Gary Larson’sThe Far Sideis known for its surreal sense of humor and sometimes morbid subject matter, so its take on Christmas is predictably off-kilter. Larson takes the iconography of the season - giving gifts, dressing the tree, and gathering with friends - and makes them as bizarre as possible.
Here are the 10 funniestFar Sidecomics about all things Christmas (except for Santa Claus, who we’re giving his own list.)Be sure to vote in our end-of-article pollfor the strip you think deserves to be the official #1.
10Seasonings Greetings
As out-there asFar Sidecan be, Gary Larson also has a clear love of puns and dad jokes, in this case punning on the phrase ‘season’s greetings.’ Like several of the comics on this list, the Seasonings Greetings joke was made into aFar SideChristmas card.Larson was smart about merchandisingThe Far Side, with calendars, mugs and t-shirts featuring his comics. Sadly for fans, he revealed in a 1987 interview with20/20that he’ddrawn the line atFar Sidedolls, not wanting his irreverent comic to become too overcommercialized and mainstream.
9Frankenstein Christmas
Far Side’s Unlikely Trio Celebrate the Holidays
Larson takes aim at gift-giving with the darkest present possible - a human brain ready to be implanted into Frankenstein’s monster. While the grossout gift is a funny gag, this comic is sweet for longtimeFar Sidefans,who know that Frankenstein, the Monster and Igor often appear in the comic as a bickering trio. It’s nice to know they can at least make peace long enough to have a nice Christmas.
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Things seldom work out for the characters of Gary Larson’s The Far Side, so it makes sense there are plenty of comics worthy of an “Uh-Oh!”
8Lone Pine
Far Side’s Take on the Christmas Tree
The image of a ‘lone pine’ has geographical and historical significance in multiple parts of the world - most famously, the titular tree that marks 1915’s Battle of Lone Pine. Of course, Larson can’t help but take the adjective as literally as possible, imagining a pine tree that’s starved of company. Thankfully, with this comic taking place in the Christmas season, pine trees couldn’t find themselves in more demand, leading to ‘Carl’ cutting a rug on the dance floor while bedecked in Christmas finery - a rareFar Sidecomic with a genuinely happy ending.
7I Wanna Surprise the Kids
Far Side Sets Up the Worst Christmas of All Time
In this comic that will send sufferers of entomophobia running for the hills, a father sneaks home with something he doesn’t want the kids to see. Even the caption suggests this is some kind of secret gift that is meant to make the kids' Christmas day more enjoyable. Sadly, that’s not the case at all, as the comic itself reveals that their dad has ahorrifyingsurprise in store that has nothing to do with gift-giving.Larson loves to mess around with popular phrases, putting them in new contexts that completely change their implied meaning.
However, one person who might not have minded this Christmas gift is Larson himself.The Far SideshowcasesLarson’s fascination with bugs and insects, anda fan even honored him by naming a species of louse in his honor - strigiphilus garylarsoni.
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Here are the 10 funniest Far Side comics that just celebrated their fortieth birthday, including Gary Larson’s take on the world’s most famous joke.
6The Fourth Wiseman
Far Side’s Take on the Nativity Scene
Larson gives readers his own version of the Nativity in this strip, revealing the existence of a fourth wise man whose gift didn’t pass the standards of the comic’s angelic bouncer. Larson published numerous comics playing with the ideology of the Nativity, but for our money this is the funniest.
The Far Sideis no stranger to Biblical themes, andoften stars God and the Devil, though Larson was always aware that he had to be careful with his depictions to avoid sternly-worded letters. Despite that,he admits inThe Prehistory of The Far Sidethat he felt like he was"bucking for a lightning bolt"with some of his material.
5Porcupine Christmas
Of Course Far Side’s Animals Get Christmas Presents
Larson zeroes in on the Christmas tradition of kids accidentally breaking their toys fresh out of the box, in this case making it as sure as it’s ever been. Larson’s love of the natural world is clear throughoutThe Far Side, and indeed the strip was originally titledNature’s Waybefore Larson’s editors insisted on a change.
4A Dog for Christmas
Far Side Puts the Worst Possible Spin on Man’s Best Friend
In this comic, one kid gets the fondest wish of many children on Christmas morning, as he gets his very own dog. Sadly, his parents are eccentric archeologists, and the dog in question is a 10,000-year-old mummy. Larson often used theidea of mummies inThe Far Side, playing with the themes of wrapped bandages, ancient sarcophagi and eldritch curses.
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The humans of Gary Larson’s The Far Side do everything in the weirdest way possible, and it turns out parenting is no exception.
3You Fool!
Far Side Edits a Classic Comic for Christmas
This isone of Larson’s funniest goldfish comics, of which there are more than a few. Gary Larson loves playing with the inside/outside space of fish bowls, and in this case highlights just how bad of an idea it is to plug in your Christmas tree while surrounded by water (while leaving readers to ask how and why the plug was installed in the first place.) Sadly, we’re disqualifying this comic from being #1, asit’s a Christmas card-reworking of a prior strip that didn’t have a festive theme.
That said, the Christmas tree definitely makes the gag funnier, as plugging in the electrical device takes on a traditional edge that forces the question of how the goldfish have never run into this problem before.
2Invite the Cows In
Far Side Edits a Second Classic Comic for Christmas
Inanother reworked comic, two farmers embrace the Season of Giving by inviting their cows in from the cold, only for their bovine guests to drink too much and make a fool of themselves.
As with the goldfish comic, the Christmas context definitely makes the gag funnier, fleshing out the backstory ofwhythe farmers decided to invite the cows inside, while also echoing the common experience of family members getting a little too tipsy around the holidays. However, to earn our #1 spot,The Far Sideneeds a strip with Christmas baked into its DNA.
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Published 12 years apart, these Far Side comics set up the idea that ducks are illegal in Gary Larson’s surreal world, then actually explained why!
1The X-500
Far Side Doesn’t Need Words for Its #1 Christmas Gag
In our #1 choice forFar Side’s funniest Christmas comic, a lucky kid receives a super-charged, cutting-edge rocking horse, only to be thrown directly through the wall by their new toy.The lack of a caption lets readers put the story together for themselves, and Larson smartly sets his gagafterthe action has played out, inviting the reader to work back from the ending. It’s no coincidence that some of the bestFar Sidecomics of all timeare those without captions, embodying the mischievous minimalism of Larson’s style.
Those are the 10 funniestFar Sidecomics that twist Christmas out of shape -be sure to vote below for your favorite, and to see which comic other readers have crowned their #1.
The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
