Gary Larson is a weird guy. I mean that as a total compliment, obviously. Back in 1980, when funny far side comics first started popping up in newspapers, people didn't really know what to do with them. It wasn't your typical "Garfield hates Mondays" or "Snoopy is a pilot" vibe. Instead, you had cows sitting in living rooms, scientists acting like toddlers, and an obsession with the prehistoric that felt both deeply intellectual and incredibly stupid. It worked.
The thing about The Far Side is that it doesn't beg for your laugh. It just sits there. It’s a single panel of surrealist art that expects you to keep up. If you don't get why a giant amoeba wearing a tuxedo is funny, Larson isn't going to explain it to you. That’s why, even though the strip officially ended its daily run in 1995, we are still talking about it.
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The Biology of a Far Side Joke
Larson was a biology major. You can tell. Most funny far side comics lean heavily on a "nature strikes back" theme that feels more relevant today than it did in the Reagan era. There is this famous strip—one of my personal favorites—where a couple of spiders have built a web at the bottom of a playground slide. One spider turns to the other and says, "If we pull this off, we’ll eat like kings."
It’s dark. It’s slightly twisted. It’s perfect.
Most cartoonists at the time were focusing on domestic bliss or political satire. Larson was looking at the world through a microscope or a telescope, rarely anything in between. He gave animals human neuroses. He made us realize that if cows could talk, they’d probably be just as bored and petty as we are.
Why the "Cow" Aesthetic Became Iconic
Have you ever noticed how Larson draws cows? They aren't cute. They aren't the Chick-fil-A cows. They are bulky, blank-eyed behemoths that seem to be hiding a massive secret. In the world of funny far side comics, the "Cow at the Phone" or the "Cow at the Dining Table" became a shorthand for the absurdity of modern life.
One strip shows a field of cows standing on all fours, grazing. One cow suddenly looks up, yells "CAR!", and they all stand upright on two legs until the vehicle passes. Then they go back to grazing. It’s a 5-second movie in a single frame. It captures that feeling we all have that the world is performing for us, or maybe we’re performing for it.
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The Cow-Tool Incident: When Readers Got Angry
You can't talk about funny far side comics without mentioning the infamous "Cow Tools" panel from 1982. It’s legendary. It’s also a lesson in how much people want things to make sense.
The comic featured a cow standing in front of a table with several bizarre, misshapen wooden objects. The caption simply read: "Cow tools."
People lost their minds.
The San Francisco Chronicle and other papers were flooded with letters. Readers thought there was a hidden code. They thought they were stupid for not "getting" it. Larson eventually had to issue a statement explaining that the joke was simply that if a cow did make tools, they would be poorly made and useless. That’s it. That’s the joke.
This tells us a lot about why Larson’s work has survived the transition to the digital age. In an era of "explainers" and "deep dives," there is something refreshing about a joke that is just a weird thought Larson had while eating breakfast. It’s authentic.
The Science and the Nerds
The scientific community loves Larson. Like, really loves him. There is actually an insect named after him—the Strigiphilus garylarsoni, which is a type of owl louse. He also famously coined the term "Thagomizer" for the spikes on a Stegosaurus tail.
In one comic, a caveman points to the spikes and says, "Now this end is called the thagomizer... after the late Thag Simmons."
At the time, there wasn't an actual scientific name for that part of the anatomy. Paleontologists started using the term in lectures. Now, it’s basically the unofficial-official name used in museums like the Smithsonian. How many other funny far side comics can claim they influenced actual evolutionary biology?
The Midvale School for the Gifted
If you’ve spent any time on the internet, you’ve seen the "Pull/Push" meme. It’s the one where a kid is desperately trying to push open a door that clearly says "PULL" under a sign that reads "Midvale School for the Gifted."
It is the universal symbol for "smart people doing dumb things."
Larson’s bread and butter was the juxtaposition of high intelligence and total incompetence. He loved drawing scientists in lab coats accidentally blowing up the Earth or surgeons losing their car keys inside a patient. It strikes a chord because we all feel like frauds sometimes. We’re all that kid pushing the pull door.
Why We Still Share These on Social Media
Honestly, the "one-panel" format was built for Instagram and Reddit decades before they existed. You don't need to read a thread. You don't need a backstory. You just look, squint, and snort-laugh.
The humor is evergreen. While other 80s comics feel dated because they talk about VCRs or Cold War politics, Larson talked about ducks, aliens, and the fear of a giant chicken. Those things don't go out of style.
Also, Larson’s return in 2020 with new digital work on his website proved that his "eye" hadn't changed. He started using a digital tablet, which made the colors pop, but the soul remained the same. He’s still obsessed with the idea that humans are just one small, fairly ridiculous part of a much larger and weirder universe.
How to Find the Best Ones Today
If you’re looking to get back into funny far side comics, don't just rely on Pinterest reposts. The official TheFarSide.com site actually does a "Daily Dose" where they curate selections from the archives. It’s the best way to see the high-resolution versions of the art.
The books are also worth it. The Complete Far Side is a heavy, two-volume beast that serves as a tombstone for 20th-century humor. It’s expensive, but it’s basically an encyclopedia of the absurd.
Actionable Ways to Appreciate The Far Side
If you want to dive deeper into why these comics work, or if you’re a creator yourself trying to capture that "Larson-esque" magic, keep these things in mind:
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- Study the "frozen moment." Larson never shows the action; he shows the second before or the second after. The humor lives in the anticipation or the realization.
- Look at the background. Some of the best jokes are tucked away in a corner—a weird painting on a wall or a strange jar on a scientist’s shelf.
- Read the captions carefully. Larson often used formal, almost clinical language to describe ridiculous situations. The contrast between the serious text and the goofy drawing is where the spark happens.
- Check the official site daily. They cycle through themes, and it’s a great way to discover the "deep cuts" that didn't make it onto every coffee mug in the 90s.
The world is a confusing place. Sometimes, the only thing that makes sense is a comic about a dog who has finally caught his own tail and doesn't know what to do next. That's the legacy Gary Larson left us. It's a reminder to stop taking our "human-ness" so seriously and enjoy the view from the far side.