Generally speaking, the history ofThe Far Sidecan be divided into three “acts,” or eras, each of which represents adistinct stage of creator Gary Larson’s career. In 1985,The Far Sidewas just being embraced on a national level, and becoming a pop culture phenomenon, thanks in part to the fact thatLarson was arguably entering his most prosperous creative period of the 1980s.
By ‘85,The Far Side’sreputation for “edgy” humorhad attracted more attention than Larson ever expected, and despite the “controversial” nature of his work, the response to his cartoons across the United States was largely positive.
Gary Larson didn’t necessarily change anything about his creative process, or the content ofThe Far Side, as it became more famous, but it is clear in retrospect that he truly “rounded into form” in this period, becoming more confident in his sense of humor and his artistic abilities, and consequently turning in some of his most classic comics of all time.
10The Far Side’s Sense Of Wit Got Sharper As Gary Larson’s Career Progressed
First Published: Jul 23, 2025
The Far Sidefeatured many takes on the “lost at sea” trope, and while there’s no clear consensus among fans as to which to rank as the best, this panel is consistently among the top contenders. Here, two shipwreck survivors look on in alarm asthe third person in their crowded inflatable life raft pulls “a box of rusty nails, broken glass, and throwing darts” on board.
When it comes toFar Sidepunchlines, this is arch-hilarity. It is unequivocally absurd, while at the same time evoking a sense of the very real phenomenon of people making poor decisions in times of crisis. In other words, it highlights how even Gary Larson’s silliest punchlines contained trace elements of his deep understanding of human behavior, especially human folly.
9The Far Side’s Vultures Get Tired Of Waiting Around In This Classic Cartoon
First Published: July 25, 2025
Vultures are, of course, known as carrion-eaters, famous for circling above dying prey waiting for it to finally expire before swooping down and pecking the bones clean. These scavenger birds werea staple ofThe Far Side, but this is arguably the most memorable of Gary Larson’s vulture jokes, because it depicts one of the birds acting uproariously out of character.
Fed up with waiting for a man crawling his way through the desert, anothercommonFar Siderecurring joke, and not willing to let him reach an oasis and take a drink of life-sustaining water,a vulture goes to extreme measures here, grabbing a piano and planning on dropping it on the man to finish him off for good. It is a laugh-out-loud visual, one which is made that much funnier by the birds’ dialogue.
8The Far Side Reminds Readers That Every Friend Group Has Its Clown
First Published: June 21, 2025
The Far Sidewas the product of an idiosyncratic creative mind, and a large part of Gary Larson’s success came from his outsider perspective, which he embodied in many classic cartoons over the years. This is certainly out of the most prominent examples, as it features a scene of alienation that successfully walks the high-wire act between strikingly relatable and hysterical high comedy.
“Brian wondered if the other guys really listened to his ideas, or regarded him only as comic relief,” the caption says of one character brooding in the backseat of a car full of friends;of course, the character is a clown, providing a delightfully ridiculous context for this moment of social isolation. Yet many people will recognize, and empathize, with the sentiment here, and it seems likely this joke stems from Larson’s own experience.
7The Far Side’s Killer Sense Of Humor Got More Dialed In As The 1980s Went On
First Published: July 18, 2025
Gary Larson’s “kill count” joke popped up in multiple forms over the years, most memorably in aFar Sidepanel that implied the Red Baron had shot Snoopy out of the sky, in adark twist on their iconicPeanutsrivalry. This version, in whicha cruise ship bears the marks of the sailboats it has crashed into, is a great example of Larson’s knack for visual jokes thatworked without a caption.
The reader needs to infer the joke, in this case, but it is clear enough what thisFar Sidepanel is communicating, and as such, that moment of figuring out the joke is a pleasurable experience, rather than a point of frustration. The joke is simple, yet it is not without layers that fans can appreciate as they reflect on it.
6In 1985, Gary Larson Was On A Hot Streak, Producing Some Of His Best Cartoons
First Published: July 23, 2025
The Far Sideis known for putting its characters through hell, and indeed, for sending many of them toactual hell, a frequent Far Side locale. Here, that is the pretext for delivering a classicLarsonian play on words,in which the phrase “damned if you do, damned if you don’t,“is visualized literally, with an impatient devil prodding a pitchfork into a man’s back and rushing him to pick one door or the other.
