Summary
WithThe Far Side, Gary Larson regularly took readers for a ride – whether by automobile, train, or – as collected on this list – airplanes.Planes often reached equal heights of hilarity and calamity when they appeared inFar Sidecomics, as pilots and passengers alike turned routine air travel into anything but.
Many of the bestFar Sidecartoons captured moments where chaos reigned, and few settings were more consistently effective for that than an airplane, whether it was suffering catastrophic damage, or facing the looming possibility of it.
Not everyFar Sideflight was doomed, but a panel with a plane in it invariably connoted an immediate sense of comedic tension, which Gary Larson played with in his idiosyncratic way, in order to getsome kind of reaction out of his readers.
The Far Sideran in syndication from the end of 1979 through the beginning of 1995; the entries on this list are pulled from the years 1983 to 1994, and are arranged in reverse chronological order.
12 Far Side Comics From 1981 That Make Readers Go “What The?”
The Far Side could be hilarious , but as often as it was intended to make readers laugh, it was designed to leave them scratching their heads.
15Introducing The “ACME Wingbaby”, The Far Side’s Most Absurd Invention
First Published: August 09, 2025
The Far Sidefeatured its share of ridiculous fake products over the years, but it saved one of its most patently ridiculous inventions for the twilight of its run.This panel introduced readers to the “ACME Wingbaby,” which hangs from the wing of the plane – as a parent uses it to keep his child under control, saying: “See that little kid out there, Ricky? He wouldn’t stop crying either.”
As often as Gary Larson’s strange style of humor translated into laughs for his audience,The Far Sidetended to leave readers perplexed, asking “What-the?“The “ACME Wingbaby” from this panel is a sterling example of that – it is such a strange joke that it will likely blow right past laughter and leave readers begging to know “why?”
14The Far Side Was All About Pushing Readers' Buttons
First Published: June 24, 2025
Readers who have flown will know the anxiety inherent in being seated in the emergency exit row – an experience that thisFar Sidepanel takes to an entirely new level, bydepicting a passenger moments before he accidentally flips the “wings on/wings off” switch inexplicably located right next to his recliner button.
The “why” of the punchline – as in, “why would that switch be there?” – is the entire crux of the joke in thisFar Sidecartoon. As an artist, Gary Larson was primarily interested ingetting an immediate reaction out of his readers; whether he achieved that through dark comedy, or peak absurdity, the end result of pushing the readers' buttons was always the chief goal ofThe Far Side.
13Misunderstandings Tended To Escalate Quickly In The Far Side
First Published: June 01, 2025
The airplane is not the focus of this strip, but it does elevate a good joke into a great one. While Gary Larson largely adhered to a single-panel format withThe Far Side, this notable exception packs a lot of familiarFar Sidetropes into its six-panel sequence. Dogs frequentlyserved as protagonists for artist Gary Larson, with Lassie in particular being one of the comic’s many pop culture references. Further, the man in the first panel is one of severalFar Sidecharacters who found themselves trapped in quicksand.
The inclusion of an airplane in panel four effectively delivers the cartoon’s biggest laugh before it arrives at its punchline in the final panel, but in a way that serves to strengthen the impact of the joke’s final note when it does come.The dog going from hopping over a log, to hopping a plane, is highly effective comedic escalation, which sets the reader up for a satisfying ending.
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.
12The Far Side Offered Readers A Bird’s-Eye View Of Airplane Pilots In Action
First Published: June 17, 2025
Many ofThe Far Side’smost memorableairplane panels took place in the front of the plane – specifically, the cockpit, where readers frequently found pilots who inspired less than total confidence in their ability to get the giant metal contraption from Point A to Point B.
This comic features two ofThe Far Side’smore capable flyers, by comparison, who tryto keep their passengers calm about a mechanical issue with the plane, while still being honest with them about the warning light that is filling the entire cockpit with an ominous red glow. What makes this entry especially funny is how the pilots' eyes are drawn wide and white with fright, in contrast to the even-keeled way that their announcement over the intercom reads in the caption.
11The Far Side’s Pilots Didn’t Always Have Their Priorities Straight
First Published: July 22, 2025
The Far Sidewas known for finding humor in darkness – this was essential to its success, as much as it also led toGary Larson receiving his fair share of criticism. Air disasters are objectively terrifying, and represent one of the most potent phobias for travelers world-wide. For his part, Larson was largely able to transmute this fear into comedy by balancing the frightful imagery of planes in flames, or with a massive hole in it – as is the case here – with an equally large dose of silliness.
