The two might have been separated by a few decades, but Gary Larson's Laurel and Hardy share an affinity for ambitious slapstick humor. There's a lot for fans of Stan and Ollie to enjoy in Gary Larson's classic comic strips, and vice versa.
Hence why we've collected the 10 funniest Far Side comics every Laurel and Hardy fan should see - from 'silent' slapstick to shared themes to the strip starring Laurel and Hardy themselves.
10 Laurel and Hardy
Yes, Gary Larson Gave Laurel and Hardy a Dedicated Comic
Laurel and Hardy's most iconic catchphrase is "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into," as Hardy berates Laurel over their latest predicament. Usually, the "mess" in question is a matter of small-scale chaos - being stuck outside in the rain, locked up in a jail cell or trapped under an avalanche of coal. Of course, Far Side wouldn't be Far Side unless Gary Larson pushed all the dials to 11.
In this strip, two characters highly reminiscent of Laurel and Hardy run for their lives as a mushroom cloud rises in the distance. Apparently, on this occasion, Laurel and Hardy's chaotic behavior managed to set off a thermonuclear device, putting a huge death toll on their normally only self-defeating antics. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics that parody real people.
The catchphrase is often misquoted as "another fine mess," with most fans crediting this to the duo's 1930 movie Another Fine Mess.
10 Funny Far Side Comics You Need to See If You Love John Wayne
Gary Larson's Far Side has a major love for cowboys, and there are few cowboys more iconic than John Wayne. Fans of the Duke need to see these gags.
9 "Can You Make Him Drink?"
Larson's Take on a Classic Laurel and Hardy Quip
Both Gary Larson and Laurel and Hardy found humor in the old idiom 'you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink' - meaning that you can show someone the solution to a problem, but no matter how well it would work, you can't make them take it. For Larson, the idiom becomes a literal bar bet, as a horse owner tries to show off that his pet will follow him to the bar. However, his drinking buddy won't be impressed unless the horse actually downs its martini. Sadly, if the idiom holds out, the horse owner won't be able to meet this challenge.
Laurel and Hardy put their own twist on this saying in 1930's Brats, where the duo play dual roles as both rambunctious kids and the two fathers trying to take care of them. At one point, Laurel laments that "You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead." It's goofy wordplay playing on the different pronunciations and meanings of 'lead' depending on context, though seemingly good enough for Ollie, who enthusiastically replies, "I guess you're right."
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Comedy icon Robin Williams joked that reading Gary Larson's Far Side was like "watching a National Geographic special on Prozac."
8 Clown vs Cowboy
Not Quite The Battle of the Century
One of Laurel and Hardy's most iconic scenes is the expansive pie fight in 1927's The Battle of the Century. In the movie, Ollie attempts to injure Stan in order to collect on an insurance policy, but his attempts instead start a prank war with the local baker, leading to a gigantic pie fight that drags dozens of people into a street brawl. Considered two of the greatest clowns in comedy history, it's fitting that Laurel and Hardy mastered the stereotypical gag of a pie to the face.
Larson also loves the visual, using it in several comics. However in this strip, he goes darker, with a clown pieing a cowboy in a truly unique 'shoot out.' However, unlike in Battle of the Century, the cowboy doesn't throw a pie back, but instead fires his revolver. Despite the clearly one-sided lethality, Far Side's civilians apparently can't pick a winner, emphasizing this bizarre world where a pie to the face is a serious matter. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics starring cowboys.
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The King of Horror, Stephen King is one of the most successful writers of all time... and a huge fan of Gary Larson's Far Side
7 "Here's the File"
Far Side's Take on Laurel and Hardy's Pardon Us
In this Far Side strip, a prisoner looks pensively out of his jail cell window while, in the middle of the floor, a small filing cabinet sits inside a cake. Also on the floor is a letter that came with the gift, reading, "Ernie, Here's the file you wanted. Good luck. Love, Rosey." It's a fun word gag where the prisoner wanted the tool he needed to file down the prison bars and escape, but fell afoul of his accomplice's naive nature.
The strip brings to mind Laurel and Hardy's 1931 movie Pardon Us, which sees the two imprisoned after selling beer during Prohibition. Of course, their attempts to survive in prison all go wrong, but their slip-ups ultimately work out in their favor, earning them a pardon.
