10 Hilarious Comics on the Far Side Featuring the Grim Reaper (and Other Ghouls)

Death was a frequent guest star on The front side – sometimes literally, as the panels with the Grim Reaper and other gruesome figures show. Artist Gary Larson’s penchant for dark humor meant that many of his characters met tragic and sometimes twisted fates; After the cartoons in which the embodiment of mortality itself was, in typical For side Harvest, among the silliest, least scary of the pass’s run.

From relationship woes to minor frustrations, The front side Taking on Death is used – as fans have come to expect from Gary Larson – to offer a deliberately, delightfully skewed perspective on life. In whatever way he represented mortality on the page, it was almost as certain as death and taxes that The front side would get a reaction from his readers.

10

On the other hand, death was always an angry

First published: May 28, 1993

In one of Gary Larson’s most infamous For side panels set in a cinema, The Grim Reaper settles into a seat at the cinema with his popcorn, soda and scissors – only to spot the woman he’s dating sitting a few seats away from Jack KevorkianThe controversial Medical Assisted Euthanasia advocate, nicknamed “Dr. Death” by the press.

By far, this represents one of The front side Most open current references; Although many of Gary Larson’s cartoons have a timeless quality, this one is unabashedly of his era, likely because the artist found that the joke was simply too good to illustrate. In any case, although readers will need to understand the context of Kevorkian’s place in American culture of the early 1990s, for those who get the reference, it is undeniably effective. For side.

9

For Gary Larson, death is nothing but a big joke

First published: April 20, 1993

Death is, of course, life’s greatest mystery, and thanatophobia – the fear of death and dying – is an unavoidable condition for many people. Others have a luxury to be able to laugh at the reaper, as is the case in This For side Cartoon depicting death bombing at a stand-up comedy open mic, with only one member of the audience responding to his routine.

“Only Bernard, in the first row“, the caption elaborates,”Had the nerve to laugh at deathGiven the way he constantly found humor in mortality, it makes sense that Gary Larson was one of those people who combats the fear of death with a wicked sense of humor, as many do, transforming terror into For side Punchlines. In general, he was much better as a humorist than the Ripper here.

8

On the far side, death can be quite a headache

First published: January 1, 1993

in this For side Cartoon, the Grim Reaper moonlights as the “Angel of migraines“Walking away from a house with boxing gloves, as through the window of the living room you see a woman with a head on her head.. The cartoon’s visual humor makes effective use of contrasts—especially the incongruity of the Ripper’s red gloves against his dark coat as he strides down the front walkway of the suburban home in broad daylight.

Migraine sufferers know that severe headaches can strike at any time, something Gary Larson equates to sudden death in this panel. In this instance, the artist strikingly and memorably subverts the familiar iconography of death to poke fun at one of life’s great inconveniences.

7

The front side goals are taken too seriously

First published: December 29, 1986

In this case, a couple of goals, Grim Reaper-esque figures are on a mission to scare a pair of teenagers – who catch one admonishing the other to stop shining a flashlight on his face. “We’re trying to scare the kids“, one of the cloaked skeletons tells his compatriot, Karl, “Don’t burst them up.”

Here, Gary Larson plays with a familiar trope – a flashlight pointed up at someone’s face to make them scary – by suggesting that it is not actually effective, with the opinion coming from no less an authority than a couple of supernatural scaremongers. Although they have the familiar appearance of death, the For side Goals are far from intimidating, instead coming off as goofy and harmless in spite of themselves.

6

A desperate farce traveling salesman knocks at death’s door

First published: May 7, 1986

The image of the knock at the door is used for both sides of the mortality equation. People at the end of their lives are said to be “Knock on the dead door,” while alternatively, it is the Reaper who is said to come knocking when it is time to collect a soul. For side Cartoon hilariously lampoons this idiom, With an intrepid traveling salesman knocking at “The Deaths'” door, just as they settled down for the night.

