10 Greatest 'Far Side' Comics From the ‘80’s, Ranked

The 1980s were great for a lot of reasons, especially when it comes to popular entertainment. Classic movies like Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, E.T., and The Empire Strikes Back dominated the box office. TV shows like Cheers, ALF, and The Golden Girls dominated primetime TV, while the Saturday morning cartoon lineup included Transformers, Masters of the Universe, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The 1980s were also a wonderful era for newspaper comic strips, as the art form had evolved over the 20th century to a point of real sophistication and experimentation in the 1980s. This was before some of the greatest comics ended in the 1990s, and then the rise of the internet in the 1990s and 2000s reduced the need for newspapers, causing newspaper comic strips to become a far less universal form of entertainment.

One of the greatest comic strips during the 1980s was Gary Larson’s The Far Side, the single-panel series of non-sequitur jokes in Larson’s distinct, non-cutesy style, which contrasted with nearly every other art style featured in the funny pages at the time. The comic extended until the mid 1990s, but it began its legendary run on January 1, 1980 and was eventually carried by 1,900 newspapers, making it one of the broadest comic outlets of the 1980s. As such, we’ve decided to dig up the 10 greatest Far Side comics from the 1980s.

9

Chicken soup

Image: Gary Larson

From May 18, 1984. This comic strip is a great example of how darkly funny Gary Larson’s work could be, as it features an ill young chicken being served chicken soup by his mother.

8

A botched execution

Another comic featuring Larson’s signature brand of dark humor. This comic about an execution gone wrong is from May 11, 1981, and it shows that The Far Side’s humor was edgy right from the beginning of its run.

7

The beauty of this comic, from March 31, 1981, is that it took no words for the joke to be delivered. The motion lines here do most of the heavy lifting, as they make clear the woman did jump, but that the trampoline used to catch her bounced her into a neighboring building which is also on fire.

6

It helps to know who Bobby Darin was

“Mack the Knife” was a popular song from 1959 recorded by Bobby Darin, though many other artists also recorded it. It was about a London serial killer — heavy stuff for a pop song — but Larson turned it into an incredibly surreal joke about anthropomorphic silverware.

Larson’s work on The Far Side was masterful in its comedic timing. For example, this comic from October 29, 1984, features an idiot musician who says “Gee… look at all the little black dots.” Something this stupid is funny on its own, but it’s clearly occurring when a huge concert is about to begin, making it hilarious.

4

So that’s where boneless wings come from

This comic strip from January 12, 1983, feels like it may be a bit of commentary on processed foods, as it features a “Boneless Chicken Ranch” populated with limp chickens. On the other hand, it’s also just a really funny visual gag.

3

Cows are a recurring subject for Larson, as they would appear in many of his comics over the years. This one, from January 6, 1984, is one of his best-known cow comics and comics from the 1980s. It’s no wonder why, as the idea that cows stand upright when we’re not around is laugh-out-loud silly.

2

That annoying prankster around the office

Another very dark comic of The Far Side came on June 4, 1983, featuring two scientists in a lab. One is doing delicate work on a missile, while the other is about to scare him with the pop from a brown paper bag. Once again, it shows what a master of timing Larson is.

A comic strip that made headlines

On August 26, 1987, Gary Larson published this comic strip in newspapers across the country. It features a female chimpanzee grooming a male chimpanzee and the female chimpanzee says, “Well, well — another blond hair. … Conducting a little more ‘research’ with that Jane Goodall tramp?” referring to the English primatologist and anthropologist icon known for her research into chimpanzees. In response, the staff at the Jane Goodall Institute at the time issued a statement calling the comic an “atrocity.”

However, Goodall was in the field at the time and knew nothing of the comic. When she finally saw it, she thought it was funny. She later wrote an introduction for a collection of Far Side comics praising Larson’s work and telling her side of the story.

1

A comic strip that made history

As notable as the Jane Goodall comic became in the late 1980s, it doesn’t compare to the impact of this comic from May 27, 1982. In it, a caveman teacher stands in front of a group of cavemen. The teacher points to a picture of a Stegosaurus tail and the caption reads: “Now, this end is called the thagomizer … after the late Thag Simmons.”

The comic is funny on a variety of levels, from the silly word “thagomizer” to the absurdity of cavemen having instructional classes like this. The best part, though, is the implied joke that Thag Simmons became the namesake for the Thagomizer after being killed by one.

While very funny, this isn’t the greatest Far Side comic of the 1980s because it’s the funniest — it’s because it made an actual impact in a field of science.

When this comic first ran, the spiky thing at the end of a Stegosaurus tail had no name. But because of this comic strip and the widespread distribution of Larson’s work, paleontologists began jokingly referring to that spiky thing as a thagomizer. Over time, that ended up becoming the real, scientifically recognized name for the spiky structure on the tails of stegosauruses, which is why this comic is not only the most important Far Side comic of the 1980s, but of the strip’s entire 15-year run.