There are few parts of the body that Gary Larson’sFar Sidedoesn’t put its bizarre spin on, so it’s not exactly surprising that the human brain appears so often in the beloved comic. From its wrinkled appearance to its connection to intelligence, gray matter offers Larson a lot of material to work with, tying into some of his favorite themes and recurring characters.
Here are the 10 funniestFar Sidecomics that are about brains - from scientists too smart for their own good to reptile-brained dinosaurs to professional grave robbers.Be sure to vote in our end-of-article poll for your #1, and to see which strip other readers chose as the best of the best.
10A Bigger Brain
In the World of The Far Side, Brains Are Like Car Parts
It’s pretty typical ofTheFar Sidethat something as integral to human existence as a brain would be treated like a car part - something that can be quickly swapped in an emergency. That’s the case in this comic, where a struggling student has smuggled a bigger brain into a test, hoping it will give him the answers his regular brain isn’t capable of. How exactly Allen plans tousethis bigger brain isn’t explained, but in Gary Larson’s world it certainly seems possible.Open the image gallery below to enjoy moreFar Sidecomics set in schools.
School is an obvious setting for Larson’s sense of humor - the more mundane the setting, the more hilarious when a typicallyFar Sidesituation erupts. School days in the world ofFar Sideare as likely to be interrupted by a killer robot as someone pulling out a loose human brain. Larson’s view of school is likely tied to his ownexperiences growing up during the Cold War, as any regular school day came with the threat of nuclear armageddon hanging over the student body. Talking to20/20in 1987, Larson said:
I remember sitting in my seventh-grade English class thinking that the world was going to end during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It made you look at the world a little bit askew.
10 Funniest Far Side Comics Starring Gnomes, Elves and Fairies
The world of Gary Larson’s Far Side is full of bizarre creatures, so it’s no surprise that elves, fairies, leprechauns and gnomes feature heavily.
9A Simple Little Brain
Igor Is One of Far Side’s Recurring Stars
The Far Sidenever turns down the opportunity for wordplay, and in this case transposing ‘train’ for the similar-sounding ‘brain’ leads to a major mistake on behalf of Igor - the grave-robbing assistant of Dr. Frankenstein. Of course, it wouldn’t beFar Sideunless Larson pushed the gag as far as possible, and the humor isn’t just that Igor apparently misheard his master, but that he achieved the seemingly impossible task of dragging an entire train right to the scientist’s door in response.
Igor, Frankenstein andFrankenstein’s monster appear throughoutThe Far Side, with a lot of gags focusing on Igor’s attempts to bring back a brain for the patchwork monster.Open the image gallery below for moreFar Sidecomics starring Igor.
While Igor is prone to mishaps, Larson’s comics seem to have a soft spot for the character, generally treating him as an eager-to-please good guy next to Doc Frankenstein’s bullying boss. Larson even flashes back to Igor’s school days, confirming he was a popular guy before he got into grave robbing.
8About the Size of a Walnut
Far Side’s Dinosaurs Struggle with Their Inevitable Extinction
Gary Larson is a huge fan of dinosaurs, and he knows more than the average person about their biology. Indeed, Larson came up with theword for the spikes on a stegosaurus' tail, adopted by paleontologists who a) loved Larson’s work and b) didn’t already have an official term for the iconic dinosaur appendage. It’s therefore no surprise that Larson picked up on the popular knowledge that dinosaurs had remarkably small brains (a varyingly true ‘fact,’ based on the species.) In his typical mix of goofy and morbid humor, the dinosaurs ofFar Sideare well aware they’re not the smartest, despite the need to think their way out of extinction.
Extinction is amajor theme withFar Side’s dinosaurs, and Larson often depicts them as inherently doomed and struggling to come to terms with it.Open the image gallery below for moreFar Sidecomics starring dinosaurs.
Far Sidenever lets its dark side overtake its sense of humor, but it comes closest to the line when dealing with dinos. While some ofFar Side’s animal characters may benefit from having human-like intellect, Larson’s dinosaurs arejustsmart enough to realize they’re in trouble.
8 Funny Far Side Comics That Every Superhero Fan Needs to See
These Far Side comics are even funnier for any fan of Gary Larson who also loves superheroes, including Superman, Wolverine and Iron Man.
7The Brains of This Outfit
Far Side’s Detective Is an Underrated Recurring Character
Along the same lines as the ‘brains as car parts’ logic,Far Sidehas alotof jokes where smart characters literally have giant heads. That’s given an ironic twist in the comic above, where the cops inquire which criminal is the brains of the operation, despite their physical dimensions answering that question before it’s even asked. The speaker in this strip is perhapsFar Side’s ultimate straight man -the recurring police detective.Open the image gallery below for moreFar Sidecomics starring the detective.