“Dang, if it doesn’t happen every time!– exclaims Mr. Death over his newspaper, as Mrs. Death holds a steaming cup of night coffee (or tea).We just sit down to relax and someone knocks on the door.” Although not necessary for readers to understand the joke, the mailbox in the foreground marked “The Deaths” hammers home the hilarity of this For side Painting.

5

An ambitious traveling salesman tries to find work on the far side

First published: March 5, 1985

In an earlier take on the “Knock on the dead door“Joke, HBe For side Panel features a traveling salesman who is turned away at the gates of a cemetery, as a Ripper-esque figure tells him: “Sorry… we’re dead.” Hilarious with the extremes people will go to to avoid inviting a salesman into their home, Gary Larson uses the avatar of death to effectively portray a strange life in his own idiosyncratic way.

Funny as the joke is, given the extraordinary nature of The front sideIt is indeed commendable that this seller tried to open a lucrative new market by contacting the owners of the cemetery. Unfortunately, he doesn’t make it past the door – after all, the premise of it For side Cartoon continues to entertain even beyond the effect of the punchline on the page.

4

The other side was full of close encounters with death

First published: December 31, 1984

In this For side panel, “Screams a man in pain”Hey, watch those elbows buddy!“At the grime rapper rushing past him on a busy city street. “Ignorant,” comments the caption, “Irvine had a brush with death“As he often does, here Gary Larson takes a popular idiom and literalizes it – subsuming its scariness into absurdity in the process.

That is, the joke here takes a life-death experience, also called a “Brush with death“And downgrades it to one of the common ingenuities of city life. What makes this even weirder is the fact that, despite potentially provoking the wrath of the Reaper by shouting at him, Irwin can’t even seem to understand the gravity of the moment, As death goes about its business, leaving the man on the street for another day.

3

On the far side, death can be the life of the party

First published: March 23, 1983

Especially early on The front side Run, Gary Larson used the familiar image of the Grim Reaper – the cloak, and the silhouetted face – in somewhat unconventional ways. Rather than death itself, the Reaper-inspired characters are dead, or undead, ghouls and ghosts. This is the case here, Like a room full of ghouls partying together, various smoking and drinking, as one asks the other: “Hey, Bob! How did death treat you?“

Essentially, the reaper iconography is used indirectly here as shorthand for death; If the illustration featured a group of human-looking characters standing around, the punchline would not be effectively conveyed by the image. Alternatively, Larson could have drawn a collection of semi-translucent ghosts, or people with angel wings, but by making them visually reminiscent of the popular conception of death, Gary Larson also put a proprietary stamp on the joke that makes it more memorable. .

2

Gary Larson reminds readers to always check the death certificate before opening the door

First published: February 1, 1982

in this For side cartoon, A couple of women understandably hesitate to open the door to the haunted figure, shrouded in darkness, with glowing red eyes, who claims to be the reaper. “Wait a minute here“, one of them steals.”How do we know you are the real angel of death?“

Although each and every For side The panel was intended to be enjoyed in isolation, this one works especially well in the context of Gary Larson’s various depictions of the Reaper over the years; Consider this perhaps the most ominous incarnation of death to ever grace The front sideThe women at the door are even more justified in their skepticism.

1

On the far side, even goals get spooked sometimes

First published: June 23, 1980

In one of Gary Larson’s earliest For side Paneled with Grim Reaper-inspired goals, the joke hinges on the strip’s characteristic Larsonian inversion. That is, it is hHe scares figures who are frightened themselves – poke their heads into a room where they heard a noise, find with relief that the cause of the commotion is only a cat.

With this panel, Gary Larson established that his depictions of death personified would provide a measure of relief from the mortal danger that For side Paradoxical, perhaps, but that was just one of the many strange, unique things about Larson as a creator that made The front side As memorable, and even groundbreaking, as it has been consistently from start to finish over its nearly fifteen years in publication.