The Far Side: 10 of the Most Misunderstood Strips

The Far Side produced some real head scratchers over the years, with some of Gary Larson’s comic strips being totally misunderstood. Some of these misunderstandings generated controversy, while others just went over people’s heads. But either way, they are a part of the comic’s history and legacy. Gary Larson has a very particular and hilarious sense of humor, sometimes being silly and sometimes being more darkly funny.

Regardless, his comics always have some degree of intelligence to them, even the ones that are more absurd. While his smart writing has been popular with loyal fans, it has also resulted in some misunderstandings. Sometimes these are the result of a reader not recognizing a historical figure mentioned in the strip, while other times a strip’s meaning can just be taken more offensively than it was ever meant to be.

10

“Al Tilley…The Bum”

Published in 1984

Gary Larson was no stranger to word play and puns, seen in many of his comic strips. Likewise, his comics showed a penchant for drawing on real historical figures. In this comic from 1984, Larson’s central character, Al Tilley the Bum, is a play on the name of Attila the Hun, a ruler known for his conquests of different lands. It’s natural that such a similar-sounding name would confuse the inhabitants of a medieval village, but it’s likely that Larson didn’t mean to confuse so many of the comic’s readers in the process.

Some may not have understood why the modern-looking man was placed in a medieval setting. If the readers weren’t history buffs, or didn’t know who Attila the Hun was, it’s likely that they just didn’t get the pun and had no idea why these villagers would be so threatened by such a normal-looking guy. As a result, the comic is misunderstood much like the villagers in the work.

9

“Twister”

Published in 1993

When someone hears the word “twister,” what usually comes to mind is the scary weather phenomenon of a tornado. It’s common in the Midwest to spot a twister in the distance and start to panic, as people will want to gather their kids and get to safety. Yet, Larson uses this assumption as a bait and switch for this strip, which instead uses the playground ride known as a twister in place of a tornado.

The joke becomes easily misunderstood by those who don’t recognize that the kind of playground ride shown in the strip is typically referred to as a twister. Others may not be familiar with the term “twister” as a stand-in for a tornado and thus wouldn’t understand why these people are concerned. While readers may misunderstand this comic, it cannot be denied that the strip is perfectly in line with Larson’s surreal sense of humor.

8

“I’m Not Content”

Published in 1984

Gary Larson was no stranger to spotlighting cows in his Far Side comics, showing an affinity for the bovine kind. This would not be the first or last strip to feature a cow in a surreal strip (ahem “Cow Tools”). With Larson’s penchant for the gentle farm animal as well as for surrealism and absurdist humor, he has created some strips that are hilarious and others that are misunderstood or sometimes not understood at all.

Placing two cows in a domestic setting, where one of the cows expresses their unhappiness with one short sentence, sets an odd scene. Given the simplicity of the strip, readers have misunderstood the comic, thinking that they are missing out on an integral piece of information and therefore not getting the joke. Others have attributed the meaning to be a parody of an old Carnation Condensed Milk ad that had the slogan “Milk from Contented Cows.” Only Larson knows the real joke of the strip.

7

“Well, We’re Lost…”

Published in 1983

Bears and other wild animals were a favorite subject for Larson, as they take center stage in many of his comics. While many of the bear-centric Far Side comics were praised, there have been some that can be interpreted in a number of different ways. These comics with multiple possible meanings make it so that readers can’t decide what the true punchline is supposed to be.

A perfect example can be found in this comic, which focuses on two bears who are lost in a city. When one comments that they feel like they are going to get shot, it can be taken in a few different ways. Is it a commentary on violence in cities? Is it a joke about how humans love to hunt bears? Aside from being a weird strip, it is also not very succinct or clear, causing people to come up with varied explanations about what the joke is.

6

“We Need To Get Some Chains”

Published in 1982

The Far Side was never scared of tackling dark subject matter, and many strips would often find Larson poking fun at death or the personification of death, the Grim Reaper. It can be perfectly seen in this comic, where two cloaked figures discuss the struggles of their trade, commiserating that the horns they’re currently using are just not creating the right atmosphere of dread that they intend. It’s hard to argue that replacing the horns with chains would get the job done a little better.

