The influence ofThe Far Sidecan be felt inThe Simpsons’style of humor;the two iconic pieces of popular culture share an intelligent, but often irreverent tone, which is often applied to hilariously dumb characters.Further, it can be argued thatThe Far Sideprepared American audiences to embraceThe Simpsonswhen it debuted in 1989.
Notably,The SimpsonsreferencedThe Far Sideseveral times over the years, paying homage to an obvious precursor.
In fact,Gary Larson made a rare post-retirement appearanceas a guest voice actor in a 2010 episode ofThe Simpsons, playing himself in a hilarious cameo, and once again establishing a link between the two.
10The Far Side And The Simpsons Share A Deliberate Mix Of “High” And “Low” Comedy
First Published: August 10, 2025
In thisfan-favoriteFar Sidecartoon,the author of a book called “Mind Over Matter” hilariously walks straight into a pole while walking on stage to deliver a lecture, in a hilarious bit of physical comedy, mixed with ironic humor, that prefigured the kind of jokesThe Simpsonswould become synonymous with within a decade.
Another way to put it: this is a progenital “D’oh!” moment. Like most of the examples here, it embodies the “vibe” ofThe Simpsons, in the way it combines supposedly “low,” borderline slapstick humor with a “highbrow” punchline. In other words, while the character might be clumsy, or even dumb, the audience can quickly surmise the intelligence behind the cartoon.
9The Far Side Was A One-Panel Sitcom, Paving The Way For The Simpsons
First Published: Jul 01, 2025
This earlyFar Side captionless panelonce against demonstrates the cartoonish physical comedy that would go on to a staple ofThe Simpsons. Here,two people tangoing as part of a “beginner’s dance” lesson take a header out a second-story window, with Gary Larson capturing them crashing through the glass, perfectly juxtaposed with the sign for the class.
Unlike earlier animated shows,The Simpsonswas truly conceived of as an animated sitcom, and despite their different mediums (TV vs. print) the precedents for that can be found inThe Far Side, which excelled at finding humor in unexpected situations in its own right, just distilled down to single moments, as illustrated in this classic comic.
8This Far Side Joke Would Fit Perfectly In A Simpsons Episode
First Published: July 09, 2025
ThisFar Sidecomic has the feeling of a classicSimpsonscutaway gag, in which the show departs from the main action to cram in a ridiculous sidebar joke. Here,the “ACME Sheet Company” buildinghas caught on fire, but thankfully,their product allows a quick means of escape for employees on the upper levels of the high-rise building.
The Simpsonshas the advantage of being able to depict the building catching on fire, and all the improvised robes unfurling out of the building at once, and even people scrambling down them, yet all of that is contained in this singleFar Sideimage. In any case,Simpsonsfans will recognize the style of humor here, and love it.
7The Far Side Often Featured Hilarious Obtuse Characters, Which Became A Simpsons Staple
First Published: August 04, 2025
In one ofThe Far Side’sall-time great desert island jokes,a stranded shipwreck survivor manages to get the attention of a pilot, only for the potential savior to nix his call for help, because the guy below didn’t quite finish out spelling “HELP” with sticks. “Cancel that,”the pilot radios, “I guess it says helf.”
This is another joke that would fit right in onThe Simpsons, given the way it mixes a visual joke with a character being hilariously obtuse. Jokes of this sort became common on the show; often, the answer to all a character’s problems will be right at their fingertips, only to be snatched away by someone else’s stupidity.
6The Far Side And The Simpsons Both Have A Hilarious Habit Of Taking Things Too Far
First Published: July 22, 2025
One crucial point where the Venn diagram ofThe Far SideandThe Simpsonsoverlaps is the ways in which both took full advantage of being cartoons in order to escalate situations to extreme and absurd points for the sake of hilarity, given that their characters weren’t expected to suffer real consequences.
