The front side Featured a number of very unusual pets – from classic household animals that have shocking things, to animals that have no business being domesticated and kept in people’s living rooms. In many memorable strips, Gary Larson took the idea of ​​pets and offers a number of different variations on the premise, all of which will strike a chord with readers. In one way or another.
In the hilarious For side Pet panels, Gary Larson takes two different paths, each of which ultimately led to a solid laugh. In some cases, Larson offers a surprising – and in some cases, even touching – bond between humans and wild animals; The jokes are rooted in the baseline absurdity of animals like rhinos and giant squid as pets.
Alternatively, Larson also subverts the pet/owner dynamic in other ways, by featuring domesticated creatures, such as goldfish and dogs, who rebel or rebel against their humans, to great comedic effect.
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The front side goldfish are something (but what is their angle?)
First published: February 28, 1983
in this For side goldfish panel, A woman walks through her door into a waiting trap, set by her pet fish, and finds herself hanging upside down from a rope around her ankle.. The question of why the fish decided to improve the pet/owner dynamic and spring the trap is a question left unanswered – but the small detail of the fish’s food next to their bowl suggests to readers that they may not have had the full idea. This through.
Here, the joke is about more than just subverting the relationship between pet and owner, but doing so in a way that is logistically impossible. The gap between what is depicted, and the “how” and “what” of it, is what makes this a powerful example of Gary Larson’s iconic absurdist style of humor.
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Gary Larson’s pet jokes are out of this world (what are they saying?)
First published: February 9, 1984
in one of The front side best foreign panels, A green extraterrestrial creature coaxes his three-eyed pet to do a trick, demanding that it “Coona Foni“On command. After frustration on the alien pet owner’s part, his companion complies, extending his eyes and earning a smile from his master.
captain”Pet tricks on other planets“, the humor here is centered less in the sequence of images, and more in the use of a made-up foreign language. The front sideGary Larson often interprets familiar human behaviors and activities from an outside perspective – and this is perhaps the most extreme example of why. While critics may argue that many For side Cartoons were “nonsense,” there was more internal logic to the majority of them than even Gary Larson could give himself credit for. Here, the nonsense is deliberate, and effectively amusing.
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Giant squid are common pets on the far side (but why?)
First published: February 17, 1984
in this For side squid panel, A man storms down the street with a cane, angry at his pet squid for “Jump[ing] The fence again” – as the poor creature hides in a dark alley. The eyes of the squid are the most effective part of the panel, conveying a real sense of fear of being caught by its mean owner, mixing a touch of sadness with the humor of the panel.
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Gary Larson depicted a number of pet squid in different For side cartoons over the years; In fact, the squid is perhaps Larson’s favorite recurring unnatural pet. One of Larson’s go-to creative moves has been to take something out of its usual context and place it in a radically unexpected setting or scenario—or in the case of his pet giant squid, both, because there’s nothing more incongruous than a Massively tentacled. Sea creature appearing on land, and acting domesticated.
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The funniest pet squid panel in the front page (how fast can the door-to-door salesman get out?)
First published: July 13, 1984
Once again, Gary Larson finds great humor in a giant squid as a pet – and again, the squid’s eyes are the key to this For side Cartoon, except instead of fear, the cephalopod has an expression of rage on its face. “Oh, no, he’s quite harmless.“The owner of the squid says to some sort of salesman lingering hesitantly in his doorway, but then adds, “Just don’t show any fear. Squids can sense fear.”
In addition to being one of Larson’s most laugh-out-loud punchlines, it’s also a pitch-perfect painting, as the size of the squid is contrasted with the much smaller humans and the cramped apartment that has become his home away from home. Natural habitat. Meanwhile, the evil eyes of the squid darting to the intruder on his turf will certainly stick with For side Reader.
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A surprisingly touching Far Side Rhino comic (When’s Daddy Coming Home?)
