Summary
The Far Sidecreator Gary Larson made a successful career as a cartoonist, but he alwaysharbored the desire to be a professional jazz guitarist– explaining the tenor and the tone of the comics he drew over years featuring musicians. From anthropomorphic animal performers, to the worst fears of orchestral conductors,Larson channeled the anxiety and exultation of making music in a way seldom few manage to.
The Far Sidewas the productof a deeply intuitive, and deeply creative process, one that is valuable to study for artists working across all mediums. When it came to depicting musicians, Gary Larson tapped into his own experiences perhaps as much as any other type ofFar Sidecomic.
In other words, these cartoons represent both a unique insight into the mind of a musician in general, and a peak into Gary Larson’s psyche in particular, making them among the most fascinating Far Sides to revisit.
This Recurring Far Side Joke Is the Perfect Metaphor For Gary Larson’s Humor
Though it didn’t appear with the frequency of the comic’s infamous dogs, ducks, cats, & chickens, one repeat gag perfectly sums up The Far Side.
The Far Side’s Musician Comics Were Anything But A Swing & A Miss
First Published: June 10, 2025
The Far Side’sfirst comic about a musician set an important precedent, establishing that Gary Larson was interested in finding the humor that came along with creative failure, especially when it came to music. He did this by depicting a manwildly failing to connect as he brings a pair of cymbals together with everything he can muster, as the talent scout holding the auditions unsympathetically calls out “next!”
A fair share ofFar Sidepunchlines were manifestations of the author’s deep-seated anxieties; in this case, the fear of catastrophic failure in a high-pressure artistic situation. While the idea of missing so hard at a “Cymbal Audition” is a hilarious extrapolation on the idea, at its core, this comic will resonate with any creative artist who has bombed an audition, received a rejection letter, or in any sense failed to achieve some recognition.
Gary Larson Tapped Into The Worst Fears Of Artists & Musicians Everywhere
First Published: June 01, 2025
In thisFar Sidepanel, an orchestra conductor has a horrible dream the night before a big performance,in which his musicians have no idea what to do with their instruments – variously putting them on their heads, and trying to shove them in their mouths, rather than playing them. Again,Gary Larson finds the humorin the very real anxieties that beleaguer artists at every level of their careers, from the amateur to the world-class.
Performers across mediums will know the plight of a restless sleep before a big gig, the spirit of which Gary Larson captures here, with the pained look on the poor conductor’s face feeling very relatable, even as the imagery of the musicians' incompetence in his nightmare makes this a particularly amusingFar Sidecartoon.
Gary Larson Knew Great Artists Were Seldom Appreciated By The Masses
First Published: July 13, 2025
Consideringhow idiosyncratic Gary Larson’s humor is, it is remarkable thatTheFar Sideachieved the level of commercial success that it did during its run. That said,the comic received its fair share of criticism, and complaints from offended readers – not because it was ever actually offensive, but rather because its sensibility was well ahead of its time. As well-received as Larson’s work was, it was perhaps not fully appreciated in its time.
In any case, thisFar Sidecomic features a pair of musicians who are much less well-received by the masses than Gary Larson –as a torch and pitchfork-wielding mob of citizens bust down a door to stop two musicians from practicing the banjo and tuba, respectively. What makes this illustration particularly hilarious is its POV, as the reader is positioned as one of the mob, with the surprised, unlucky instrumentalists in the background of the frame.
The Banjo Strikes Back In This Far Side Orchestra Cartoon
First Published: July 11, 2025
Evidently, Gary Larson considered the banjo to be among the most abrasive instruments – or at least, the funniest. In thisFar Side, an orchestra conductor clutches his ears, demanding to know “what’s that sound?” Off to the side of the orchestra, though plainly foregrounded for the reader’s sake, isa smiling banjo player, plucking at his instrument in sharp contrast to the soaring classical sounds the conductor is expecting.
In this case, it is the face of the banjo player that drives home the humor of thisFar Sidecomic, elevating it from amusing tooutright laugh-out-loud funny. Here, Gary Larson delivers another joke about a performance gone awry – but in this case, readers might almost find themselves on the banjo player’s side.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
This Far Side Takes Readers Back To The Origin Of The Orchestra
First Published: June 07, 2025
Prehistoric characters were ubiquitous inThe Far Side, as Gary Larson regularly sought to offergoofy interpretations of the invention of everythingfrom fire to the birth of dance. This cartoon features an ancient orchestra, as the artist delightfully delivers another anachronism.
