Summary
Throughout its fifteen years in publication,The Far Sidedid more than just make people laugh – it testedwhat 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 differentFar Sidecomics 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.
SomeFar Sidecartoons prompted intellectual curiosity,while others caused controversy, with a range of emotional responses falling in between, yetmany of the most memorable are ones that left the audience scratching their collective heads and asking “What-the?”
12 Far Side Comics From 1982 That Make Readers Go “What The?”
According to Gary Larson, his notorious comic The Far Side was often designed to leave readers scratching their heads, wondering “What-the?”
12Crowded Movie Theaters Are For The Birds
First Published: August 24, 2025
Birds proliferatedThe Far Side, both in their traditional avian forms, and asanthropomorphized versions in human situations, one of Gary Larson’s most reliable recurring motifs. Here, a humanoid bird shuffling to its seat in a movie theaterspills 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 ofThe Far Sideas comedy usually came down to two things:
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.
11Gary Larson Wasn’t Going To Be A Rat By Giving This Far Side A Caption
First Published: June 26, 2025
Of course, the second step to success for aFar Sidecomic outlined above was eschewed by many of Gary Larson’s cartoons, whichoften 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 ofa 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?”
10Gary Larson’s Humor Could Be Subtle – The Far Side’s Characters Rarely Were
First Published: August 21, 2025
This is an example of a “What-the?“Far Sideinstallment 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 ofGary Larson’s more elaborateFar Sideinstallmentsbegan 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 whicha 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.
9This Far Side Comic Introduced “Flapcats” Into The Vernacular (But Why?)
First Published: August 05, 2025
Just like with birds, dogs were a constant presence inThe Far Side,often acting like humans– at times more than the humans ofThe Far Sidedid. 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 toThe Far Sidewas toask 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.
8A Far Side Pastoral Scene
First Published: June 13, 2025
Yet another example of a captionlessFar 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 depictsa group ofprimitive menin 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.
7This Far Side Restaurant Is Losing Its Star Rating
First Published: June 22, 2025
A “What-the?” reaction is often a response to the vibe of aFar Sidecomic, 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 isone 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.
12 Far Side Comics From 1981 That Make Readers Go “What The?”
The Far Side could be hilarious , but as often as it was intended to make readers laugh, it was designed to leave them scratching their heads.
6A Classic Gary Larson Bait-And-Switch
First Published: August 09, 2025
This is an example of aFar Sidepanel 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 aman in a trenchcoatapproaches. While perhaps not entirely conceptually satisfying, this cartoon does succeed in at least momentarily mystifying the reader.
5Gary Larson Introduced Ketchup Bees To The World (But Why?)
First Published: August 05, 2025
In what is perhaps one ofGary Larson’s most all-time outrageous"What-the?“Far Sidecartoons,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 thatThe Far Sidewas, in many ways, a progenitor of modern internet humor.
4People Have Envied Their Neighbors' Rides Since The Dawn Of Civilization
First Published: June 16, 2025
Gary Larson approachedThe Far Side asa 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 thisFar Sidepeak into the earliest days of civilization, an ancient manstands 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.
3The Balloon Might Have Started This Escalating Far Side Conflict
First Published: Jun 19, 2025
This is anotherFar Sidecomic 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 manstands 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 aFar Sidejoke that will leave most readers narrowing their eyes and raising their eyebrows, as they wonder “What-the?”
