The Far Side never fails to make readers laugh.

That being said, sometimes the jokes in The Far Side go beyond simply ‘throwing a ridiculous filter on the world’ and actually take things a bit too far. From playing real-world tragedies for a laugh and joking about death, to actually pulling practical jokes on child readers, The Far Side has certainly had more than a few controversial comics that many would argue took things way too far. Among them all, here are the 7 Far Side comics that took things way, way too far!

7 The Far Side Killed Big Bird

The Far Side Murdered a Beloved Children's Character

In this comic, Sesame Street's Big Bird is lying dead on the floor of an apartment in some unnamed (though assuredly dangerous) city. Investigators are gathered around the body, trying to uncover the cause of death, as a crowd of people is starting to form in the hallway, peering into the apartment. The lead detective tells the other officer that the cause of death is "bird shot... big bird shot". Obviously, that's hilarious, and confirms that Gary Larson is a genius when it comes to comedic wordplay. But, hilarious or not, this comic takes things a bit too far.

Sesame Street is one of the most beloved shows geared towards children in all history, something that's still true to this day, and Big Bird is one of the main characters of Sesame Street. So, to see him lying dead in some seedy apartment building after getting shot might be a bit traumatic for younger readers. And, honestly, it's pretty disturbing for even older readers, as they assuredly grew up with Big Bird, and are now forced to watch him die in The Far Side.

6 The Far Side Pranked Kids

The Far Side Played an Unintentional Practical Joke on Child Readers

In this Far Side comic, it's not about what's in the illustration that takes things too far, but what's not in it. This comic is set up as an 'object finder' puzzle game for kids (which is indicated by the giant "KIDS" written on the itself), where the objective is to find all the appliances hidden in the woods. The appliances aren't hidden very well, as it's pretty easy to spot a fridge and a microwave in the middle of a bunch of trees, and there's only eight of them, making the game way too easy. Except, in the upside-down answer box, The Far Side says that there are 127 appliances to find - which is clearly not the case.

This comic reportedly drummed up some real-world controversy, as parents reportedly wrote Gary Larson letters complaining about how this was a practical joke on their children - one that was not appreciated in the slightest. It seems kids were getting frustrated that they couldn't find all 127 appliances in the picture, despite the fact that there were only eight, which was the joke Larson was going for. Unfortunately, that Far Side joke just went a bit too far.

5 The Far Side's Dark 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' Retelling

In The Far Side, Mary Had a Little Lamb... for Dinner

A woman named Mary is sitting at her table, enjoying her dinner. It's immediately apparent that she has some shepherding experience given the sheep hook that's propped up against her counter, and her entire outfit just screams 'Little House on the Prairie'. In other words, it should be clear to everyone reading this that this woman is an adult version of Mary from the popular children's rhyme 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'. But, where's the lamb? In the song, Mary's lamb followed her everywhere, including school, even though that was against the rules. So, where is the lamb now? Well, unfortunately, the lamb is in this image, just not in a way anyone would have liked.

Mary is eating her lamb in this Far Side comic, which puts a dark spin on the title of the original children's song 'Mary Had a Little Lamb', as it twists it to something more like: 'Mary Had a Little Lamb... for Dinner'. Just like with dead Big Bird, this Far Side comic takes things too far by corrupting something from childhood, as no one who grew up singing 'Mary Had a Little Lamb' wanted this to happen.

4 The Far Side Makes Fun of a Real-World Tragedy

The Far Side Makes a 'Dingo Ate My Baby' Joke

A nursery is right next to a 'dingo farm' (whatever that means) in this Far Side comic, and all the dingos are looking over the fence at a bunch of babies that are playing outside, totally unsupervised. It's clear that the dingos would want nothing more than to hop over the fence and get at those babies, and the caption of this comic - which reads, "Trouble brewing" - implies that that's exactly what's about to happen. While this is a dark joke in and of itself - since it's effectively a 'dead baby joke', and those are always super dark - this Far Side comic goes a step further by making fun of a real-world tragedy.

The real-world tragedy in question is the death of an infant named Azaria Chamberlain, who was killed by a dingo. Her mother and father were prosecuted in her death, as no one believed that a dingo actually killed the baby. But, when Chamberlain's remains were finally found, her parents' innocence was proven. However, that doesn't detract from the horrific tragedy of the situation, which The Far Side is mocking in this comic that obviously goes way too far.

3 The Far Side Corrupts 'Old MacDonald'

The Far Side Gives a Classic Children's Song a Dark Ending

A chicken and a human man are sitting in a jail cell together, discussing how they each wound up in prison. While readers don't get to hear the man's story, they do get the full story on the chicken, who its to the horrible - though arguably justifiable - crime she's committed. The chicken says that she snuck up behind her farmer, Old MacDonald, with an ax, and whacked his head clean off. While that's disturbing enough, especially for a comic strip that's suitable for readers of all ages, it's not what she did that takes things way too far, it's how she said it.

The chicken doesn't just say outright that she cut Old MacDonald's head off, she does it as though it's a part of the classic kid's song, "Old MacDonald Had A Farm". This is how the chicken described the murder she committed: "with a whack whack here, and a whack whack there, I finished him off". Imagine a child singing that during circle time - which is exactly why this Far Side comic takes things way too far.

2 The Far Side Corrupts a Beloved Children's Story

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is a Little Different in The Far Side

Snow White is on her way back to the cabin that she shares with the Seven Dwarves, just as depicted in the classic children's tale Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In of the original story, it seems like this scene takes place after the Evil Queen tried to kill Snow, but before she was kissed by Prince Charming. That means Snow White is living comfortably with her found family, the Seven Dwarves. Unfortunately, one python changed all that entirely.

On her way home, Snow White is reading the newspaper, where the top story of the day is news of a python that escaped from the zoo. Little did Snow White know at the time, the python had made its way to her cabin, and it ate all seven of the Seven Dwarves before slithering out the window, presumably getting away with it. This Far Side joke clearly takes things way too far, as the comic has once again corrupted a story meant for children, giving it a decidedly horrific ending.

1 The Far Side Has Cannibal Cows

A Cow is Grilling Burgers (& Shamed for It) in The Far Side

A cow named Jessy is grilling burgers outside, and she's accosted by her neighbors, who call her "sick" for doing such a thing. On the surface, it doesn't seem like Jessy is doing anything wrong. Everyone grills out now and again if they're able to. So, why are her neighbors giving her such a hard time? Well, that's because the burgers she's grilling aren't plant-based (as one might assume), nor are they from a different kind of animal. Those are beef patties. In other words, the patties Jessy is grilling - presumably with the intention of eating afterward - are made of dead cows.

This Far Side comic takes things way too far by casually showing readers a cannibalistic cow who's just grilling a piece of a shredded corpse of her own kind out in the open like it was nothing. This scene forces readers to consider how disturbing it would be if these were humans instead of cows, hammering home the horrific imagery that's played up as a joke in this comic. And that's why this comic, as well as these other Far Side comics, just take things way too far.