Gary Larson The Far Side loves parodying pop culture, so it was inevitable that Santa Claus would find himself in the comics' crosshairs from time to time. In fact, Santa Claus received special attention thanks to The Far Side's line of Christmas cards, which turned Old Saint Nick into a regular figure of fun for Larson, along with his elves, reindeer, and bright red suit.
Here are the 10 funniest Far Side comics starring Santa Claus - Don't forget to vote in our end-of-article poll to your favorite Gary Larson comic featuring the adventures of Kris Kringle.
10
Venison
Santa's relationship with his reindeer deteriorates in this comic from the other side
True to form, Larson can't resist reversing Santa's happy demeanor, transforming him into a petty boss who threatens to turn his faithful reindeer into his next meal if the complaining doesn't stop. For any fans who think he is joking, unfortunately another Far Side The strip (below) shows Santa apparently composing a list of venison recipes - one for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph.
Since most of his jokes take place in a single panel, Larson tends to use famous characters and real-life celebrities when there is some part of their public image that readers can instantly understand. In the case of Santa Claus, Larson had a lot to choose from.
9
Little reindeer
Far Side takes 'The Night Before Christmas' literally
Although it's not the part most modern Christmas lovers remember, Clement Clarke Moore's iconic poem A visit from Saint Nicholas (also known as The night before Christmas) includes many hints that Santa Claus is a tiny, elfin figure, describing him as "an old driver" and "right jolly old elf" common "fun little mouth" and "a little round belly." However, in this comic, Larson seemingly ignores this implication to embrace the much more direct line of Santa Claus having "a miniature sleigh and eight little reindeer."
In the world of The Far SideIt looks like Santa Claus was warned his sleigh will be pulled by “eight little reindeer,” but it was not yet ready for his diminutive size. Hopefully the later addition of Rudolf to their roster will give them the pulling power needed to circumnavigate the globe in a single night.
8
What the hell?
Santa and Mrs. Claus suffer an unfortunate mix-up
In this strip, Santa Claus realizes that he picked up the wrong bag for December's deliveries, taking the dirty laundry out of the house and leaving the presents at home with Mrs. Claus. The comic is unusual in breaking Far SideIt's the informal single-pane rule, but it's not entirely alone. Especially at the beginning The Far SideAfter syndication, Larson experimented with multi-panel jokes.
Although many of them are funny, they don't match the minimalism that makes Far Side Such a genius piece of work, and Larson's later work would achieve the same level of 'story' with intelligently worded panels.
7
Santa's Clue
Gary Larson Loves Corrupting Lyrics
Far Sidethe characters only really arrived after going through an unpleasant court case. In this strip, Larson narrates the events of Gene Autry's story Here comes Santa Claus into a grim reality, changing the lyrics from a celebration of Saint Nicholas' imminent arrival to the harrowing account of Santa Claus running over someone in the street.
Far SideUK courts have dealt with worse, with everyone from animals to nursery rhyme characters taking sides. In fact, this isn't the last time Santa will be taken to court before this list ends.
6
Collision
Santa Claus suffers as much as the other humans in Far Side
In a great comic that needs no words, Gary Larson portrays Santa Claus encountering an unexpected obstacle while flying through the Christmas air. It's definitive Far Side to turn the logistics of Santa's flight path into the basis of a joke, but Larson's art really brings it to life, with the scattered presents adding a genius detail to the collision.
5
He has the red suit
Santa's Elves Have the Perfect Way to Kill Your Boss
In this strip, Santa's Christmas elves rebel against him, bringing with them a bull you can trust to attack the bright color. Unfortunately for the elves, The idea that bulls get angry at the color red is a myth - in fact, because they are colorblind, they can't even see. Although the red capes are used by the matadors to taunt the bulls, it is the whip of the fabric that catches the eye, while the bright color is for the audience. The strip asks why Santa's elves would try to assassinate him, but Larson answers that with swords...
4
Little helpers
Far Side loves a courtroom gag
Larson turns Santa Claus into a killer in her second courtroom scene, with Mrs. Claus implied to be the tragic victim. Upon discovering that he will not get away with his crime, Santa Claus implicates the "little helpers" who acted as his accomplices, revealing why the elves might be interested in taking him off the board - they were covering up their crimes!
3
Not even a mouse
Far Side brings back 'The Night Before Christmas'
Larson revisits the lyrics of A visit from Saint Nicholasexplaining that reason no creature was moving is that Santa already crushed the mouse in question. The Far Side loves the image of a completely flattened victim, although it is usually some form of large mammal crushing a human.
2
Doberman
One of Far Side's best wordless jokes
In this wordless comic, Santa Claus climbs down the chimney, unaware yet that an alert Doberman eagerly awaits his arrival. It's a near-perfect Larson joke, with a single image capturing the moment right before something hilariously disastrous happens.
1
Maybe this is the year
Far Side Targets Santa's Iconic Red Suit
In his funniest Santa Claus comic (at least according to us), Larson reveals that Santa only dresses in the iconic color because he doesn't have the courage to try on the blue suit he wears. really want to use. Although popular myth says that the red suit is an invention of Coca-Cola, this story is unfortunately not true. The red likely comes from Santa's connection to the 4th century bishop Saint Nicholas, who wore red robes while giving gifts.
These are The Far SideThe 10 funniest comics starring Santa Claus - be sure to vote below for the comic you think deserves to be our #1.