In 1992, author and artist Gary Larson produced some of the weirdest panels in the history ofThe Far Side– including one of his most obscure jokes, at least by today’s standards. By the early ’90s, Larson’s reputation for absurd and “out there” humor was well-earned,and his ability to leave readers asking “What the?” had reached new levels of expertise.
According to Larson,The Far Sidewas designed to “test reader’s reflexes”– and by that he meant his goal was to elicit a reaction, whether it was giddy laughter, or utter confusion, or outright dismay. While he didn’t always get the response he was going for with a particular comic,The Far Siderarely failed to push its readers' buttons in some way or another.
1992 featured Gary Larson testing the boundaries of his humor in more ways than one, leading to some highly memorable “What the?” moments throughout the year, of which this list collects just a sampling.
12How Much Meat Can A “Meatchuck” Chuck? (Gary Larson Asks A Question Nobody Needed An Answer To)
First Published: July 17, 2025
Often,The Far Sideachieved its “What the?” reaction as a result ofGary Larson asking “What if?” questionsthat seemingly no one else in the world would conceive of – such as in this panel, which seemingly arises from the question of “what if there were meatchucks, just like there are woodchucks?”
The ensuing illustration of that question, featuring one butcher pointing out to another the “family of meatchucks"in one of their hanging slabs of meat, will likely at least evoke a smile from readers, but the underlying premise of the joke is undeniably perplexing, to the extent that even fans who understand how the joke took shape will still find themselves mystified; not because it is particularly confusing, or excessively outrageous, but simply because its existence is a marvel in itself.
11Tensions At The “Centaur Rodeo” (How Does Anyone Fake THAT?)
First Published: June 18, 2025
The Far Sidewas known for blurring the linesbetween animal behavior and human nature, but few of Gary Larson’s cartoons do this as literally as this one, whichdepicts a “centaur rodeo” – as two Westernized versions of the mythic creatures stand by a fence, watching their competition, with one commenting, “he’s good, but I think he’s faking it.”
The humor of this panel is evident, but even as readers absorb the punchline, they will find themselves questioning its deeper implications – that is, how exactly is the central centaur “faking it,” how are the two (presumably real) centaurs unsure whether the other participant is one of them or not, and what measures they might take to find out, are all thingsFar Sidefans will be left wondering after studying this cartoon.
10These Pests Are Never Eating At This Establishment Again (The Far Side At Its Most Absurd)
First Published: June 24, 2025
In this ridiculousFar Sidecartoon,lice are depicted eating at a fine dining establishment on some unfortunate individual’s scalp – with one calling over the server to complain about the strand of hair that has draped over its table, ruining its meal.
12 Far Side Comics From 1982 That Make Readers Go “What The?”
According to Gary Larson, his notorious comic The Far Side was often designed to leave readers scratching their heads, wondering “What-the?”
Everything about thisFar Sidepanel is absurd, in the way thatGary Larson’s sense of humorbecame synonymous with. From the premise of a lice restaurant as a place to lampoon a common unfortunate dining experience, to the image of the giant hair wilting and covering the entire table, this cartoon will get a laugh from some readers in spite of themselves, but many more will be left with furrowed brows and narrowed eyes, unsure exactly what to make of this joke.
9The Most Reliable Retailer On The Far Side (Would Gary Larson Ever Have Run Out Of Cow Jokes?)
First Published: Jul 03, 2025
In 1992,The Far Sidewas just a few years removed from ending, but rather than winding down, in many ways, Gary Larson was continuing to push his work to new levels, while continuing to deliver on the things that had made his work iconic over the previous decade. The chief example of this was the continued proliferation of cows in his comics, including this panel,in which a farmer emerges from “Jim’s Cow Parts” with a box under his arm, so that he can fix the headless cow in the back of his truck.
Larson seemingly never tired of making cow jokes, and he continued to come up with new, inventive – and often increasingly strange – ways to do so, leaving fans to question how many unrealized cow jokes he has come up within in the decades sinceretiring from producingThe Far Side.
8This Might Be The Far Side’s Most Obscure Punchline (Who Is J.W. Miller?)
First Published: July 01, 2025
ThisFar Sidereference likely would have gone over many readers' headsthirty years ago, and it has only become harder to parse in the decades since.Captioned “J.W. Miller with his staff an rod,” and depicting a man fishing in a motorboat while four other people look on, this cartoon continues to elicit debate amongFar Sidefans to this day, regarding what references Gary Larson is making here, and why.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
Whatever the answers to those questions may be, in the abstract, this cartoon is the ultimate example of how Larson placing too much faith in his readers to “get” his most out-on-a-limb references frequently led to his most inscrutable “What the?” cartoons. Even after all these years, this comic still sparks discourse about what exactly the punchline is supposed to be.