Some readers have misread the point of the chains and what the two cloaked figures are. In certain mythologies, Death is portrayed as lugging around chains, suggesting that the two figures are Death. In other tales, such as Charles Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol, ghosts are condemned to wear chains forged by committing bad deeds in life. Either way, a cloaked figure honking a horn at someone is not going to get the job done.

5

“The Last Thing A Fly Ever Sees”

Published in 1986

Flies have a short life cycle, which tends to be cut even shorter by a fly swatter. As a result, it is safe to say that many flies’ last sight has been someone standing over them about to swat them to bits, as this strip humorously illustrates. Yet, some did not understand this comic, perhaps as a result of not realizing how flies’ eyesight works. If it had just been a singular image of a person with a fly swatter, it would have been a bit easier to understand, but it would have undercut the cleverness that Larson was known for.

Employing the love of science that Larson infused into so many of his Far Side comics, the joke references the compound eyes that flies possess, made up of a mosaic of visual receptors. By not realizing that flies see mirror-like images many times over, readers miss an integral part of the comic that is necessary to getting the joke. The comic is from the fly’s point of view, explaining the repeated images.

4

“Mr. Cody”

Published in 1984

William Cody, perhaps better known by his moniker of Buffalo Bill, is a historical figure of the Wild West who was a famous buffalo hunter and entertainer. That being said, there are quite a few things that a reader would need to know about Cody in order to understand this comic from The Far Side. If one does not get that the man in the strip is supposed to be Buffalo Bill Cody, then the whole joke is lost or misunderstood.

First of all, it references a historical figure that many, especially readers on the younger side, may not even be aware of. And even if they have heard of Buffalo Bill, the reader might not know his last name was Cody. The fact that the man is sitting in an office with his hat on his lap makes it harder to recognize that he’s a cowboy. As a result, many have noted that they have misunderstood the comic until they have been corrected about who the man with the hat is.

3

“You Cooked And Ate Them Both?”

Published in 1982

An absurd comic through and through, the strip features a couple who are indignant over their witch babysitter eating not just one, but both of their children. The strip is meant to be ridiculous, over the top, and darkly funny, yet it was actually misunderstood to be much more grim than intended. Some took issue with the comic for implying violence against children, which made a silly comic more serious and controversial than it was ever meant to be. Perhaps those readers forgot that in fairy tales like Hansel and Gretel, the whole goal of evil witches is to cook and eat children. The parents in this comic strip certainly forgot about that.

In classic Gary Larson fashion, their reaction is incongruous to the situation, as they are more annoyed than horrified by their babysitter’s actions. The Far Side would frequently put humor spins on dark subjects, and this comic was no different despite the controversy and hate mail it generated.

2

“Cow Tools”

Published in 1988

Notorious for the amount of confusion and misunderstanding this comic created, “Cow Tools” is one of Gary Larson’s most abstract works. While Larson himself has explained that the meaning of the comic is simply what it would look like if cows made tools, readers were baffled. The simplicity of the joke was lost on many, leading readers to come up with different interpretations of what “Cow Tools” could mean before Larson explained his intention. Some thought that the meaning of the comic was far more complicated than what the actual meaning was revealed to be.

The shapes of the various tools only added to the misunderstanding spawned from the comic, as many thought that determining the tools on the table were the key to understanding the comic. Larson has said that “Cow Tools” will haunt him for the rest of his life, as the overwhelming confusion it spawned led to a flurry of fan mail and discussion.

1

“When Car Chasers Dream”

Published in 1988

While some of Larson’s work has been a source of confusion for readers, there are few that have drawn outright ire and controversy. One such comic was misinterpreted by many as being sick and perverted, generating a fair amount of outrage directed at The Far Side and Gary Larson. In the comic, a dog dreams of sitting atop a car, howling in victory at having chased it down and killed his quarry. However, the position of the dog on the car led some readers with their minds in the gutter to misconstrue the meaning as being that the dog was getting intimate with the car.

While Larson has admitted in retrospect that the drawing does kind of look like that, he’s also adamantly stated that this was not at all the intention of the strip. He’s even pointed out how some people’s misconception of the comic made no sense to begin with. While some comics published throughout The Far Side‘s history have confused readers, rarely has that confusion led to such an outcry as this one did.