11 Historical Appearances of the Recurring Caveman Character THAG (Including the Famous One)

A caveman named Thag appeared in one of the The front side Most influential comic, in which the tail of a stegosaurus was named the “thagomizer” in his memory – terminology later adopted by real paleontologists. Surprisingly, versions of this same character appeared in nearly a dozen For side Cartoons over the years.

Early human characters and situations were among artist Gary Larson’s favorite recurring obsessions, and Thug ultimately proved to be the most productive of The front side Prehistoric subjectsWith multiple hilarious appearances to his name.

It is important to do that The front side It doesn’t have recurring “characters” in the traditional sense, so while there is some overlap between Thug panels, each one should be judged as distinct from the rest. That is, as much as one face – or more accurately, name – can be put on The front side Coffee people, it’s thug.

11

Thug’s first far side appearance featured a coffee man love connection

First published: February 11, 1981

In Thug’s debut, a coffeewarming party turns into a meet-cute, as the host introduces him to a woman named “Noona,” explaining to her that Thug works in the rapidly expanding “Hunter and gatherer“Industry.

At their best, Gary Larson’s Caveman comics were an opportunity for him to poke fun at modern society by recontextualizing familiar contemporary behaviors in a prehistoric setting, as is the case here. Considering Thug’s prominence among Larson’s cavemen, it’s only fitting that his first appearance would be such a sterling example of this, as the artist offers an amusing poke at the practice of mutual friends setting up people they know to go out. It is one of The front side Bunch of simple, effective jokes that often get lost in the shuffle of the absurdity that Gary Larson unleashes on a regular basis.

10

Thug’s love life is the focus again in this early far side cartoon

First published: April 22, 1981

In this panel, Gary Larson again explores early human romance through Thug’s love life – except this time in a decidedly quirkier way, as he takes some of the characters’ veneer of civilization and gives them hints of animalistic qualities. The comic features two cavemen, Faintly hiding behind a tree, watching from a distance as a healer returns homeWhile one gives the other a cautionary pep talk before attempting to approach her.

“remember day“Approach her carefully, his companion remarks.”If she doesn’t recognize your courtship behavior, she might eat you.” While The front side Constantly making animals more human, this is a stand-out example of the opposite, as Thug becomes the missing link in the evolution of romance.

9

RIP Thag – The first time the recurring caveman character died

First published: February 3, 1982

A great moment of triumph is likely to be Thug’s last in this For side funny. Having dug a pit and lured a carnivorous predator into it with a large hunk of meat, a spear-wielding prehistoric man shouted, “Big one, thug!….we caught biiiig one!“Except that in the act of throwing up his arms in excitement, The man seemingly knocks his friend Thug off balance, leaving him teetering on the edge of the hole with the evil creature below..

Gary Larson often depicted characters on the edge of doom in The front sideBut rarely has it been quite as literal as it is in this thug comic, which is laugh-out-loud funny thanks to the terrified look Larson draws on Thug’s face, and the way he illustrates the failing movement of the character’s arms, As he desperately tries to keep from falling into the waiting jaws of – whatever is in the pit.

8

Thug’s famous “Thagomizer” was as close to a “sequel” as the far side got

First published: May 27, 1982

Day appears only in memory in the For side Panel that made him arguably Gary Larson’s most influential character, vi A caveman lecturer informs his class that the tail of Stegosaurus is named “After the late day Simmons.”

Although it may be derived from the comic that the version of Thug was killed by the spiked tail of a stegosaurus, the proximity of this joke to one in which another thug was depicted in mortal danger – published only two months Earlier – distinguishes this as one of the rare For side Panels that can be called a “sequel” of sorts. At least in the sense that it seems as if Gary Larson at least recognized that he had recently depicted Thug’s unfortunate fate, and decided to use the same name here, honoring the fallen prehistoric fellow.

7

Thug gets a renewed lease on life – just in time to get ice cream again

First published: December 25, 1982

In this panel, a pair of prehistoric characters stand out in front of their cave, Staring up at a giant glacier bearing down on them – as one casually remarks, “Say, thug … wall of ice closer today?“ for For side Readers, it’s another simple, straightforward caveman joke – although for Thug himself, it’s yet another brush with mortality.

