These Far Side cartoons from the final year of Gary Larson’s career are examples of his humor at peak absurdity, proving that once he had committed to retirement, and there was no holding back, the results were among his weirdest and most memorable cartoons. This sent The Far Side out on a high note, as Larson produced some of his best work in the home stretch of his run.
To be clear, Gary Larson’s sense of humor was weird, and macabre, and hyperbolic from the very start of the series in 1980, but there is definitely a discernible uptick of outrageous hilarity in the latter years of The Far Side’s history.
In particular, the final year of Larson’s career seemed to be his most no-holds-barred era ever, as though knowing that the end was coming up gave him the freedom to venture into truly outrageous territory on a more regular basis. In any case, this list represents a collection of the funniest Far Side cartoons from 1994.
10 Heading Into 1994, Gary Larson Couldn't Bear To Retire Without Producing A Few More Classic Far Side Comics
First Published: January 10, 1994
In this Far Side bear cartoon, a group of bears sitting around their cave realize they have an intruder in their midst, as «Professor Wainwright’s painstaking field research to decode the language of bears» goes horribly, hilariously awry. What makes this comic stand out is Gary Larson’s use of a longer caption, combined with in-panel dialogue, when often throughout The Far Side’s history, he opted for one over the other.
Here, the doomed professor is a few seconds too late in realizing that the bears have identified the fact that he is, in fact, a man in a bear suit, as he belatedly reaches the conclusion that the accusatory growl coming from the bear across from him, a sharp claw extended in his direction, is bear for «zipper.»
9 Despite His Wild Sense Of Humor, Gary Larson Had A Good Head On His Shoulders
First Published: January 14, 1994
Cartoonish interpretations of horror imagery were a Far Side staple, with Gary Larson’s spine-tingingly comics becoming both sillier and more audacious as his career progressed. This panel embodies both those qualities, as an aging «headhunter» from an indigenous tribe watches a younger man water a garden full of sprouting human heads, complaining that «in my day, we collected wild heads from the jungle.»
In this way, Larson perfectly lampoons the idea of society «softening» over time; both characters here are interesting in collecting human heads, they just differ by way of methodology. «This just makes me sick,» the elder headhunter says, adding that «these things are all just sissies,» in a punchline that will have readers shaking their heads in disbelief, a classic response to The Far Side.
8 The Far Side Reveals The Extremes Some Animals Will Go To For An Easy Meal
First Published: May 10, 1994
Captioned «hunting techniques of the modern anteater,» this Far Side comic brilliantly features a pair of the animals disguised as humans on a picnic date, with one of them loudly drawing attention to the fact that they are humans, who just happen to have, enticingly for ants, spilled some of their food on the ground.
«Oops! I DROPPED some potato salad at this, our PICNIC!» the male anteater says, in the kind of stilted language commonly used to convey a lack of familiarity with English. This is another cartoon that perfectly triangulates the humor of its caption, its dialogue, and its illustration, the latter adding to the surreal quality by depicting the anteaters in poorly fitting human outfits.
7 Take A Closer Look At This Far Side Cartoon In Order To Fully Get The Joke
First Published: May 12, 1994
Captioned «more trouble brewing,» this Far Side cartoon is one of Gary Larson’s «disaster waiting to happen» punchlines, featuring a group of kids boarding a plane at «Anderson’s Sky Diving School,» which shares a fence with a «Crutchfield’s crocodile farm.«
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Crucially, the crux of this joke is a subtle one, which requires a closer look at the fine details of the illustration for fans to recognize that the last student diver in line to board the plane is hopelessly tangled in his parachute cord, suggesting he’ll be the one to plummet into the waiting jaws of a croc. Some fans will argue that this Far Side comic might benefit from a stronger caption, while others will maintain that the joy of the joke is doing a double-take, and realizing that Larson has given the reader everything they need for a laugh-out-loud, if macabre, pay-off.
6 Fans Wish Gary Larson Had Kept Drawing The Far Side After 1994
First Published: June 6, 1994
«Without a doubt, I’m looking at an authentic, full-fledged wishing star,» a gleeful astrologer says in this Far Side scientist cartoon, peering through a massive telescope. How has he come to this conclusion? His hypothesis stems from the empty lab coats and orphaned clipboards strewn at his feet, which belonged to «that cretin Foster» and «that jerk Cummings,» two colleagues he evidently didn’t like who have «instantly evaporated.»
