The Far Side is easily one of the funniest comics out there, but the reason it has remained so timeless is that it is completely unique. Unlike other comic books (like Garfield or Calvin and Hobbes), The Far Side There is no main character. Sure, there are some recurring characters, but mostly The Far SideIllustrations serve to highlight any jokes unique to an individual comic.
It's that method of individualized comics that is like this The Far Side can afford to have comics starring aliens, babies and even animals. In fact, jokes that use animals as jokes are a staple in The Far Sideas the series has no shortage of hilarious comics featuring anthropomorphic cows, scheming goldfish, and biblical moles. And of them all, these are the 10 funniest Far Side comics that forever changed readers' views on animals!
10
The Far Side Confirms That Cows Are Secretly Envious of Humans (For 1 Sick Reason)
That Far Side the comic shows a cow cooking on a grill outside, and the cow's neighbors are horrified by what they are seeing. The cow appears to be cooking burgers, which - as everyone knows - are made from ground beef, also known as beef. The implication here is that the cow is grilling dead cow burgers with the intention of eating them. Obviously this would be very disturbing for a cow, as this particular one is a sick cannibal eating its own kind in the open.
It seems that cows (or, at least, this cow) are jealous of humans for a shocking reason: humans eat hamburgers. Normally, a cow wouldn't dream of giving in to this supposed jealousy, but that didn't stop this cow, resulting in this hilarious Far Side comic.
9
The Far Side puts a hilarious twist on the expression "Wolf in Sheep's Clothing"
A wolf is dressed as a sheep, lurking among a flock, waiting for the chance to ambush at least one of them. But after sneaking around a flock of sheep for a while, the wolf begins to realize that it's not really a flock of sheep, but just a pack of wolves in sheep's clothing. There is not a single genuine sheep in this flock, and when one of the wolves finally discovers this, everyone is disappointed.
This is a hilarious take on the expression 'wolf in sheep's clothing', using real wolves in the comics to make the joke land. If wolves really could dress like sheep to hunt them, it's a safe bet that every wolf would do just that - and, soon, those wolves would certainly find themselves in this exact situation.
8
The Far Side features the world's unluckiest deer
Two deer are standing in the middle of the forest, talking. One of them has what looks like a target on his chest, and the other points at it and says, "What a bummer birthmark, Hal". Hal's birthmark is obviously incredibly unfortunate, given that deer are already targets of hunters during deer season. Now, Hal will stand out even more and is more likely to get shot when the hunters arrive.
This deer is easily the unluckiest deer in the world, because through no fault of its own, it has become an even bigger target than it already is just for being a deer. The comic also puts this fact into perspective, forcing readers to look at the deer in a slightly different way, with Hal as an example of how the animal is considered a target for hunters.
7
The other side reveals that goldfish are not as harmless as they seem
Two goldfish are swimming in their aquarium, sitting on a table in a woman's house, happily watching their owner hanging by her leg in the doorway. One of the goldfish turns to the other and says, "It worked!" repeatedly, indicating that the goldfish themselves set the trap or at least orchestrated/planned the whole thing.
Goldfish — and all pet fish, for that matter — are famously harmless, especially toward anything and everything outside their water bowl. A goldfish can't bite its owner, it can't destroy a couch, and it certainly can't set traps. But, in The Far Sidegoldfish are not as harmless as they seem, as these goldfish have successfully trapped their owner in a way that should have been impossible.
6
A mole is responsible for humanity's fall from grace on the other side
That Far Side comic takes readers to the biblical story of creation, where Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, enjoying a paradise on Earth. However, through them, humanity fell from grace after eating the fruit of the forbidden Tree of Knowledge. In the Bible, it is stated that Satan was responsible for the fall of Adam and Eve, but in The Far Sideit is revealed that the devil had nothing to do with it.
A mole with access to audio equipment was the reason Adam and Eve ate from the tree and fell from grace, and it was all because the mole was tired of the two humans setting mole traps all over the garden. It's a hilariously absurd concept, to be sure, but it's also interesting to consider that – after all this time – moles are the real "villains" of this biblical story, unlike snakes.
5
The Other Side Reveals Things Are A Little More Intense For Santa's Reindeer Than People Think
The Far Side takes readers to the magical land of Santa's workshop at the North Pole, where Santa himself chats with his reindeer before his epic annual flight around the world. However, the famously cheerful St. Nick is not so friendly during this conversation, as he has decided to respond to some of the complaints he has been receiving from his reindeer. In fact, Santa only has one thing to say in response to these complaints: “Venison".
One would imagine that the life of Santa's magical reindeer is one of happiness and wonder, and that Santa would treat them kindly at all times. However, The Far Side reveals that things are a little more intense for Santa's reindeer than people think - in fact, Santa literally threatens to eat them if they don't get in line.
4
Polar bears are much more cunning on the other side
Floating on a patch of ice, a small group of penguins are nervous as they have just lost another member of their colony. Apparently, the penguins are starting to disappear without a trace, and the other penguins are starting to notice. It's a great mystery, indeed. At least, until readers notice the polar bear sitting right in the middle of the patch of ice, wearing an absurdly conspicuous penguin costume.
These penguins didn't seem to notice that the polar bear was slowly killing them one by one, and they even seemed to have accepted the bear into their colony. Although the bear's disguise is obvious to readers, it seems to be working for him, confirming that polar bears are a little more cunning than people believed (at least, in The Far Side).
3
The ducks are much more threatening on the other side
A man sits behind his office desk, paralyzed with fear. In the building adjacent to yours, a duck is looking out the window, observing you from a distance. The man's worst fears have come true, as he suffers from anatidaephobia, which is the fear that - somehow, somewhere - a duck is always watching him. Of course, anatidaephobia is not a real condition (as categorized/recognized in the DSM-5-TR), but this only occurs in the real world. In The Far Sideanatidaephobia is very real, and this man is right to be afraid.
The idea that they should be feared – and even have a specific fear named after them – is simply absurd. However, after reading this Far Side comics, fans may have to take another look at the ducks - because they may already be looking at them too.
2
Grizzly bears are much more distorted on the other side
A mother bear is trying to get her cubs to sleep, so she is telling them a story to move the process along. This is something all parents do, but this scene is decidedly different – and much more morbid. The story the mother grizzly is telling her cubs is about the true events of a couple of humans wandering into their cave, who were wondering if bears really lived there before they found out the hard way. And the most distorted part? The bear is using people's skeletons to tell the story.
The mother bear is using the skeletons of humans as puppets to reenact the moment of their deaths. Everyone knows (or should know) how dangerous a grizzly bear can be, especially when they're protecting their cubs, but this comic presents them as twisted sadists, delighting in the death of humans.
1
Dogs aren't as interesting as people think on the other side
A genius scientist is standing on the street wearing his latest invention: a helmet that allows him to understand what dogs are saying. It translates dogs' barks into English, allowing the scientist to know exactly what dogs are always “talking about” when they are barking. But as this Far Side comic confirms, dogs just aren't that interesting. Every bark is just a dog yelling “Hey!”, which is exactly what anyone would assume they were saying.
Talking to animals, or at least understanding what they say, is something people have dreamed of forever. However, when this Far Side Scientist finally discovered a way to do this, but it turned out to be a huge waste of time, which should make people rethink this particular dream.