TheseFar Sidecartoons turn thirty-five this month, meaning there is no better time for a retrospective look at what made Gary Larson’s humor such a cultural powerhouseduring the peak years of his career. These areThe Far Side’shit cartoons from July 1990, whichkicked off a particularly memorable summerfor the cartoon.
1990 was the start of the third and final “act” of Larson’s career, and by the summer of that year, he was firing on all cylinders again, after having taken a fourteen-month hiatus from cartooning.
The final stretch of his career produced countless classicFar Sidecomics, and this batch stands out among the best from his first year back.
10"Great Master, Indeed": Da Vinci’s Dog Doesn’t Have Patience For Timeless Art, He’s Hungry Now
First Published: July 24, 2025
“One of the Great Masters, indeed,” Leonardo da Vinci’s hungry dog thinks, making a pun on his owner’s status as one of the leading figures in art history. This is aclassicFar Sidedog joke, while also showcasingGary Larson’s high-level wordplay. Of course, it adds to the humor that readers can relate to both characters, in certain ways.
That is, few readers would begrudge a pet dog its dinner, yet da Vinci’s canine’s impatience is made amusing by the fact that his “master” is in the middle of painting a literal masterpiece, the Mona Lisa. This is a smart use of detail by Larson, resulting in a classicFar Sidecartoon.
9"Navy Ants!" Gary Larson’s Eye For Wordplay Was Sharper Than Ever In 1990
First Published: June 13, 2025
“Now what,” a woman says to her husband, when she catches sight of something approaching, as they float on the ocean in an inflatable raft, afrequentFar Sideset-up. Quickly, she identifies the problem: “Navy ants!” It is a gloriously silly punchline, one in which the linguistic humor is adeptly aided by the visual component of the comic.
Taking a cue from his fondness for Vikings, Gary Larsondepicts the “navy ants” as raiders in longboats, prepared to board the raft and wreak havoc. Even if they don’t pop the precarious-looking inner tube, they will make life unbearable for these shipwreck survivors, a bleak implication of an otherwise hilariousFar Sidecartoon.
8"Not On Toto Anymore": Fleas Wind Up On The Far Side Of The Dog In This Strange “Wizard Of Oz” Joke
First Published: August 04, 2025
The Far Sidemade moreWizard of Ozreferencesthan most fans realize, and this is one of Gary Larson’s more “out there” takes on the iconic film.“I’ve got a feeling we’re not on Toto anymore,' one flea says to another, as they walk across the back of an unfamiliar dog, watched by scary looking bugshiding behind hairs.
This is another example of Gary Larson’s extensive use of wordplay; this time, he remixes a familiar phrase, the iconicWizard of Oz“not in Kansas anymore” quote from the perspective of fleas, something few other creators would do, thus arriving at a punchline that no one else would even consider to make.
7"Raindrops! Raindrops!” The Far Side Frequently Exposed The Dark Side Of Clowns
First Published: July 21, 2025
This is another all-time greatFar Side"lost at sea" joke, showing that the trope was on Gary Larson’s mind in the summer of 1990. (Though to be fair, it was never very far from his mind.) This also stands out as a particularly funnyFar Sideclown joke, which were also proliferate throughout the comic’s run.
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Here,a clown torments his fellow survivor as they sit in a cramped life raft, spritzing the man’s head with water from his lapel flower when the guy isn’t looking, causing him to freak out, shouting “raindrops! Raindrops!” Just asThe Far Sidetrafficked in dark humor, this joke highlights the nefarious side to clowning around.
6"How To Draw Cartoons": Gary Larson Gets Meta With This Far Side Art Lesson
First Published: Jul 17, 2025
Gary Larson indulged in some classic metahumor over the years; it’s easy to picture himworking onThe Far Sidein his office at night, looking for something to riff on, something to make fun of, and having recently made jokes about Armageddon, and cows, and cowboys, and desert islands, and so on, deciding to turn his humorous gaze upon himself and his own work.
