The weird and warped humor ofThe Far Sideroutinelyleaves readers asking “What the?”, pleading to understand why certain jokes were funny, if not outright mystified and missing the point, yet there are also countless examples of author Gary Larson making easily understood, and at times even obvious jokes. This list celebrates examples of the latter category, both classics and underrated gems.
In theory,The Far Sidewas intended to evoke immediate reactionsfrom readers, yet in practice, Larson’s comedic style frequently prompted fans to ponder the meanings of his panels, the punchlines of which ranged from obscure to full-on indecipherable.
Just as often, though,The Far Sidedid manage to make an instantaneous connection with readers; in truth,Larson’s work is more relatableto the average person than it gets credit for. If someFar Sidecartoons are certified brain-teasers, these are the opposite:Far Sidejokes that take little to no effort to enjoy.
10The Far Side’s Humor Often Relied On Recognizable Sayings And Phrases For Inspiration
First Published: Jul 16, 2025
“Andrew…the cows have come home,” a woman shouts to her husband,standing with her hands-on-hips looking out her suburban home’s front window, as a cow holding a suitcase, presumably their cow, emerges from a taxi out front, while another waits to get out.ThisFar Sidepunchline is easily recognizable because it riffs on the phrase “until the cows come home,” suggesting that “Andrew” might be doing something off-panel that he now has to cut out, while also playing on the absurdity of cows riding in cabs.
Gary Larson often used stock phrases and folk sayingsto grab the reader’s attention, and to facilitate the delivery of punchlines like this one, making this type ofFar Sidecartoon among the easier to interpret, in comparison to Larson’s more “out there” and esoteric jokes.
9The Far Side Reveals A Cow’s Worst Fear In This Classic Cartoon
First Published: July 24, 2025
In thisclassicFar Sidecow cartoon,a bovine bolts upright in bed, in the middle of the night, startled awake by a horrifying nightmare, waking up its spouse by shouting: “THE GOLDEN ARCHES! THE GOLDEN ARCHES GOT ME!“This reference to McDonalds should be an easy one for most readers, who will easily find the humor in the idea of a cow’s worst fearing being that it will be turned into a McDonalds hamburger.
That is to say, for some cows the end result might not make a difference, but for others, surely there’s a big difference between becoming a Delmonicos' steak and a Mickey Dee’s burger patty. The great thing aboutFar Sidecomics like this, which aren’t hard to “get,” is that the mental energy that might be spent deciphering aFar Sidecartoon’s punchline can instead be devoted to unraveling the layers of its humor.
8The Far Side’s Iconic “Garfield Eaten By A Snake” Comic Still Gets Fans
First Published: July 26, 2025
Sometimes,The Far Side’scaptionless comics were among its most confusing, given that they lacked half ofThe Far Side’s"formula,” and thus the reader lacked vital context for the joke. However, the flipside is also true. The comics in which Gary Larson’s illustrations truly speak for themselves, and don’t need anything else to convey this humor, are often among his most obvious.
That is the case with this iconicGarfieldreference, in whicha snake with a huge lump in its midsection coils around a full food bowl with the iconic orange tabby’s name on it in big bold letters, a contented smile on the serpent’s face, with the obvious implication of this macabre, but hilarious nod to one of Gary Larson’s greatest cartooning contemporaries being that Garfield has been devoured himself before he could inhale his dinner.
7The Far Side Mixes Metahumor And Relatable Family Drama In This Memorable Panel
First Published: July 29, 2025
Simply captioned “cartoon teenagers,” the humor of thismetahumerousFar Sidecartooncomes in the form of a speech bubble, asthe illustrated adolescent points an accusatory finger at his parents and declares “I didn’t ask to be drawn!“The overt parallel to real life here will make an immediate connection with anyone who has been on either side of a contentions parent-teen relationship, and Larson’s twist on the dynamic, by adding a fourth-wall-breaking touch, makes this panel stand out.
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This exemplifies the relatable strain ofFar Sidehumor, as well as the kind ofFar Sidejoke that doesn’t ask too much of the reader. Instead, it delivers a swift, effective chuckle, and essentially lets them get on with their day, rather than gnawing at them for hours afterward, a side effect some of Gary Larson’s jokes are known to cause.
6It Was No Accident That The Far Side’s Captionless Comics Are Often Its Funniest
First Published: July 09, 2025
Once again, no caption isnecessary for thisFar Sidejoke, and in fact, adding anything else to this panel might have run the risk of making it more confusing. Here, Gary Larson depictsthe perilous moments after a mid-air collision between a fighter jet and a flying saucer, as their respective pilots parachute to safety, with the human and green, multi-eyed, red-clawed extraterrestrial sharing a look of annoyancethat readers might recognize from more mundane accidents like a fender bender.
