10 Best Far Side Comics About Hell That Prove Gary Larson Had a Twisted Sense of Humor

Ask Gary Larson, and he'd tell you it was definitely better to "laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints," in the immortal words of Billy Joel. And we suspect Larson would probably pick "reign[ing] in hell" over "serv[ing] in heaven," to paraphrase Paradise Lost.

The Far Side often visited hell, and heaven too, making them two of Larson's greatest go-to locations. He had a special knack for converting the suffering of hell into absurd humor, which is on full display in the cartoons curated here. These are the best Far Side hell jokes, ranked by how effectively they turn their infernal setting into comedic gold.

10 "Graffiti In Hell"

"Satan is a warm and tender guy!" "For a pleasant conversation, call Satan." "Hey! You call this hot?" That's some of the "graffiti in hell" that the Devil finds scratched into the cavern wall in the deepest reaches of the pit in this Far Side cartoon, sending him into a paroxysm of frustration.

This is a great panel for highlighting the distinction between a Far Side set-up and a Far Side punchline, even if both are funny. The graffiti, which also includes etchings of butterflies and flowers and other cute things, and the caption (which is essentially just there for context), are the set-up for the joke. The real punchline is how angry Satan is, raising his pitchfork over his head and roaring in rage at being disrespected.

9 "A Little Slice Of Heaven"

This is a diabolical bit of Larsonian wordplay. This Far Side cartoon takes readers to a different side of hell, taking place in a demon restaurant. It is unclear what cuisine the place serves is supposed to be, exactly, but it is obvious what one devil did not expect to find on his place: an angelic piece of pie.

Or "a little slice of heaven," as he calls it, shouting to the waiter in surprise when he sees the halo hanging over his dessert. One can only assume, riffing on Gary Larson's gag here, but that probably wouldn't sit well in the devil's stomach if he were to go ahead and eat it.

8 "Not All Dogs Go To Heaven"

Hell is often depicted as a place of tragic irony. This made it a potent setting for Gary Larson, because there is a strong strain of ironic humor in The Far Side, and he loved to infuse his comics with a dash of the tragicomic. Case in point: what is the ultimate damnation for bad dogs? Being forced to be hell's mail carriers and poop-scoopers.

This super-sized Far Side depicts exactly that. The Devil stands and watches as these pups go about their eternal, infernal punishment, some of them delivering mail, forced to wear wide-brimmed hats and carry "U.S. Mail" satchels. Meanwhile, the others arguably have it even worse, forever cleaning up after hell's hounds.

7 "Not Every Day, But Some Days"

What's worse? Endless physical torment or eternal psychological torture? That's a question worth debating. For Gary Larson, at least, clearly the latter was funnier. Forget having your skin stripped from your bones piece by piece, day after day. It would be so much more awful to live in constant fear of getting a scorpion in your lunch.

"Some days the sandwiches contain a dead scorpion," a helpful hellbound soul explains to the new kid in perdition, as they sit across from one another in the underworld's cafeteria. "Not every day," he stresses, which is "why it's hell." Presumably, they spend of the rest of their time being tortured in various other ways, but on top of all that, they have to face lunch break dreading if it is a scorpion day or not.

6 "The Third One You've Lost This Month"

Performance reviews are hell. Everybody can relate to that. Now, just imagine that instead of your boss being the figurative devil, he's the literal devil. You're a demon, and you basically have one job: keep torturing souls for all eternity, and don't let them escape the clutches hell. Which is why you'd be on seriously thin ice, if hell had ice, for losing three in a month.

That's the situation with "Edgar" the demon in this Far Side classic. The funny thing is, his superior is being pretty chill about it, rather than giving him a fiery rebuke. "You've got to stop believing these guys who say they're just stepping out to use the restroom," Satan says, adding a ludicrous touch to an already hilarious cartoon.

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5 "To Hell And Back"

One of the funniest examples of one of The Far Side's most underrated tropes. Gary Larson loved to poke fun at the vacation photo slideshow tradition, the once-upon-a-time analog to Instagram. Here, a man shows his guests a picture of his wife posing with the Devil, who has his arm around her and a big grin on his face as he indulges a couple of tourists.

"This is from last summer, when Helen and I went to hell and back," the caption reads, adding more memorable Far Side wordplay into the mix on top of an unforgettable, laugh-out-loud funny visual for a solid one-two punch of Larsonian laughs.

4 "You're Just Havin' A Nightmare"

What is worse than a nightmare? Pretty much only waking up in literal hell. That's the dark joke in this Far Side cartoon. The panel shows a row of beds pushed up against a cave wall, the fires of hell raging in the background 24/7, presumably making it an extremely bright, not to mention uncomfortably hot, place to sleep.

When "Chuck" bolts upright in bed, waking from a bad dream, the guy in the adjacent bed tries to comfort him, but then hedges his bet. "You're just having a nightmare," he says, before reminding Chuck, "of course, we are still in hell." Suggesting that whatever subconscious terror had a hold of him, it might actually still be preferable to their reality.

3 "They Thought Of Everything!"

Stylistically similar to "Scorpion Sandwich," which we looked at above, this Far Side cartoon (we'll call it "Cold Coffee in Hell") is about how the netherworld has unexpected amenities, but they are really just supplemental tortures for the damned. Like the coffee bar. For the souls who enjoyed a cup of hot coffee during their lifetime, pouring a mug only to realize "the coffee's cold" is the worst possible punishment.

"They thought of everything!" one guy remarks to another, upon having this experience. Who would want a steaming hot coffee in hell anyway? That's another question. The point is that for countless people, it is one of life's great joys, and hell is a place where joy is turned into suffering.

2 "Nerds In Hell"

This Far Side cartoon finds Gary Larson channeling Jean-Paul Sartre's "No Exit." You know, "hell is other people." In this case, a specific type of person: "nerds." The panel shows a line of people being marched through hell, flames licking at their skin as demons loom over them.

And this one guy has the audacity to try to be funny. "Hot enough for ya?" he turns to the guy behind him and asks, grinning at his own joke. Since they are already in hell, it wouldn't be a surprise if somebody throttled this guy after one too many smart aleck remarks. Since what's going to happen, they get double damned?

1 "It's Either One Or The Other"

Probably the best comic set in hell Gary Larson ever produced. (Though by all means, debate this and share your pick in the comments below!) It is another iconic Far Side play on words, paired with an all-time funny Far Side image. A man with a pitchfork to his back, forced to make an impossible, but also kind of irrelevant, choice about his own fate.

That is, does he pick the "damned if you do" door, or the "damned if you don't" door. "It's either one or the other," the devil holding the pitchfork says, making the man's hesitation that much more absurd and hilarious. It is The Far Side at its simplest, its most pure, and its most devilishly clever.