10 Funniest Far Side Comics That Make Fun of Real People

Gary Larson populated The Far Side with cows, dogs, and nameless nerds, but he rarely evoked actual public figures. When he did, the comic could usually be enjoyed without knowing who the person was, transporting them into Larson’s bizarre world. Still, these strips have always fascinated me. Because Larson was private, these glimpses of real people offer a look at those he admired, even when he puts them in horrible positions. They also reveal his love of science and history through real-life figures.

To pick the best, I went back through my copy of The Complete Far Side and pulled the ten times Larson trained his pen on someone real. I did not focus as much on who they were; for a few of these comics, I had to research the references to make them make sense to me. Still, they were comedic gold regardless, with just an extra layer of humor for those in the know. These are the best times when The Far Side depicted actual people.

Why You Should Trust Me: Gary Larson was a cornerstone of my early years and shaped a love of comedy I still carry decades later. I have amassed a large collection of his work that I revisit and reflect on often, and it’s become one of my roles at MovieWeb to curate his work for these lists.

10

Before the Candelabra

Liberace was a bit before my time, and when I got into New Wave and Goth music of the 80s, he was just a historical footnote for me, known largely through the remarkable and troubled story of his life. Yet his impeccable, signature style and showmanship were always admirable. Even though I was not a fan, the image of Liberace – the sequins, the cape, the theatrical arms-wide pose – working in a wood shop full of unimpressed students is such a deliciously funny sight.

9

Twenty Thousand Leagues of Misery

That poor cat, the image of it in utter terror, had me in stitches before I even picked up the context of the strip itself; dark yet still funny. Trapped in a submersible, surrounded by nothing but water in every direction, poor little Maurice could only stare out at the beyond. This strip is also one of the many clever ones Larson constructs, in which he compares cats and dogs. Jacques Cousteau was a dachshund lover, and one of his dogs was named Scaphandrier, which means “deep-sea diver” in French, and would often accompany him. This strip answers the question of what if he took a cat instead?

8

Buzzer Trouble in the Big Leagues

It is no surprise that Larson was, in all likelihood, a fan of Jeopardy, as his work reflects a deep, solid knowledge of many facets of life; he also referenced the show more than once, including an episode in which a contestant faced off against God. Here, a man faces off against Edison and Einstein, two figures who embody brilliance, and destroys Mr. Jones. His plea for clarity over his abysmal score adds to the fun of it all. However, to be contrary, I would argue that fan favorites James Holzhauer and Ken Jennings could give both of these famous figures a run for their money; a broad base of knowledge versus a specialized one.

7

Bird Gets the Worst of It

Jazz has never been my vibe, but I can appreciate anyone who loves the genre, and Larson undeniably did so, with multiple strips paying homage to the greats. This is important, as while this is one of Larson’s cruelest and funniest invented torments for a real figure, it is obviously done with love. Sentencing a jazz legend to an eternity of music as far from free form as you can get, this is certainly a personalized hell for poor Charlie Parker (nicknamed Bird).

6

The Fruit Doesn’t Fall Far

This Far Side strip is such a fun concept, taking Carmen Miranda’s signature look and transforming it into a genetic trait, then a fashion sense. Of course, not all families are carbon copies of each other, so we get different foods implying different personalities, making this an entertaining strip to stare at. The greatest part is that even the dog is not immune to the implied, bizarre family trait.

5

Little Terrors and Big Aspirations

A wickedly clever origin story that explains the entire literary career of horror’s most revered author in a single image. Creating a simulated panic among people on a picnic, the younger version of Stephen King takes visual delight in the horrific scenario he has crafted. At the same time, it honors the genre more, presenting a morbid curiosity rather than doing something actually harmful; we horror fans have to stand up for our interests. There is some extra humor here for fans of Stephen King’s works and his common use of all sorts of creepy crawlies to describe places and people.

4

Small Beginnings for a Conqueror

Larson deflates one of history’s great terrors with a single suffix. I would not argue that this is one of his funniest strips; it really is a groaner of a dad joke, but it is also the kind of simple logic that you can see Larson coming up with and laughing at himself. The joke is entirely in the wordplay, sold by the flat, unbothered expressions of one of the greatest conquerors of all time and his small band of warriors. Of course, we all have to start somewhere, and this offers up a portrait of the potential early years of Genghis Khan. You know, before all the conquering, which was so prolific that an estimated 16 million men today may carry his Y-chromosome lineage, meaning he could be hiding in your family tree.

3

The Physics of a Bad Ankle

An alternate history that is somehow both absurd and weirdly plausible in Larson’s hands. The most famous scientist of the twentieth century–and the only figure to appear twice on this list–is handed an alternate timeline where he rules the court until an injury derails him. It is a great visual gag, but you also have to respect Larson’s chronology: Einstein began his formal path toward science in 1895 at age 16, four years after the sport was invented. That makes him a teen basketball prodigy before physics ever called, and while the strip draws him as an old man, in my mind, Einstein just always looked like that.

2

A Lifetime of Spills

Okay, I will admit I had to Google this one, but then found myself laughing out loud when I got the context. Here, Larson builds a whole biography out of one running gag to take one of the few mean jabs of his career at Captain Joseph Hazelwood, captain of the oil tanker Exxon Valdez, which ran aground on March 24, 1989, spilling roughly 11 million gallons of oil, killing wildlife and damaging the ecosystem for decades. Larson portrays him as a lifelong dolt, framing the disaster as the inevitable end point of a whole series of clumsy failures. Larson was very involved in conservation efforts, so it makes sense that this would be one of the few times he let his spite toward someone onto the page.

1

No Monkeying Around

Larson and Jane Goodall have an interesting history, with Larson’s admiration of her work at one time being undercut by a misunderstanding that almost led to a lawsuit against the cartoonist. This is not that infamous strip; in that one, Goodall is named but does not appear, whereas here she appears without being named, though it is pretty obvious who Larson was referencing. Funny enough, both strips imply a male ape spending too much time with Goodall, but this one was overlooked despite predating the other. Larson usually poked fun only at figures he liked, and this strip remains a nice homage to a remarkable scientist with whom he would become friends over the years.

Larson rarely aimed at real people, but when he did, he found the one absurd angle nobody else had thought of. These ten marked my personal favorites, but all of Larson’s comics referencing real figures are entertaining in their own right and personable to each reader. So let us know which Far Side strip about a real person is your favorite, or which one you’d have added to the list.