First published: August 6, 1984
This For side Rhino Panel is weird in its very premise, which features a pet rhinoceros—but it’s one of the very, very rare cartoons produced by Gary Larson that could be called “cute” in any way, shape, or form. Using a split panel format, Larson depicts A man on a business trip calls home from a phone booth, as his wife holds the phone to their pet rhino and asks for “One moan for dad.”
As silly and funny as it may be, what is implicit in the joke is that the rhino is a good pet, and a valued member of the household, one that lacks “Dad“While he’s gone. In fact, this is the crux of the joke, and makes it one of the most memorable For side Comics about unexpected and unconventional pets.
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Two of Far Side’s pet giant squids end up in the pond at once (what are the odds?)
First published: September 20, 1984
in this For side Pet Squid Panel Gary Larson crafts a joke that’s not only rooted in the idea that anyone would keep a giant deep-sea squid as a pet – but rather takes it to the next level, by getting a laugh out of The extreme improbability of the scenario presented, in which two different pet giant squid are lost by their owners and end up in the point at the same time.
Adding another layer to the punchline is the headline, which reveals that the owner of one of the squids can’t even differentiate between the two, because he’s standing in front of the squid in the foreground of the panel, only pointing at one half. – Way out of frame, said “Wait! My mistake! That’s him there“- having almost taken the wrong one home.
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The cost of a pet rhino must be astronomical (is it worth it?)
First published: January 10, 1986
All pet owners know that their animals’ love and companionship is a return of a very real, very substantial financial investment, one that includes both expected costs, like food, and the unexpected – if, for example, your pet dog, or in this Fall rhinoceros, does damage to their home.
Gary Larson offers a hilarious exploration of the reality of pet ownership here, in a panel that features a rhino’s horn bursting through the front door of its owner’s home in the foreground, in the background, The woman of the home puts her hands on her hips and complains that their “The spoiled rhino was either going to burn or charge the door all night until we let him in.”
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The Far Side Proves You Can Teach an Old Fish New Tricks (But Can He Do It Again?)
First published: April 10, 1986
Once again, Gary Larson features a seemingly conventional pet goldfish doing something totally unexpected – or rather, it seems, hoped for, but no less surprising. “He does it! He does it!” A man shouts to his wife, their goldfish jumped out of his bowl onto his fingerWith the implication that man has been trying to train his fish to do just that, and it has finally happened.
What makes this For side The main funny cartoon is the range of reactions on the faces of the characters. In the background of the frame, the woman seems, at best, if not downright indifferent, while her husband is a mix of shocked and cheerful. Funniest of all, the goldfish seems surprised and startled by its accomplishment – suggesting it can’t make a habit of it.
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Every pet owner sacrifices for their animals (but how much is too much?
First published: October 4, 1986
In this special strange For side bear panel, A man talks proudly about the bear he raised from a cub – while noting that he has to learn”Not to try and take her food bowl away until she is done“, a lesson that cost him his armAs evidenced by the hook in its place.
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The look of concern on his guest’s face completes the punchline here, which is one of Gary Larson’s best due to his incredibly precise composition. In the foreground, the bear is shown with its snout buried in the food bowl in question, with the ursine pet depicted as absolutely massive. Meanwhile, the proud owner and his friend sit at a small table in the background of the frame, near the corner of the room – suggesting they would be easy prey for the pet bear, if so inclined.
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One of Far Side’s darkest pet/owner confrontations (how does it end?)
First published: February 6, 1988
According to Gary Larson, several For side Comics have elaborate backstories, and this one feels like a joke with much more than what’s shown in the panel. It also ranks between The front side Darkest dog jokes, as its premise is rooted in the idea of ​​animal abuse. The cartoon depicts A dog with dynamite strapped to his chest, daring his owner to kick him, presumably not for the first time, and find out what the consequences are.
Of all the pets that confronted their owners in For side Panels, this is the most extreme and desperate. Although the image of the dog with the bomb around his waist, and his aggressive outburst in the title, may strike the reader as immediately amusing, the more time spent with him, the more it starts to feel like one of the most uncompromisingly bleak. For side comics.