The Far Side’sGary Larson is a big fan of animals big and small, making many members of the animal kingdom pop up in numerous comic strips of his, including the classic barnyard animal, pigs. Whether the strip makes them human-like or pokes fun at their more animal-like qualities, pigs are a frequent source of inspiration forFar Sidecomic strips.
Much like how dogs and cats make countless appearances inThe Far Side,pigs are definitely no stranger either, being a welcome sight every time they make an appearance in a comic strip. While even the most ardent pig lover may think they know everything about pigs,The Far Sidewill show a side to the animals that no one could have ever predictedor knew beforehand.
10"Went to Market"
August 29th, 1984
InThe Far Side, where anything is possible, a man wakes up to find a most distressing sight: his big toe is missing. Interestingly enough, he finds thathis toe, or his “piggy,” left a note, letting him know that it “went to market.” It’s hard to imagine what a toe would need at a market. While in the real world it may seem outlandish, inThe Far Side, apparently a big toe needs to run some errands.
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Riffing on the “This Little Piggy” nursery song,The Far Sidetakes the song to literal proportions, creating a surprisingly dark and totally bizarre scene that is a far cry from the wholesome nature of the song for young children. Transforming the innocent and wholesome into something weird and surreal is a big running gag ofThe Far Side,with this ’80s comic strip staying true to this craftily used storytelling (and joke-making) trait.
9"Animal Liposuction"
January 29th, 1991
A plastic surgeon presents his patient, a pig who has just had liposuction, to the pig’s farmer, who is thrilled with the results. Pigs are supposed to have some meat on their bones, so seeing a pig with a tiny waist is a very odd sight to say the least. Then again, it’sThe Far Side, where odd sightsare dime-a-dozen.InThe Far Side,animal liposuction seems to be a growing fad, with all the cool farmers having their animals receive the cosmetic procedure.
Sure, there are no logical reasons for barnyard animals to get liposuction, but logic flies out the window in the world ofThe Far Side.
Sure, there are no logical reasons for barnyard animals to get liposuction, but logic flies out the window in the world ofThe Far Side. Using an unlikely animal protagonist,The Far Sidereflects back to the reader the growing prevalence of plastic surgery in society and predicted cosmetic surgery becoming ingrained in Western popular culture.
8"How’d You Like Your Nose Unflattened?"
June 5th, 1987
Pigs have flat noses that everyone can recognize just from their snout alone. Two pigs, in a cool piggy hangout bar, are locked in a tense confrontation, and they are about to come to blows. All up in each other’s faces, one of the angry pigs spouts the line “How’d you like your nose unflattened?“This pig is threatening a beating so badthat it’ll change the natural composition of the other pig’s face.
A swine version of threatening to flatten someone’s nose- since pigs already have flattened snouts - making it “unflattened” is a much more extreme threat.The Far Sideloves to placeanimals in all-too-human situations, with this comic strip being a perfect example of this reality inversion. Pigs apparently have a temper despite seeming cool as a cucumber, butthings are never quite as they seem inThe Far Side.
7"I’ll Have the Ham and Eggs”
August 13th, 1985
A man at a diner takes a look at the menu and decides the best thing to order in a room full of pigs and chickens is theham and eggs, which horrifies the surrounding farm animals around him, and understandably so.Given that the clientele seems to be mainly pigs and chickens, it would be a very smart move to perhaps switch the menu to vegetarian to avoid a faux pas like the one captured in this comic.
The Far Sideis no strangerto capturing protagonists who cannot seem to do anything right no matter how simple the action, like ordering from a menu. With all the other options to eat that would not have severely offended the rest of the diners there, the man of the comic strip must have a real love that cannot be denied for ham and eggs.
6"Hog Heaven”
November 9th, 1987
When Ernie, the protagonist, passes away, there is a grave mistake, and instead of going to regular heaven, he ends up in Hog Heaven, which is a heaven specifically for pigs. In the real world, Hog Heaven is actually a term used to mean extreme happiness. However, Larson loved tomake the figurative literal inThe Far Side, as this comic strip does exceptionally,making Hog Heaven an actual heaven for hogs.
