The Far Side is renowned for its dark humor, but at times, it pushes the boundaries into downright disturbing territory. Yet, remarkably, even the most unsettling strips maintain their comedic edge, managing to evoke laughter – a testament to Gary Larson’s unparalleled talent for blending the bizarre with the hilarious.
From the unfortunate fates of its characters to placing people in disturbingly relatable scenarios, The Far Side masterfully balances surprise and discomfort without ever losing its humor. Sometimes wildly surreal and other times unsettlingly close to home, certain strips evoke emotions that linger long after the punchline. After reading these disturbingly hilarious strips, you might not know whether to cringe or laugh.
10
“Pleasant Little Place”
Published: December 19th, 1990
A car of worms drives up to what they think is a really pleasant little place. They must have zero intuition or sense of danger, because they are at the Bait Motel. There is even a person with a fishing rod in the window. All the components together culminate in a really foreboding situation for the worm family, which will not result in a fun vacation.
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The Bait Motel is a wormy pun on the infamous Bates Motel from Alfred Hitchcock’s classi horror movie, Pyscho, in which those who go to the Bates Motel never get to leave. The Far Side imagines a different version, but the end effects of danger and death are nearly the same. That these innocent worms are about to meet their end can’t help but be a bit disturbing to readers.
9
“Professor Gallagher and His Controversial Technique”
Published: November 27th, 1986
Many controversial figures have created equally controversial techniques to “cure” patients’ fears. As everything is in The Far Side, these fear fighting techniques are dialed up to 1000. In this strip, Professor Gallagher reveals his very controversial (and dangerous) technique to eradicate phobias of heights, snakes, and the dark – all by hanging the patient from a sky-high building window in a dark box covered in snakes.
Could there be a more horrifying scenario? Readers see the man in the box screaming his head off, pure terror on his face – an unsightly view of the poor individual, disturbing its readers while simultaneously somehow still getting laughs from the outrageous scenario. Being held from a box in the sky is terrifying enough, but the other fears being tackled at once does not seem like the best plan.
8
“The Second One Made Its Move”
Published: August 20th, 1981
With one duck distracting Margaret at the bottom of the stairs, keeping her attention, the other duck strikes and pushes her down an entire flight of stairs. What poor Margaret did to deserve this cruel twist of Far Side fate courtesy of her ducks must have been terrible. Another option could be that Margaret is flush with wealth and the two killer ducks decided to go for their inheritance.
Seeing ducks, who are usually pretty even-keeled animals, be so morally bankrupt as to push a woman down the stairs is a disturbing twist on the adorable farm animals.
Many possible reasons for the ducks’ actions as can be given, so the reader will never know for sure why the ducks planned to push her down the stairs, instead left to guess and come up with whatever reason their imagination could come up with. Seeing ducks, who are usually pretty even-keeled animals, be so morally bankrupt as to push a woman down the stairs is a disturbing twist on the adorable farm animals.
7
“Tell the Kids a Pleasant Story for Once”
Published: January 10th, 1987
A man’s severed head is about to tell a group of kids the story of how he became only a head – before his wife stops him due to her wishing that he would tell a pleasant story for once. The fact that the woman insists that the story be pleasant for a change suggests that his tale is at the very least not good and is at the worst grisly.
Likewise, always telling children the story of how he lost his body adds another layer to this Far Side strip. An audience of children is probably not the best audience for a tale about becoming only a head. Someone detailing at length how they became just a head is usually not the greatest story to hear, and the tale being told to children pushes this comic strip to the disturbing side.
6
“It Is Professor Dickie!”
Published: October 30th, 1990
Seeing their colleague, Professor Dickie, melted into a puddle on the lab table, the scientists are shocked and dismayed. Wanting to avoid the same fate as the unfortunate Professor Dickie, the head scientist orders Weinberg to find out what the professor was working on as soon as possible so that they can avoid the same fate.
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However, the rest of the scientists are ordered to go back to their stations, so the head scientist must not think that the issue is all that important. The research and development team had better be extremely careful with their experiments unless they want to end up as a puddle like the unfortunate Professor Dickie. Seeing a human melted from an experiment is enough to disturb anyone, especially when the reason is a mystery.
