The Far Sidecomics of November 1994 have recently celebrated their thirtieth birthday. While the comics may be from three decades ago, these strips still find new audiences who love the trademark strange and irreverent sense of humor ofThe Far Side.
A lot of things have changed since 1994, but one thing that remains constant is thatThe Far Sideremains hilarious to those who grew up with the comic as well as those who are discovering the comic strip for the first time. Given thatThe Far Sidedid not have recurring characters and frequently showed varied and diverse topics and creatures, all the comics from November 1994 differ from each other greatly - yet retain Gary Larson’s quirky and sometimes cynically side-splitting viewpoint throughout.
10"His Arrival Was Unexpected"
November 1994
When Spunky the dog comes into the kitchen to eat his breakfast, he sees a most frustrating sight: his owner has eaten his bowl of dog food. Spunky’s owner tries to pretend that he never ate the dog food, attempting to look like he was reading the morning paper nonchalantly. It is not exactly a welcome sight to see someone eating dog food, and it would be even more unnerving for a dog to see their food getting gobbled up by their human.
LikemanyFar Sidecomic strips, the dog seems to be a bit smarter than the human, as the dog knows right away that something is amiss and what exactly is going on. Animals are frequently portrayed as being more intelligent as well as having more positive characteristics overall than people, with this comic strip being another comic to add to the list.
9"I Also Want My Own Identity"
When an M&M couple goes to marriage counseling, one of the pair has had it with everyone not recognizing their own identity, tired of being thought of as only one M to the other’s M. The frustrated M makes a valid point when he asks his chocolate bar counselor to put themselves in their shoes.The Far Sidealways lovedto imagine the most unexpected animals or objects in some very human-like interactions and situations.
Many couples deal with identity struggles after they marry because of the desire to stay true to themselves and their own lives while also being a partner that is capable of compromise. Apparently, the classic candy M&Ms have these marital issues as well, but it’s still a strange way for people to relate to a famous candy.
8"A Great Ape"
November 15th, 1994
When two explorers in the jungle get a flat at a very inopportune time, a very helpful ape bystander comes to their rescue and changes their tire for them. The exceptional service from the primate prompts one of the explorers to exclaim that they were “agreat ape.” Another example to add to themanyFar Sidecomicsthat utilize wordplay and puns, “a great ape” has the perfect double meaning in the strip.
“A great ape” is typically the taxonomic name for the group of primates referred to as Homindae. In the case of the comic strip, the explorer notes that the primate is “a great ape” - “great” as in wonderful and helpful. As a result, the great ape is “great” both taxonomically and exceptionally.
7"Leonard Painted That"
November 18th, 1994
The old saying “art imitates life” is also true in the world ofThe Far Side. In this strip, the protagonist’s male companion makes a painting of a couple on a couch with Leonard presumably holding some sort of sharp tool behind the couple, with the painting’s title being about how the couch is his. The couch looks like it is the same one the visiting couple are currently sitting on, communicating that the duo should probably consider moving unless they want Leonard’s wrath.
A bizarre comic strip through and through, Leonard seems to be incredibly possessive of his couch. Like a lot ofFar Sidecomics, the strip tends to create more questions than it answers. The most pressing question seems to be whether the couple on the couch will suffer the same fate, whatever that is, as the couple in the painting.
6"The New ACME Wingbaby"
November 24th, 1994
With an invention that would surely be a smashing success,The Far Sidecreates the ACME Wingbaby product. Created to scare crying kids on flights into being quiet, the ACME Wingbaby is a fake child that is tied on a string to the airplane, making it look like a kid is being dragged by a plane.
By scaring kids into not crying on the plane, and possibly into never crying ever again, it is figured that everyone on the plane’s comfort will be improved. An excellent example ofThe Far Side’sdark sense of humor, the thought of scaring children by telling them that if they do not stop their belly-aching, then they too will be strung outside a plane would not be anyone’s first strategy to stop kids from crying on planes.
5"Problem Solved!"
When Pinocchio has claw marks all over his little wooden face, and the family cat is dangerously close to him, Geppetto comes in time with just what is needed: a scratching post for their aggressive cat.One’s first thought about what it must be like to be a talking, walking puppet would not involve being used as a scratching post for the family cat, but nevertheless, that is the situation for poor Pinocchio.
Luckily for all parties, an actual scratching post will give Pinocchio some much-needed relief. No wonder he wanted to be a real boy so badly.The Far Sidetends to put a spinon classic and wholesome fairy tales and media properties that are well known in popular culture. Putting a bit of a darker spin onPinocchiofits in with this running gag ofThe Far Side.
4"Dogs and Alcohol"
November 28th, 1994
Alcohol has garnered a bad reputation of leading people to do stupid and even dangerous things, which is the case inTheFar Sideas well. Some dogs imbibe liquor and think it is a good idea to sneak into a cheetah enclosure at the zoo, which spells trouble for the pups.Dogs are frequent characters inThe Far Side, sometimes staying true to their doggy nature, while other times taking on more anthropomorphic qualities, like in this strip.
An activity that only the most empty-headed of humans would attempt while drunk, the dogs decide to take reckless, stupid, drunk acts to the next level by breaking into a carnivorous animal’s enclosure. Consequently, the comic strip exposes a tragic story that no one knew about before thisFar Sidecomic but that all the dogs ofThe Far Sideshould know.
3"I’m Gonna Steer"
Way out in the middle of nowhere, a cowboy steers his horse right into a cactus, prompting the poor horse to decide that he will now be taking over the steering responsibilities, as his owner is obviously not up to the task. The fact that the cowboy has steered the horse directly into a cactus despite no other area having any cacti makes it one hundred percent understandable as to why the horse has finally had it and wants to take over the steering.
The cowboy survivingthe wild frontier is hard to comprehend, since he cannot even avoid a single cactus in a wide open space with literally nothing else around. The horse putting up with his directionally-challenged cowboy shows just how much patience the animal has. Hopefully, the horse will not get pin pricks to the face any longer once they take over steering.
2"Preserves"
November 1st, 1994
Larson always loved to include a good dose ofirony inThe Far Sidecomic strips, with one notable example being in this strip. When a semi-truck of fruit preserves careens off the road and into the La Brea Tar Pits, they’re about to be preserved once again by the tar pits, which have preserved the ancient remains of early creatures. As a result, the preserves truck and its very unlucky inhabitants are about to be preserved by the La Brea Tar Pits.
In addition to the irony used in the comic strip, word play, a favorite technique ofThe Far Side, is also used, playing on “preserves,” as in a jam-like food, and “preserve,” as in keeping something in its existing state. Consequently, the comic strip is just one of many strips that show Larson’s talent for word play.
November 8th, 1994
Writer’s block, a phenomenon where one struggles to come up with good ideas for their work, can happen to even the most talented authors. InThe Far Side,a mental block can also occur for mad scientists. As one comic strip illustrates, a mad scientist struggles to get past his mental block even after writing down a bunch of madcap ideas and then abruptly crossing them out when he deems them no good.
One such idea that has received the chop from the mad scientist of the comic strip involves a giant squid and crossing it with another creature, but the scientist gives up on the idea before he can even think of another creature to cross the marine animal with. One would think that a mad scientist would have free rein to do whatever crosses their mind, but thisFar Sidecomic disproves this assumption.
The Far Side
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.
