In 1992, author and artist Gary Larson produced some of the strangest panels in the history of The Far Side – including one of his darkest jokes, at least by today's standards. In the early 1990s, Larson's reputation for absurd and "campy" humor was deserved, and its ability to leave readers wondering"What?"reached new levels of specialization.
According to Larson, The Far Side was designed to "test the reader's reflexes" - and by that he meant that his goal was to provoke a reaction, be it giddy laughter, or utter confusion, or utter consternation. While he didn't always get the response he was looking for with a particular comic, The Far Side it rarely failed to press its readers' buttons in one way or another.
1992 featured Gary Larson testing the limits of his humor in a variety of ways, leading to some highly memorable "What?"moments throughout the year, of which this list only captures a sample.
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How much meat can a "Meatchuck" Chuck? (Gary Larson asks a question no one needed an answer to)
First published: January 10, 1992
Often, The Far Side achieved his "What?"reaction as a result of Gary Larson's question"And if?"questions that seemingly no one else in the world would imagine - like in this panel, which apparently arises from the question of "what if there were groundhogs, just as there are groundhogs?"
The following illustration of this question, feating a butcher pointing to another o"meatball family" on one of your hanging pieces of meatwill likely evoke at least a smile from readers, but the joke's underlying premise is undeniably perplexing, to the point that even fans who understand how the joke took shape will still be perplexed; not because it's particularly confusing or overly outrageous, but simply because its existence is a marvel in itself.
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Tensions at "Centaur Rodeo" (How Does Someone Fake THAT?)
First published: February 25, 1992
The Far Side was known for blurring the lines between animal behavior and human nature, but few of Gary Larson's cartoons do it as literally as this one, which depicts a "centaur rodeo" - as two Westernized versions of the mythical creatures stand near a fence, observing the competition, with one of them commenting: "He's good but I think he's faking."
The humor of this panel is evident, but even as readers absorb the joke, they will find themselves questioning its deeper implications—that is, what exactly the central centaur is like.pretending,"How the two (presumably real) centaurs are unsure whether the other participant is one of them or not, and what steps they can take to find out, are all things Far Side fans will be wondering after studying this cartoon.
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These pests will never eat at this establishment again (the farthest side is the most absurd)
First published: March 3, 1992
In this ridiculous Far Side cartoon, Lice are pictured eating in a high-end restaurant on some unfortunate man's scalp - with one of them calling the waiter to complain about the strand of hair that fell onto the tableruining your meal.
All about it Far Side panel is absurd, in the same way that Gary Larson's sense of humor has become synonymous with it. From the premise of a cootie restaurant as a place to satirize a common unfortunate dining experience, to the image of the giant hair wilting and covering the entire table, this cartoon will get a laugh from some readers despite it all, but many more will stay. with furrowed eyebrows and narrowed eyes, not knowing exactly what to make of this joke.
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The most trusted retailer on the other side (would Gary Larson ever have run out of cow jokes?)
First published: April 8, 1992
In 1992, The Far Side There were only a few years left to go, but instead of slowing down, in many ways, Gary Larson continued to take his work to new levels, while also continuing to deliver the things that made his work iconic over the previous decade. The prime example of this was the continued proliferation of cows in his comics, including this panel, in which a farmer emerges from "Jim's Cow Parts"with a box under his arm, so he can fix the headless cow in the back of his truck.
Larson apparently never tired of making cow jokes and has continued to come up with new and inventive - and often increasingly weird - ways of doing so, leaving fans to question how many unrealized cow jokes he has come up with in the decades since he retired. . producing The Far Side.
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This might be the darkest joke on the other side (who is JW Miller?)
First published: May 11, 1992
That Far Side the reference would probably have crossed many readers' minds thirty years ago, and it has only become more difficult to parse in the decades since. Subtitled "JW Miller with his staff and a stick", and depicting a man fishing from a speedboat while four other people watchThis cartoon continues to spark debate among Far Side fans to this day, about what references Gary Larson is making here and why.
Whatever the answers to these questions, in the abstract, this cartoon is the definitive example of how Larson placing too much faith in his readers to "get" his most exaggerated references often led to his most inscrutable "What?"cartoons. Even after all these years, this comic still sparks discourse about what exactly the joke should be.
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This panel is one of Far Side's "edgiest" jokes (does it help or hurt your humor?)
First published: June 8, 1992
The Far Side has courted controversy with more than a few cartoons over the years, but in retrospect, some of its "edgier" jokes seem tame by today's humor standards. On the other hand, the jokes in some of Gary Larson's panels haven't aged as well as others; in fact, some contemporary readers may find this panel, Iwhich is a group of wolves"turn to a snorting charlatan," and are depicted pushing ducks through their nostrilsto be distasteful for its seemingly flippant reference to drug abuse.
