The funniest thing about The Far Side it’s actually what makes it stand out from pretty much every other iconic comic book (like Garfield and Calvin and Hobbes): does not feature a main character. Of course, there may be some recurring problems Far Side characters, but for the most part, The Far Side it’s just a single-panel comic that highlights its own seemingly random jokes through a wide variety of characters. This includes aliens, demons, and even anthropomorphic cows. And occasionally rabbits and moles.
The idea that a comic strip could make rabbits and moles funny might seem a little far-fetched, as it seems too weird and random to work. But, that’s the beauty of The Far Side. It’s not driven by its characters, it’s driven by the jokes themselves, and sometimes those jokes set rabbits and moles as protagonists to land on – and The Far Side He never had a problem telling a joke. Here are the 10 funniest Far Side comics starring rabbits and moles!
10
The Far Side takes “Jumping Out of Bed” hilariously literally
This one certainly falls into ‘Dad Joke’ territory
Two rabbits, probably husband and wife, are lying together in bed one morning when one of them makes a comment to the other: “I wish I didn’t have to jump out of bed first thing in the morning“, then follow that statement with,”Of course, that’s the only way I know“. It’s funny because they are bunnies, and bunnies literally jump wherever they go – including out of bed.
It is also a play on “jumping out of bed”, referring to someone who simply gets up in the morning. This one definitely ventures into ‘dad joke’ territory, and couldn’t have been told using any character other than a rabbit.
9
Far Side proves that wordplay is always funnier with animals
A donkey and a rabbit after an argument
A donkey and a rabbit are sitting together in a room, apparently after some sort of argument. They are in the same room, but they don’t talk to each other, they just think negative things about each other. The donkey calls the rabbit “dumb rabbit“ in your mind, while The rabbit also calls the donkey “smartass“.
Both insults are a play on words that use popular expressions in reference to each specific animal. “Smart“it’s a common insult, but in this case it’s also literal, as the person it’s used against is literally an idiot. Likewise,”dumb rabbit“is an expression meaning ‘stupid person’, but since it is used literally against a rabbit, the donkey may just be calling him a donkey. In fact, wordplay is never funnier than when combined with animal characters .
8
The Far Side Hilariously Inverts Shadow Puppet’s Expectations
Bunnies make shadow puppets of people
One of the most popular and easiest shadow puppet designs to make is the bunny, making it a mainstay of shadow puppetry. But that’s only when humans make shadow puppets. When rabbits do this, they don’t turn into shadow puppets, they make shadow puppets of humans. It’s a classic script-flipping scenario, hilariously subverting readers’ expectations. And the funniest part? The comics totally ignore why ‘bunny shadow puppets’ are so widely used by people.
It’s a classic script-flipping scenario, hilariously subverting readers’ expectations.
‘Bunny shadow puppetry’ is only popular because it is easy to do with your hands, while making human shadow puppets is virtually impossible. But since people make puppets out of rabbits, rabbits make shadow puppets of peoplewhich makes sense in an absurdly hilarious way.
7
The Other Side Sheds a Dark Light on Bunnies’ Reputation for Having Too Many Children
A bunny drinks his troubles away at a local bar
A rabbit is sitting at a bar next to a beaver, talking to the bartender (who is a moose). The rabbit says: “Listen – if you think it was hard, you should try my alimony payments“. It seems that the elk or the beaver complained about their lives, and the rabbit ordered them to be beaten, as he has to support an unknown (but certainly large) number of children.
While it’s funny to see a bunny drinking away his troubles at the local bar with some other animals, the real joke is a reference to real-world bunnies. Rabbits are famous for having many children, something that is even highlighted in an inappropriate common phrase. And that Far Side comedic references in the most hilarious way possible.
6
The Far Side offers a dark retelling of “The Tortoise and the Hare”
Hilarious in the darkest way possible
Everyone knows the story of “The Tortoise and the Hare”, as it was this story that taught the old lesson: slow and steady wins the race. Over the years there have been a number of retellings, but overall the story and message have remained true to the original story. That is, until The Far Side I achieved. In this graphic novel, the tortoise and the hare are at the starting line, ready to begin their iconic race.
