The 10 Weirdest Comics From The Far Side, Ranked

The far side by Gary Larson has always been home to some of the most shocking absurdist humor ever to grace the comics sections of newspapers. Whether it's insightful observations on the absurdity of life or simply strips so fantastical they almost make no sense, Larson has always found a way to subvert readers' expectations.




Of course, some editions of The far side push the boundaries of the absurd further than others, even in occasionally subtle ways. On the other hand, turning the banal into the abjectly strange has always been what The far side has achieved excellent results, and the following are just some of the best examples of this over the course of its decades of activity.


10 Family vacations can take you anywhere in the Far Side

1 The Hell of the Dark Side and Back


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Gary Larson’s The Far Side is a legendary comic strip whose long history is as convoluted as some of its more baffling jokes.

One of The far sideThe many recurring gags of were slide shows about vacations. Usually, the punchline of these strips involved the presenters being aliens, animals, or some other unexpected life form. Other times, the vacation in question was meant to grab the readers' attention.

This is the case with this particular comic: a couple shows photos of their recent trip to Hell and back. In addition to being a play on words, this edition of The far side It also makes readers wonder how many times this journey has been made before, as neither the husband, nor the wife, nor the devil himself seem to find anything strange or unpleasant in this situation.


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2 Far Side Asparagus

At some point, most kids find themselves singing, “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!” It doesn’t matter if they learn it from friends, family, or some form of media. It’s simply been a ubiquitous part of American culture for so long that, to a certain extent, it’s hard to avoid picking up on it at some point in any child’s life.

What no child is doing, however, is cursing the asparagus. If anything, they are cursing the asparagus, although it seems no one thought to tell the asparagus truck driver in this classic. The far side comic book.

8 The far side Exploring the truth behind everyday technology

3 The Far Side Car Radio


Everyday technology like car stereos might seem simple, and presumably they are, but that doesn't mean that opening one up, taking it apart, and putting it back together is something any amateur would feel comfortable doing. On the other hand, even the most experienced tech whizzes would be taken aback if they opened up the dashboard and found a miniature band sitting behind it.

It is not clear exactly what is happening in this specific The far side comic. Clearly, the man conducting the investigation already had his suspicions, although why, what led him to do so, or what will come of his revelation is entirely up to the reader to figure out for themselves.

4 The Far Side Dirk Family Tree


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Family trees are a common concept, and almost every school-age child has had to assemble their own at some point. Family trees are also nothing new. That said, it is difficult to imagine how Dirk's family is supposed to have evolved as he has presented it, especially considering the specific ancestors he has included.

Evolution may be a widely accepted theory, but it takes a lot more than three generations for a single-celled organism to become something much larger than that, let alone a massive reptile. Likewise, it is almost as difficult for readers to wrap their heads around the idea that these primordial beasts directly gave rise to the first humans as it is to understand how Dirk could have figured all this out even with a little help from his parents.


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5 The Far Side Depression Chicken

While The far side often playing with everyday tropes and ideas in the most absurd ways possible, Larson's long-running series was always confident enough in its presentation that there was never any reason to question the obvious non sequiturs on display. This is especially true for the edition of The far side in which Larson introduces the counterpart of the Blue Bird of Happiness: the Chicken of Depression.

For many cultures, bluebirds are a welcoming sign of good things to come and a symbol of general happiness. This is still very true in The far sideand yet poor Ned hasn't seen him in quite some time. And when he gets a visit from the Depression Chicken, who, for some reason, is a thing, Ned doesn't question the situation.


5 The far side Redefines classic sporting events

6 The far side does the duck relay

With the 2024 Olympics just wrapped up, there's no better time to revisit some of Larson's classics. The far side comics that offered readers a sporting twist on their favorite strip. Unfortunately, one of those strips marks the debut of an event that, if it had had the chance, would have drawn nothing but blank stares from viewers.

Relay races are nothing new in the world of track and field sports. Animal humor is nothing new in the world of The far side. Putting the two together, readers get the duck relay, which may not be exactly what it seems at first glance, but easily falls into anyone’s top three or four guesses. This strip also showcases Gary Larson’s unique wordplay, as ducks are sometimes known as drakes, leading runners to refer to the annual Drake Relays as duck relays, giving the strip an added layer.


4 Little Women Take on a Literal Meaning in The Far Side

7 The Little Woman of the Dark Side

Although Gary Larson's artistic styles and recurring themes The far side evolved over the strip's many years of printing, the visual gags and blatantly absurd puns were there from the beginning. This is perfectly evident in this first strip from 1980, in which the phrase “little woman” is interpreted as literally as possible.

While everyone else in the single-panel strip is normal-sized, the “little woman” is a few inches tall at most. Like many others The far side In comics that delve into the same territory, not much attention is paid to the gag in question, which only underscores how incredibly strange the setting is.


3 Dentistry is not an exact science in The Far Side

8 The Dentist's Tennis Ball Far Side

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Many people are afraid of the dentist. Considering the pushing, shoving, and occasional exposure to high-grade anesthetics that dental and orthodontic procedures can involve, being wary of such appointments is among the most reasonable phobias there is.


At the same time, few people are legitimately concerned that their dentist will do something that can only be described as “weird” during a random appointment. And for those who are legitimately concerned about such an occurrence, absolutely none of them are actually afraid that their dentist will randomly stick a tennis ball or similar object into their mouth just to see if it works.

2 The far side Throw ordinary logic out the (airplane) window

9 The Wings of the Dark Side Fall

Among the many phobias and fears that The far side exploited was the anxiety surrounding air travel, which, for many, is another completely understandable concern. Unfortunately for Ted, being too relaxed on a plane was the source of his biggest problem and all the others.


It doesn't matter why there was a “wings come off” button right under Ted's armrest. It doesn't matter why no one thought to inform Ted of this fact when he sat down. All that matters is the implication that Ted pressed that button during his flight to catastrophic results, the only kind that could result from such a situation even under the best of circumstances.

The Far Side 4 Cow Tools

“Cow Tools” is undoubtedly the most famous The far side comics of all time. It has been discussed for decades by everyone from comics fans to academic professionals to critics of the medium, so much so that it has become something that randomly pops in and out of the popular zeitgeist and social media discourse.


Larson has been open and forthright about the fact that “Cow Tools” is more of a piece of utter nonsense than anything else, but that hasn't stopped it from becoming a niche pop culture phenomenon in its own right. If there's one aspect of The far side that will survive the series' legacy will surely be “Cow Tools,” and that might be the weirdest thing of all.

In Dog Hell's version of The Far Side, dogs pick up poop and deliver mail.

The far side

by Gary Larson The far side is a single-panel comic strip known for its offbeat humor and unconventional take on everyday life. Featuring bizarre situations, anthropomorphic animals, and eccentric characters, the strip delves into surreal and absurd scenarios that defy typical comic book norms. Often blending dark humor with insightful commentary, it explores a range of topics from science to society, making readers laugh and reflect on the absurdities of existence.

Writer
Author: Gary Larson

Publisher
Universal Press Union

Artist
gary larson

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