ThisiconicFar Sidepanelfeaturestwo men in hazmat suits who take a workplace dispute into a highly dangerous “radioactive area,” and subsequently rip holes one another’s protective gear, exposing them to potentially lethal radiation. It is an absurd joke, one that requires an unreal lack of stakes, which the cartoon medium provides.
5The Simpsons Writer’s Room Was Smart, But It’s Characters Were Dumb; Sound Familiar Far Side Fans?
First Published: August 03, 2025
ThisFar Sidecartoon might seem a little too smart to be connected toThe Simpsonsat first, until one remembers that several of the pioneeringSimpsonswriters, from the formative years of the show, were Harvard graduates. That is, they were smart people making dumb jokes, which was also aFar Sidecalling card.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Further, the link here is thematic. BothThe Far SideandThe Simpsonsembraced the chaos of life, making sense of it, to whatever extent possible through humor. Often, dark humor. This panel, in whichscientists marvel at “the thrill of scientific discovery” after mathematically proving existence is meaningless, feels like one thatThe Simpsons' writers room would’ve appreciated.
4This Far Side Punchline Feels Exactly Like A Simpsons Bit
First Published: June 14, 2025
ThisFar Sidejoke screamsSimpsons, both in its structure and its absurdity. Here, a goldfish bowl being used as a prop in a theater performance is knocked over,endangering the goldfish inside. Evidently, one of the actors on stage must have called out"is anyone here an ichthyologist?" and surprisingly, three members of the audience responded in the affirmative.
This, of course, comes off as highly improbable, and that is the thrust of the joke. The tone of the joke, its absurd take on a classic gag, has aSimpsons-esque quality, but even more notably, so does the delivery. Readers will be able to imagine this situation playing out in Springfield to similar comedic effect.
3Like The Simpsons Later Did, The Far Side Mixed Madcap Humor With The Macabre
First Published: July 20, 2025
Gus and Ernie, the ventriloquist and dummy in thisFar Sidecartoon, have the feeling of classicSimpsonsone-off side characters, while the tone of this panel overall evokes the mix of whimsy and dark humor, which is at the heart of both iconic cartoons' success, providing a clear link between the two.
In this surprisingly dialogue-heavyFar Sidepanel,Gus the dummy warns a new arrival on their desert island to stay away from Ernie, who Gus claims is a cannibal, saying he “ate that German guy last year.“In this way,Gary Larson plays with a tabooin a way that is hilariously, while also slightly unnerving.
2Before The Simpsons' “Treehouse Of Horror,” There Was The Far Side’s “Treehouse Nightmare”
First Published: August 17, 2025
Talk about the original “Treehouse of Horror.” In thisFar Sidecomic,an “Al’s Monsters"truck crashes into a tree, containing a treehouse, with a group of kids scrambling to see what just happened, with the implication being that whatever “nightmare” cargo the truck was hauling is about to bust loose.
While this wasn’t necessarily the direct inspiration for the iconicSimpsonsHalloween specials, it does show the way thatThe Far Sidepaved the way forThe Simpsonsto spoof a wide range of genres, including horror. Gary Larson was the king of this in the 1980s, whileThe Simpsonswould prove to be his heir.
1The Far Side’s Three-Eyed Canary Is Reminiscent Of Simpsons' Mutated Mascot Blinky
First Published: August 15, 2025
The setting of thisFar Sidecartoon, published early inThe Simpsons' run, evokes Homer Simpson’s job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Even more noteworthy than that, though, is the way thatthe three-eyed mutated canary in this cartoon is incredibly similar to Blinky, the famous three-eyed fishfromThe Simpsons.
Interestingly, Blinky debuted in a blink-and-miss-it joke in the first seasonSimpsonsepisode “Homer’s Odyssey,” which aired in January 1990, nearly a year-and-a-half before thisFar Sidecartoon was published. Whether Gary Larson watchedThe Simpsonsat the time and paid homage with this comic, or if it was just a creative coincidence, this highlights the interplay betweenThe Far Sideand the show.
