Gary Larson The front side Love the animal kingdom, and apparently that appreciation extends to frogs and toads. across The front sideIn more than 4000 comics, Larson portrays elephants, lions and giant squid in various comical situations, and yet he also finds the time to give humble amphibians their own big moments.
Here are the 13 funniest For side Comics featuring frogs, including two of Larson’s best wordless gags of all time. Be sure to vote in our end-of-article poll And help crown Larson’s funniest frog comic.
13
– Ahhh… Life!
From a bug’s perspective, even frogs can be deadly
Larson originally wanted to call his comic Nature’s wayAnd that’s exactly what’s on show here, because from an insect’s perspective, even a frog can be a deadly predator. The passage relies on a crude irony, because while the insect enjoys life and hangs out on a page, the readers already know that a hungry frog is standing on the bottom. Larson’s love of bugs and insects is clear throughout The front sideBut no matter the animal, he is always aware that life in nature is (in the words of Thomas Hobbes) “Nasty, poor, solitary, brutish and short.”
12
Frog hunting
Larson’s aliens are always on hand to teach humanity a lesson
One of the unique elements of For sideHis humor is treating humans as just another species of animal, even though we often think of ourselves as existing outside of nature. In this strip, Larson makes this point with typical dark humor, as one man advises his friend how to catch frogs by hypnotizing them with light, not realizing that some unseen aliens are doing the exact same thing to his ‘hunting’ partner. Larson enjoyed the idea of ​​aliens treating humans like animals, with multiple gags about them catching humans like fish and bugs.
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11
Creature from the Black Lagoon
Far Side loves this horror icon
In this surprisingly hilarious strip, a frog takes a moment to propose Creature from the Black LagoonS Gil-Man some words of encouragement as the iconic movie monster prepares to prey on nearby humans. Larson loved using Gill-Man in The front sideturning the freaky creature into a recurring character.
While Larson repeatedly uses Gil-Man in his strips, this is only part of a larger obsession with horror movie monsters, with Frankenstein, King Kong and The Mummy coming up again and again. The front side. Larson’s love of dark humor explains why the monsters find such a consistent home in his world.
10
Air Sac
Frogs are ripe for physical comedy
While Larson enjoyed putting frogs in unusual situations, he also liked to play with their biology. In this strip, a ruptured vocal sac sends one frog flying as the air gushes out. While the image of a frog whizzing around like a balloon makes this Larson’s funniest physical frog gag, he also enjoys playing with amphibians’ long tongues, with the strip below showing a frog falling victim to its own desire to feed .
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9
Frog Pioneers
As the wet is won
In this strip, a group of frog pioneers (complete with Davy Crockett hats) design the swamp that their children will one day live in. Where each animal is responsible for creating its own ideal environment. It’s the same humor fans can find in Larson’s many cavemen comics, where early hominids all seem to understand that they are meant to work to create the modern world.
8
Chief
Gary Larson found frog legs hilarious
Although it is still considered uncommon in America, Frog legs are considered a delicacy in other parts of the worldAnd The front side Get a site of humor of asking what frogs might think of this. The best gag of the bunch sees a frog gun down the boss who has come to claim their remaining legs, but other strips see frog children hearing horror stories about leg poachers and a blues musician lamenting the four. The most surreal version of the joke sees a diner patron enjoying a plate of frog legs, only to find that one of them is wearing a tiny sneaker (part of Larson’s other obsession with miniature people.)
7
Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit
Far Side has a surreal explanation for croaking
The front side likes to mess with even the internal logic of its own jokes, and in this strip a group of frogs gather to ‘sing’ just for every word to be “Ribbit.” of course, The gag makes no sense since the frogs are Already spoke EnglishBut it offers readers the hilarious experience of picturing a group of frogs gathered around a piano the next time they hear crackling in the wild.
6
Frog mobsters
Larson’s love of organized crime meets his amphibian obsession
Yet again, frogs get into trouble by acting like people, planning to hide a body in the nearby swamp only to realize that, like frogs, that’s exactly where the authorities will look first. The surreal humor of frogs not realizing they are frogs is typical of Larson, and so is the decision to make organized crime funny.
The front side Loves to show mobsters doing it wrong, taking deadly characters and tripping them up with everyday foibles and misunderstandings. This is typical of Larson’s humor, where the most innocent things can be deadly (like frogs) and the deadliest things can be goofy.
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5
Jerry
This one requires some outside knowledge
The pass depends on the reader knowing the lyrics to Three Dog Night’s Joy to the worldWith Larson revealing that the song’s narrative is to be taken incredibly literally. The iconic opening words say:
Jeremiah was a frog
He was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him drink his wine
And he always had great wine
Music fans have long argued about the nonsensical lyrics, with some arguing it’s a biblical metaphor for the prophet Jeremiah while others claim writer Hoyt Axton originally penned the lyrics for another project or as a temporary filler to showcase the tune. However, it appears The front side Has the inside track, confirming that both Jeremiah And The narrators of this song are both just alcoholic frogs.
4
Diner
Larson’s unique take on a classic joke
Frogs’ love of flies is another of Larson’s favorite themes when depicting amphibians, and in this strip he pulls off his classic ‘animals behaving like humans’ gag with a frog politely asking another diner if he can have the fly floating in Their soup. It is For sideIt’s a unique take on a classic “waiter, waiter” Joke, where the servant in question is actually Happy To find a fly in their soup.
3
Pollywogs
The front side takes on an idyllic fairy tale
In this passage, a woman who turns a frog back into a prince learns that not all of his biology made the transition back. Giving a classic fairy tale a mundane, downer ending is very much Larson’s sense of humor – Which is perhaps why he took so many shots at Disney over The front sides run. Larson’s visual humor is perfectly on point in this strip – one bowl full of tadpoles would have sold the gag, but three full bowls provide the belly laughs that s The front sides bread and butter.
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2
Fly paper
A classic wordless strip
The great wordless comic Shows a frog in trouble, as his attempt to catch flies from sticky flypaper has only resulted in him getting stuck as well. Larson is a genius at putting cause, effect and consequence into a single image, and the frog looking at the reader in panicked embarrassment is the icing on the cake. Next time, the frog will hopefully know to go to the local diner and ask politely.
1
Frog take off
One of Larson’s best wordless jokes of all time
In this genius wordless comic, a frog tries to ‘catch’ a plane with its tongueOnly to realize his mistake as the vehicle drags it away in the air. Larson’s framing of the situation is perfect, as the tiny frog in the center of the panel underscores just how much trouble the animal has gotten itself into. Everything from the poor frog’s splayed body language to the distant pond where it presumably made its mistake contributes to the gag, which is part of a running theme where For sideAnimals give in to their predatory instincts and bite off more than they can chew.
These were Gary Larson’s funniest frog comics of all time, including two all-time great wordless comics depicting amphibians getting into trouble. Be sure to vote for your favorite of Larson’s frog comics in our poll belowAnd say your opinion on what of The front sides frog stripes is the best of the bunch.