11 Historic Appearances Of The Far Side's Recurring Caveman Character THAG (Including the Famous One)

Summary

• Thag, a recurring caveman character in
  The Far Side
  , famously gave his name the term “thagomizer,” which artist Gary Larson coined for the stegosaurus’ tail, which was subsequently adopted by actual paleontologists.
• Thag’s appearances put a familiar name to
  The Far Side’s
  humorous insights into early human relationships and behaviors, as part of Gary Larson’s regular exercise of recontextualizing modern society in a prehistoric setting.
• Though
  The Far Side
  didn’t have recurring characters in the traditional sense, the frequent use of the name “Thag” for cavemen effectively made him the most famous prehistoric figure portrayed by Larson.

A caveman named Thag appeared in one of The Far Side’s most influential comic, in which the tail of a stegosaurus was named the “thagomizer” in his memory – terminology later adopted by actual paleontologists. Surprisingly, versions of this same character appeared in nearly a dozen Far Side cartoons over the years.

Early human characters and situations were among artist Gary Larson’s favorite recurring obsessions, and Thag ultimately proved to be the most prolific of The Far Side’s prehistoric subjects, with multiple hilarious appearances to his name.

It is important to note that The Far Side didn’t feature recurring “characters” in the traditional sense, so while there is some overlap between Thag panels, each one should be judged as distinct from the rest. That said, as much as one face – or more accurately, name – can be put on The Far Side’s cavepeople, it is Thag.

11 Thag’s First Far Side Appearance Featured A Caveperson Love Connection

First Published: February 11, 1981

In Thag’s debut, a cavewarming party turns into a meet-cute, as the host introduces him to a woman named “Noona,” explaining to her that Thag works in the rapidly expanding “Hunter and Gatherer” industry.

At their best, Gary Larson’s caveman comics were an opportunity for him to poke fun at modern society by recontextualizing familiar contemporary behaviors in a prehistoric setting, as is the case here. Considering Thag’s prominence among Larson’s cavemen, it is only fitting that his first appearance would be such a sterling example of this, as the artist offers an amusing jab at the practice of mutual friends setting up people they know to go out. It is one of The Far Side’s strain of simple, effective jokes, which often get lost in the shuffle of the absurdity Gary Larson unleashed on a regular basis.

10 Thag’s Love Life Is The Focus Again In This Early Far Side Cartoon

First Published: April 22, 1981

In this panel, Gary Larson once more explores early human romance via Thag’s love life – except this time in a decidedly quirkier way, as he takes some of the civilizational veneer off the characters and gives them hints of animalistic qualities. The comic features two cavemen, poorly hidden behind a tree, watching from a distance as a cavewoman returns home, while one gives the other a cautionary pep talk before he attempts to approach her.

“Remember, Thag,” approach her carefully, his companion remarks. “If she doesn’t recognize your courtship behavior, she might eat you.” While The Far Side regularly made animals more human, this is a stand-out example of the opposite, as Thag becomes the missing link in the evolution of romance.

9 RIP Thag – The First Time The Recurring Caveman Character Died

First Published: February 3, 1982

A great moment of triumph is likely Thag’s last in this Far Side comic. Having dug a pit and lured a carnivorous predator into it using a large hunk of meat, a spear-wielding prehistoric man shouts, “Big one, Thag!….We caught biiiiiiig one!” Except that in the act of throwing his arms up in excitement, the man seemingly knocks his friend Thag off balance, leaving him teetering on the edge of the hole with the angry creature below.

Gary Larson often depicted characters on the edge of doom in The Far Side, but rarely was that quite so literal as it is in this Thag comic, which is laugh-out-loud funny thanks to the startled look Larson draws on Thag’s face, and the way he illustrates the failing motion of the character’s arms, as he desperately tries to keep from falling into the waiting jaws of – whatever is in the pit.

8 Thag’s Famed “Thagomizer” Was As Close To A “Sequel” As The Far Side Got

First Published: May 27, 1982

Thag appears only in memoriam in the Far Side panel that made him arguably Gary Larson’s most influential character, as a caveman lecturer informs his class that the stegosaurus’ tail is named “after the late Thag Simmons.”

While it can be inferred from the comic that this version of Thag was killed by the spiked tail of a stegosaurus, the proximity of this joke to one in which another Thag was depicted in mortal peril – published just two months earlier – distinguishes this as one of the rare Far Side panels that can be called a “sequel” of sorts. At least in the sense that it seems as though Gary Larson at least recognized that he had recently depicted Thag’s unfortunate fate, and decided to use the same name here, honoring the fallen prehistoric fellow.

7 Thag Gets A Renewed Lease On Life – Just In Time To Get Iced Again

First Published: December 25, 1982

In this panel, a pair of prehistoric characters stand out front of their cave, staring up at a giant glacier bearing down on them – as one casually remarks, “say, Thag…wall of ice closer today?“ For Far Side readers, it is another simple, straightforward caveman joke – though for Thag himself, it is yet another brush with mortality.