6 "THE CAPE!"
Far Side's Take on The Bullfighters
In 1945's The Bullfighters, Stan Laurel ends up standing in for a matador who happens to be his doppelgänger, leading to a healthy dose of bullfighting chaos. Far Side has a number of matador comics, but this one takes the bull's perspective, suggesting that the reason bulls charge for the fluttering cape rather than the matador isn't about animal instinct, but rather a matter of peer pressure.
12 Funniest Far Side Comics About Hilarious Mistakes
Few things go right for the denizens of Gary Larson's world, but some Far Side characters are responsible for their own suffering.
5 "A Few Bullets"
Far Side Takes on Laurel and Hardy's Way Out West
In classic Western films, the image of someone's hat being whisked off by a bullet shows how close they came to death, with a bullethole in the hat symbolizing the bravery of the wearer. In this Far Side comic, Gary Larson asks how far that logic can stretch, with a cowboy who is pretty clearly wearing an oversized hat so he can achieve the bulletholes without actually risking his life. The gag brings to mind 1937's Way Out West, where Laurel and Hardy have to cope with ornery sheriffs and low-down bandits in an adventure that centers on getting the deed to a mine to its rightful owner.
4 "My Favorite Chair"
Far Side Has a Different Take on Laurel and Hardy's Sons of the Desert
In 1933's Sons of the Desert, Laurel and Hardy lie to their wives about a trip to Chicago, claiming they're heading to Honolulu on doctor's orders. Sadly for Stan and Ollie, the ship they claimed to be on sinks, leaving them presumed dead, forcing them to cook up an unlikely tale of surviving the wreck that Ollie's wife quickly sees straight through.
Gary Larson asks what would happen if the quarrelsome duo had actually survived a shipwreck, imagining a scenario where two survivors are marooned on a desert island, only for a Hardy-esque blowhard to decide that the only available chair belongs to him. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side strips featuring desert island survivors.
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With violent outlaws, honorable cowboys, and cops pushed too far, The Far Side has some surprising overlap with Clint Eastwood's movie career.
3 "All the Ice Cream He Wants"
Larson Pushes Laurel and Hardy's County Hospital Even Further
1932's County Hospital sees Laurel and Hardy fall afoul of various hospital mishaps, including bedpans, needles and irate doctors. Far Side pushes the idea of hospital mishaps into truly surreal territory with a patient who has been through so much, only a nose and glasses remain. The patient's kindly doctor advises that he be allowed ice cream - a traditional treat after surgery, but one that's way too minor to make up for losing your entire body and most of your head.
2 "Getting Into Some Kind of Trouble"
Laurel and Hardy Would Love Larson's Slapstick
Laurel and Hardy were the masters of slapstick, with the two getting into impossible situations that always ended badly. From accidentally sawing their car in half (Busy Bodies) to dancing on skyscraper girders (Liberty), the two managed to get themselves into impossible trouble. This Far Side comic shows what may as well be a scene from Laurel and Hardy's childhood, as two parents return home to find that their son has somehow balanced a piano on the end of a broom, with no plan for how to safely get it back down.
10 Funniest Far Side Comics That Will Make You Fear Your Own Car
Whether driving to the moon or being mauled by bears, Far Side's drivers just can't catch a break in these hilarious comics by Gary Larson.
1 Woodpecker
Wordless Slapstick Is Where Laurel and Hardy Began
While they saw major success in the talkies, Laurel and Hardy began their partnership in the silent film era, perfecting the art of wordless comedy. However, Larson is no slouch at the same trick, with some of Far Side's best comics telling their gags without any dialogue or caption. Here, Larson's character stands atop impressive stilts, beginning to panic as a woodpecker sets him up for a painful fall - a situation that could have been taken straight from a Laurel and Hardy movie. Open the image gallery below for more Far Side comics that don't use words.
Those are the 10 funniest Far Side comics that Laurel and Hardy fans need to see - let us know in the comment section when you first fell in love with Stan and Ollie, and what you think are their greatest moments.
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The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
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The Laurel and Hardy Show features a compilation of feature-length and classic short films by the legendary comedy duo, Laurel and Hardy. The series showcases their signature slapstick humor and timeless comedic routines, celebrating their enduring influence on the comedy genre.
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