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This emphasizes one the virtues of Gary Larson’s humor, which is that while it was always clever, sometimes that cleverness came in the form of recognizing punchlines that were just sitting there, waiting to be made, rather than striving extra hard to come up with something entirely novel.
5A Prophecy Goes Hilariously Awry In This Legendary Far Side Joke
First Published: July 30, 2025
The Far Sidewas full of mishaps and misunderstands, and this cartoon presents one of mythical proportions, as Gary Larson riffs on the “sword in the stone” concept from Arthurian lore, in a particularly hilarious fashion.The Far Sidefeatured its share of kings and knightsin shining armor, but here,the magical blade is extracted by an ordinary-looking woman in a floral dress, causing trumpet-blaring cherubs to descend from the sky, and prompting a satyr to pop into frame and shout “stop the music! Something’s wrong here!”
It is an all-time greatFar Sidemix-up, with its humor stemming from the collision of the ordinary and the extraordinary, its pastiche of the mundane and the supernatural. And, of course, if nothing else, the wide-open mouth and panicked eyes of the satyr, in contrast with the woman calmly clutching the sword in the background, make for an iconic image.
4This Cartoon Came Out As The Far Side Was Becoming A Certified Smash Hit Success
First Published: June 03, 2025
ThisFar Sidejoke doesn’t need a captionto get its joke across to readers, but it is fair to speculate about how it could be funnier with the addition of one. In other words, if there were ever going to be a “create your ownFar Sidecaption” contest, this would be a fitting carton to use.
In the illustration,a fly is depicted smashed on a cuckoo clock, exactly where the door swings open, with the clock face showing just a minute past twelve, making it clear the insect had the misfortune of landing at precisely the top of the hour, leading to it being inadvertently swatted. It is an amusing premise, one that Gary Larson skillfully executes here, yet more than some captionlessFar Sidecartoons, it may leave readers wanting more.
3Want To Experience Peak Far Side Weirdness? Look No Further Than Gary Larson’s “Babyport” Panel
First Published: July 28, 2025
There’s no doubt this panel is in the runningfor weirdestFar Sidecartoon; it is among the most inexplicable jokes Gary Larson ever produced, not because it isn’t funny, but because its humor is extremely hard to wrap one’s head around. The gist of this joke stems from the observation that pilots often refer to their planes as “baby,” which Larson interprets literally, with the bizarre resultbeing a comic in which a naked baby lies on its belly on an airport runway, while two more soar in the sky above it.
In this case, the wordplay at the root of the joke might be easy to miss, given mostFar Sidereaders will fixate on the jarring, ludicrous imagery of the illustration.
2The Far Side Makes A Joke At Humanity’s Expense, From God’s Perspective
First Published: July 27, 2025
“Something tells me this thing’s only half-baked,“God Almighty Himself says in thisFar Sidecartoon,as He pulls the Earth out of the oven before it is ready.Gary Larson made his fair share of laugh-out-loud jokes starring God, but this one stands out as an example of the fact that the humor of these panels was about more than just making a joke out of religious iconography.
That is, Larson’s joke is actually aimed at the woes of the contemporary world, something practically all readers can relate to; whileThe Far Sideembodies this premise to a degree in many different cartoons, this is perhaps the most on-the-nose, deliberate example, and that is the case because it takes a leap of faith and uses God as its main character.
1The Far Side Weaved A Tangled Web, And A Tangled Snake, With Its Strange Sense Of Humor
First Published: Jun 13, 2025
“A square knot would have been bad news,” a vet tells a woman as he untangles her pet python, “but this just appears to be a granny.” ThisFar Sidecomic will have readers wondering how the snake got so tangled up in the first place, and while the caption is amusing, it is really the illustration that makes this a classic Gary Larson panel.
Most notably, the goofy expression on the snake’s face as it is tended to by the veterinarian;faces were often essential toThe Far Side’shumor, and this is a subtle example, as readers' attention will be drawn to the snake’s twisted-up mid-section, and the image of its owner clutching her hands over her mouth in concern. However, an extra glance will reveal the hilarious expression on the serpent’s face, as even theFar Side’ssmallest details often prove to be critical.
