The Far Side is famous for being, as creator Gary Larson himself once said: “confusing, obtuse, esoteric and strange.” To this day, his drawings remain equal parts surprising and confusing to readers, and while fans of his work will certainly develop a stronger sense of how to navigate Larson's humor over time, there are still many panels that leave even the Larson's most adept scholar asking “What?“
The drawings listed here are representative of The Far Side ability to confuse readers; while some are more easily explained than they might appear at first glance, others are as curious and confusing as they were at the time of publication.
This is, of course, the glory of Gary Larson's style of comedy, which Mixed references, silly situations and wordplay, and a healthy dose of dark humor in a delirious mix of surreal drawingsmany of which continue to make an impact on readers even decades later.
10
The Other Side Often Leads Readers Down an Uncertain Path
First published: December 12, 1981
So soon Far Side the cartoon omits the use of captions, as Gary Larson deliberately avoids half of the strip's comedic formula to make the reader more actively participate in discovering the joke. That said, the artist gives his audience a limit to work with here, with a panel that features an indigenous tribal warrior chasing what appear to be footprints, or perhaps the imprint of a duck's webbed feet, across an arid landscape.
Ultimately, the precise elements of the joke are made less important by the fact that Larson's goal here isn't entirely clear. That is, even if the reader can definitively say that these are duck prints in the sand, they will have difficulty giving a clear and concise answer as to what the panel's joke should be, or what makes it funny.
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The Other Side was a product of Gary Larson's ability to find comedy in tragedy and mystery – and sometimes in both
First published: July 21, 1984
This cartoon is, one could argue, The Far Side equivalent to a “locked room mystery”. On the dashboard, a row of chickens are pictured slumped in their nests, while their farmer lies on the ground in front of them, an upside-down basket with freshly harvested eggs cracked and scattered – without a clearly identifiable reason.
Once again, this cartoon's lack of captions is a deliberate choice by the artist; Although some of Gary Larson's untitled cartoons were easy to understand, many are among the most inscrutable Far Side jokes. That's the case here, as the “action” of the panel is difficult to decipher without more context, and as a result, the joke stands out as one of the strip's more obscure entries.
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Confusion on the other side was often the product of urgency – that is, to meet deadlines
First published: August 24, 1985
In this Far Side cow cartoon, a farmer methodically milking a row of cows tells an impatient bovine to “just cross [its] legs and wait” in turn, while frantically swinging his limbs in anticipation. The joke here is quite straightforward, but the cartoon's depiction of movement, through the cow's rapid gesticulations, can confuse readers, causing them to misunderstand the joke, at least at first.
It is important to note that The Far Side – especially as it became more popular and appeared in more newspapers – it always adhered to a strict production schedule, which meant that as much as Gary Larson liked to tinker and tweak his jokes, at a certain point, he had to release them in the wild, so to speak. In other words, not all Far Side is “perfect” or even necessarily “complete,” which can sometimes be a source of confusion for readers.
7
This Other Side Therapy Group Baptizes One Member “Cured”
First published: March 29, 1988
There is, of course, that category of Far Side cartoons that take a while to “click” with readers. They are often the result of a cartoon illustration that catches the reader's attention before the caption, causing them to have an immediate reaction to the panel before they even fully understand it.
This is an example, as the image of a woman breaking a bottle over another woman's head, while several other characters stand around and clap, can make readers laugh in and of itself. The caption makes it clear that this is a “baptism”, in the nautical sense, like a woman called “Cindy” graduates from her therapy group and is kicked out the same way sailors do to a new ship, breaking a bottle of champagne over the bow.
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The Other Side was a product of its time – which may confuse contemporary readers
First published: July 30, 1988
This cartoon makes reference to the actor Karl Malden, who, at the time of its publication, was in the last stages of his career. Still, whether the joke was funny or not, the reference would have been recognizable to a large portion of the population. The Far Side audience in the late 1980s. Decades later, it presents a perfect illustration of a specific subset of confusing situations. Far Side comics – those that haven’t aged well.
