The Far Side entered publication at the start of 1980, and by the middle of the decade it was a staple of newspapers across the United States; in its first few years, however, The Far Side was only carried by a handful of papers, and success was far from guaranteed – in fact, the same comics that eventually established Gary Larson as a household name could have been his downfall.

From day one, Larson immediately established his reputation for boundary-pushing humor, from the bleak to the absurd, and The Far Side quickly generated as much controversy as it did positive responses. Ultimately, Larson's fans – starting with the newspaper editors who continued to publish his work, even at its edgiest – won out, and The Far Side etched itself into the canon of American humor.

The cartoons collected here represent a range of early Far Side s, from the darkly ironic, to the genuinely thought-provoking, with a detour into the iconically perplexing, offering an insight into the formative years of Gary Larson's career.

12 The Far Side Established Its Dark Use Of Comedic Irony Early On

First Published: April 29, 1980

"They'll never get me to come back here again!" says a cow being herded to the slaughter, as it unknowingly, but irritatedly, waits in line at "Johnson's Meatpacking"; this early Far Side cow comic was one of many from the first months of the strip's publication that clearly conveyed its tone and comedic style to readers.

There is a deep vein of irony that runs through The Far Side, from start to finish, as Gary Larson frequently liked to get a laugh by situating characters at their most vulnerable – but leaving them totally unaware of this, while making it obvious for the reader. In this way, Larson made readers comedically complicit in the twisted punchlines he inflicted on them.

11 The Far Side's Torture Comics Got Gary Larson In Hot Water Early & Often

First Published: October 14, 1980

Good taste is in the eye of the beholder, especially when it comes to The Far Side; while different readers find many different Far Side cartoons objectionable for a variety of reasons, among Gary Larson's most disputed recurring gags were his visits to dungeons, which usually operated with a kind of sitcom-atmosphere.

In this early example, a dungeon-master tours his parents around his workplace, offering to give them a demonstration of "the Rack"; despite complaints about every Far Side torture comic he produced, Larson was undeterred, and continued to use the setting when it suited him, mostly for jokes where the dissonance between the location and the situation presented was key to the humor.

10 Far Side PSA: Always Be Aware Of Your Surroundings, Always Listen For The "Whoosh" Of A Falling Piano

First Published: July 4, 1981

The "falling piano" joke was one of Gary Larson's pet favorites, and this early example embodies why so many Far Side comics were able to successfully convert tragedy into comedy. In the , a man looks down at a broken stool on the ground, which has seemingly fallen out of nowhere, his body language indicating he's puzzled – and he's so consumed with the question of where it came from that he neglects to look up and see the piano following it, about to crush him.

By the nature of its form, The Far Side was all about encapsulating a single moment, and moments like these – in which something out-of-the-ordinary has just happened, or in this case, is about to happen – demonstrate the peak of Gary Larson's mastery of the form.

9 One Of The Far Side's Most Memorable "Last Moments" Cartoons

First Published: September 8, 1981

Building on the previous entry, this classic Far Side finds Gary Larson playing with the same premise – except instead of letting the characters' imminent deaths be the punchline in itself, Larson elevates the joke here by giving the characters personalities, and history, and even the Far Side equivalent of an arc, all in a single-line caption.

"You're kidding!" one heavily bandaged man in a wheelchair says to another, commiserating with a fellow hospital patient when he finds out they were both struck by lightning twice, playing on the folk wisdom that it only strikes once, while also revealing how hilariously unlucky these two art, as a giant meteor soars into frame, about to land directly on them.

8 The Far Side Broke Its Own Rules Whenever It Needed To

First Published: November 26, 1981

The Far Side has a specific formula, the combination of image and caption, but it frequently subverted that formula by omitting captions entirely; similarly, Gary Larson's cartoons are synonymous with the single- format, but early and often, Larson proved willing to dabble in a more traditional sequence of s if it served his punchline.

This comic is an example of both, and also carries one of the author's most blatant naturalist messages, as it depicts a bear innocently going for a drink of water, being ambushed and shot, curling up dead, and then being stuffed and mounted by the hunter in a ferocious pose, in what amounts to a biting critique of trophy hunting.

7 Whether Readers Got A Silly Far Side Or A Dark One Was The Luck Of The Draw

First Published: January 1, 1982

Gary Larson produced many silly, inoffensive Far Side cartoons, but it is their dark, shocking opposites that tended to get his work more attention, both positive and negative. This comic is a succinct example; another captionless Far Side where the joke speaks for itself, as one skydiver, after having safely deployed his parachute, looks in dismay at his fellow diver, whose backpack instead contained a Jack-in-the-Box.

It is safe to say that part of the charm of this comic is the way that it actually blends silly and bleak humor, and in fact straddles the line between the two. The composition of this Far Side comic is key, as the image evokes a feeling of empathy for both the doomed skydiver and the safe one, while also allowing the reader to find amusement in this macabre situation from a safe, objective distance.

6 The Far Side's Most Infamous Comic Helped Define Gary Larson's Career

First Published: October 28, 1982

Arguably, more has been important comic in Far Side history, because it generated as much word-of-mouth buzz for the series as any other Gary Larson illustrated, especially within the first several years of his career.

The cartoon, which simply features a cow standing in front of a table with bovine variations on human tools, remains talked about as the "most confusing Far Side comic" ever. While that reputation might have been blown out of proportion, it nevertheless represents the peak of Gary Larson's early success – and the true beginning of his rise to critical and commercial acclaim over the ensuing several years.

5 The Far Side's "Full Circle Evolution" Comic Is Gary Larson At His Most Insightful

First Published: November 11, 1982

Captioned "The Evolution of Man," this is one of The Far Side's smartest comics, serving up one of Gary Larson's most hilarious insights into the absurdity at the root of the human experience, as he depicts the stages of evolutionary development that led from fish to fisherman. It is a great joke, one that – despite being, in a way, high-brow – is also obvious, as if it were just waiting there to be made.

Ultimately, Larson was the one who made it. Many Far Side comics have this quality; as much as the artist is lauded for routinely springing the unexpected on his readers, he was also just as good at calling attention to things that were right there in front of their face.

4 The Far Side Met Readers At The Corner Of Absurd & Outrageous

First Published: February 23, 1983

"Brian has a rendezvous with destiny,' the caption of this Far Side cartoon plainly informs readers, the tone of the declaration in stark contrast to that of the illustration, which features a man on rollerskates, with headphones on, bopping down the street listening to his cassette player – and about to come to the wrong intersection at the wrong time, as Tarzan and a stampede of elephants are coming the other way, about to stomp all over "Brian."

This Far Side comic presents the ideal mix of absurd levity and gravity; the punchline is laugh-out-loud, but the elements that are used to get to that endpoint are patentedly ridiculous, and deliberately discordant, making this an all-time great Gary Larson joke.

3 The Far Side's "Slice-Of-Life" Style Meets A Pop Culture Icon

First Published: May 11, 1983

With The Far Side, Gary Larson excelled at taking things readers recognized and filtering them through unexpected contexts. Case in point, this Far Side Tarzan comic – one of many Larson published featuring the "Man of the Jungle" – which finds the character swinging on a vine, only to accidentally dump the contents of his loincloth's pockets in the process, sending his keys, wallet, and change hurtling to the forest floor.

More than just one of The Far Side's most relatable jokes, this also represents why pop culture references were key to the comic's success, as they gave readers something to grab hold of amid the routine chaos and uncertainty that Gary Larson became synonymous with unleashing.