Wearing a fedora and a brown trench coat,Far Side’s noir-ish detective rarely gets the funny lines, more often acting as the normal character contrasted against truly bizarre crime scenes, from a room full of dead cats to a dead lepidopterist to an entire city destroyed by a mysterious monster.
6His Cerebral Cortex
Far Side’s Scientists Can’t Catch a Break
Funny scientists areFar Side’s bread and butter, withLarson acknowledging it’s his go-to subjectwhen everything else fails. Usually,Far Side’s scientists are busy doing everythingexceptthinking, most often pranking each other or goofing off, as in the image gallery below. However, in this case fans seewhythey might need to blow off some steam, as thinking too hard can apparently pop your head like a balloon.
AnotherFar Sidecomic at least suggests there’s something scientists can do to stop their cerebral cortex imploding, with a group of researchers shown doing literal"brain aerobics"before getting to work.
10 Funniest Far Side Comics About Camouflage & Disguises
Gary Larson’s humor is never what it seems, so it makes sense that The Far Side is full of disguises and camouflage designed to fool the naked eye.
5Frank’s Neurosurgery
Try Not to Get Sick in Gary Larson’s World
As with his silly scientists, Larson loves the theme of the most complex, potentially dangerous tasks being done on the cheap. In the real world, neurosurgery is the province of the world’s most immensely talented surgeons, who have spent their entire lives training to operate on the brain. Meanwhile, in the world ofThe Far Side, outfits like Frank’s Neurosurgery are willing to take walk-ins off the street, no questions asked. Emphasizing how discount Frank’s services are, Larson includes a sign advertising ‘The Works’ for $200 - a surgery that doesn’t require its patients to waste time sharing their individual symptoms or condition.
4How to Draw Cartoons
The World of Far Side Finally Makes Sense!
In a fun visual gag,Gary Larson tells fans how to draw cartoons. Far from simply drawing people in funny situations, Larson explains that they have to be drawn from the skeleton up, including adding a small brain so that"your cartoon character will always get into zany situations.“It’s a fun premise that Larson is simply creating his characters on the biological level and then setting them loose to get into comical misadventures.Indeed, this seems to be howFar Side’s God treats his creations.
10 Funniest Far Side Comics That Prove Gary Larson Is Obsessed with Wolves
Gary Larson’s Far Side is obsessed with showing the dark (but often still goofy) side of nature, so it’s no surprise that wolves feature so heavily.
3Only Temporary
Larson’s ‘Car Part’ Logic Returns
Larson doubles down on his treatment of the human brain as a spare part that it’s important not to put too much stress on, as a patient who apparently just received a full brain transplant is warned not to think too much, lest the surgeons' hard work end up being wasted. In this context,it’s becoming clearer and clearer why the humans ofThe Far Sidemake so many terrible decisions- thinking too hard about their actions can literally go against doctor’s orders.
2Your Horse’s Brain
In The Far Side, Horses Are Humanity’s Long-Suffering Sidekick
Sometimes,The Far Sidederives its humor from pure excess. In this case, a troublesome cowboy’s jailbreak is foiled because the sheriff saw fit to sabotage his ride. However, rather than moving the horse somewhere else or simply laying in wait, the sheriffliterally removed the horse’s brain(apparently while leaving it alive.) This is about typical forFar Side’s unlucky horses, who tend to find themselves being treated more as troublesome vehicles than living creatures.Open the image gallery below for moreFar Sidecomics about horses.
InThe Prehistory of The Far Side, Larson makes it clear that suggestingany kind of cruelty to animalswas usually a one-way ticket to hate mail, despite his commitment to conservationism and animal rights. Despite this, Larson never pulled his punches, often with the message that humans reallydodo terrible things to the animal world.
10 Funniest Far Side Comics Starring Giant Monsters
Here are the 10 best Far Side comics starring gigantic monsters - from big names like King Kong, Godzilla and Mothra to giant animals and humans.
1That Was a Good One
Maybe Frank’s Neurosurgery Isn’t So Bad…
The discount Frank’s Neurosurgery might have looked unacceptable earlier on this list, but it may actually be the better option now we know what real surgical teams get up to in the world ofThe Far Side. In this strip, Larson imagines surgeons messing with their patient just for the fun of it. In a grisly twist, this situation isn’t totally fictional - indeed, early neurologists would perform tests close to this kind of manual stimulation to make sure they weren’t damaging important parts of the brain. It’s a useful reminder that no matter how bleakThe Far Sidegets, real life is almost always freakier.
Those are the 10 funniestFar Sidecomics about brains -remember to vote below for your favorite Gary Larson comic about gray matter.