Although it’s easiest to think of Thug as a recurring “character,” this iteration emphasizes the fact that it was more accurately a recurring name that Gary Larson thought was funny. This serves as a reminder that there was no strict “continuity” in Larson’s work. Only now, decades later The front side Stopped publishing, does it stand out as notable that Thug published more than any other caveman name that Larson has been with.

6

Thug completes the very rare Far Side “trilogy” of cartoons

First published: May 21, 1983

Again, while it is important to do that each For side Panel is meant to work in isolation – and was composed with the first intention to get an immediate reaction from readers – it is also interesting to identify parallels, connections and repetitions in Gary Larson’s work, of which there are certainly many.

Case in point, this cartoon, in which a caveman named Tag wakes from a nightmare about his mortality, only for a cave woman to reassure him with the strangely poetic declaration that, “You just dream we live just that long and die.“ In a way, this For side Ties together two converging threads from earlier Thug appearances: his initial romantic focus, and his subsequent brushes with death.

5

Thug finally gets to cut loose and have fun in the gravel pit

First published: September 19, 1984

While previous tag panels found him struggling with issues of life and death, This one features him in some innocent fun – though he won’t emerge entirely unscathed from his decision to “Make Gravel Angel.” Day should not die here, that’s true, but he is about to find out that the experience is not as pleasant as it could have been when he first had the idea.

One of the funniest things about The front side A recurring prehistoric motif was the way Gary Larson found comedy in the idea of ​​early humans figuring out later generations’ traditions the hard way. This is exactly the case with Thug here, as he hilariously throws himself face first into a pile of rocks in the same way his descendants will do when it snows.

4

Thug needs to learn some table manners if he’s going to live in society

First published: September 28, 1984

Thug is the subject of another relatively lighthearted, harmless For side Joke here. In the panel, he sitting at the dinner table with a healer who tells him, “Tag, take tissue….got some mammoth on the face” – as he in fact has a giant task stuck to his cheek.

For Thug, this is certainly an improvement on being impaled by the top of the task. In this case, far from mortal danger, Gary Larson once again uses Thug to add a personal, specific emphasis to the punchline here, in which the artist offers an amusing account of the evolution of social practices – or rather, their intrusion on The blissful. State of nature enjoyed by the less civilized among mankind’s first generation.

3

Thug gets spiritual in this funny prehistoric far side comic

First published: August 8, 1987

How often it was outrageously funny, The front side would just as easily leave the reader frozen, shaking their heads and asking “what-the?“That’s the case with the tag panel, which is funny more as a product of how funny the joke is, rather than a result of the punchline itself.

In the panel, Thug stands on a rock acting like a monkey, vi The caption states that he serves as “The spiritual channeler for a two-million-year-old gibbon named Gus.” It’s kind of For side That fans are wondering if there is more to the story than Gary Larson has made them privy to; Further, it would not be beyond them to wonder, if so, why.

2

RIP Thag Pt. 2 – The caveman makes history by dying again

First published: May 22, 1990

Again, Thug is a dead man here – but then again, his seemingly illegitimate end leads to him being preserved in the history books, albeit in a less-than-flattering fashion. in this For side panel, the legendary prehistoric character is depicted taking a snooze up against a wheel he has just finished chiselling, as a hungry sabertooth tiger looks on.

“Thug Anderson becomes the first fatality as a result of falling asleep at the wheel“The caption explains, in one of Gary Larson’s darker lines. Although obviously not the same thug of “Thagomizer” fame, this ill-fated thug shares a similar role, just as he meets a similar fate, as Larson effectively Offered another follow up to his earlier sequence of jokes.

1

Thug’s final appearance finds him alive and well and enjoying his fame

First published: September 21, 1993

Whether intentional or not, Gary Larson’s final Thag cartoon was a happy ending for the character. rather than a cruel death, The caveman finds himself enjoying celebrity status, with a long line of people waiting to have him sign their copy of his book, “It Was Very Cold and I Couldn’t Move,” after he unfrozen from a block of Ice And becomes famous again.

Everything about this cartoon comes together to make it one of the funniest For side Comics hands down, and certainly the most laugh-out-loud appearance of Thug. From the over-the-top title of his book, to Thag’s clean, contemporary appearance, the incarnation of The front side The largest recurring prehistoric character is the perfect culmination of his journey throughout the comic’s run in publication.