Summary
As Gary Larson once explained, his legendary newspaper comicThe Far Sidewas meant to do more than just make his audience laugh – it was alsoa test of readers' “What-the?” reflex. While laughter was certainly a priority for Larson, his more abstract goal was to provoke any response from his readers, including confusion, uncertainty, and evenoutright outrage at the content of his cartoons.
Larson explained that his biggest fear as an artist was a lack of response; as a result,he committed to using absolutely anything in his arsenal of tricks, recurring bits, and absurdist observations to get a rise out of the audience, whatever their response ultimately was.
For readers, this meant encounteringFar Sideinstallments that were just as frequently hilarious as they were inscrutably strange. For what it was worth, many of Gary Larson’s jokes left him as mystified as fans, but if it struck him as worth drawing, he was reasonably sure it would have an impact on readers.
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?”
12Gary Larson’s Improvisational Creative Process Resulted In The Far Side’s Best Jokes – And Its Strangest
First Published: July 25, 2025
Though he carved out a successful niche for himself as a comic artist, and carved out an enduring legacy withThe Far Side, Gary Larson’s true creative ambitions always lay in an altogether different medium, ashe dreamed of being a jazz guitarist– something that informed his improvisational approach to drawing comics. As a result, panels in which he depicted musicians are always especially notable, as is this strange and memorableFar Side.
In the cartoon, a concert pianist tickles the ivories, yetthe notes he’s playing don’t get far – as they are captured by a strip of fly paper inexplicably hanging above the instrument.The joke here is certainly amusing, but it is so conceptually out-there that it ia just as likely to elicit a befuddled “What-the?” from its readers as it is to prompt an out-and-out “ha!”
11The Far Side Was Often A Catalog Of Unexpected Misfortunes
First Published: July 18, 2025
It is worth noting thatThe Far Sideused different means to achieve Gary Larson’s end of making readers ask “What-the?” – just as the comic used many different methods to evoke laughter. WhileThe Far Sideoften threw its readers for a loop by being, in Larson’s own words,“confusing, obtuse, esoteric, and strange,” just as often, it got readers asking “What-the?” through sheer silliness.
In this case, a man walks obliviously toward disaster, as he’s about to be trampled by a giant duck. As thisFar Sidecaption makes clear, this was something he was told to look out for by a fortune-teller –except he made the mistake of interpreting “giant duck” as mystical language, rather than an actual prediction.
10The Best Far Side Comics Asked More Questions Than They Answered
First Published: June 23, 2025
ThisFar Sidepanel, depicting “the Cyclops family at breakfast,” is an example of one that is more likely to leave readers with their brows furrowed in bemused skepticism than it is to result in full-on chuckles.Depicting the Cyclops child inadvertently hitting both his parents in their single eyes, this panel does more than just prompt readers to ask “What-the?” – it leads to a full on “Why?”
According to Gary Larson, some ofhisFar Sidestrips had detailed backstories, indicating that perhaps there is more to the Cyclops family than this cartoon has to offer. In any case, the humor of this strip is largely overpowered by its strangeness, but it is unlikely to register a complete non-reaction from readers, placing it firmly in the “What-the?” category.
9The Far Side Brought Families Together In Highly Unexpected Ways
First Published: August 13, 2025
AnotherFar Sidefeaturing a family, this one is an example of a more standard “What-the?” type of panel – in the sense that its punchline does not jump out and hit the reader immediately, but rather invites them to invest more time in understanding the illustration. In this way, thisFar Sideplays a classic trick on the audience – leading them to believe there is something more to the cartoon, when there is not.
Featuring a family gathered at their window to watch slugs crawl around their backyard,thisFar Sideinstallment is a perfect example of how Gary Larson wrote for his audiences' immediate reaction. There is no deeper meaning to the return of the slugs, or the family’s enthusiasm; instead, the jarring weirdness of the scene is the entire point.
8The Far Side Took Universal Experiences And Made Them Ridiculously Specific
First Published: June 26, 2025
Many people are familiar with the misfortune of getting a huge, unsightly pimple just before going on a date – an experience that is so common as to be nearly universal, yet one that Gary Larson effortlessly extrapolated in his singular comedic vision. Here, rather than acne,a man looks in the mirror and grumbles, “and always just before a big date!” as a tree sprouts from the top of his head.
