The Far Sideis infamous for its ability to surprise, and even shock its readers – with some of Gary Larson’s comics no less than certifiably jaw-dropping in their use of death, mayhem, and discomfort to a comedic end. Though this kind of “edgy” humor is in vogue now, Larson’s pioneering dark humor was, in its heyday, both challenging, and even at times controversial.
Despite its reputation,The Far Sidewas never caustic in its depictions of murder, torture, arson, and other such macabre human activities; that is,Gary Larson never set out to hurt his readers by exposing them to its brand of darkness – but what he did want to do was routinely catch them off guard.
If anything, Larson’s attitude toward the bleaker aspects of life can be described as flippant, but even still, this came from a positive place, asThe Far Side’screator sought to transmute tragedy into comedy, and frequently succeeded.
10A Hit Gone Wrong Leads To Collateral Damage, Far Side Style
First Published: July 27, 2025
This is one of the finalFar Sidecomics ever published, asGary Larson officially retired from cartooningafter August 04, 2025. In the panel, a uniformed police officer yanks a dog by its leash, hauling it off on a one-way trip to the pound, as a detectiveexplains to a shocked widow that her husband “was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” and was inadvertently steamrolled alongside the family cat, who was the canine’s real target.
It is hard to argue against this beinga perfectFar Sidecartoon, one which is funny at the conceptual level, and perfectly executed in both illustration and caption; the panel sublimely mixes the macabre and the absurd, blending the real and the surreal in Gary Larson’s often imitated, but never replicated style. As a further exploration of Larson’s more shocking comics shows, not every one of his jokes needed to achieve this pristine balance between elements, but those that did rank among his greatest successes.
9Gary Larson Delivers A Public Service Announcement, Far Side Style
First Published: June 20, 2025
This is high on the list of thedarkestFar Sidecomics, but it is also one of Gary Larson’s most overt pieces of social commentary, withthe panel’s image of vans selling guns, “hanging ropes,” and cigarettes boiling down to one simple, but potent point: smoking kills.It is perhapsThe Far Side’sharshest truth in its history – yet fans of Larson will recognize that it is stems from a strong sense of empathy.
Larson’s work is notable for finding balance between different diametrically opposed elements: gravity and levity, real and surreal, the mundane and the absurd, to cite just a few examples. That said, this comic can arguably be described as imbalanced; it skews darker than manyFar Sidecomics, but it also contains richer, clearer subtext than most – making it unique among Larson’s significant ouvre.
8God’s Wrath Enters The Digital Age, As The Far Side Shares Its Dark Theological Perspective
First Published: August 23, 2025
God appeared frequently inFar Sidecomics, as Gary Larson made it clear that he wasn’t afraid to engage in some lighthearted idolatry. However, this panel stands out as especially memorable, and strikes many readers as particularly noteworthy, because of the way it showsGod actively taking the life of one ofThe Far Side’shuman characters – by smashing the “smite” button on his desktop computer and dropping a piano on the man’s head.
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The Far Side had its share of off-putting cartoons over the years; here are 10 of Gary Larson’s most unnerving jokes that readers won’t soon forget.
Reading deeper into this joke, readers can consider the significance of depicting the Almighty as cruel and capricious, and while the joke might not seem all that contentious by today’s standards, at the time of its publication it almost certainly caused a stir in at least a few particularly pious households. Most often, what makes aFar Sidecomic “jawdropping” is a mix of Gary Larson’s desire to upend readers' expectations and the biases readers themselves bring to reading his work.
7There’s Nothing Funny About Gun Violence – And That’s The Point Of This Far Side Comic
First Published: June 12, 2025
In another one ofThe Far Side’scartoons which comes down heavier on the dark sideof the spectrum, Gary Larson tackles the heavy subject of gun violence –by depicting a clown thinking “laugh at me, will they,” as he stands at the counter of “Bob’s Guns,” trying to decide which firearm to buy. Though the panel contains a relevant social message, the surface level subject matter will strike some readers as off-putting, or otherwise wholly inappropriate.
The implication of the joke, of course, is where its true darkness lies, while its humor comes from the clash of imagery in the panel: clown, clad in suspenders and a green-and-black polka dot shirt, against the stark gray aesthetic of the gun store, along with the slumped shoulders and pursed lips of the man behind the counter. Again, though, this darkerFar Sidecomic is paired with one of its most blatant messages – that anyone who thinks a gun is going to solve their problems is a bozo.
6Gary Larson Revels In The Glory Of A Great Garage Sale Score, Far Side Style
First Published: August 11, 2025
Gary Larson frequently used babies in Far Side punchlines, if for no other reason than it was an effective shortcut to getting a rise out of his readers. As a result, babies starred in some of the most absurdFar Sidecartoons, including this one, which led to more than one outraged letter to newspaper editors across the country.