5
A Bug’s Life Meets the End of the World
Published: January 4th, 1984
With the human world reaching its end thanks to a nuclear apocalypse – as suggested by the multiple mushroom clouds – there are some creatures who find the event a cause for celebration. A quintet of bugs holds hands and dances in celebration, happy about the turn of events since they will be the sole few species to survive. They will never have to worry about bug spray or being squashed again.
While humanity’s end of the world has happened in this Far Side strip, it is only the beginning for all the happy bugs who get to live without any fear of scary predators, especially humans. It is believed that bugs can survive a nuclear blast, with some entomologists even pointing out certain species that could withstand nuclear fallout. As a result, this strip may show the disturbing end for humans, but the survival and thriving of bugs.
4
“Check This Out, Andrews”
Published: March 11th, 1982
Two Egyptologists explore an ancient Egyptian crypt and read something that they really should not have, coming across an ancient curse for those that defile the crypt. Seeing how the two men have started to melt, the curse seems to be in full effect for them, even if they do not seem to notice that they are melting.
As enough mummy movies can attest, all explorers would be better off avoiding reading things off of tombs and crypts if they want to live.
It is a common mummy movie trope to see ancient tombs or crypts spelling doom for the explorers that excavate the site. The Far Side has always been adept at using movie and other narrative tropes, something that this strip does wholeheartedly, even with the disturbing end result of the two Egyptologists meeting their end. As enough mummy movies can attest, all explorers would be better off avoiding reading things off of tombs and crypts if they want to live.
3
“You’re Sick, Jessy!”
Published: July 22nd, 1987
An outdoor barbecue can bring people together as a reason to have a great time with company. However, it can also be a recipe for disaster, especially in The Far Side, where everything always seems to be messed up. A cow named Jessy becomes a pariah after they are seen making some burgers on the grill, drawing the ire and judgment of their fellow cows, who are outraged by the protein choice, and rightfully so.
Jessy the cow is engaging in cannibalism – a disturbing action to say the absolute least. The fellow cows catching Jessy in the act share the sentiment, pointing and calling them sick, and they are not wrong in their assessment. A more disturbing thought comes to mind seeing Jessy’s actions with a spatula; just where did they get the ground beef from?
2
“They’re Only Cartoon Animals!”
Published: May 18th, 1988
When a man brings a woman to his home, she is horrified to see the stuffed heads and carcasses of several classic cartoon animal characters. He doesn’t think his decor choice is a big deal, reasoning with the woman that they are only cartoon animals, which seems to be worse and even more disturbing.
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Some cartoon characters that have landed an unfortunate spot on the wall include Garfield, Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, Woody Woodpecker, and Bugs Bunny, as well as Rocket and Bullwinkle, who are stuffed in their life-sized forms in the corner. The man may be a massive cartoon fan, but he shows his fandom in a very disturbing way. Leave it to The Far Side to take something as playful as Rocky and Bullwinkle and make it super dark.
1
“Across the Street in the Shadows”
Published: November 12th, 1990
Playing like a scene from a horror movie – a very surreal movie at that – a bowling ball waits, with some very malevolent plans in store, outside a house full of partying bowling pins. The bowling ball is just itching to knock down all those pins, which is what people would expect. However, what people do not expect is an anthropomorphized version of a bowling ball and pins that are presented like characters from a slasher movie.
As a result, this strip elicits some serious laughs from dark humor fans. Worse yet, the pins are completely oblivious to the plot, making the suspense even greater. The scary eyes of the bowling ball captured in car’s rearview mirror does not help matters, as it is a little creepy as well as disturbing, just like so many other Far Side characters over the years.
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.
- Writer
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Gary Larson
- Colorist
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Gary Larson
Summary
Written and drawn by Gary Larson, The Far Side is a comic strip series that ran from December 1979 to January 1995. A worldwide hit, The Far Side explores life’s surreal side and uses a mix of humans and anthropomorphic animals. As of 2020, Gary Larson decided to pick his pencil back up again and has started The Far Side up, circulating the comics on his official website.
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