Summary
A caveman named Thag appeared in one ofThe Far Side’smost influential comic, in which thetail of a stegosaurus was named the “thagomizer"in his memory – terminology later adopted by actual paleontologists. Surprisingly, versions of this same character appeared in nearly a dozenFar Sidecartoons over the years.
Early human characters and situations wereamong artist Gary Larson’s favorite recurring obsessions, andThag ultimately proved to be the most prolific ofThe Far Side’sprehistoric subjects, with multiple hilarious appearances to his name.
It is important to note thatThe Far Sidedidn’t feature recurring “characters” in the traditional sense, so while there is some overlap between Thag panels, each one should be judged as distinct from the rest. That said, as much as one face – or more accurately, name – can be put onThe Far Side’scavepeople, it is Thag.
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11Thag’s First Far Side Appearance Featured A Caveperson Love Connection
First Published: June 28, 2025
In Thag’s debut, a cavewarming party turns into a meet-cute, as the hostintroduces him to a woman named “Noona,” explaining to her that Thag works in the rapidly expanding “Hunter and Gatherer” industry.
At their best, Gary Larson’s caveman comics were an opportunity for him to poke fun at modern society by recontextualizing familiar contemporary behaviors in a prehistoric setting, as is the case here. Considering Thag’s prominence among Larson’s cavemen, it is only fitting that his first appearance would be such a sterling example of this, as the artist offers an amusing jab at the practice of mutual friends setting up people they know to go out. It is one ofThe Far Side’sstrain of simple, effective jokes, which often get lost in the shuffle ofthe absurdity Gary Larson unleashedon a regular basis.
10Thag’s Love Life Is The Focus Again In This Early Far Side Cartoon
First Published: June 05, 2025
In this panel, Gary Larson once more explores early human romance via Thag’s love life – except this time in a decidedly quirkier way, as he takes some of the civilizational veneer off the characters and gives them hints of animalistic qualities. The comic features two cavemen,poorly hidden behind a tree, watching from a distance as a cavewoman returns home, while one gives the other a cautionary pep talk before he attempts to approach her.
“Remember, Thag,” approach her carefully, his companion remarks. “If she doesn’t recognize your courtship behavior, she might eat you.” WhileThe Far Sideregularly made animals more human, this is a stand-out example of the opposite, as Thag becomes the missing link in the evolution of romance.
9RIP Thag – The First Time The Recurring Caveman Character Died
First Published: June 27, 2025
A great moment of triumph is likely Thag’s last in thisFar Sidecomic. Having dug a pit and lured a carnivorous predator into it using a large hunk of meat, a spear-wielding prehistoric man shouts, “Big one, Thag!….We caught biiiiiiig one!” Except that in the act of throwing his arms up in excitement,the man seemingly knocks his friend Thag off balance, leaving him teetering on the edge of the hole with the angry creature below.
Gary Larson often depicted characterson the edge of doom inThe Far Side, but rarely was that quite so literal as it is in this Thag comic, which is laugh-out-loud funny thanks to the startled look Larson draws on Thag’s face, and the way he illustrates the failing motion of the character’s arms, as he desperately tries to keep from falling into the waiting jaws of – whatever is in the pit.
8Thag’s Famed “Thagomizer” Was As Close To A “Sequel” As The Far Side Got
First Published: August 14, 2025
Thag appears only in memoriam in theFar Sidepanel that made him arguably Gary Larson’s most influential character, asa caveman lecturer informs his class that the stegosaurus' tail is named “after the late Thag Simmons.”
While it can be inferred from the comic that this version of Thag was killed by the spiked tail of a stegosaurus, the proximity of this joke to one in which another Thag was depicted in mortal peril – published just two months earlier – distinguishes this as one of therareFar Sidepanelsthat can be called a “sequel” of sorts. At least in the sense that it seems as though Gary Larson at least recognized that he had recently depicted Thag’s unfortunate fate, and decided to use the same name here, honoring the fallen prehistoric fellow.