And then, a truck crosses the race track, running over the tortoise and the hare. There doesn’t seem to be a timeless lesson involved in this story, other than perhaps being careful when playing near a road. However, lessons aside, this Far Side comic is absolutely hilarious in the darkest way possible.
5
1 Far Side Bunny Faces A Jump Too Intimidating Even For Them
Sid is not as confident as he should be
In this Far Side comically, a rabbit holds the reins of a horse-drawn carriage with a human at its side and another riding inside the carriage. The horses are about to run off the edge of a cliff, and everyone on (and in) the carriage is freaking out. However, the man sitting next to the rabbit has the utmost confidence that the rabbit will get them out of this situation safelywhen he turns to the rabbit and says, “Go ahead and jump, Sid! Hell, I to know you’re thinking about it!“.
Although the man may be confident in Sid’s ability to jump, given that Sid is a rabbit, Sid doesn’t look so confident. The rabbit’s eyes are wide with fear, indicating that even though Sid is a rabbit, they certainly weren’t thinking about jumping.
4
The Other Side Gives a Whole New Meaning to ‘Prison Mole’
This time, the name means something much more literal
‘Prison Mole’ is used to refer to a prisoner who is secretly an informant, passing information to guards/wardens looking for a chance at a reduced prison sentence. However, in this Far Side comic, ‘Prison Mole’ takes on a whole new meaning as this prison is full of nothing but literal moles. Not only that, but these moles understand that ratting out their fellow inmates is not the quickest way out of prison, but rather a skill that real-life moles are known for: digging tunnels.
The warden of this prison knows that every mole prisoner is just waiting for the chance to dig in the dirt and escape. While real-world ‘prison moles’ use information to try and get out of prison, these literal ‘prison moles’ are thinking much more like the animal, giving hilarious new meaning to the term ‘prison mole’.
3
The other side proves that even a well-informed mole can still be a dead mole
The statistics are proven to be true
In this comic strip, a mole sits in his burrow reading a newspaper while another mole (perhaps his wife) is eaten by a snake that has slithered silently into his house. The mole is reading about current events, observing a recently published statistic that 70% of all accidents happen in the “hole” (with “hole” meaning “house”). And right behind him, that statistic is being proven true, as the other mole is being killed in his house – and the mole reading the newspaper is certainly next.
This mole was very well informed, so much so that he unwittingly predicted a disaster within his own home. However, Being well informed will not save the mole from the snake who once entered his house and ate someone close to him – adding a touch of tragic irony to this already darkly funny comic.
2
These moles on the other side offer great advice on emergency preparedness in an absurd way
A mole tries to use the elevator during a life or death situation
An entire colony of moles is being destroyed by a garden house, as the woman whose yard these little creatures were destroying has finally had enough. It is flooding the moles’ tunnel system, and those who don’t make it out in time will certainly drown, which means escaping as quickly and safely as possible is critical.
That’s why it’s so frustrating that a spy, Randy, is trying to use the elevator even though everyone should know never to use the elevator in situations like thisas it can break easily and cause someone to get stuck. This is actually great advice in terms of emergency preparedness. However, the idea that moles have elevators installed in their tunnel system is completely absurd, making the entire comic absolutely hilarious.
1
The Biblical Story of Adam and Eve Has a Hilarious Twist on the Other Side
It wasn’t Satan who convinced them to eat from the tree of knowledge
In the Bible, Adam and Eve are tempted to eat from the Tree of Knowledge by Satan, who first seduced Eve as a serpent. Adam and Eve knew that if they ate from the Tree, they would be expelled from the Garden of Eden forever by God himself – which seemed pretty good to one mole in particular.
This twist is absolutely hysterical, which is why it’s one of the 10 funniest Far Side comics starring rabbits or moles.
This mole was tired of seeing Adam and Eve setting life-threatening mole traps, so he set up a microphone system and hid it in the Tree of Knowledge. The mole uses the microphone to convince Adam and Eve to eat from the tree to drive them out of Eden, and then pretends to be God to drive them out himself, thus saving himself from their mole traps.
The Far Side states that it was not Satan who convinced Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge – thus condemning all humanity to suffer Original Sin – and it was not God who expelled them from Eden, it was just a vengeful mole. This twist is absolutely hysterical, which is why it’s one of the 10 funniest Far Side comics starring rabbits or moles.