This is a sterling example of Gary Larson’s ability to conceive of a hilarious premise and then execute it with near-perfect precision. Not every Far Side cartoon achieved this level, but cartoons like this are a testament to the upper level of Larson’s ability as a cartoonist working in the comic medium.
5 This Far Side Panel Highlights The Importance Of Eyes To Gary Larson's Visual Comedy
First Published: August 26, 1994
One of The Far Side’s perennial subjects was American history, and this is an underrated example of Gary Larson’s ability to take a real moment from the past and extrapolate a joke from it. Here, Larson puts his spin on the famous «don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes» command attributed to William Prescott during the Battle of Bunker Hill, by depicting a line of advancing red coats with indiscernible eyes, except for one, «Charles ‘Bugeyed’ Bingham.»
This is also perhaps the apex example of a pivotal Far Side artistic technique: Gary Larson’s use of eyes. Larson frequently drew the majority of his characters with either glasses, or lacking discernible eyeballs, save for select figures in each panel, in order to draw attention to their eyes. This Far Side panel almost feels as if he is acknowledging that trope and playing into it in the funniest possible way.
4 Elmer Fudd Is About To Be Exiled To The Far Side Of The Unemployment Line
First Published: September 14, 1994
In this absurd Far Side pop culture reference, Elmer Fudd is called into the «Personel» office at the screwdriver factory where he is employed; or «skwoo dwivuh» as he pronounces it, which is a problem, because according to HR, is that Fudd has «been having a subliminal effect on everyone in the factory,» causing them to adopt his particular speech pattern.
The Far Side was often at its best when Gary Larson took a simple premise and elaborated on it, but by contrast, what this comic off-the-rails in the best possible way is its more elaborate premise, which is all in service of a simple punchline. It is a smart reversal of The Far Side’s usual «formula,» one that reminds readers Gary Larson had tricks up his sleeve right up until the very end of the comic’s run.
3 This Far Side Comic Makes Perfect Sense If You Get The Classic Jazz Reference
First Published: October 7, 1994
This is one of those Far Side cartoons that is a brilliant reference, but it is also one that will fly over the heads of many readers who don’t immediately recognize it as a reference, because they are not familiar with the source material Gary Larson is riffing on here. That is, «Bye Bye Blackbird,» a nearly-century-old jazz standard, first written in 1926.
The song contains the line «pack up your cares and woes,» which Larson hysterically renders here as boxes labeled «cares & woes,» which a black bird calls «this depressing garbage of yours,» as his human roommate is in the process of moving out of their apartment. The joke is awesome in the context of the callback, while standing on its own, it comes across as absurd, boarding on bizarre, but still manages to evoke a laugh by way of sheer strangeness.
2 The Far Side Proves Being The Smartest Person In The Room Isn't Always A Good Thing
First Published: October 31, 1994
In this cartoon, one scientist bullies his colleague with an excessively large cranium, explaining that «having the biggest brain among us means it is mere child’s play to subdue you with an ordinary headlock!» It is the kind of simple Far Side joke which derives from Gary Larson highlighting the absurd potential of a certain trope.
Larson acknowledges this in the caption here, with the aggressive scientist saying «but on the other hand,» suggesting that he proceeded his physical attack with a compliment to the intelligence of big-brained «Feldman,» even if just to lull him into a false sense of security. The result is a classic late-stage Far Side cartoon, one that made it clear Gary Larson’s sense of humor remained undiminished, even as his will to keep producing panels waned.
1 This Might Be The Last Great Dark Far Side Joke
First Published: December 6, 1994
Coming in the final month of The Far Side’s run in syndication, this is without question one of Gary Larson’s most outrageous panels ever. In the cartoon, two construction workers are perched precariously on the crossbeam of an under-construction skyscraper, when one turns to the other and starts to rant about «that urge.«
What urge? «It begins with looking down from 50 stories up, thinking about the meaninglessness of life,» the caption features the man saying, as this Far Side comic treads into uniquely dark, existential territory, «listening to dark voices deep inside you, and you think…Should I push someone off?» Of course, readers will empathize with «Frank» here, trapped with no where else to go alongside one of The Far Side’s darkest characters, on the brink of doing something horrifying.
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