12 Far Side Comics From 1985 That Make Readers Go "What The?"

Summary

• Far Side
  creator Larson prioritized getting an immediate reaction from readers with his cartoons; if one of his comics evoked laughter, confusion, or even outrage, he deemed his work successful.
• Some
  Far Side
  comics prompted intellectual curiosity, while others left the audience with a feeling of uncertainty; in either case, this achieved the goal of stoking a “What-the?” response.
• Gary Larson’s humor often resulted in perplexed reactions from readers, with laughter and a “What-the?” response not being mutually exclusive.

Throughout its fifteen years in publication, The Far Side did more than just make people laugh – it tested what creator Gary Larson called his readers’ “What-the?” and “My God!” reflexes. Larson’s priority as an artist was to get an immediate reaction out of readers; whether his work evoked laughter, confusion, or outright outrage, if it got a rise out of the reader, it was a success.

Just like laughter, the nature of the “What-the?” response is somewhat subjective, with different Far Side comics achieving this response. In some cases, it was by design, while in others, it was inadvertent, with Larson failing to achieve laughter but succeeding in moving the reader in some other way. In the end, Gary Larson was solely concerned with achieving this result.

Some Far Side cartoons prompted intellectual curiosity, while others caused controversy, with a range of emotional responses falling in between, yet many of the most memorable are ones that left the audience scratching their collective heads and asking “What-the?”

12 Crowded Movie Theaters Are For The Birds

First Published: January 20, 1984

Birds proliferated The Far Side, both in their traditional avian forms, and as anthropomorphized versions in human situations, one of Gary Larson’s most reliable recurring motifs. Here, a humanoid bird shuffling to its seat in a movie theater spills the contents of its popcorn bucket on another bird’s head – except instead of popcorn, it is dead flies and spiders.

“Dang,” the bird says, “Sorry buddy.” The success of The Far Side as comedy usually came down to two things:

1. How strong of a punchline its illustration conveyed.
2. How effectively its caption elaborated on that image.

Here, the image delivers its joke suitably enough to prompt some response from the reader, but the caption doesn’t necessarily elevate that from a potential chuckle into a full-on burst of laughter. More likely, the audience will be left with a pleasantly perplexed feeling.

11 Gary Larson Wasn’t Going To Be A Rat By Giving This Far Side A Caption

First Published: February 3, 1984

Of course, the second step to success for a Far Side comic outlined above was eschewed by many of Gary Larson’s cartoons, which often featured no caption. In that case, the pressure was entirely on the image to not only speak for itself, but to say something to the reader that would get a rise out of them.

Here, the image of a silhouetted car full of cats speeding away from a doghouse after riddling it with bullets, Godfather II-style, communicates its joke clearly enough; ultimately, though, it is more of a “What-the?” comic in the sense that any chuckle elicited is likely to be accompanied by a soft incredulity, perhaps wondering about Larson, “what will he think of next?”

10 Gary Larson’s Humor Could Be Subtle – The Far Side’s Characters Rarely Were

First Published: March 14, 1984

This is an example of a “What-the?” Far Side installment that is certainly funny, but it can be reliably expected to immediately raise a raft of questions along with any initial laughter it might trigger.

Some of Gary Larson’s more elaborate Far Side installments began as short stories, some aspect of which he then distilled into an image. It certainly feels like there is more to the story of this panel, in which a woman tries to lure a traveling salesman into a room where she has apparently dug a hole to trap him in, covering it some-what blatantly with foliage. The bizarre quality of the humor here in itself is part of what makes it, in essence, a “What-the?” comic.

9 This Far Side Comic Introduced “Flapcats” Into The Vernacular (But Why?)

First Published: April 17, 1984

Just like with birds, dogs were a constant presence in The Far Side, often acting like humans – at times more than the humans of The Far Side did. Once again, there is no caption here, so the image – a dog standing at the stove, wearing an apron flipping a flattened cat, which came from a box of “Aunt Hilda’s Flapcats” – had to do all the work on its own.

Though he didn’t like answering this question, the most common way fans articulated their general “What-the?” response to The Far Side was to ask Gary Larson where his ideas came from. The truth was, something as silly and strange as “Flapcats” could only come in a strike of outrageous inspiration, and Larson had to hope that it would tickle, or befuddle, other people in the same way it did him.

8 A Far Side Pastoral Scene

First Published: May 16, 1984

Yet another example of a captionless Far Side, meaning the foremost thing that can be analyzed about it is whether it fully communicates its humor to the reader. In short, yes, as it depicts a group of primitive men in the foreground being trounced by a bull, while in the background, a group of primitive women function as cheerleaders.

So, the “What-the?” response to this cartoon doesn’t come from confusion at its premise, but rather from the swift tug of the fundamental questions, “why” and “how?” It is important to remember that Gary Larson did not seek to leave a lasting impression, but to make an immediate impact; while this panel might not be outrageously funny, it is notable enough that it is unlikely to stimulate zero reaction.

