Vikings made many appearances in Gary Larson's were based in Larson's interest in real-world history, they presented a deliberately skewed take on the historical record. That is, Larson's Vikings were nothing short of a bunch of goofballs, in most cases more akin to merry pranksters than violent marauders.
This was, of course, the root of The Far Side's Viking comedy. Though The Far Side is often cited for its dark humor, Gary Larson was just as often keen to do the opposite – to take something deadly serious and make it silly.
Over the years, he did this successfully with Vikings time and again, resulting in a number of memorable, highly amusing cartoons; together, these offer a greater insight into what makes Gary Larson's humor effective, and why it has captivated people for nearly fifty years now.
10 Far From Inspiring Terror, The Far Side's Vikings Starred In Some Of The Comic's Most Lighthearted Installments
First Published: January 11, 1993
This late-career Gary Larson Viking comic doesn't quite adhere to the pattern of outright slapstick frivolity that the remainder of this list will mostly adhere to, but it nevertheless merits inclusion for two reasons:
- It is funny.
- It speaks to Gary Larson's ability to inject unexpected levity into grave situations.
To both points, the simple anachronism of a warning label printed on the Vikings' siege ladder is enough to break the seriousness of the surrounding scene, and for most readers, to get at least a chuckle out of them.
That said, this is probably The Far Side's Vikings at their second most dangerous, for what it is worth. Coming after so many prior Viking jokes that portrayed them as inept, or unserious, this can be read almost as Gary Larson given the fearsome, awe-inspiring historical group their belated due.
9 The Far Side Explores The Early Years Of The Vikings, Before "They Became Truly Nasty"
First Published: October 12, 1992
Just as the previous entry, from the penultimate year of The Far Side, seemed to stray from the established formula of Gary Larson's Viking jokes, this one seems to self-reflectively comment on it. Here, Larson depicts his Vikings "egg[ing] the houses of coastal villagers," with a caption framed as a "historical note," which explains that this was the standard climax of Viking raids "until they became truly nasty."
In other words, in the world of The Far Side, it can be ascertained that the terrifying, violent Vikings ed by posterity still exist, but that those practices evolved from much sillier, much less harmful behavior. It is an amusing, if high-brow joke, but one that is made so much funnier by the illustration – in particular, the egg symbol on the sail of the Viking raiders' ship.
8 The Far Side Asks: What Is A Viking Without A Sick Ride?
First Published: September 1, 1992
Among the things real-life Vikings are historically famous for were their longboats, and Gary Larson gives his whimsical contemporary interpretation of these seafaring vessels with this Far Side cartoon, which instead features a "Viking longcar," complete with a serpentine hood ornament, cruising through a pastoral European landscape, which the caption declares they were "once the scourge of."
The Far Side Answered One Of the 20th Century's Greatest Mysteries – And I Honestly Think Gary Larson Nailed It
The story of D.B. Cooper is one of the 20th century's most enduring unanswered questions; one Far Side comic depicted what I believe probably happened
Hilariously, the car's license plate readers, "I don't break for Saxons," riffing on both the "I Break For ______" bumper sticker trend, and also the historical Germanic tribe who were harried by the Vikings, and eventually comprised one half of the Angelo-Saxon ethnic group. This joke shows off Larson's historical knowledge, as well as his ability to twist that knowledge in order to apply it in a comedically satisfying way.
7 The Far Side Reinvents What Makes The Vikings Intimidating
First Published: April 9, 1990
"My god! Vikings!" someone shouts from the ramparts of a medieval castle, adding from the sight of the briefcases the approaching horde are all carrying: "and they mean business!" It is a classic Far Side pun, but while the wordplay is certainly amusing, it is the cartoon's subversion of Vikings' reputation that makes it laugh-out-loud funny.
In other words, The Far Side's humor often relied on taking something figurative and making it literal, as is the case here – but what makes that move truly effective is the way it plays on the expectations that readers' bring to the table, of the meaning of the phrase "they mean business," but more than that, of the reputation that Vikings have for sacking cities and leaving them in ruins, rather than taking everything from them at the negotiating table.
6 The Far Side Reveals The Winners & Losers Of The First Arms Race
First Published: May 22, 1988
As was most often the case in the ancient and medieval worlds, the Vikings developed a reputation as a warrior culture because they had better weapons than the people they raided, and were more willing to use those weapons, and knew how to use those weapons better. Gary Larson delivers a ridiculous interpretation of that in this Far Side cartoon, which features a Viking longboat rowing full-steam into an attack on "the Wimpodites," people with a masthead in the resemblance of a sheep, with flowers on their shields, flailing about with pillows instead of swords.
