Summary

• Gary Larson combines the unsettling and the absurd in his Far Side comic strips, creating a unique sense of humor that can turn disturbing subjects into something amusing.
• Larson's skill in comedy extends to suspense, as he expertly builds tension in his strips through unexpected and disturbing plot twists.
• The Far Side strips often incorporate dark and unsettling themes, such as murderous animals, historical tragedies, and cannibalism, while still managing to find humor in these subjects.

It is well established that The Far Side can have some unsettling comic strips. However, thanks to Gary Larson's masterful use of the surreal and the absurd mixed with his singular sense of humor, he manages to take upsetting subjects and make them absolutely amusing. Many of these unsettling strips show that Larson is not only adept at comedy, but also at suspense.

Whether it be monsters about to devour a poor kid or a man falling from a soaring plane with no real parachute, each strip puts the reader on edge with the rough turns of events that unfold. However, Larson adds a level of ridiculousness to the strips that makes it too amusing to not laugh.

10 "1001 Ways"

Published in 1988

Cats and dogs usually don't get along. It's a pretty established fact. In The Far Side, however, felines and canines hate each other so much that they are downright homicidal. Based on this strip, the respective species even peruse some written material about ending their foes. It's clear that something is going to kick off between the two animals, making the reader on edge about when, not if, they are going to go toe to toe. For animal lovers, especially cat and dog owners, this strip remains one that puts them on pins and needles.

9 "Mess With The Organisms"

Published in 1990

Aliens have been portrayed in The Far Side in a number of ways. The extraterrestrials have been shown as gullible, clumsy, and dangerous. In this particular Far Side strip, aliens are presented as not all that different from a typical mischievous human kid and his exasperated mother. The alien child may have a very different name than most human youngsters (unless they're a celebrity's kid), but his love of putting a magnifying glass over things smaller than him gives him common ground with kids who love to burn ants. What makes this strip a little more unsettling is that instead of an ant, the alien is burning igloo shelters, a step beyond typical rowdy behavior.

8 "This Isn't Very Promising"

Published in 1987

For those who slept through history class, Amelia Earhart was an aviation pioneer and the first woman to ever fly over the Atlantic Ocean alone. She accomplished many firsts in history and her name remains among many people's heroes. Unfortunately, she disappeared while attempting to be the first woman to fly around the globe. This dark comic strip uses this information to spell some foreboding vibes for a shipwrecked couple. Seeing a skeleton and the help sign of Amelia Earhart's, the stranded people know that their prospects for rescue don't look tremendous.

7 "Giraffes IV"

Published in 1988

Movies about murderous animals almost always end up spawning cash-grabbing sequels. The most infamous example would be the many sequels that spawned from one of the best films of the '70s, Jaws. Much like Jaws IV's ridiculous plot of the shark seeking revenge on Chief Brody's family, this Far Side strip envisions a sequel movie called Giraffes IV where the usually gentle animals are murderous. In the fictional film, the giraffes have been unleashed on a city, attacking people in their buildings and eating them instead of their typical acacia leaves. Save for the niche lovers of creature features, it's a safe bet that Giraffes IV would not break any box office records.

6 "Emergency Cord"

Published in 1984

Skydiving is something reserved for only the most ardent adrenaline junkies. Falling from the sky with a parachute that one hopes opens is nail-biting enough. It is more terrifying if the parachute pack is stuffed with an anchor and a piano. As unsettling as the sight of a man basically plummeting to his end is, the sheer absurdity of a piano and anchor being the parachute makes the reader momentarily forget what's about to happen to the man in the comic. Larson's synthesis of the ridiculous with the serious in this darkly funny comic is a perfect encapsulation of his unique sense of humor.

5 "Monster Snorkel"

Published in 1986

People will come up with all kinds of products nowadays, especially in The Far Side. For those kids terrified of the freaky monsters that lurk under the bed, there's the handy dandy monster snorkel. However, the effectiveness of this monster snorkel does not look too promising. With the monsters hovering over the little boy, their mouths baring their teeth, they look like they are about to eat Thanksgiving dinner. The scene ends on a suspenseful note, but everyone can guess that the monster snorkel does not work.

4 "One Big Mosquito"

Published in 1981

Larson has always known how to induce the heebie jeebies in his readers while simultaneously making them laugh. In this strip, he manages to do exactly that. A woman sees an especially full mosquito fly away, seemingly unaware that the man next to her has been completely sucked dry of all his blood. Anything involving bodily fluids, with even just the implication of it, is unsettling. Seeing a man left as just his wrinkled shell after an unfortunate encounter with a blood-sucking insect is not a welcome sight, but Larson manages to make it funny and interesting.

3 "Ducks Make Their Move"

Published in 1981

Ducks appear to make for dangerous house guests in this strip. Two ducks have formulated a plan to kill an older woman by pushing her down a flight of stairs. The duck on the bottom is tasked with distracting the victim, while the duck at the top is the violent perpetrator. First there's a thieving, framing penguin in Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Tros, and now there are murderous ducks. Maybe it's advisable to avoid pet birds altogether. Seeing a (seemingly) innocent woman have an attempted hit on her is not a welcome sight to see. However, Larson's inclusion of the ducks makes the strip so ridiculous and surreal that it becomes hilarious.

2 "Donner Party Memorial"

Published in 1990

In the past, The Far Side has made some references to shocking events in history. For instance, this strip alludes to the horrific events of the Donner Party. For those who do not know, the Donner Party consisted of American pioneers who got trapped in the snow traveling through the Sierra Nevada Mountain range and had to resort to cannibalism of those who had already perished when they were out of food. It is this event that Larson decides to depict in this extremely dark comic strip, which has a sandwich with a foot in it as the memorial for the historical Donner Party disaster. Not many people could get away with a joke as dark and unsettling as this, yet somehow Larson succeeds.

1 "Happy As Ever"

Published in 1997

At a glance, it may be easy to overlook the dark aspect of this strip. However, looking a little closer at the discarded glasses and watch on the raft as well as the fluffy appearance of the dog who has been out at sea with no actual food, one can guess how the dog has stayed alive. Moreover, not only has the dog survived his time being stranded, but he is also quite plump, which lets the reader know why and how the dog's owner did not survive the journey, but for reasons that make the dog seem a little less innocent. As this Far Side strip suggests, it really is a dog-eat-dog world... well, dog-eat-human world, apparently.