Readers may not immediately think of knights, kings and castles when they reflect The front side Many recurring elements, but they appeared much more often than fans might realize, especially early in the comic’s run. The medieval world was a frequent source of humor for Gary LarsonAnd the first several years of The front side Alone produced many iconic jokes about the Middle Ages.
Between cowardly jousters, clown kings, and cumbersome attempts to repel attacks from atop castle walls, The front side Demonstrated Gary Larson’s keen knowledge of historical fact, and his unrivaled ability to pre
It is worth taking a closer look at Larson’s early medieval comics, especially in order to give readers a sense of where The front side Signature humor started out, so they can in turn have a more complete picture of how it evolved over time.
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Readers should not lose their heads trying to understand the far side
First published: March 9, 1980
This early For side Panel depicts two dueling knights, with One shouts to the other, “Give up, Lord James… you’ve lost!” – after having apparently decapitated his opponent. Published only a few months in The front side Run, it’s safe to say that many readers would have been puzzled by this punchline, and that was perfectly fine with Gary Larson.
That said, it’s on panels like this that Larson quickly established his reputation as a cartoonist. It was as if he was jousting one-on-one with each and every one For side Readers, look for weak points in their armor that he can exploit. Whether a comic made a reader laugh, or killed them, or left them wondering what exactly the artist meant, as long as Larson could get past someone’s defenses, he was somehow satisfied.
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The far side often found humor in life or death situations
First published: June 10, 1980
Many For side Letters are doomed, but the knights are In this particularly precarious situation, knowing that they will soon have to fight to the death, but first they must allow the king’s circles and Compete in one throw. “And the last gladiator alive will win the contest!” shouted the king down to the combatants from his throne, before adding “But first…“With a pause before he reveals the awkward penultimate trial in this life-or-death game.
This was one of the many early ones For side Cartoons that established Gary Larson’s affinity for mining humor from mortal danger. In this case, the “A. Throw” Bit is a silly climax to the punchline, but the real dark humor of the panel comes from the forestalling of deadly combat in order to participate in such an innocent contest.
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According to Gary Larson, people ruining brand new clothes is a timeless tradition
First published: June 20, 1980
In this panel, a wife admonishes her husband when he comes home, worried that he is “Been fighting again… and in [his] New suit, too!” – which, of course, is made funny by the fact that the suit in question is a suit of armor, and the man is a medieval knight.
Although Gary Larson’s wordplay here is certainly amusing, that boosts the humor of this one For side Cartoon is the way the man’s armor is depicted as absolutely pounded, to the point where he is just lucky to have miraculously survived, and therefore, catching some body of his spouse is the least of his worries. Evidently on the losing end of the battle, he slinks home a crumpled dragging his load limply being him – the opposite of being covered in glory.
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King Arthur from the front gathers his knights of the round table to deliver a very serious edict
First published: July 18, 1980
in this For side panel, Gary Larson depicts the mythical King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table – Except he catches them in an embarrassing moment, as Arthur admonishes”Lancelot, Galahad and the rest“Of the famous knights for”staff [their] Rubber under the table.”
Of course, these characters are revered for their legendary exploits, and as silly as it may sound, the round table itself is one of the most famous pieces of furniture in history. So, for Larson to “demystify” them, so to speak, by showing them being chastised for behavior more likely to be found in a school cafeteria, is an effective comedic device that he would use time and time again. The front side Run.
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Inspiration struck Gary Larson when he found the hilarious historical “What-If?”
First published: July 31, 1980
The front side Unique brand of observational humor involved more than just Gary Larson looking at the world around him; Larson also has a unique ability to look to the past to find unexpected humor in historical situations. In this case, he shows A group of medieval knights in full armour, riding out on horseback with lances pointed towards the sky – which is unfortunate for one of them, as his spear is struck by lightingleading him not to be cooked in his suit.
The morbidly funny joke comes from Larson imagining something that might not have made it into any existing historical records, but could have easily happened. It’s a great example of something he routinely did The front sideWhich was to ground a punchline – however absurd, or awkward, or dark – in real facts, with his attention to detail to add depth to his humor.
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The first – but not last – guillotine joke from the far side
First published: August 6, 1980
The guillotine appeared several times in The front sideBecause it must have seemed like a quixotic comic device used for so many personal tragedies. Especially considering its close association with the French Revolution, the guillotine is among the most recognizable – and horrifying – inventions in history.
Here, Gary Larson offers an innovation on the execution device, which completely undercuts its gravity, as A king is depicted with an approving look like a clown’s body that a painter has added around the neck-hole, with the king solemnly stating, “I like it… I like it.” While The front side Rightfully earned a reputation for its easy-to-miss punchlines, this is a prominent early example of how Larson can just as easily deliver jokes that are straightforward and laugh-out-loud funny.
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An early example of the subtle darkness of Gary Larson’s comedy
First published: November 1, 1980
One thing that readers will realize about The front side As they become more familiar with Gary Larson’s humor is how much faith he places in his readers. This means that his jokes were not always open, and often the reader had to actively engage with the cartoon in order to “get” it. This is the case here, As two knights roast marshmallows over a campfire on top of their swords – with a bag labeled “Joan of Arc marshmallows“At their feet.
The joke is not subtle just as a result placement of the bag to the edge of the frame, or the lack of a caption to contextualize the humor, but because the real punchline occurs off-board, in the inference the reader makes to the historical . Joan, who was burned at the stake in 1431, during the Hundred Years War between France and Britain.
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A classic blink and you miss it far side punchline
First published: March 14, 1981
This is another subtle one For side Joke, but at least the reader doesn’t have to supply their own knowledge of history to find it funny. All they have to do is look closely, as the panel depicts Two medieval jousters at the moment of truth, just before they reach each other – with the one approaching the reader with a hand in front of his visorUnable, or unwilling, to watch what was about to happen.
A reader who has perused the comics section of the newspaper can – and most certainly has – quickly glanced at the For side cartoon and miss the punchline entirely. It was a risk Gary Larson was willing to take because, to him, the reward for a double-take was worth it to him and the readers.
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This far side panel depicts the loyal bond between king and dog
First published: June 17, 1981
Many of the most memorable For side Panels feature dogs; here, A dog companion runs after his man, who is now marching off to battle, as one soldier cries out, “Hey, Richard, your stupid dog is following us again!“ Given Gary Larson’s choice of “Richard,” as a name, and the character’s place at the head of the army, it seems that he is intended to be the king, and evidently his dog’s behavior is a consistent embarrassment.
One small but essential aspect of The front side Is the way Gary Larson drew eyes. In this panel, the wide, surprised eyes of Richard and the angry eyes of the shouting soldiers get a lot of prominence, and rightly so, because they are vital to make the reader do more than just understand the punchline, but feel it.
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Gary Larson describes a moment of deadly innovation in medieval warfare
First published: June 19, 1981
In what is by far the funniest medieval For side Panel from early in the comic’s run, a chaotic attempt by a besieging army to scale the walls of a castle leads to an escalation in the brutality of warfare. “Hot oil! We need hot oil!“Screams one of the defenders and adds,”Forget the water balloons!“ As their balloons were met with returning volleys of spears and arrows.
The punchline of this panel is unequivocally goofy, and the tone is accentuated by the contrast between the colored water balloons in the defenders hands, and the sharp projectiles that are flung up at them. That said, the humor of this panel lies in the fact that Gary Larson is meditating on the nature of war, and extrapolating an absurdist joke from the serious subject in a way that he tried all over the world. The front side History, that only he knows.