While the recognizability of the basis for the joke is essential tothisFar Sidecomic, the humor comes from the truly idiosyncratic spin Gary Larson puts on it – with readers' invariable “What-the?” reaction actually being a product of the disconnect between the two.
7Sometimes The Far Side Could Be Too Subtle For Its Own Good
First Published: August 20, 2025
The joke in thisFar Sidestrip is evident, but not overt – meaning that while it might extract a belated laugh from readers, many will have the initial reaction of narrowing their eyes at the comic, not immediately certain of its punchline.
The comic depicts two baby birds in a neston top of a “Danger: Low Flying Aircraft” sign, opening their mouths to be fed each time an aircraft soars overhead. ThoughThe Far Sidewas best known for its single-panel illustrations, the use of three panels here, and the repetition of the joke, makes it clear thatGary Larson recognized the humorof the panel was not entirely obvious. Certainly, the subtleties ofThe Far Sideare among its great joys, but the trade-off was that some of Larson’s more low-key humor was bound to be misunderstood.
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.
6Gary Larson Was Quick To Duck The Question Of Far Side’s Meaning
First Published: June 23, 2025
The Far Sideregularly cast ducksand humans in an adversarial relationship, a trend this comic continues, asa hunter uses a phone booth to make “obscene duck calls,” to a mallard sitting at home minding its own business.Again, while the joke here is plain enough to readers upon first glance, what is more likely to get a reaction out of them is the abstract weirdness of the joke itself.
In particular, the humor here comes from the wide-eyed expression on the duck’s face, as it holds the phone receiver to its ear; the “What-the?” reaction likely to precede any laughter is a result of the set up, as the human hunter’s invasion of the duck’s privacy, like so many unforgettableFar Sidecomics, begs more questions than it readily is prepared to answer.
5The Far Side Found The Inherent Absurdity In The Familiar
First Published: July 04, 2025
Of the manyFar Sidecomics that use the Old West as a setting, a number qualify as “What-the?” installments, with this entry as perhaps the shining example. Once more, the joke here is straightforward enough:a horse left unattended in the “bad part” of a Western town has its legs stolen and replaced by cinder blocks– as might happen to a car parked in a rough neighborhood.
An incredulous response from readers might result from thisFar Sidenot because its humor is unclear, but in fact the opposite. The simplicity of the joke, and its execution, is another example of Gary Larson’s habit of producing work that led readers to search for deeper meaning – whether a theme, or social critique – that the artist plainly said was not there.
4There Was No Precise Science To The Humor Of The Far Side
First Published: July 10, 2025
Gary Larson notoriously loved to makejokes about science, and scientists, inThe Far Side. His fascination with the field was reflected in the rich spirit of experimentation that he exhibited in his creative process – yet that being said, there was far from a cut-and-dry, strict scientific method to the creation ofThe Far Side.
Instead, everyFar Sidecomic was a creative trial, and even Larson himself admitted that not every one was a success. In this cartoon,a janitor at a scientific laboratory goofs around with a powerful microscope, putting the apple from his lunch in its sights and taking a look. The humor seems to come from his casual improper use of vital scientific equipment – but that may be a niche enough concern among researchers that the average reader is less likely to be fazed by the punchline.
3Some Of The Far Side’s More Obscure Jokes Didn’t Fly With Audiences
First Published: August 10, 2025
The Far Sidedidn’t always need a captionto get its point across – but in those cases, the illustration necessarily pulled more weight in terms of how it extracted a reaction from readers. Certainly, there is a higher average of perplexingFar Sidepanels among those lacking captions for context, such as this one, in whicha pilot stands in the cockpit of a plane holding his arms outstretched as though he is pretending to be a plane.
While the premise of the punchline is understandable enough, the added need to extrapolate and interpret the humor, resulting from the lack of caption, is more likely to leave readers questioning the purpose of the cartoon than to be slapping their knees in delight at the joke.