However, the argument can also be made, based on the rest of the caption - which blames the wolves' behavior on the destruction of their homeland, and others "human pressures" - that Larson is, in fact, sympathetic to the plight of drug users and recognizes that his own problems stem from social pressures in the same way.
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This is one of the more confusing sheep cartoons on the other side (what reaction was Gary Larson going for here?)
First published: July 20, 1992
Sometimes readers can get an idea right away"What?"reaction to a Far Side comical, for one reason or another, but they soon develop a deeper understanding of the joke as they examine it more closely. In other cases, a person's mood Far Side cartoon can be seemingly impenetrable, or at least far from obvious. This is the case here, with a panel subtitled "he was the king of the sheep," featuring a flock of sheep following the command of a leader, who tells them to "graze"or head"back to the barn."
It remains difficult to decipher, however, what exactly the outcome of this panel is, or in other words, what reaction Gary Larson was hoping to get from his readers with it, placing it in the "inadvertent" category."What?" installments of The Far Side.
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Gary Larson excelled at finding connections that no one else would make (what do a boat and a snake have in common?)
First published: August 11, 1992
In this split panel Far Side cartoon, Gary Larson details an almost identical conversation, in two significantly different contexts. Subtitled "where the respective worlds of navigation and herpetology converge", The top image shows a man examining his friend's new 24-foot boat, while at the bottom, a man is impressed by his friend's new 24-foot snake.
This comic brilliantly highlights one of the main strengths of The Far Side – Gary Larson's talent for drawing weird and wonderful connections between seemingly unrelated things; Although a boat and a snake seemingly have little overlap, Larson found one way they could be similar and then found the perfect way to illustrate that connection. It's an unusual point of convergence, and the unexpected overlap will have some readers asking how the artist got there, making it a highly effective work.What?" cartoon.
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Boomer and Doug's Ballad (How Did This Other Side Friendship Start?)
First published: September 16, 1992
Almost without a doubt, there is more to this story Far Side comical of what is portrayed here; or at the very least, the cartoon will leave readers crying out for more context, as Gary Larson portrays one of the The Far Side more unexpected and hilarious friendships, or possibly romances.
"Don't let your friends catch me, Boomer!", shouts a larva named Doug, held comfortably by the paw of his bear friendsince the caption explains that his "relationship was never fully accepted by the other bears." As absurd as the premise and joke here are, readers almost can't help but immediately feel affection for this odd couple, with the outrageous circumstances of their dynamic leading to countless questions, destined to remain unanswered, of which "What?"It's just the first.
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Far Side Comic “Vacuum Crossing” Quickly Reaches Readers (Why Isn’t the Sign More Useful?)
First published: October 6, 1992
In this one without subtitles Far Side cartoon, readers have to piece together the joke, though to what extent the reward will be a laugh rather than a shrug and a "What?"varies from person to person. The panel depicts a "Vacuum X-ing" sign on the side of a highway, with debris from broken appliances scattered across the road in front of it - with a large box truck rounding a corner in the distancewent straight to the location.
The premise of "Vacuum X-ing" is silly, but what makes it Far Side Particularly inscrutable is the question of why the signal is apparently so ineffective. That is, even if the idea of vacuum cleaners crossing the road is taken literally, readers can't help but wonder why so many of them apparently continue to be pulverized by oncoming traffic.
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A waitress in "Xzory's Place" gets her big break (one of Far Side's most "out of this world" comics)
First published: November 24, 1992
The joke here, in which an alien talent scout finds his next big star working at "Xzory's place," one "alien corner cafe," is quite relatable – most readers will be familiar with the concept of a star being "discovered"-but what makes this a"What?"Cartoon is the frame of the cartoon.
That is, the image presents its point of view from a little distance, foregrounding one of Larson's alien characters in front of Xzory, so that readers have a clear view of his totally inhuman face, which contextualizes the scout's joke . saying "This is the face I'm looking for"inside the restaurant. It's an interesting artistic choice, but one that perhaps makes readers look for more in the joke than is actually there.
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Gary Larson asks a timeless question with a twist (is this the harshest joke on the other side?)
First published: December 28, 1992
This isn't the first time Gary Larson has offered his unique and entertaining take on the question "if a tree falls in the forest and no one is around, does it make a sound?" In this panel, however, Larson offers an unexpected twist on this philosophical thought experiment and, in the process, presents what is possibly his toughest yet. Far Side joke.
The cartoon caption asks: "If a tree falls in the forest, and there's no one around, and it hits a mime, does anyone care?"as the unfortunate mime is portrayed as entering the shadow of a falling timber. While this is less likely to be a revelation of Gary Larson's own opinion of mimes, and more likely a reflection of society's distaste for them, this is still perhaps the closest The Far Side It has already reached a specific group just for the sake of a joke.