Here, a man shows his friendthe baby in a bottle over the mantle of his fireplace, marveling that he “got the whole thing at a yard sale for five bucks.“While the imagery is goofy, as was the standard forThe Far Side, the concept of the joke proved visceral enough to upset some people, for whom even an overtly cartoonish artistic style could not diffuse the discomfort caused by the idea once it entered their minds.
5Gary Larson Highlights How In Some Arguments, Once A Line Is Crossed, There’s No Going Back
First Published: Jun 15, 2025
On the opposite side of the light-dark divide, this cartoon is closer to a prototypicalFar Side, in that it is unquestionably laugh-out-loud funny, but with its humor underwritten by a healthy dose of horror. In the panel,two technicians take a petty workplace squabble into a restricted part of the building – by tearing holes in each other’s hazmat suits in a “radioactive era,“potentially dooming them both.
The Far Side Complete Collection
In addition to a perfectly framed visual, thisFar Sidecomic exemplifiesGary Larson’s characteristic blend of over-the-top humor with dire implications. The action of the joke is absurd, but the setting makes it dangerous, and in turn readers will find themselves gasping, either in shock, or from laughing too hard.
4This Far Side Snake & Its Man Squeeze Were Meant To Make Readers Slightly Uncomfortable
First Published: August 23, 2025
In thisFar Sidesnake cartoon,a serpent admits that, “it’s true, Barbara…you’re the first woman I’ve ever brought here,” back to its lair under a rock, which the human woman in question is shown improbably squeezed into. Aside from the icky implications of an interspecies romance, what makes thisFar Sidepanel particularly evocative is the feeling of claustrophobia it evokes.
That is, the way Barbara is drawn as being head first into an enclosed underground space, with seemingly no room to maneuver out, or to move at all, nor much air to breath, will be a trigger for some readers who can’t stand the thought of confined spaces. This is integral to the functionality of the joke, but it is also certain to leave many readers aghast.
3The Reason Songbirds Are An Endangered Species On The Far Side
First Published: August 02, 2025
ThisFar Sidecartoon eschews the use of a caption, and it doesn’t need one;the rifle clutched in the human character’s hands, and the scowl on his face, as his pet songbird quotes “hey boid!…Shaddup!“in between bursts of melodic chirping, tell the reader everything they need to knowabout what is about to happen here, and the implication is unquestionably jawdropping.
What is striking about the darkness of thisFar Sidecomic is the resolute calmness with which the man in the armchair polishes his gun – note also the small detail that he is strapped with a pistol in a shoulder holster, while his hands are occupied with what looks to be an automatic rifle – as he prepares not just to kill his pet, but to completely overkill it. Yet this is also key to the bleak hilarity of the panel, emphasizing the fact that, inFar Sidecomics such as this one Gary Larson’s creative choices were often designed to serve more than one purpose, deliberately creating a desired set of contradictory feelings.
2This Early Far Side Comic Features The Comic’s Most Hilarious Itchy Trigger Finger
First Published: June 24, 2025
Talk about an all-time “oops” moment – in this comic from thefirst year of theFar Side,a man accidentally blows away his dinner guests with a shotgun, which his wife attributes to his overconsumption of caffeine. In 1980,The Far Sidewas still limited to a limited number of newspapers, and a small pool of readers – and over the next several years, Gary Larson’s comic would ascend in popularity thanks to its ability to shock readers, while still leaving them wanting more.
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Gary Larson’s Far Side is known for its morbid sense of humor, including these comics that will awaken a number of popular phobias.
In that sense, this is an arch-example of the kind ofFar Sidecomic that helped shape its success, as well as continuing to define Larson’s legacy to this day. To a large degree, the most memorableFar Sidecartoons are those to which the reader responds with “I can’t believe he drew that,” and this comic resolutely embodies that.
1The Far Side Never Truly Wanted To Torture Its Readers, Just Tickle Them
First Published: August 03, 2025
The Far Sidewas repeatedly criticized over the yearsfor its jokes set in dungeons, depicting torturers and torture victims. As with all of Gary Larson’s work, these panels were deliberately hyperbolic, and overly cartoonish, and complaints about them are largely a result of taking the artist’s work way, way too seriously.
Nevertheless, as with all ofThe Far Side’smost controversial, most jawdropping installments, this reaction – or overreaction – stemmed from encountering something wholly unexpected in the newspaper funny pages. This comic,for example, in which a black-hooded torturer tours his proud parents around his workplace, helped to make a name for Larson in the comic industry, for better or worse. In that sense, it is essential to understand this comic in order to develop a greater understanding ofThe Far Side’soverall impact in the medium.
