Gary Larson, through producing The Far Side, always had a knack for giving a voice to all things relatable. Larson knew how to make sense of the senseless and the mundane hilarious. 'Adulting' is just one example of how Larson connected with his audience, especially the older crowd, who could see themselves in the absurdity and challenges of adulthood.

Adulthood hardly gets easier with time, but no matter how old someone gets, they still have to face it. Whether it's paying bills on time, making and managing money, handling home life (possibly with a partner while parenting), taking care of oneself, or being a tax-paying member of society, one cannot be an adult without adulting, it’s tough, but The Far Side offers adults a welcome break, providing a humorous take on the most frustrating oddities of adulthood.

10 "Now, This Next Slide, Gentlemen..."

First Published: August 1, 1983

Few experiences are as consistently horrifying in adulthood as crafting a dreaded PowerPoint presentation. The act of presenting to the entire office can be mortifying enough for anyone with stage fright, but the process of creating the PowerPoint itself is even more agonizing. Even worse is the thought of making a mistake in front of the entire workplace. The pain and embarrassment of mes a PowerPoint are perfectly captured here with a slide that’s upside down.

The only thing worse than a failed PowerPoint presentation is bombing one during a pitch for a nuclear bomb. Failing a presentation about a nuclear bomb would only make such a pitch harder to sell, most likely. It’s dark, but dark humor like this has a way of making the end of the world at least a little funny.

9 "The Kegger Lasted Well into the Night..."

First Published: September 5, 1985

For anyone waiting until they reach legal drinking age, new adults quickly learn the painful joys of hangovers. As fun as the night before may be, the morning after always feels mentally taxing, thanks to a throbbing headache. One might hope that, with age, adults either slow down on drinking to avoid guaranteed hangovers or at least learn how to manage themselves better, but that’s not always the case.

The only thing that could make a hangover even more painful is waking up to a nest full of cranky, angry scorpions in one's shoe. Unfortunately, Dale will be waking up to such an unlikelihood. Although, oddly enough, it's the scorpions who are hungover.

8 "Sidney! I Made a Mistake!"

First Published: October 7, 1985

Because money makes the world go around, managing one's funds is a key part of adulthood, especially when doing so with a partner. The smartest way to handle finances is through banking. Investing a portion of a person's income into savings and the rest into a checking will eventually pay off in the long run. What won’t pay off, however, is shouting about those funds for the entire neighborhood to hear.

Most of Gary Larson's characters lack common sense.

Theoretically, this is common sense, and it’s something that shouldn't require a conversation with a partner to prevent. Of course, most of Gary Larson's characters lack common sense, so it’s no surprise when a wife yells about how much money her husband has on him as he walks past an alleyway full of sketchy characters.

7 "The Problem, As I See It..."

First Published: March 10, 1993

One of the biggest obstacles to adulting is navigating one's marriage or romantic relationship. Every couple has their issues, and the most mature thing two adults can do is acknowledge them through conversation. Therapy can be a reasonable way to address lingering problems and the emotional components of the dynamic. However, navigating emotions becomes much harder when the couple consists of robots who lack emotions.

Presumably, whether or not they have emotions, a robotic relationship is bound to involve each party pushing each other’s buttons, literally.

As shown above, the robots are covered in nothing but buttons to press. Their marriage counselor sees that clearly, though it's unclear whether she’s referring to the physical buttons on their bodies or the metaphorical ones that come with aggravating each other.

6 "Oh, Yeah? Lewis, You're Fired!"

First Published: April 2, 1990

One thing that isn't appreciated until one becomes an adult is the fact that kids can say whatever they want without consequences or repercussions, at least minimal ones. A child can only be reprimanded so harshly for making comments that they probably should've kept to themselves in a certain setting, like a school, for example. For adults, one ill-advised thought said out loud in the workplace runs a risk of getting them fired.

In one of Gary Larson's most fourth-wall-breaking comics, poor Lewis thinks something he’s smart enough not to say out loud to his boss. But in a comic, thought bubbles are visible. One look from his boss at what’s on Lewis’ mind is all it takes to get him fired, betrayed by his own bubble.

5 "Punk ants."

First Published: May 21, 1990

There’s nothing punk about playing a part in a capitalist society. If someone willingly integrates themselves into the job market, actively working for "The Man," their days of being a punk kid are over. Anyone who once embraced that lifestyle likely sacrificed that part of themselves long before trying to go corporate. In theory, a punk can’t be anti-establishment while working for the establishment. These ants, though, are doing their best to break the norm. While most corporations frown upon nose and ear piercings, swapping rings for calculators and pens shifts the narrative.

One ant goes a step further by getting a tattoo, seemingly drawn in marker (probably not the permanent kind), that reads, “Add, subtract, and die!” That’s one way to make geek culture cool. Either they’re posers, or they’re trying to keep punk alive in the most socially acceptable way possible.

4 "Table Scraps"

First Published: June 4, 1990

Grocery shopping is often a tedious but necessary part of adulthood. Even someone who doesn’t cook personally still needs to visit the supermarket regularly to buy snacks, frozen meals, or, if they’re lucky, ingredients for their partner or roommate to cook for both of them. In real life, dogs have the luxury of living rent-free in someone else’s home and can feed themselves on whatever scraps their owner leaves behind from the kitchen table. In a world where things work a little differently, Larson imagines what grocery shopping for a dog would look like.

Even when dogs are forced to hunt through a store for their food, they still get to choose from the options a loving owner typically offers. This includes bones, gristle, fat, and... well, who knows? If the dogs don’t know what they’re shoving in their mouths, then whoever organized the aisle certainly doesn’t have to.

3 "Okay, Johnson - We've Got a Deal."

First Published: June 6, 1990

In another glimpse of adulting in the workplace, this depicts two men reaching a business deal. Anyone who has endured such strict negotiations understands that to close a deal, all hands need to be on deck, referring to the team on each side of the deal. Gary Larson takes a rather strange approach to depicting that feeling by drawing each man to have a team of people who are comically small. There's nothing particularly strange about the team itself. They all look pretty normal. They're just the tiniest people to fill an office space.

It's never a boring day at the office when Gary Larson is at the helm. It's hard to decipher exactly what the joke here is beyond the visual gag of a horde of people being smaller than the negotiators, but it's certainly memorable.

2 "Hopeful Parents"

First Published: October 15, 1990

For many, adulting begins before actually becoming an adult. The process often starts early to prepare for when one eventually reaches adulthood. This usually involves figuring out what career to pursue, often as early as the teenage years, if not younger. If a child’s parents can find a way to monetize their skills, the career search could start in adolescence. That seems to be the case here, as two hopeful parents imagine their son turning his obsession with video games into a job found in the help-wanted ads.

What was once wishful thinking has become a reality for hopeful parents today.

Interestingly, Gary Larson predicted the future here, as there are now plenty of jobs that require an understanding and skill for video games, such as designer, programmer, or even gaming tester. What was once wishful thinking has become a reality for hopeful parents today.

1 "Einstein Discovers That Time is Actually Money."

First Published: January 1, 1995

When becoming an adult, one has to learn both proper time management and money management. The longer someone is an adult, the quicker they realize that these skills are more or less one and the same. Time really is money, as the saying goes, and money is time. It doesn't take a physicist to figure that out, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have the leading name in physics history to confirm it. Not even equations mastered by the great Albert Einstein could deny time's relationship with money.

Adulting is not easy in the slightest sense of the word, but as Einstein illustrates, there's a science to it that can be understood. Everything in life has an equation to it that demands to be studied to be mastered. It just takes time. If The Far Side's version of Einstein can figure it out, so can the average person.