That is the case here, as the windows of a commercial airliner’s cockpit have, for reasons unknown, been blown out – thoughin the single moment of this crisis readers are privy to, one of the pilots is caught lamenting that his hat flew off his head.
10One Of Gary Larson’s Most Groan-Inducing Jokes
First Published: July 01, 2025
If there is anyFar Sidepunchline that can be found guiltyof being a “dad joke,” it is this one. Depicting an upward-perspective of the nose of a plane as it plummets out of the sky, billowing smoke in its wake, the pilot urgently shouts the flight’s dire conditions into the radio. “My second engine’s on fire, my landing gear’s jammed, and my worthless copilot’s frozen!” the pilot yells frantically –at which point, if they haven’t already, readers will look up and realize that the copilot is a snowman.
The joke is incredibly, and deliberately, eye-roll worthy, in the manner of the best and worst dad jokes – and it almost has to be, as a kind of built-in relief-mechanism, to take the edge off the intense situation that Gary Larson is depicting. In any case, whether a reader response with laughter, derision, incredulity, or some mix, any response at all was ultimately satisfying to the artist.
12 Far Side Comics From 1982 That Make Readers Go “What The?”
According to Gary Larson, his notorious comic The Far Side was often designed to leave readers scratching their heads, wondering “What-the?”
9One Of Gary Larson’s Most Visually Arresting Illustrations
First Published: August 25, 2025
This panel doesn’t soar to the altitude of hilarity reached by some entries on this list, but it does warrant inclusion for its unique deviations from the familiar style ofThe Far Side. More importantly, it represents one of the most striking visuals crafted by Gary Larson in the comic’s fifteen-year run in publication.
Lacking a caption, thisFar Side’spunchline is a bit subtle. In the smaller panel in the upper-lefthand corner of the frame, a man waiting on a runway to flag the plane in for its landing looks down at the ground in dismay,where a bolt has apparently fallen out of the air – causing the plane to come apart at the middle. There is a kind of strange beauty to Larson’s depiction of the plane separating; at least, that is, until the reader notices the two doomed passengers sitting at the front of the now plummeting back half of the airplane.
8Flying Coach In The Far Side Wasn’t Always A Disaster
First Published: June 18, 2025
For a change of pace, thisFar Sideflight is not in flames, nor does there seem to be any peril at all. Rather, a smooth flight encounters a flock of ducks – withone of the birds looking over and spotting a member of the flock enjoying a window seat, making faces back at its brethren from the comfort of the commercial airliner.
Rather than a laugh-out-loudFar Side, this is an example of thekind of sly Gary Larson jokethat begs the reader to take a closer look, as like the middle duck in the panel, it might require a double take to realize where the humor of the illustration is.
7One Of The Far Side’s Most Memorable Airplane Cartoons
First Published: June 26, 2025
ManyFar Sidecomics over the years made it clear that Gary Larson was obsessed with elephants, but this ranks highamong the most unforgettable. With this panel, Larson envisions a dark future for the iconic flying elephant Dumbo, reimagining him as some kind of dark, lone crusader against man’s conquest of the skies.
Compositionally, this is a high-levelFar Side, as Larson’s menacing Dumbo juts into frame in a way that helps readers connect to the shocked reactions of the pilot and copilot, which is by far the funniest visual element of the illustration.The two throw their hands up and their heads back, offering nearly-identical shouts of alarm, moments before the elephant attacker presumably tears into the cockpit.
6Hopefully They Both Have Collision Insurance
First Published: June 08, 2025
Aliens frequently invadedThe Far Side, with this being a particularly amusing example, as itdepicts a human and an alien pilot, respectively, parachuting away from the scene of a mid-air collision. The pair are shown facing off angrily, as the Earthling’s airplane and the extraterrestrial’s flying saucer both go down in flames.
With expertly framed action, and set against a backdrop of beautifully rendered cumulus clouds, this is also a great example of the way that airplanes in particular allowed Gary Larson to flex certain creative muscles that other panels did not, leading to some of the most aesthetically pleasingFar Sidepanels that he produced throughout the cartoon’s long run in syndication.
