. See how they run.

They all ran after the farmer's wife,

Who cut off their tails with a carving knife.

Did you ever see such a sight in your life,

As three blind mice?

In classic Far Side style, Larson twists this, by presenting the moment from the mices' perspective, illustrating the woman in a way that turns this into a story of violent madness, as one of the mice remarks that "the farmer's wife has really flipped out this time." The farmer’s wife takes on a borderline-monstrous quality, her mouth twisting in inhuman, her eyes full of hate, and her shadow on the wall adding an extra note of menace, all of which works toward putting the reader firmly on the side of the rodents cowering in fear for their lives.

8 The Ice Cream Man's Worst Fear Is Realized In An Unexpected Way

First Published: October 14, 1981

"This is Harold Schwartz! Something horrible is happening out here!" an ice cream man calls over his truck's radio, as inexplicably he starts to melt, just like one would expect the treats in the back of his vehicle to do. The inexplicable nature of the scenario is part of the joke, but the true humor comes from the startling imagery of the man melting like an ice cream cone left in the sun – and, as was a Far Side staple, particularly in the frantic look in the man's eyes as he cries out for help.

These details help make the horror of the ice cream man's plight tangible, which adds an unsettling dimension to an otherwise very funny joke, showcasing the dissonance than is often key to making a Gary Larson joke unforgettable.

7 Gus The Dummy Is An Outspoken Hero In One Of The Far Side's Creepiest Comics

First Published: June 3, 1986

This Far Side desert island comic hinges on a conversation between a ventriloquist, Ernie, and his dummy, Gus – but the conversation itself is completely unhinged, as Gus tries to convince a recent arrival to their desert island that Ernie is a cannibal, while Ernie dismisses Gus's warnings as a joke.

While undoubtedly absurd, this is by far one of the most genuinely creepy Far Side cartoons, as most readers will feel a secondhand unease, on behalf of the man who just washed up on shore alongside Ernie and Gus. Part of what makes this both hilarious and unnerving is Gary Larson's use of detail, particularly Gus's exclamation that "No joke! He ate that German guy last year!"

6 The Far Side Explored The Dark Side Of The Human/Dog Dynamic

First Published: June 18, 1986

Part of why The Far Side's dog comics are among Gary Larson's most highly regarded is because canines are the closest animals to humanity, in of our relationship with them, stretching all the way back to the first domestication of dogs in prehistory. As a result, Larson's warped take on the human/dog dynamic was always good for a quick laugh – especially when there was an edge of hostility or violence to the punchline.

That is the case here, as a dog shows off its trophy room to a friend, with the heads of chickens and cats it has killed – along with "the hand that fed me," the outstretched arm of its human owner that the dog is implied to have torn off. It is a darkly funny and totally Larsonian play on words, which also has the effect of making readers reflect on the negligible difference between pets and wild animals.

5 The Far Side Offers An Unconventional Explanation For Psychosis

First Published: July 24, 1986

Captioned "inside the ear of crazy people," this Far Side cartoon depicts a trio of tiny men – wearing shirts identifying them as "Voice 1," "Voice 2," and "Voice 3," and shouting into megaphones – standing at the precipice of a person's ear canal, shouting ridiculous commands into their head, such as "shave your neighbor's dog," and "dump your spaghetti on that guy's head."

Though contemporary readers might find this joke to be in poor taste, it is nevertheless effective at getting the reaction Gary Larson wants from readers; that is, most people will have a visceral response to the comic, either at the conceptual level, or at its bizarre and ludicrous imagery, which does a strong job of grabbing readers' attention.

4 The "Visible Man" Is One Of Gary Larson's Most Stomach-Churning Ideas

First Published: November 21, 1991

This is an example of a Far Side comic in which the illustration style helps to obscure the truly gross quality of Gary Larson's joke – something that is deliberately placed at odds with the 's punchline. As the caption explains, a toy called the "Visible Man," who has translucent skin and exposed innards, has achieved his Pinocchio-esque dream "to be a real person," without understanding the horrifying implications that is going to have.

"Most people, upon seeing him, would either faint or throw up," the caption concludes, emphasizing how frightening the Visible Man would be in reality – with the overt cartoonishness of Larson's drawing being directly, and amusingly, in contrast with the implied viscera of the joke. In particular, the grin on the Visible Man's face is laugh-out-loud funny, especially when considering the terror he is about to unwittingly inflict on innocent ersby.

3 The Far Side Gets Too Close & Too Personal For Some Readers' Taste

First Published: June 1, 1993​​​​​​​

Once again, Gary Larson effectively utilizes an extreme close-up ia pair of mosquitoes try to enjoy a relaxing day on top of a man's head, only to be interrupted by the "ironic" intrusion of some unidentified pest, biting them in the same way they have riddled the man's head with their own bites. The clash of perspectives here – in which the man's head is oversized, but the insects are still depicted as relatively small – forces the reader to pay closer attention to this comic, drawing them in even as it might make them uneasy.

The concept here is certainly silly, but the imagery is off-putting, once again emphasizing the layered dynamic Larson was able to achieve with The Far Side. The imagery of the bumps on the man's head is what will ultimately stick with readers, rather than the "irony" at work in the joke.

2 Fluffy's Machine; Or, How The Far Side Depicts A Dog Pushed Over The Edge Of Sanity

First Published: August 18, 1993

In one of the most memorable Far Side cartoons of all time, a woman gives her guests a tour of the house – including a peak down the basement steps, where they "keep Fluffy," their dog, who "may have gone mad." Of course, "may have" is an all-time comedic understatement, as the wild-eyed poodle is depicted working on a Killdozer-esque murder machine in the form of a canine.

Again, there is a dissonance at work here, one Far Side fans will recognize from having manifested in many different forms throughout Gary Larson's opus; that is, the disparity between the absurdity of the illustration and the casual language of the characters who are faced with this over-the-top scenario, all of which adds up to a gloriously laugh-out-loud .

1 Art Is A Window Into Madness In This Ominous Late-Career Gary Larson Cartoon

First Published: November 18, 1994​​​​​​​

The Far Side featured more than its share of violent deaths, or alternatively, looming deaths; time and again it was made clear Gary Larson had an affinity for doomed characters. By far, however, this comic – published in the final stretch of Gary Larson's career as a cartoonist – features one of The Far Side's scariest scenarios, as a couple look up at a "painting" on the wall of their host, which features a man looming over them with a knife.

"He calls it It's My Couch! My Couch! Don't They Understand?" the woman tells them, explaining that her son "painted that and hung it up just this afternoon" – seemingly oblivious, or indifferent, to the bloodbath that seems like it is about to occur. As a result, this Far Side comic will send a jolt of laughter through readers, at the same time as they realize the horrifying implications of the joke.