Even readers who are familiar with Malden's name and legacy may not immediately “get” the joke here.which means that although it may not have originally been a “What?” Far Side cartoon, he aged and turned into one over time. As time passes, more and more of Gary Larson's thematic references find themselves in this category, requiring readers to do more background research than one Far Side cartoon should deserve it.
5
The other side liked to put things into categories – but their methodology was sometimes questionable
First published: October 5, 1990
Subtitled “the four basic personality types,” that Far Side the comic begins with a familiar dichotomy and then extrapolates from it to reach an unexpected and entirely unscientific conclusion – like “glass half full” and “half empty glass“People are contrasted with people who can't decide one way or another, and then with those individuals who don't care one way or another.
“Hey, I ordered a cheeseburger” says the fourth man on the panel, his hands resting angrily on his hips, showing little patience with this attempt to classify people into categories, as the joke deliberately and delightfully veers off the quintessential path. Far Side style. The panel's humor comes from the fact that it starts out following a sort of pseudoscientific methodology, before quickly abandoning it, showing that humans are not so easily classified into predefined ways.
4
Solving the other side's vision of the future
First published: December 31, 1991
In this particularly dense Far Side panel, Gary Larson depicts a futuristic city in which cars have been replaced by flying saucers, bullet trains in tubes, and other sci-fi modes of travel – still There's one anachronism on this future horizon that sticks out like a sore thumb: an ad that comedian George Burns will perform that night.
Burns died in 1996, just a few months after his 100th birthday. Presumably Larson is making a joke about the actor and comedian's longevity in this cartoon, but even to readers at the time this joke may not have been immediately evident. In retrospect, it's more a case of a time-sensitive reference that became more confusing over time as subsequent generations of fans missed the cultural touchstones that The Far Side frequently invoked.
3
There must be more to The Far Side's “Cactus Tamer” story
First published: August 31, 1992
According to Gary Larson, some Far Side cartoons had elaborate backstories. This strange but wonderful panel feels like an example of that, as Larson presents readers with for the life and death of”Andre Lafleur: cactus tamer,“who is depicted wielding a chair and a whip surrounded by cacti. As the caption absurdly explains, Lafleur was “later killed in central Arizona“, making it one of the The Far Side many doomed characters.
The absurdity of “cactus tamer“The premise is enough to guarantee a laugh from most readers, but it's the scant details of Lafleur's life that will leave fans with more questions than answers – namely, how he got into this profession and what led him to his inevitable tragic fate.
2
Distant readers never knew what lay beyond the horizon
First published: August 16, 1993
This is fun Far Side panel shows a wagon full of settlers heading west – who climbs a hill and finds a carnival ride, including a bored attendant waiting for customers. While the joke is pretty straightforward, there's still something inscrutable about this cartoon; Furthermore, it is a perfect representation of how Far Side fans should always expect the unexpected.
In other words, Gary Larson always knew when to surprise his readers and subvert their expectations – to put something unexpected in their path and allow them to react to it. In a way, the characters in this Far Side cartoons reflect the experience of being a Far Side reader – just as some of Larson’s cartoons reflect his experience as an author.
1
The Other Side Had an Afterlife as Gary Larson's Legacy Was Preserved After Retirement
First published: September 20, 1993
“Taking a break from terrorizing young teenagers,” the caption of this Far Side cartoon explains: “zombies often relax on a dead western ranch.” Interestingly, the syntax of this caption is a little wrong, so it presents the reverse of a common expression Far Side reading experience – often a confusing image has been clarified by its caption, but here the illustration is clear enough, while the clumsy wording of the caption can confuse readers.
Still, this cartoon is a reminder that Gary Larson's legacy as a humorist is far from dead and buried, even decades after the end of the show. The Far Side. Even the most confusing Far Side The panel continues to spark excitement in readers new and old, and discovering Larson's comedic intentions has become an essential part of engaging with The Far Side in perpetuity.