The front side Featured a number of Memorable comics about pet birds and their owners, often playing on the trope of parrots’ ability to mimic human speech, to great comic effect. Birds of all different kinds, from chickens and ducks, to buzzards and vultures, were ubiquitous in Gary Larson’s cartoons, but there remains something particularly memorable about his “Bird in a Cage” comics.
There is a deep vein of naturalism and animal rights advocacy running through The front sideAnd Larson’s pet bird panels express this in their own unique, often outrageous way. In Larson’s imagination, the relationship between pet birds and their owners is a contentious one, and even in some cases adversarial.
The front side “Bird in the Cage” entries are full of the strip’s characteristic weirdness and wonder, and most of them are sure to get a rise out of readers, one way or another.
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The first pet bird comic from the Far Side is also the most macabre
First published: January 11, 1980
one of The front side First ten comics, this panel set a dark precedent for Gary Larson’s sense of humor in general – and in particular, for his “pet bird” cartoons, which would continue to pop up periodically over the fifteen years of the strips in publication.
Here, two police officers question a man about the death of his wife – An investigation that gets a quick, vital break, in the form of the couple’s pet bird repeating back the victim’s apparent last words, “HARRY! Don’t shoot!” Among his more expected repertoire of human speech. Most notably, Larson had his loose-lipped bird say “Polly wants a cracker“, the phrase that has largely been synonymous with talking parrots in popular culture since it originated with a late 19th century advertising campaign.
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Animals flipping the script on their owners was a staple of the far side
First published: June 24, 1980
“You will never get away with this– shouts an old woman from the narrow confines of her pet bird’s cage, as the bird flies freely.in one of The front side Most amusing early examples of a pet completely changing the nature of its relationship with its owner.
Animals turning the tables on humans was a joke for Gary Larson, and it’s given particularly powerful visual expression here. The images of the woman stuck in a far-too-small birdcage, caught hanging from the ceiling of her own living room, is high comedy, and immediately grabs the reader’s attention. The best part of this For side Cartoon, however, is the look of bewilderment on the bird’s face – as if it could not believe the turn of events more than its angry owner. Still, from the speed with which it is depicted flying away, it is evident to make the most of this opportunity.
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Gary Larson established a formula for the pet bird panels of the Far Side with this comic
First published: November 11, 1981
Here, Gary Larson introduced a setup that he would return to repeatedly over the years, with a couple and their pet bird. in the For side cartoons, Larson used the pet bird as a means of mocking less-than-ideal domestic situations. In this case, a woman reveals Her husband’s negative qualities when she unboxes their new pet bird, noting “Ah, it says here ‘a good mimic should not be exposed to foul or abusive sounds.”
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Once more, the funniest part of this For side Cartoon is in the detail work that Gary Larson does to make the atmosphere of the joke feel more immersive. The crooked painting and lamps above the couples’ heads, the clothes hanger fixed to the television antenna, and most of all, the look of fear on the bird’s face as it realizes in what kind of environment it was just brought.
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The far side panel proves that birdsong isn’t always music to the ears
First published: May 26, 1986
“Hit the bird Ruth, he is stuck“, another beer-drinking, TV-watching husband told his wife in this For side Panel – as their avian pet lets out a continuous stream of the same noteAs if there is a record player that is stuck, or skipping.
Although the casual way that the man tells his wife to beat their pet will certainly be off-putting to readers, it is an integral part of the joke – which is rooted not in the cruelty of the human characters, but rather in the equation of The bird in its cage with a household device. It is an ultimately stupid premise, although the execution on the page that may leave fans uneasy, questioning the meaning of the panel, which makes it worth remembering that Gary Larson’s sympathies always remained squarely with his animal characters.
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The owners of this bird should really think about the placement of his cage
First published: January 26, 1987
How funny is that For side Cartoon is, there is a sense of despair underlying it, which once again suggests a subtextual criticism of how humans treat animals that – consciously or subconsciously – guided Gary Larson in shaping the punchline. In the passage, a bird in a cage Anxiously waiting for the adjacent cuckoo clock to strike the top of the hour, blurted out”Send help“When the clock’s fake bird makes its momentary appearance.
The effectiveness of the humor here relies on Larson’s use of a sequence of panels, but what makes this cartoon particularly memorable is the way it makes readers empathize with the bird, trapped in its cage, forced to watch as another bird, one What it does. Not realizing is not real, periodically appears and disappears.
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If Canaries thought coal mines were bad, Gary Larson has news for them
First published: June 19, 1991
In the laugh-out-loud For side cartoon, Gary Larson takes the concept of the “canary in the coal mine” to its logical – yet absurd – extension in the atomic age. Famously, canaries were used to detect potentially hazardous gases in coal mines, giving rise to the English language idiom.
In this panel, capital”In a nuclear power plant“, Larson imagines the equivalent: a canary in a cage that “has mutated,” prompting the employee who noticed the bird’s third eye to shout for all his coworkers to runAs clearly they have been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation. The humor of the panel is based on the way the man drops his papers and raises his hands, along with his voice, in horror, as contrasted by the first expressions of confusion on his coworkers’ faces, as they realize to slow down what he Says.
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Gary Larson portrays a cross-cage conflict in this Far Side Bird comic
First published: March 11, 1992
in this For side cartoon, Gary Larson breaks from his standard style of pet bird humor – which most often involves their human owners in some context – to depict An interspecies dispute, between two birds separated in their own respective cages.
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One of the birds threatens to “Shake“The other’s cage, in a playful way For side Interpretation of the well-known saying, but what is especially amusing about this panel is the fact that the bird does not really do well with its threat. In other words, the avian comment was reduced to nothing more than bravado. This is an essential second layer to the joke; Although most readers will initially be struck by Larson’s play on words, what will keep people thinking about this cartoon is the idea of the pet birds being all talk, no action.
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The Front Page Version of “An Eye for an Eye”
First published: June 3, 1993
Without a doubt, this is the most intense relationship between a person and a pet bird For side History. At the front of the panel, A man without a nose sits staring daggers at his beakless pet bird, perched above the television; In the background, his wife and a visitor are sitting drinking coffee, as she explains:
Oh boy, that was an ugly day. Roy immediately took the bird in to avoid it, and shouted all the time: pull for dad! Good for trays!
In general, the joke is particularly troublesome; The front side It featured its share of animals behaving violently towards humans, and humans behaving violently towards animals, but the effects are rarely as visceral as in this comic. The hard story of this For side Cartoon will leave some readers uncomfortable, or even outraged. Those who gravitate to the most macabre end of the spectrum of Gary Larson’s humor will appreciate the joke, despite its darkness, but even they will acknowledge that it pushes the boundaries of what the artist is normally willing to do to get a reaction.
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The parrots on the front page have more than just voices
First published: May 19, 1994
in this For side pet bird cartoon, A man exclaims with excitement, “Boy, Henry…he really can do you!“How his pet bird mimics his friend’s puckered lips. The focus of the humor here is on the deliberately stupid artistic choices that Gary Larson makes with his hyperbolic depictions of the respective faces of man and bird, but what makes it stick out to fans of the artist’s work is the way it is exemplary of His ability to toss reality.
Once again, Larson’s joke rests on the idea of a pet bird being able to do something unexpected – in this case, rather than just mimic sound, being able to distort its face to reflect the person in front of it. As routinely exhibited by The front sideIt only takes the smallest of tweaks to make the real surreal, and the usual funny.