7This Panel Is One Of The Far Side’s “Edgiest” Jokes (Does That Help Or Hurt Its Humor?)
First Published: July 04, 2025
The Far Sidecourted controversywith more than a few cartoons over the years, but in retrospect, a number of its “edgiest” jokes seem tame by the standards of today’s humor. By contrast, the punchlines of some of Gary Larson’s panels haven’t aged as well as others; indeed, some contemporary readers might find this panel, in which a group of wolves “turn to snorting quack,” and are depicted shoving ducks up their nostrils, to be distasteful for its seemingly flippant reference to drug abuse.
Yet the argument can also be made, based on the rest of the caption – which blames the wolves' behavior on the destruction of their home wilderness, and other “human pressures” – that Larson is, in fact, sympathetic to the plight of substance abusers, and recognizes that their own issues stem from societal pressures all the same.
6This Is One Of The Far Side’s Most Confusing Sheep Cartoons (What Reaction Was Gary Larson Going For Here?)
First Published: July 16, 2025
Sometimes, readers can have animmediate “What the?” reaction to aFar Sidecomic, for one reason or another, but soon develop a deeper understanding of the joke as they scrutinize it more closely. In other cases, the humor of aFar Sidecartoon could be seemingly impenetrable, or at least far from obvious. That is the case here, with a panelcaptioned “he was the king of the sheep,” featuring a herd of sheep following the command of one leader, who tells them to “graze” or head “back to the barn.”
12 Far Side Comics From 1985 That Make Readers Go “What The?”
As funny as The Far Side was, just as often it left readers wondering “What-the?” – according to Gary Larson, this was all part of getting a reaction.
It remains difficult to decipher, however, what exactly the punchline of this panel is, or in other words, what reaction Gary Larson was hoping to get from his readers with it, placing it in the category of “inadvertent” “What the?” installments ofThe Far Side.
5Gary Larson Excelled At Finding Connections No One Else Would (What Do A Boat & A Snake Have In Common?)
First Published: June 28, 2025
In thissplit-panelFar Sidecartoon, Gary Larson details a nearly-identical conversation, in two significantly different contexts. Captioned “where the respective worlds of boating a herpetology converge,“the top image features a man surveying his friend’s new 24-foot boat, while on the bottom, a man is impressed by his friend’s new 24-foot snake.
This comic brilliantly highlights one of the core strengths ofThe Far Side– Gary Larson’s knack for drawing strange and wonderful connections between seemingly unrelated things; while a boat and a snake seemingly have little overlap, Larson found one aspect in which they could be alike, and then found the perfect way to illustrate that connection. It is an unusual point of convergence, and the unexpected overlap will have some readers asking how the artist got there, making it a highly effective “What the?” cartoon.
First Published: July 29, 2025
Almost without a doubt, there ismore to the story of thisFar Sidecomicthan is depicted here; or at least, the cartoon will leave readers clamoring for more context, as Gary Larson depicts one ofThe Far Side’smost unexpected and hilarious friendships, or possibly romances.
“Don’t let your friends get me, Boomer!” a grub named Doug shouts, held snugly in the paw of his bear friend, as the caption explains that their “relationship was never fully accepted by the other bears.” As wildly absurd as the premise and punchline alike here are, readers almost can’t help but feel immediately fond of this odd couple, with the outrageous circumstances of their dynamic leading to countless questions, destined to remain unanswered, of which “What the?” is just the first.
3The Far Side’s “Vacuum Crossing” Comic Comes At Readers Fast (Why Isn’t The Sign More Helpful?)
First Published: August 04, 2025
In thiscaptionlessFar Sidecartoon, readers are left to put together the pieces of the punchline, though to what extent the pay-off will be a laugh, rather than a shrug and a “What the?” will vary from person to person. The panel depictsa"Vacuum X-ing” sign on the side of a highway, with wreckage from smashed appliances strewn across the road in front of it – with a large box truck rounding a corner in the distance, headed straight for the scene.
The “Vacuum X-ing” premise is silly, but what makes thisFar Sidecomic particularly inscrutable is the question of why the sign is seemingly so ineffective. That is, even if the idea of vacuums crossing the road is taken at face-value, readers will be unable to avoid wondering why so many of them seemingly continue to be pulverized by oncoming traffic.
