Gary Larson’s Far Side comic strip was known for humor that was often as intelligent as it was bizarre and twisted. Larson also loved referencing pop culture in his strips, from Disney cartoons to other comic strips, like Peanuts – with one reference to a Peanuts character being such a high-brow joke, it defines Far Side as the smartest comic strip of all time.
The strip features three shocked, excited individuals, excavating a cliff-face, which is adorned with a drawing of a familiar figure: Lucy, from Charles Schulz’ long-running Peanuts comic strip.
Larson’s joke is not only incredibly smart, it pokes gentle fun at the duration of Peanuts run, while also paying homage to one of its influences.
Far Side Comics Were No Stranger To Scientific Humor
As the caption of the Far Side comic reads, “Rocking the anthropological world, a second ‘Lucy’ is discovered in Southern Uganda.” The joke plays on the constantly shifting portrait of human civilization’s origins, which scientists continually reconstruct and recontextualize based on the most recent findings. The idea of parallel genesis points for human language, cultural, and myths – or of finding an earlier origin than previously unearthed – makes anthropology one of the most fascinating research fields, and plays a large role in making this Far Side joke so effective. Discovering an ancient depiction of Lucy Van Pelt, distinct from the one propagated by Charles Schulz, would cause a reckoning among Peanuts specialists.
Far Side References To Peanuts Were Frequently Much Darker
In addition to displaying a keen awareness of the anthropological field, this Far Side installment pays homage to Peanuts long and historic run. Running for precisely the second half of the twentieth century, 1950-2000, Peanuts not only began nearly thirty years before Larson’s Far Side debuted in 1979, but was still running five years after Far Side concluded in 1995, as Peanuts only ended with Charles Schulz’ death at the start of 2000. Gary Larson made multiple references to Schulz comic over the years, with his Peanuts parodies often much darker than the “second Lucy” strip, including panels where Charlie Brown threatened to put down Snoopy, and the Red Baron succeeded in doing so.
Far Side also frequently engaged in the kind of scientific humor displayed in “second Lucy,” poking fun at various scientific news stories over the years, and at times featuring mad scientist characters. Bringing together his science-savvy and his gift of seeing pop culture from an outsider perspective, Gary Larson was able to craft one of his funniest, smartest strips. Some Far Side strips are famous for being bizarre, or downright confusing, while others are rightly lauded for their intelligence and critical perspective. The “second Lucy” Peanuts reference is Gary Larson at the height of his game, proving that Far Side remains one of the smartest comic strips ever produced.