The humor of this joke is all about the visual, and the illustration gives readers everything they need to get a solid laugh: the image of the two vehicles smashed together, burning as they plummet to Earth, while their pilots float among the clouds. It works, and it doesn’t take exceptional effort to understand, making this a fan-favoriteFar Side.
5Gary Larson Riffs On The Blues In This Hilarious Far Side Frog Comic
First Published: August 12, 2025
Gary Larson was a musician himself, something that was reflected in manyFar Sidecartoons over the years. This one is an all-time great, as it featuresa frog singing “the greens,” in lieu of the blues, wearing a sunglasses on stage in a dark club, along with a fedora, and sporting a wispy mustache on its upper lip, as it strums a hollow-body guitar and sings: “My baby’s left the lili pad/my legs were both deep fried/I eat flies all day/and when I’m gone they’ll stick me in formaldehyde.”
Larson’s familiarity with jazz and blues makes the rhythm and tenor of this humorous dirge easy to pick up for readers with even a glancing familiarity with the genre as well. And even for those uninitiated into the blues, the joke here is straightforward, and more importantly, playful, meaning it isn’t a stretch forFar Sidefans to be able to understand it.
4Gary Larson Offers A Glimpse Into The Drawbacks Of Domestic Life For T-Rex Families
First Published: August 04, 2025
In thislaugh-out-loudFar Sidedinosaur cartoon, the punchline is about as obvious as it could be, playing into the idea of the T-Rex’s disproportionately short arms being useless by featuring a family of the dinos at the dinner table, withthe husband bemoaning, “I’m trying to pass the potatoes…remember, my forearms are just as useless as yours,” while his presumably hungry wife grimaces in frustration.
This “slice of life"Far Sidecomic is an example of Gary Larson auditing his own use of anthropomorphic animal characters; in other words, he considered what it would be like for T-Rexes to sit down to dinner, and managed to conjure up the most immediate comedic problem, resulting in a highly effective punchline.
3The Far Side Didn’t Always Have To Spring Surprises On Readers; Sometimes Obvious Jokes Landed Best
First Published: June 25, 2025
ThisFar Sidecartoon is certainly more on the surreal side of the spectrum of Gary Larson’s humor, given its depiction of a family of Jack-in-the-Boxes, sitting around their living room,with the “man” of the household sitting still-boxed in a recliner, with his wife telling a friend “I’m worried about Frank these days…it seems he just can’t unwind.”
The clear-cut nature of this punchline justifies the absurd imagery, allowing for a dynamicFar Sidecomic in which areader’s “What the?” reactioncan actually co-exist with their quick understanding of the punchline, and their connection with its humor. These are often looked at as distinct reactions, but in fact, they often come together in a jumble forFar Sidereaders.
2This Relatable Far Side Panel Highlights The Annoyance Of Being Interrupted Mid-Meal
First Published: August 07, 2025
Most people know the feeling of being interrupted just as they sit down to relax, or to eat, or often both, as represented in thisFar Sidesnake cartoon, in whicha snake’s phone rings just as it has settled into its living room recliner and stuffed a whole hog in its mouth as a snack.
The silly, surreal imagery here perfectly pairs with the recognizable sentiment of the punchline, highlighting the fact that when Gary Larson’s idiosyncratic comedic perspective and his knack for observational humor aligned, the result tended to be an unforgettableFar Sidecartoon. Puzzling out aFar Sidepunchline can be its own form of amusement, but for some readers, easily understood jokes like this remain Larson’s best.
1This Far Side Joke Is Smart, But Straightforward In The Best Possible Way
First Published: August 10, 2025
Once again, thisFar Sidecartoon works perfectly sans caption, with thought bubbles used in its place. Here, a donkey and a rabbit, who are seemingly roommates, sit in the same room, silently critiquing one another, asthe donkey reads a book and scoffs at the rabbit for watching TV, thinking “dumb bunny,” while the rabbit flips through the channels on the television and judges the other animal’s literary pretensions, thinking “smart ass.”
The illustration, as a whole, is an effective pay-off for a premise that is entirely designed around this latter insult;Far Sidefans will recognize the intelligent humor of this punchline without feeling like it is too far ahead of them, or too far outside the realm of their understanding, making ita perfectFar Sidecomic.
