Aggregated here are the funniestFar Sidefrom August 1988, the ones that have stood the test of time more than the rest. Each of these cartoons remains a laugh-out-loud example of artist Gary Larson’s brilliance even nearly forty years after they were published. They also capture Larson’s career at a specific point and time.
1988 was the end of the “second act” of Larson’s runas a cartoonist. Starting in November of that year,The Far Sidewent on a fourteen-month hiatus, republishing old panels until the start of 1990.
August of ‘88 was just a few months before Gary Larson took a much-needed break, and in that timeLarson produced some delightfully, deliriously funnyFar Sidecartoons.
10"Sidney’s Trick Knee": Gary Larson Could Make Even The Most Average Household Routine Absurd
First Published: August 14, 2025
Captioned “the Fullertons demonstrate Sidney’s trick knee,” this is one of Gary Larson’s “slice of life"Far Sidecomics, where he depicts a low-stakes moment in his characters' lives, with his own signature dash of weird humor to spice things up just a bit. In this case,it is that the ‘trick knee” in question barks like a dog.
That is, as opposed to, say, popping out of place, or bending backward. It is a jolt of surreality into an otherwise ordinary set-up for a joke, but even with that, the humor remains firmly on the silly side, making it as family-friendly of aFar Sidecartoon as Larson ever produced.
9"Poultrygeist": The Far Side’s Mix Of Linguistic Humor And Physical Comedy Led To Its Success
First Published: July 06, 2025
In this deliberately dumb, but effectivelyhilariousFar Sideplay on words, the type of malevolent spirit known as a “poltergeist” is transformed intoa “poultrygeist,” a ghost that specifically targets chicken coops. In the panel, a pair of helpless farmers watch as their hens burst through the roof of the coop, flung in the air by an invisible hand.
The looks on the unfortunate chickens’ faces are what really make thisFar Sideillustration have a broad appeal. Linguistic humor like “poultrygeist” might be a bit niche for some readers, but the physical comedy of this panel is certain to get a positive reaction out of a wider audience.
8"Dibs On This Porterhouse": The Far Side Reveals The Ethical Conundrum Behind Cow Operations
First Published: August 13, 2025
In thisFar Sidedoctor cartoon, a team of surgeons operate on another one of Gary Larson’s favorite subjects, a cow. “We’ve done everything we can,” one surgeon says, “now we can only wait and see if she pulls through,” before darklyadding, “if she doesn’t, however, I got dibs on this porterhouse right here.”
This perfectly encapsulates the twisted world ofThe Far Side, where cows and humans can coexist, but that doesn’t necessarily mean people have given up eating steak and burgers. Bizarre as it sounds, the humor comes from the idea of these surgeons putting aside temptation, no matter how hungry they are, to be professionals.
First Published: May 31, 2025
“Suddenly Dr. Morrissey’s own creation…turns against him,” the caption to thisFar Sidemad scientist cartoon informs us. It is a perfectly familiar sci-fi set-up,the kind Gary Larson routinely riffed on. What makes this cartoon stands out arethe details of Morrissey’s nightmare-fuel creation: “a hideous creature nine feet tall and bearing the heads of the Brady Bunch.”
In other words, this is also one of Larson’s regular pop culture references, although certainly one of the ones where he went more out on a limb. In any case, it is an uproariously funny image, springing from a truly unhinged concept, and the result is an underratedFar Sideclassic.
6"Look What You Resort To:" The Far Side’s Canine Vs. Mail Carrier Feud Gets Spooky
First Published: August 17, 2025
The Far Sidefeatured its share of famous rivalries, but few are more iconic than the"dog vs. mail carrier" jokes Gary Larson made. This is an absolute classic example, in whicha woman admonishes her pet dog for using a voodoo doll to egregiously wound their neighborhood’s postal worker.
“I put you on a short leash so you can’t harass him anymore, and look what you resort to” the woman shouts indignantly, as the mailman looks on with his arm in a sling, a crutch supporting his leg in a cast, a neck brace around his neck, and a bandage on his nose, meaning the voodoo doll was a disturbingly effective tactic.
5"Tunnel Of….": An Ordinary Date Escalates Out Of Control Quickly For This Far Side Couple
First Published: June 12, 2025
The Far Sideused multiple panels when it suited Gary Larson, and this is a deliriously strange example, in which a couple rides successive iterations of an amusement park ride. These start off with the recognizable “Tunnel of Love,” and quickly escalate from there,with the characters going through the “Tunnel of Despair,” the “Tunnel of Non-Communication,” and finally the “Tunnel of Mosquitos.”
The Far Side Complete Collection
It is a delightfully ridiculous display of escalation. “Despair” obviously feels like a direct opposite of love, while “Non-Communication” in the third panel is an oddball curveball, and then finally, Larson upends the entire progression of the joke with the even more out of left field introduction of mosquitos, hilariously complicate matters far beyond what readers initially expected.
4This Is A Strong Candidate For The Greatest Far Side “Desert Island” Joke
First Published: July 26, 2025
Gary Larson produced many, many"desert island"Far Sidejokes, so it is the utmost praise to say this might legitimately be the best of the bunch. Why? It has to do with the way Larson expertly inverts his own usual formula here, totally upending how these jokes tended to proceed, to uproariously funny results.
Usually, the most unhelpful objects possible would wash up on shore, to the disappointment of Larson’s shipwreck survivors. Here, a flotilla oflife-saving materials, such as “navigation books” and an “inflatable boat,” drifts toward a desert island…except the person on it is already dead, having wasted away to a skeleton. This punchline is darkly brilliant, and absolutely hysterical.
3"This Isn’t What I Said To Bring": These Far Side Explorers Brought A Swarm Of Stinging Insects Down On Themselves
First Published: July 14, 2025
Mosquitos are once again the primary concern in this cartoon, as this pair ofFar Sideexplorers, who really should have stayed home,discover that they brought the exact opposite of insect repellent on their adventure. In fact, whatever they’re spraying on themselves is actually attracting the bloodsucking bugs to them.
“This isn’t what I said to bring,” one says to the other, upon making the horrifying realization, but Gary Larson amusingly leaves it ambiguous what the spray actually is, allowing readers to fill in this information for themselves, in a way that elevates thisFar Sidecomic from memorable to a full-on classic.
2"It Bugs Me When They Stand": This Far Side Farmer Can’t Handle Cows Acting Too Human
First Published: Jun 30, 2025
“Man, it bugs me when they stand,” a farmer thinks to himself as he milks one of his cows,with the bovine next in line having reared up on its hind legs, putting its front hooves on its hips in a way that signals impatience, which obviously makes the human character uneasy.
Again, it is an uneven blend ofcows acting like humans, aFar Sidestaple, and cows existing in their traditional dynamic with the farmer; but that dissonance is part of what makes the joke effective.The Far Sidehad conventions, as unconventional as it was, but it had no rules, and that is what made it great.
1"They Just Seemed Too Happy": The Far Side Reveals The Dark Side Of Furry, Frolicking Forest Creatures
First Published: August 10, 2025
In this extra-sized Sunday edition ofThe Far Side, a hiker approaches the edge of the forest, only to be confronted by a truly unsettling sight:a bunch of animals waiting for him with terrifying smiles stretched across their faces, and wild looks in their eyes, making “Dwayne"question why they’re so “happy.”
It is a very funny twist on the trope of idyllic woodland creatures, adding a sinister undercurrent to the uninhibited joy of these freely frolicking animals. This also encapsulates a constantFar Sidetheme, the divide between nature and humanity, in a way that is outside the box of Gary Larson’s normal approach, making it another immediate classic.