7 This Far Side Restaurant Is Losing Its Star Rating

First Published: June 11, 2024

A “What-the?” reaction is often a response to the vibe of a Far Side comic, so to speak; it is a visceral, quick-hitting feeling – not laughter, but not a non-reaction either. Just as frequently, however, “What-the?” is an intellectual response, such as in this case, where it manifests as a desire for more context.

This panel might initially evoke confusion, as its joke is one of Gary Larson’s more subtle, and the caption does not elaborate on it. Once readers realize that the cook has put one of his shoes in the soup, that confusion is likely to compound into the sensation – even if just fleeting for a moment – that they have to know why.

6 A Classic Gary Larson Bait-And-Switch

First Published: July 24, 1984

This is an example of a Far Side panel is more likely to evoke confusion in its reader than laughter. First, because its premise does not leap off the page in the way that many of Gary Larson’s best jokes do. Second, because its joke is obscure, suggesting that this is a case where Larson wanted to leave his reader on uncertain footing.

Captioned “animal lures,” the comic features the large open mouth of a creature lurking in an alley, with a bottle of what is presumably liquor suspended in its mouth, as a man in a trenchcoat approaches. While perhaps not entirely conceptually satisfying, this cartoon does succeed in at least momentarily mystifying the reader.

5 Gary Larson Introduced Ketchup Bees To The World (But Why?)

First Published: August 16, 1984

In what is perhaps one of Gary Larson’s most all-time outrageous “What-the?” Far Side cartoons, a beekeeper extracts the product of his colony – except rather than honey, this person is depicted “harvesting the work of the ketchup bees.”

Here, the caption confirms what the reader is looking at, rather than taking it to another level – but in this instance that is more than enough, as the premise of “ketchup bees” is truly one of Larson’s most gold-star bizarre jokes. This comic will have many readers screaming “What-the?” in the way the best contemporary memes do – a reminder that The Far Side was, in many ways, a progenitor of modern internet humor.

4 People Have Envied Their Neighbors’ Rides Since The Dawn Of Civilization

First Published: September 13, 1984

Gary Larson approached The Far Side as a constant process of experimentation, perhaps, in part, explaining his consistent fascination with prehistoric people. Almost as if every time he sat down to draw, Larson felt as though he was reinventing the wheel again.

In this Far Side peak into the earliest days of civilization, an ancient man stands outside his cave with his freshly chiseled wheel – while staring at another group of men in the distance whipping around in a convertible, with tire tracks leading from an adjacent cave. Here, it is in fact that immediate question of, “where did that car come from?” that drives the reader’s amusement in response to this panel – though Gary Larson would be the first to tell people not to look that deeply into it.

3 The Balloon Might Have Started This Escalating Far Side Conflict

First Published: October 19, 1984

This is another Far Side comic that begs more questions than it answers, to a degree that it subverts a potential chuckle in favor of stirring confusion. In the panel, a man stands on the street selling balloons, while around the corner in a dark alley, a man with a spiked bat prepares to ambush…the balloons, apparently.

“The balloon was his enemy,” the caption reads, while adding to the quizzical nature of the punchline are the leaves sprouting from the man in the alley’s head. Rather than being laugh-out-loud funny, this is an example of a Far Side joke that will leave most readers narrowing their eyes and raising their eyebrows, as they wonder “What-the?”

2 Convenience Comes To The Plains Of The Far Side

First Published: November 2, 1984

Once again, this is an example of a Far Side caption that articulates the premise of the drawing, rather than adding another layer to it, in order to achieve a truly hilarious result. The image of a large predatory feline standing at a vending machine filled with gazelles, giraffes, and zebras works well enough on its own; this suggests that either Gary Larson lacked confidence in the drawing’s ability to communicate, or more likely, he wanted the reader asking “What-the?” rather than laughing.

In that sense, the image and caption collude to make the punchline perfectly clear – while leaving room for the audience to interpret the illusory “meaning” of the joke, or at least to ponder the motivation behind it. Which, ironically, was to stoke those exact feelings.

1 One Of Gary Larson’s Many Depictions Of Man Vs. Nature

First Published: December 1, 1984

This Far Side comic uses a series of panels to build up to a deliberate anti-climax, the result of which lands it in the “What-the?” category of Gary Larson jokes. It depicts a man aggressively chopping down a tree, which falls, but remains connected to its stump by a single whispy strand of wood. Even when the lumberjack strikes it with another mighty blow, the tree only belatedly gives way.

This sequence might be amusing, but it is far from uproarious – meaning that it is a solid example of a Far Side that might fail to be funny, but succeed in getting a different reaction from the reader. Even if in this case, the feeling of “that’s it?”