The result? Cartoons like this one, in which Gary Larson offers a “drawing lesson,” of sorts, in which he walks readers through the steps of creating a character from the bones up, while adding pithycommentary such as “American cartoons are generally not as healthy as foreign ones”and advice on keeping characters’ brains small to ensure “zany situations.”
5"Just A Big, Stupid Grin": The Far Side’s Version Of A Nature Documentary Is Predictably Absurd
First Published: June 23, 2025
The caption of this cartoon, “how rhinos are incited to charge,” could be mistaken for a footnote in a National Geographic magazine, and that is the point, because it humorouslycontrasts with the silly answer to “how” that thisFar Sideprovides: they get egged on by a tiny bird sitting between their ears.
“I can’t tell for sure, but he might even be making a face,” the bird tells the rhino, after assuring it that the human interloper has “no gun…just a big, stupid grin.” This cartoon deserves more credit as a great example ofThe Far Side’sconstant “man vs. nature” beef, given how funny its depiction of the animal side of the equation is.
4"Nerd-Sniffing Dogs": The Far Side’s Cops Get Involved In Finding The Odd-Man-Out At The Party
First Published: August 10, 2025
Parties were a perennialFar Sidesetting, and this memorable panel portrays one being broken up by the cops…or at least, being interrupted,as officers lead in “nerd-sniffing dogs,” which beeline straight for one guy, “to Rodney’s horror.“This hilarious gag evokes the feeling of trying to fit in, and failing through no fault of your own.
There is a delicate mix of absurdity and relatability to this cartoon, which is ultimately what makes it stick with readers. This was Gary Larson’s gift as a humorist, to be able to pull off that tightrope act so consistently, and often so spectacularly, as thisFar Sidecartoon exhibits.
3"Irresponsible Mountain Goats”: Getting To The Far Side Of The Mountain Becomes Extra Perilous
First Published: August 06, 2025
Captioned “irresponsible mountain goats,” thisFar Sidecomic features a herd of goats navigating a razor-thin cliff face as they make their way up a mountain, whenone finishes snacking on a banana and carelessly tosses the peel over its shoulder, right into the path of the goats behind it.
ThisFar Sidegag blends slapstick comedyand perilous action in a way that will strike most readers as highly amusing. This comic also showcases the fact that Gary Larson’s absurd sense of humor was often best embodied by the simplest premises, which he could illustrate into memorable visual punchlines.
2"Always So Dang Warm': The Far Side Flips A Familiar Domestic Trope To Hilarious Results
First Published: June 07, 2025
The Far Sidefeatured plenty of penguinsover the years, and this summer ‘90 example is a great example of Gary Larson’s use of animal characters to poke fun at human behavior, often by flipping it on its head. Or in this case, its feet, as Larson lampoons the common occurrence of a person complaining about their spouse’s cold feet touching them in bed.
In this case, Larson makes the couple a pair of penguins,with their bed situated on a free-floating patch of ice in the arctic, and instead of cold feet, the penguin comments to its partner that “your feet are always so dang warm.“It is anotherFar Sidejoke that should be praised for its simplicity, while still highlighting the comic’s strange, unique humor.
1"Ain’t That Your Horse?": The Far Side Depicts The Perfect Horse/Rider Pair
First Published: July 14, 2025
In thisbizarreFar Sidecowboy comic, a cowboy with an unusually wide stance is asked “ain’t that your horse the kid is messin’ with,” causing him tolook over his shoulder at the young boy who is trying to pet his steed, which has an unusually-large backside.This is highly silly, but it also highlights Gary Larson’s artistic talent.
ThisFar Sidejoke relies on the composition of the cartoon; readers’ eyes are immediately drawn to the wide-legged cowboy, while his turned-head directs readers to look at the horse next, before the caption finally brings it all together. Overall, it is a perfectly constructedFar Sidejoke, emphasizing Gary Larson’s keen eye for details.