The joke here is admittedly subtle; the punchline strikes a chord when it becomesevident that the conductor’s music sheet contains only one large note, perhaps the only one these primitive players have identified so far.The humor here relies on the reader to make this connection for themselves; further, Larson gambles here, banking on the reader finding the discrepancy between the cave musicians playing a single note, but doing so with modern instruments, as amusing as he did.
Gary Larson Shows That Fear Is The Elephant In The Room For Most Artists
First Published: August 18, 2025
In its own right, this is one ofGary Larson’s most effective punchlines. Captioned, “the elephant’s nightmare,“an elephant sits at a piano, staring dumbfounded at the keys, while thinking: “I can’t play this, I’m a flutist for crying out loud!”
This comic becomes even more notable, though, when considered as another example ofThe Far Side’scartoons depicting common fears and anxieties that plague artists. Once again, this manifests as a nightmare about being unprepared for a performance – despiteusing an anthropomorphic animal as his characterhere, Gary Larson legitimately captures the terror of a dream about being forced to play an unfamiliar instrument in front of an expectant crowd. For so many artists, fear is among their biggest inhibitors to success, something Larson skillfully, and playfully, represents with this panel.
These Far Side Monsters Just Want To Rock & Roll
First Published: June 30, 2025
Unlike manyFar Sidepanels about musicians, there is no deeper meaning that can be extracted from this cartoon, in whicha band of monsters assembled in the living room of a couple’s house jams, as upstairs, a husband tries to convince his wife that she’s not hearing anything. The implied sound of music in the comic is set-up for the punchline, which involves the woman begrudging admitting that “maybe it is just the wind.”
Of course, hilariously, it isn’t just the wind – and aside from the implication that they’re trespassing, part of the joke is also that the couple’s home has, in fact, been invaded by otherwordly creatures, but seemingly all the want is a place to rock out.
THE FAR SIDE: 12 Comics From 1983 Designed To Make Readers Go “WHAT-THE?”
As funny as The Far Side was, Gary Larson just as frequently aimed to elicit another reaction, as he looked to test his readers' “What-the?” reflex.
This Marine Biologist Was Not Expected To Encounter A Crooner
First Published: June 05, 2025
Originally written and recorded by musician Richard Berry in 1955, “Louie Louie” is one of the most covered songs in the history of rock & roll. Versions of the song have been recorded by bands ranging from the Beatles, to Bruce Springsteen, to Black Flag.
In thisFar Sidepanel,a blue whale becomes the most unexpected performer to ever put a version of “Louie Loue” on tape, approaching a microphone dropped into the ocean by a researcher hoping to record whale songs, and proceeding to belt out a banger.
The premise of this cartoon is funny, but Gary Larson’s selection of song is absolutely what takes it to the next level.Published in 1984, as “Louie Louie” approached its 30th anniversary, Larson would have been familiar with the wide variation of versions of the song, and so making it so ubiquitous that even a whale would deliver their rendition is a great creative choice that makes thisFar Sidecartoon especially memorable.
Gary Larson Returns To The Conductor’s Worst Case Scenario
First Published: July 19, 2025
In a reprise of one of his earliest musician cartoons, Gary Larson once more offers a take on the orchestra conductor’s greatest nightmare: untrained musicians. Except this time, it is no nightmare, and rather than coming from the conductor’s perspective, this comic readers are treated tothe worried whispers of one of the musicians, who the caption captures saying, “gee…look at all those black dots.”
Hilariously, the conductor – arms raised above his head as if about to commence the first notes of the symphony – seems to know something is amiss, though at this moment he can do nothing about it, as his eyes dart towards the musicians in powerless concern for the fate of his performance.
Wasting A Heavenly Choir On The Wrong Moment Is The Worst
First Published: August 16, 2025
Rather than mortal musicians,thisFar Sidecomic depicts an orchestra of cherubs descending from the heavens with horns blaring.They triumphantly surround a woman who has just pulled a seemingly mythical sword from a stone – except a satyr-like creator pops into the frame, shouting “stop the music!…something’s wrong here.” Anyone who has messed up a surprise party by walking in at the wrong time will certainly feel for theFar Side’sresident woman in the flower dress here.
Evidently, the woman here is not the person prophesied to liberate the sword from the rock, though beyond this particularly funnyFar Sidefourth wall break, readers will likely never know the rest ofthe potentially epic storythat begins with this fantasticalFar Sidepanel.
The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
