The Far Side ran until the end of 1994, and as such, it is always worth giving extra scrutiny to the final stretch of creator Gary Larson’s career; this list looks at the funniest panels he produced from the month of August ‘94, as The Far Side rounded out its final summer.
Gary Larson announced his retirement in the fall of 1994, just a few months before he ceased production of The Far Side.
What that suggests is that he was already considering this career-ending movie by the time he published these comics in August, and perhaps had even already made up his mind.
10
The Far Side’s Ridiculous Take On Union Tensions Is Satirical Gold
First Published: August 11, 1994
In this Far Side cartoon, “a meeting between management and the Plutonium Trucker’s Union grows tense,” and the punchline is that exposure to the product they haul has mutated all the truckers. The point, of course, is not just to laugh at the characters’ mutated forms, but rather to offer a hyperbolic satire of the eternal “management vs. ground-level workers” divide.
Often, the satirical qualities of The Far Side are discussed as if they are distinct from Gary Larson’s humor, but in fact, the comedic success or failure of a panel like this one relies on whether the reader grasps Larson’s note of satire here, and how they feel about it.
9
The Far Side Saved Its Cruelest Cartoon Punishments For Mimes
First Published: August 12, 1994
Gary Larson routinely put all of his characters through hell, often literally, as The Far Side frequently joked about eternal damnation. However, it’s fair to say he seemed to have a soft spot for inflicting pain and suffering on mimes; while they didn’t appear frequently in his cartoons, they often got the worst of his penchant for macabre humor.
That is certainly the case in this darkly hilarious Far Side panel, which depicts a novel form of Mob slaying, in which they “sometimes dress victims as mimes, place them in a glass box, and let them perish slowly in full view of the public.” It is a delightfully off-the-rails Far Side Mafia joke, perhaps the strangest one Larson produced.
8
The Far Side Exploits A Common Misconception About Ancient Rome, To Great Comedic Effect
First Published: August 17, 1994
Gary Larson loved ancient history, and in this cartoon, he turns one of history’s biggest misconceptions into a laugh-out-loud Far Side cartoon. “I’m an assistant regurgitation engineer,” an Ancient Roman says to a woman at a bar, as the caption notes that “it was tough for the guys who worked in the vomitoriums to get dates.”
This conjures gnarly imagery of vomitorium employees helping opulent Roman landowners and Senators to puke up the excess of food and wine they consumed. This is not the real meaning of “vomitorium,” but many people think it is, and this Far Side panel smartly envisions the romantic consequences of such an unpleasant career.
7
A Brutally Honest Far Side Monologue Results In A Laugh-Out-Loud Cartoon
First Published: August 19, 1994
“I’m just a lucky skunk, Bernard,” a skunk says, puffing on a pipe while sitting next to a roaring fire in its finely decorated den, as its rabbit friend sips a brandy, and they reflect on what brought them here. The skunk admits it is “not particularly bright,” and that it “never worked hard” or got an education. All it needed was luck.
It is a hilarious Far Side extrapolation from a classic idiom, riffing on the phrase “lucky skunk.” What elevates the joke, though, is the character’s self-awareness. The skunk’s brutal honesty about how it got ahead in life by happenstance is the heart of this punchline, and it stands out as an underrated classic Far Side panel.
6
The Far Side Flashes Back To The Early Days Of An Iconic Cinematic Killer
First Published: August 22, 1994
Gary Larson loved movies, and The Far Side is full of shout-outs to the classics, including Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho. Here, years before the Bates Motel sequel show, Larson envisions the early years of “little Normy Bates,” in an outrageous recreation of a memorable part from the film: Norman’s fake conversations with his “mother.”
In this case, this became a staged interaction with his “dog,” which readers can presume doesn’t exist, or in the darker possible interpretation, was killed by “Normy,” who goes through these theatrics “while his playmates patiently waited,” like in the film, to keep suspicion to a minimum.
5
The Far Side Finally Explains Its Proliferation Of Mad Scientists
First Published: August 25, 1994
“All research science students are required to take one semester of Maniacal Laughter,” the caption of this panel reads, which explains why so many of The Far Side’s scientists went mad, and why hunchbacked mad scientists’ assistants were in such high demand. This great punchline is then made even more impactful by a hysterical illustration.
“Begin by keeping your diaphragm tight,” the professor explains to a room full of students, demonstrating with a volunteer, instructing the class how to laugh if “say, for example, [they] have just discovered how to reanimated dead tissue.” This comic represents The Far Side at its most immersive, and its most fully-realized, making it another underrated classic.
4
The Far Side Reveals The Truth One Legendary Revolutionary War Moment
First Published: August 26, 1994
Another historical Far Side comic. Or perhaps “ahistorical” is a better term, as Gary Larson takes a foundational myth from the American War for Independence and puts his own over-the-top spin on it, revealing the “twist of fate” that befell one unfortunate Red Coat when “the opposing American general” shouted a command that would go down as an all-timer.
“Don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes.” Modern scholars are skeptical whether this was actually said at Bunker Hill, but for the sake of “Charles ‘Bugeyed Bingham,” The Far Side readers should hope not. Otherwise, they must imagine him attracting a volley of musket fire in the moments following this cartoon.
3
Late In Gary Larson’s Career, This Far Side Gazelle Figured It Had Nothing Left To Lose
First Published: August 29, 1994
“Yes, he too was a herd animal,” the caption to this Far Side cartoon explains of a gazelle who has stood upright on its hind legs, wearing a cowboy hat, and stayed behind to confront a pair of predators while the rest of its herd flee in terror, “but he was through running.”
Gary Larson had a knack for envisioning his characters acting against type, and against expectations, to great comedic effect. That was true for The Far Side’s many animal characters, as much as its human population, and this panel from near the end of Larson’s career typifies how he found humor in that.
2
The Far Side Finds Brilliant Comedic Tension In The Moment Before The Lid Is Popped Off “Pandora’s Box”
First Published: August 30, 1994
Gary Larson brilliantly takes on Greek mythology in this cartoon, as a teacher reads a note from former student “Pandora,” who “hope[s] the context of this box” will make up for how much she “whined so much about being mistreated.” Of course, readers will know that this touching Far Side moment is actually a trap.
This cartoon is a great example of The Far Side’s use of comedic irony; the reader knows that messing with “Pandora’s box” is a bad idea, as Larson riffs on both the myth and the phrase it originated, but the characters in the panel don’t, and the disconnect there is part of what makes this punchline so funny.
First Published: August 31, 1994
“In the longest hour of his life,” this Far Side comic’s caption states, “Morty takes the dare of his sloth buddies and crosses the Autobahn,” the German highway known worldwide for having stretches that lack speed limits entirely. Naturally, the punchline here contrasts that with the equally notorious slow movements of sloths.
However, notably, as fast and furiously as Gary Larson gleefully dispatched Far Side characters over the years, the caption here implies that Morty the sloth survived. Perhaps, as he came to the realization that he was ready to retire, Gary Larson decided for a moment to spare at least one Far Side character’s life.
- Writer
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Gary Larson
- Colorist
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Gary Larson
