10 Darkest Far Side Comics That Prove Gary Larson Was Ahead of His Time

Gary Larson’s The Far Side has entertained readers for decades, drawing comedy from everyday subjects that often carried a surprisingly dark edge beneath their familiar surfaces. Although these comics belong to an earlier era, many of their grim scenarios and unsettling observations still feel funny, familiar, and remarkably current to readers encountering them today.

Whether through the use of animals, humans, or other known creatures, Larson is able to create severely unsettling yet humorous panels using his extremely imaginative mind. This has resulted in several works where even the most disturbing premises carry a dry comic logic that remains effective long after the strips first appeared.

10 The Wolves Who Turn to Snorting Quack

This strip depicts three wolves gathered in a forest clearing, with one holding a duck up his nose while another lounges nearby with its tongue hanging out. The gathering creates a truly disturbing picture, explained by the caption, which reveals that human pressure and habitat damage have pushed them into an alarming new habit.

Larson borrows from the language of drug use, with ducks serving as the wolves’ unlikely supply and “quack” echoing the name of a familiar narcotic. The writing directly links their new habit to the ever-present human pressure on wildlife in general, with the damage done to their habitat leading to some unbelievable consequences for the wolves.

9 The Fishermen Who Welcome Nuclear Armageddon

This strip shows two fishermen sitting in a small boat, their lines stretched across otherwise calm water as several mushroom clouds rise over distant hills. One man turns toward his companion, apparently more interested in what the explosions mean for their fishing plans than the catastrophe unfolding across the horizon.

The man’s reply celebrates the chance to fish without restrictions, as though a nuclear exchange would cancel every regulation governing their catch for good. Larson lets his casual enthusiasm carry the joke, with the fisherman barely acknowledging the worldwide calamity unfolding across the lake behind him as he talks to Norm.

8 The Cryogenics Facility That Gets Unplugged

This comic shows the interior of Frozen Friends Cryogenic Enterprises, with several upright storage compartments, each holding a person beneath a warning to maintain minus 200 degrees. A janitor wearing a Bob’s Janitorial Services shirt can be seen walking past the equipment, obliviously unplugging the electrical lead that apparently powers the contraption.

The unfolding scene bodes stark consequences for every person inside, as these customers depend on the machinery to remain frozen in the hope of ever waking again. Larson leaves the cleaner walking away from the equipment, conclusively dooming everybody inside and costing the company an unthinkable amount of money in legal fees.

7 Laugh at Me, Will They?

This panel shows a clown in full makeup browsing the firearms displayed inside a gun shop, with his attention fixed on the weapons. His accompanying thought reveals that he has taken other people’s laughter personally, despite belonging to a profession built around entertaining them, an irony he seems to have missed.

Larson builds the scene around a deeply misplaced grievance, as the clown appears to regard amusement as a personal insult instead of part of his work as an entertainer. His decision to shop for a firearm introduces a threat that sits uneasily beside the cheerful role audiences expect him to perform.

6 The Prison Guards Who Can’t Get the Electric Chair Working

This comic presents a condemned man strapped into an electric chair while two guards investigate why the execution mechanism will not operate. One suspects dirty contacts around the switch and recommends flicking it repeatedly, apparently overlooking what each failed attempt may do to the prisoner still strapped into the chair.

Rather than producing one clean execution, each movement of the switch threatens another painful jolt, leaving the prisoner to suffer through the guards’ repeated attempts. Their practical discussion continues as though they are testing a faulty appliance, while the man they are meant to execute prepares to bear the consequences of every flick.

5 Pinocchio Gets His Wish in the Worst Way Possible

This strip depicts Pinocchio standing on an African plain, surrounded by a pride of lions as his familiar wish is finally fulfilled. The caption explains that he has become a real boy during his vacation, leaving him exposed to predators that may once have found a wooden puppet far less appetizing.

Larson draws on the classic story of a wooden puppet longing for human life, granting that desire at the worst possible moment of his vacation. The lions surrounding Pinocchio leave him in immediate danger, since his new flesh-and-blood body now resembles prey they can actually eat without hesitation on the open plain.

4 The World’s Most Oblivious Traffic Cop

This panel shows a police officer stopping a woman whose car has a broken taillight, while two human legs protrude conspicuously from the trunk. Despite the far more alarming sight at the back of the vehicle, the officer appears concerned only with the minor traffic fault that prompted the stop.

Instead of immediately registering the body, the officer appears satisfied with finding a relatively minor fault that justifies stopping the car. Larson leaves the corpse in plain sight while the officer concentrates on the taillight, an oversight that makes this routine traffic stop far more disturbing than it first appears.

3 The Surprisingly Chewy Igloo

This strip shows two polar bears sitting around an igloo on a stretch of Arctic ice, with one biting through its rounded roof. The other sits beside the shelter as its companion appears to enjoy the snow structure, describing the experience as though he has discovered a particularly satisfying snack.

The reference to a soft, chewy middle suggests the bears have reached something living inside the shelter, not merely its frozen walls. Larson leaves the occupant unseen, allowing the cheerful review of their meal to carry an unsettling implication about the person who built the igloo for protection from predators.

2 The Bozone Layer

This panel shows a long arch of brightly dressed clowns stretching above Earth, forming what appears to be a protective band across the sky. By naming it the “bozone layer,” the caption reverses the familiar ozone-layer idea, suggesting that the rest of the solar system needs shielding from humanity and the harm it might cause elsewhere.

The clowns form a barrier high above Earth, but their purpose is not to protect people below from the sun. They stand guard on behalf of every other planet, implying that Earth’s inhabitants are the cosmic nuisance from which the solar system needs protection before the trouble travels any farther outward.

1 The Worst Exposure Therapy Session Ever

This comic depicts a man inside a metal enclosure hanging outside a tall building, with several snakes sharing the confined space around him. The accompanying caption identifies the situation as a part of Professor Gallagher’s experiment, which combines a confrontation with heights, snakes, and darkness in one treatment session for his hapless patient.

The patient is suspended high above the ground, unable to escape the reptiles or the darkness surrounding him inside the box. Larson’s joke targets the professor’s excessive approach, presenting him as a therapist whose enthusiasm for confronting phobias has overtaken any concern for the person enduring them throughout the session.