While most know the phrase “all dogs go to heaven” thanks to the movie with the same title, nowTheFar Sidefans know that pigs go to heaven as well. It may not be ideal for poor Ernie to be in the pig version of heaven, but even Hog Heaven is better than the “other place,” hogs and all. Perhaps there is some sort of front desk situation where Ernie could get this celestial error fixed.
5"Orange Crush"
Getting nutrients from its mother, one little piggy gets a beverage far different from milk from his mom. Instead, the little piggy is drinkingOrange Crush, an orange flavored soda, from his mom. One wonders just what the mom pig is eating to produce Orange Crush, but regardless, it is thrilling to her kids, who are besides themselves when they learn that they are getting soda in one area.
The Far Sidehas a long historyof putting animals into human situations and activities. This comic strip includes a little spin on thatFar Sidetrait, with the animals acting like animals butgetting a human spin with the introduction of soda to make the comic both surreal, taking the reader by surprise. A theory of what makes something funny is the element of taking the audience by surprise and providing an outcome that is unexpected, which is just what this comic strip does.
4"We Don’t Want Trouble!"
August 2nd, 1982
Visiting the Three Little Pigs for some coffee, humans George and Harriet Miller get stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time when the Bad Big Wolf comes knocking at the door with the Millers still there.Talk about bad timing! The Millers were just expecting some coffee and were met with the possibility of getting gobbled up by a wolf instead.
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While the Three Little Pigs were nice enough to have the Millers for coffee,the Millers are ready to sell their piggy hosts down the river when they encounter danger, bartering with the wolf. They announce that they were leaving anyway, not paying attention to the risk of the pigs getting eaten once the Millers are able to leave (if they are able to leave). It does not take a gambler to bet that the Millers will never be stopping over for a quick visit for coffee after the traumatic encounter with the wolf.
3"A Walking Side of Ham"
September 28th, 1992
Everyone knows the story of the Three Little Pigs, but not many know the aftermath, as the story results in one little pig being in some hot water - legally, that is. The pig takes the stand ina court case that the now-injured Big Bad Wolf has called against the pig for injuring himwhen he tried to break into the pig’s own house.
The lawyer for the Big Bad Wolf offers some very charged comments about the pig, pointing out the Big Bad Wolf’s endangered species classification while suggesting very bluntly that the pig’s classification is nowhere near endangered, with ham being as common a protein as can be. The Big Bad Wolf has one cutthroat lawyer who does not hesitate to make some bold comments towards the pig, which is perfectly in character with the fairy tale wolf.
2"Spamshiners"
September 25th, 1992
Rather than making moonshine, the bootleggers ofThe Far Sideare caught in the act by the police doing something most unusual: turning pigs into spam in a contraption that looks like a distillery system. Comparing moonshiners to the fictional and outlandish spamshiners ofThe Far Side, the pigs surrounding the two men of the comic strip are destined to meet a terrible fate.
However, now that the cops have arrived, the swine brethren of Miss Piggy are sure to be saved… at least for the time being.Leave it to Larson to make the imaginative leap from moonshine to spam, which are about as different as can be. Consequently,The Far Side’screativityand unique sense of humor are on full display in the wacky comic strip that leans a bit dark for the piggies out there.
1"Heavy Huffing and Puffing"
1981
The Three Little Pigs have dealt with a lot, all at the hands of the Big Bad Wolf, with all his huffing and puffing. Even after the home debacle with the Big Bad Wolf,the trouble for the Three Little Pigs still has not come to an end, with them getting a call that features a lot of heavy huffing and puffing. The same way that heavy breathing on the phone from an unknown caller usually has a creepy connotation in the real world,inThe Far Side, the huffing and puffing disgusts the pigs as well.
It’s hard to say if the Three Little Pigs will ever get a break from this incessant wolf. But they probably won’t, as thisFar Sidecomic shows in a pseudo-sequel to the classicThree Little Pigsfable.
However, audiences know who the culprit is behind all that heavy huffing and puffing, and his name is the Big Bad Wolf. It’s hard to say if the Three Little Pigs will ever get a break from this incessant wolf. But they probably won’t, as thisFar Sidecomic shows in a pseudo-sequel to the classicThree Little Pigsfable.
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.