Though it is easiest to think of Thag as a recurring “character,” this iteration emphasizes the fact that it was more accurately a recurring name that Gary Larson thought was funny. This serves as a reminder that there was no strict “continuity” to Larson’s work. Only now, decades after The Far Side ceased publication, does it stand out as notable that Thag appeared more than any other caveman name that Larson came up with.

6 Thag Completes The Very Rare Far Side “Trilogy” Of Cartoons

First Published: May 21, 1983

Again, while it is important to note that each Far Side panel is meant to work in isolation – and was composed with the foremost intent of getting an immediate reaction out of readers – it is also interesting to identify parallels, connections, and repetitions in Gary Larson’s work, of which there are certainly many.

Case in point, this cartoon, in which a caveman named Thag wakes up from a nightmare about his mortality, only for a cavewoman to reassure him with the oddly poetic declaration that, “you only dream we live just so long then die.“ In a way, this Far Side ties up two converging threads from earlier Thag appearances: his initial romantic focus, and his subsequent brushes with death.

5 Thag Finally Gets To Cut Loose & Have Some Fun At The Gravel Pit

First Published: September 19, 1984

While previous Thag panels found him struggling with issues of life and death, this one features him having some innocent fun – though he won’t emerge entirely unscathed from his decision to “make gravel angel.” Thag might not die here, that’s true, but he’s about to find out that the experience isn’t as pleasant as it might have seemed when it first had the idea.

One of the funniest things about The Far Side’s recurring prehistoric motif was the way that Gary Larson found comedy in the idea of early humans figuring out later generations’ traditions the hard way. That is absolutely the case with Thag here, as he hilariously throws himself face-first into a pile of rocks in the same way his descendants will do when it snows.

4 Thag Has To Learn Some Table Manners If He’s Going To Live In A Society

First Published: September 28, 1984

Thag is the subject of another relatively lighthearted, innocuous Far Side joke here. In the panel, he sits at the dinner table with a cavewoman, who tells him, “Thag, take napkin….got some mammoth on face” – as he in fact has a giant tusk stuck to his cheek.

For Thag, this is certainly an improvement on being impaled by the tip of the tusk. In this case, far from mortal danger, Gary Larson once more uses Thag to add a personal, specific emphasis to the punchline here, in which the artist offers an amusing account of the evolution of social practices – or rather, their intrusion upon the blissful state of nature enjoyed by those less civilized among humanity’s first generation.

3 Thag Gets Spiritual In This Strange Prehistoric Far Side Comic

First Published: August 8, 1987

As often as it was outrageously funny, The Far Side would just as easily leave readers flummoxed, shaking their heads, and asking “What-the?” That’s the case with this Thag panel, which is funny moreso as a product of how strange the joke is, rather than a result of the punchline itself.

In the panel, Thag stands on a rock acting like a monkey, as the caption explains that he is serving as “the spiritual channeler for a two-million-year-old gibbon named Gus.” It is the kind of Far Side that has fans wondering if there is more to the story than Gary Larson has made them privy to; further, it wouldn’t be beyond them to also wonder, if so, why.

2 RIP Thag Pt. 2 – The Caveman Makes History By Dying Again

First Published: May 22, 1990

Once more, Thag is a dead man here – but yet again, his seemingly ignominious end leads to him being preserved in the history books, albeit in a less-than-flattering fashion. In this Far Side panel, the legendary prehistory character is depicted taking a snooze up against a wheel he has just finished chiseling, as a hungry sabertooth tiger look on.

“Thag Anderson becomes the first fatality as a result of falling asleep at the wheel,” the caption explains, in one of the darker of Gary Larson’s frequent puns. While evidently not the same Thag of “thagomizer” fame, this ill-fated Thag shares a similar role, just like he meets a similar fate, as Larson effectively offered another follow-up to his earlier sequence of jokes.

1 Thag’s Final Appearance Finds Him Alive & Well & Enjoying His Fame

First Published: September 21, 1993​​​​​​​

Whether intentionally or not, Gary Larson’s final Thag cartoon was a happy ending for the character. Rather than a gruesome death, the caveman finds himself enjoying celebrity status, with a long line of people waiting to have him sign their copy of his book, “It was Very Cold And I Couldn’t Move,” after he is unfrozen from a block of ice and becomes famous yet again.

Everything about this cartoon comes together to make it one of the funniest Far Side comics hands down, and certainly the most laugh-out-loud appearance of Thag. From the overly-literal title of his book, to Thag’s cleaned-up, contemporary appearance, this incarnation of The Far Side’s greatest recurring prehistoric character is the perfect culmination of his journey throughout the comic’s run in publication.