Trigger Warning: This list includesFar Sidecomics that reference sensitive topics such as suicide, war, and other potentially distressing themes. Some readers may also find the subject matter offensive or in poor taste. Reader discretion is advised.
Gary Larson is known for the incredible range of humor in hisThe Far Sidecomics, from lighthearted gags to dark, controversial themes that have sparked debate among fans over whether he has ever taken things too far. Among his darker material are comics where the punchline is death itself.
Whether it’s the end of the human race or the demise of fictional characters, death has been a recurring theme throughout Larson’s work. Some of these comics are undeniably hilarious, while others arguably cross the line. Reader discretion is advised, aswhat might be funny to one person could be deeply offensive to another, especially in today’s climate of uncertainty and ongoing global conflicts. But if you’re a fan of Larson and familiar with his unique perspective, enjoy this list of 10Far Sidestrips where death takes center stage as the punchline.
10Monarch Butterfly Season
Spiders with Shotguns: A Twisted Take on Hunting
Gary Larson has the uncanny ability to take things we often take for granted and give them a unique twist. In this case, he reimagines hunting:the hunter is a spider, and the prey is a swarm of monarch butterflies.But instead of catching their prey with webs,these spiders take a page from the humanhunting handbook and use shotguns. The scene plays out much like duck hunting, with spiders hiding in tall grass and firing as the butterflies take flight. While hunting may not be a laughing matter for many, this quirky subversion of expectations might still earn a chuckle or two.
9The World Didn’t End with a Bang, But a“Oh, Gross!”
T.S. Eliot MeetsFar Side’sDisgusted Aliens
“The Hollow Men"by T.S. Eliot is a famous poem published in 1925, best known for its hard-hitting last line:“This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.”Like Larson’s work, this line subverts expectations about how the world might end. But while Eliot offers a tragic, poetic fade-out, Larson envisions the world ending with an“Oh, gross”from alien onlookers. Watching Earth’s destruction from space,these aliens are visibly disgusted, showing that in theFar Sideuniverse, the end doesn’t come with a bang or a whimper but rather a disgusted,“Oh, gross!”
8Quicksand’s a Much Bigger Threat in theFar Side
Childhood Fears Come True (Sort Of)
Most adults can attest thatour childhoods made us think that quicksand was going to be a much bigger problem than it actually turned out to be, with movies and shows likeIndiana Jones,Power Rangers, and even educational videos of what to do if you find yourself in quicksand making us think this was a threat we would have to be prepared for. However, most of us have yet to encounter the threat of quicksand. And while quicksand may not be as big of a threat as we thought it would be in reality, it still manages to bea major threat inThe Far Sideuniverse, where the death of no less than six explorers makes for the punchline of this comic.
7Famous Last Words Before the Irish Potato Famine
A Joke with a Staggering Death Toll
To understand the dark humor of thisFar Sidecomic, one needs a little historical knowledge to catch the joke.Here we see what appears to be a wife scolding her husband, Patrick, about his“give me the potatoes or give me death”nonsense. But little does this seemingly Irish family know, death is exactly what they are going to get from their potatoes, as this comic is a reference to the Great Famine where the potato crop, which a third of Ireland’s population was dependent on for food, was infected by a disease destroying the crop and causing mass starvation and death. Given that around 1,000,000 people died from the Great Famine, this makes it one of Larson’s darkest and highest death toll jokes.
6Suicide by Snake Noose
The Darkest Comic with the Most Ridiculous Visual
ThisFar Sidecomic is one of Gary Larson’s darkest, with a very on-panel death serving as the punchline. Here we see that Elliot the snake has committed suicide by hanging himself, but rather than using a rope,he contorts his own body into a noose and hangs himself this way.There is an edge of humor here, as the image is extremely ridiculous. Still, understandably, this was one of Larson’s more controversial comics, given that it makes light of the topic of suicide and goes as far as to portray the actual death in the comic.
5Even Chickens Have to Crack a Few Eggs to Make a Cake
Maternal Instincts vs. Dessert Ambitions
ThisFar Sidecomic proves that the saying"you’re able to’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs,“which means to achieve something desirable, you must inevitably cause some unpleasant side effects, even applies to chickens. However, while this saying is typically used in an abstract sense, thisFar Sidecomic takes it exceptionally literally, asit is clear that a mother hen is contemplating cracking a few of her eggs to make her cake. This is particularly dark given that the eggs are the chicken’s offspring, and thus she is essentially contemplating sacrificing her children to make ends meet.
4Bugs Celebrate the End of the Human Race
Nuclear Apocalypse Has Winners, Too
One of Larson’s most widely knownFar Sidecomics is exceptionally dark and perhaps hits a little too close to reality. In this strip, we see the end of the human race coming to pass as nuclear war takes place, demolishing cities. While there isn’t much that is funny about this, especially given today’s current global conflicts, the humor arises from the foreground of the comic strip, which depictsseveral bugs locking ‘hands’ as they dance in a circle in celebration of the end of humanity.Given that ‘the pests’ of the world are celebrating the end of humans, this comic provokes some deeper thought when it comes to exactly which species is the actual pest or parasite of planet Earth.
3Knocking on Death’s Door (Literally)
Death as the Punchline to a Knock-Knock Joke
Most people are familiar with the saying,“knocking on death’s door,”which typically means that someone is in a state of such ill-health that they are about to die. However, Larson offers a unique perspective on this saying, showing us justwhat an inconvenience it must be for the reapers of death when humans knock on death’s door.Here we see the Death family getting ready to wind down for the night, only to be interrupted by someone knocking on their door. This is quite possibly the best ‘knock-knock’ joke there is, with the punchline literally being Death.
2Beware of Stuffed Bear
The Darkest Taxidermy Joke Ever Drawn
This is anotherFar Sidecomic that makes light of the topic of suicide, once again using an animal surrogate to bring some humor to the situation. While snakes may hang themselves, readers learn thatbears who decide to end their liveschoose the method of ‘stuffing.’ Hence,this quite possibly might be the darkest taxidermy joke to date, as a bear family arrives home only to find Leonard the bear has stuffed himself, with the note“goodbye, world”taped to his chest.
1How Garfield Dies According to Gary Larson
A Crossover No One Saw Coming
In one of his boldest moves, Gary Larson takes adark jab at Jim Davis’ Garfield. In this comic, a snake is coiled near a labeled food bowl, its belly clearly bulging with something cat-sized. The implication is obvious: the snake ate Garfield. The humor stems from the shock value, as it crosses comic universes and kills off one of pop culture’s most beloved cats. This isn’t just a random punchline; it’s the demise of an icon,Far Sidestyle.
