The Far Side comics from November 1994 recently celebrated their thirtieth anniversary. Although the comics may be three decades old, these strips still find new audiences who love the comic's signature strange and irreverent sense of humor. The Far Side.
Many things have changed since 1994, but one thing that remains constant is that The Far Side remains hilarious for those who grew up with comics, as well as those discovering comics for the first time. Given that The Far Side It had no recurring characters and often showed varied and diverse topics and creatures. All of the November 1994 comics differ greatly from each other - but maintain Gary Larson's peculiar and sometimes cynically divergent point of view.
10
"Your arrival was unexpected"
November 1994
When Spunky the dog enters the kitchen to eat his breakfast, he sees a very frustrating sight: his owner has eaten his bowl of dog food. Spunky's owner tries to pretend he never ate the dog food, trying to look like he was nonchalantly reading the morning newspaper. It's not exactly a welcome sight to see someone eating dog food, and it would be even more unnerving for a dog to see his food being devoured by his human.
Like many Far Side In the comics, the dog seems to be a little smarter than the human, as the dog immediately knows that something is wrong and what exactly is happening. Animals are often portrayed as more intelligent and have more positive characteristics than people, making this comic another comic to add to the list.
9
"I also want my own identity"
November 1994
When an M&M couple goes to marriage counseling, one of them is fed up with everyone not recognizing their own identity, tired of being considered just an M in relation to the other's M. bar counselor to put himself in their shoes. The Far Side I've always loved imagining the most unexpected animals or objects in some very human interactions and situations.
Many couples face identity struggles after getting married because of the desire to remain true to themselves and their own lives while also being able to commit partners. Apparently classic M&M candies also have these marital issues, but it's still a strange way for people to bond with a famous candy.
8
"A Great Ape"
November 15, 1994
When two explorers in the jungle get a flat at a very inopportune moment, a very helpful monkey comes to their rescue and changes the tire for them. The primate's exceptional service leads one of the explorers to exclaim that they were "one big monkey."Another example to add to the many Far Side comics that use wordplay and puns",a big monkey"has the perfect double meaning in the strip.
"A big monkey"is typically the taxonomic name of the group of primates known as Homindae. In the case of the comic strip, the explorer notes that the primate is"a big monkey"-"excellent"how wonderful and useful. As a result, the great ape is"excellent"both taxonomically and exceptionally.
7
"Leonard painted this"
November 18, 1994
The old saying "art imitates life"It's also true in the world of The Far Side. In this strip, the protagonist's companion paints a painting of a couple on a couch with Leonard probably holding some kind of sharp tool behind the couple, the title of the painting being about how the couch is his. The couch appears to be the same one the visiting couple is currently sitting on, communicating that the pair should probably consider moving out unless they want Leonard's wrath.
A bizarre comic, Leonard appears to be incredibly possessive of his couch. Like many Far Side comics, the strip tends to create more questions than answers. The most pressing question seems to be whether the couple on the sofa will suffer the same fate, whatever it may be, as the couple in the painting.
6
"ACME's New Wingbaby"
November 24, 1994
With an invention that would certainly be a smashing success, The Far Side creates the ACME Wingbaby product. Created to scare crying children on flights into silence, the ACME Wingbaby is a fake child tied to a plane by string, making it look like a child is being dragged through a plane.
By scaring children so that they don't cry on the plane, and possibly so that they never cry again, it is believed that everyone's comfort on the plane will improve. An excellent example of The Far Side dark sense of humor, the idea of scaring children by telling them that if they don't stop their tummy ache they too will be tied out of a plane, wouldn't be anyone's first strategy to stop children from crying on planes.
5
"Problem solved!"
November 1994
When Pinocchio has claw marks all over his wooden face and the family cat is dangerously close to him, Geppetto arrives in the nick of time with exactly what is needed: a scratching post for his aggressive cat. The first thought about what it must be like to be a walking, talking doll wouldn't involve being used as a scratching post for the family cat, but that's poor Pinocchio's situation nonetheless.
Fortunately for all parties, a real scratching post will give Pinocchio some much-needed relief. No wonder he wanted so much to be a real boy. The Far Side tends to put a different spin on classic, wholesome fairy tales and media properties that are well known in popular culture. Giving it a slightly darker touch Pinocchio fits with this running joke The Far Side.
4
"Dogs and Alcohol"
November 28, 1994
Alcohol has gotten a bad reputation for making people do stupid and even dangerous things, which is the case in THE Far Side also. Some dogs drink alcohol and think it's a good idea to sneak into a cheetah enclosure at the zoo, which spells trouble for the cubs. Dogs are frequent characters in The Far Sidesometimes remaining true to his canine nature, other times taking on more anthropomorphic qualities, as in this strip.
An activity that only the stupidest of humans would attempt while drunk, dogs decide to take reckless, stupid, drunken acts to the next level by invading a carnivorous animal's enclosure. Consequently, the comic exposes a tragic story that no one knew before this Far Side comical, but that all dogs The Far Side should know.
3
"I'll drive"
November 1994
In the middle of nowhere, a cowboy leads his horse straight into a cactus, causing the poor horse to decide that he will now take on driving responsibilities since his owner is obviously not up to the task. The fact that the cowboy led the horse directly into a cactus despite no other area having cacti makes it one hundred percent understandable why the horse finally won him over and wants to take over.
The cowboy who survives the wild frontier is hard to fathom, as he can't even avoid a single cactus in a wide open space with literally nothing else around. The horse supporting his steering-challenged cowboy shows how much patience the animal has. Hopefully the horse won't get poked in the face anymore when he takes over the steering.
2
"Preserves"
November 1, 1994
Larson has always liked to include a good dose of irony in The Far Side comic books, with a notable example in this story. When a fruit preserve truck veers off the road and into the La Brea tar pits, they are about to be preserved once again by the tar pits, which have preserved the ancient remains of the first creatures. As a result, the cannery truck and its unfortunate inhabitants are about to be preserved by the La Brea Tar Pits.
In addition to the irony used in comic books, the play on words, a favorite technique of The Far Sideis also used by tapping "preserves,"as in a jelly-like food, and"preserve,"how to maintain something in its existing state. Consequently, the comic is just one of many stories that showcase Larson's talent for wordplay.
1
"Mad Scientist's Block"
November 8, 1994
Writer's block, a phenomenon where someone has trouble coming up with good ideas for their work, can happen to even the most talented authors. In The Far Side, a mental block can also occur in mad scientists. As one comic strip illustrates, a mad scientist struggles to overcome his mental block, even after writing down a bunch of crazy ideas and then abruptly crossing them out when he finds them bad.
One of these ideas that received the blow from the comic book's mad scientist involves a giant squid and crossing it with another creature, but the scientist gives up on the idea before even thinking of another creature to crossbreed with the sea animal. One would think that a mad scientist would have the freedom to do whatever comes into his head, but this Far Side comics refutes this assumption.