Again, this is an exception to The Far Side's usual depiction of the Vikings as silly, but the explanation for that is simple. It can be inferred that the "Wimpodites" came from Larson imagining the silliest possible version of the Vikings, almost their diametric opposite. Adding the real Vikings to the mix – in what is likely their most dangerous Far Side appearance – served the purpose of throwing that dichotomy into clear, stark relief.
5 The Far Side's Vikings Knew How To Have A Good Time – But At What A Cost?
First Published: July 11, 1987
ittedly, these Far Side Vikings also seem to know a thing or two about violence, but Gary Larson depicts them in a more lighthearted mode, sitting together at night, surrounding a fire, roasting marshmallows, listening to a bard pluck out some tunes – with one of them asking the musician, Bjorn, if he knows "Burn That Saxon Village Down, Boys, Burn That Saxon Village Down." "Yeah," Bjorn replies, "but I can't the chords."
Of course, the disparity between the innocuous vibe of the scene and the violence implied in the song request is the true punchline of the joke, and that dissonance is a classic Larsonian comedic technique, representative of the humor of countless Far Side cartoons throughout his fifteen-year career.
4 The Far Side's Vikings Could Be Downright Childish At Times
First Published: October 26, 1985
In this laugh-out-loud funny multi- Far Side cartoon, the Vikings seemed poised to follow through on their ability to be fearsome, battle-tested, and ruthless raiders – except their frontal attack on a fortress is also doubling as a game of "Simon Says," with the one lone raider, Ivan, who charged at the command "attack!" being declared "out," only for the real attack to start when the commend is given as "Simon says attack!"
This Far Side comic works on multiple different levels; the inclusion of a childrens' game in the middle of an Early Modern battle is deliriously and delightfully anarchronistic, and the way the punchline deliberately undermines the gravity of a Viking raid is funny even for readers who don't have Gary Larson's level of interest in history.
3 These Vikings Remind The Far Side's Readers About The Importance Of Calisthenics Before Rigorous Physical Activity
First Published: December 26, 1984
Here, Gary Larson depicts his Vikings getting limbered up for a raid, doing a variety of stretches in the shade of a tree, on an idyllic-looking green pasture – as if they're getting ready for a game of pick-up soccer, rather than to sack the castle looming in the background, of the illustration its defenders lined up waiting, watching the Vikings go through their warm-up routine from afar.
This Far Side joke is funny at the conceptual level, but it is made even more memorable by the casual feeling of the 's scene, combined with the matter-of-fact tone of the caption, which explains, almost in ing, that "the Vikings, of course, knew the importance of stretching before an attack."
2 The Far Side Observes A Milestone In Viking History
First Published: October 2, 1982
If there is one thing Vikings are synonymous with in the average contemporary reader's mind, it is the horned helmet; The Far Side perpetuates this cultural depiction, in part because it is a visual shorthand that immediately identifies the characters in a as Vikings, even before they are identified as such in the caption.
Bottoms Up! 10 Hilarious Far Side Comics All About Bars
The Far Side set many beloved comics in bars, as watering holes proved to be the perfect setting to explore the confluence of human & animal behavior.
In this early Far Side cartoon, though, Gary Larson actually shows readers the groundbreaking moment that the helmet was introduced, as a Viking leader sitting at the head of a long table directs his guests' attention to the man standing next to him, holding the soon-to-be ubiquitous horned-helm in his hands, as the head Viking declares, "Bjorn Jorgensen here has a new helmet design to show us!" This was an early example of the intellectual strain of Larson's humor, as well as his tendency to zero in on moments that others might not even consider.
1 The Far Side's Vikings Weren't Always The Strong, Silent Types
First Published: September 2, 1981
In this Viking cartoon from the second year of The Far Side, the leader of a Viking clan sits at the head of the table looking annoyed, waiting to fix himself a plate of turkey because he can't stand the thought of eating it dry, as one of his cohort struggle to open a mayo jar, with the caption giving voice to the plea of, "can't anyone here get the lid off the mayonnaise?"
As with the best Far Side Viking cartoons, the warriors are depicted as comedically inept here, falling prey to a common problem that every one of Gary Larson's readers likely experienced at one time or another. This combination of elements was what made The Far Side more than just amusing, but actually endearing to its readers, and ensured that the comic would have a lasting cultural legacy not unlike the Vikings it so readily lampooned over the years.