7Thag Gets A Renewed Lease On Life – Just In Time To Get Iced Again
First Published: June 27, 2025
In this panel, a pair of prehistoric characters stand out front of their cave,staring up at a giant glacier bearing down on them – as one casually remarks, “say, Thag…wall of ice closer today?“ForFar Sidereaders, it is another simple, straightforward caveman joke – though for Thag himself, it is yet another brush with mortality.
Though it is easiest to think of Thag as a recurring “character,” this iteration emphasizes the fact that it was more accurately a recurring name thatGary Larson thought was funny. This serves as a reminder that there was no strict “continuity” to Larson’s work. Only now, decades afterThe Far Sideceased publication, does it stand out as notable that Thag appeared more than any other caveman name that Larson came up with.
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Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
6Thag Completes The Very Rare Far Side “Trilogy” Of Cartoons
First Published: July 28, 2025
Again, while it is important to note that eachFar Sidepanel is meant to work in isolation – and was composed with the foremost intent ofgetting an immediate reaction out of readers– it is also interesting to identify parallels, connections, and repetitions in Gary Larson’s work, of which there are certainly many.
Case in point, this cartoon, in which a caveman namedThag wakes up from a nightmare about his mortality, only for a cavewoman to reassure him with the oddly poetic declaration that, “you only dream we live just so long then die.“In a way, thisFar Sideties up two converging threads from earlier Thag appearances: his initial romantic focus, and his subsequent brushes with death.
5Thag Finally Gets To Cut Loose & Have Some Fun At The Gravel Pit
First Published: August 22, 2025
While previous Thag panels found him struggling with issues of life and death,this one features him having some innocent fun – though he won’t emerge entirely unscathed from his decision to “make gravel angel.“Thag might not die here, that’s true, but he’s about to find out that the experience isn’t as pleasant as it might have seemed when it first had the idea.
One of the funniest things aboutThe Far Side’srecurring prehistoric motif was theway that Gary Larson found comedyin the idea of early humans figuring out later generations' traditions the hard way. That is absolutely the case with Thag here, as he hilariously throws himself face-first into a pile of rocks in the same way his descendants will do when it snows.
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4Thag Has To Learn Some Table Manners If He’s Going To Live In A Society
First Published: August 17, 2025
Thag is the subject of another relatively lighthearted, innocuousFar Sidejoke here. In the panel, hesits at the dinner table with a cavewoman, who tells him, “Thag, take napkin….got some mammoth on face” – as he in fact has a giant tusk stuck to his cheek.
For Thag, this is certainly an improvement on being impaled by the tip of the tusk. In this case, far from mortal danger, Gary Larson once more uses Thag to add a personal, specific emphasis to the punchline here, in which the artist offers an amusing account of the evolution of social practices – or rather, their intrusion upon the blissful state of nature enjoyed by those less civilized among humanity’s first generation.
3Thag Gets Spiritual In This Strange Prehistoric Far Side Comic
First Published: August 18, 2025
As often as it was outrageously funny,The Far Sidewould just as easily leave readers flummoxed, shaking their heads,and asking “What-the?“That’s the case with this Thag panel, which is funny moreso as a product of how strange the joke is, rather than a result of the punchline itself.
In the panel, Thag stands on a rock acting like a monkey, asthe caption explains that he is serving as “the spiritual channeler for a two-million-year-old gibbon named Gus.“It isthe kind ofFar Sidethat has fans wondering if there is more to the story than Gary Larson has made them privy to; further, it wouldn’t be beyond them to also wonder, if so, why.
2RIP Thag Pt. 2 – The Caveman Makes History By Dying Again
First Published: June 17, 2025
Once more, Thag is a dead man here – but yet again, his seemingly ignominious end leads to him being preserved in the history books, albeit in a less-than-flattering fashion. In thisFar Sidepanel, the legendary prehistory character is depicted taking a snooze up against a wheel he has just finished chiseling, as a hungry sabertooth tiger look on.
“Thag Anderson becomes the first fatality as a result of falling asleep at the wheel,” the caption explains, in one of the darker ofGary Larson’s frequent puns. While evidently not the same Thag of “thagomizer” fame, this ill-fated Thag shares a similar role, just like he meets a similar fate, as Larson effectively offered another follow-up to his earlier sequence of jokes.
