The Far Side often featured jokes about getting old, and it is safe to say that few of the comic’s characters aged with grace. Over the course of his legendary run as a cartoonist, Gary Larson introduced the world toThe Far Side’snumerous grumpy old men, grumpy old women, grumpy old animals, and more.
More than just a bunch of jokes about old grouches, however, theseFar Sidecartoons offer insight into how Larson felt about aging. Despite all its strangeness,The Far Sidewas, in essence, a form of observational humor, and these panels prove that the artist was keenly aware of how people act differently as they start to get older.
Far Sidefans – especially those that have grown up with Gary Larson’s work – will find a lot to love in these classic cartoons about getting old.
10This Far Side Comic Highlights How Sometimes It Takes Decades To Realize Parental Advice Was On The Mark
First Published: June 30, 2025
“Mother was right,” an old woman in a rocking chair says bitterly to her husband, in his adjacent rocking chair,adding that “you’re nothing but an old goat” – which readers can see is literally true.This is an early, classic example of Gary Larson’s technique of depicting something overly literally, to the point of absurdity, which is at the heart of so manyFar Sidecartoons that have aged like fine wine.
Silly as this joke is, readers will recognize a hint of truth to it – another thing that marks the most memorableFar Sidepanels. In this case, the comic lampoons an unfortunately familiar scenario: the person who regrets marrying the person their parents told them not too, belatedly realizing their parents were right long after it is too late.
9The Far Side Asks: Is It Better To Forget Or Be Forgotten?
First Published: June 24, 2025
In thisFar Sidecartoon, an old woman walks away from the cashier at the store, two bags full of groceries in her arms –only to be called back because she left her husband sitting in the cart. On the surface, this is a simple punchline, a silly visual inversion – the old man sits in the top section of the cart, the way a small child might – paired with a sillier joke that treats the old man as though he’s no different than a piece of produce.
The Far Side’s “Cumulative Attack Of the Willies” Comic Reveals How Asking “What If?” Was Essential To Gary Larson’s Humor
Far Side’s “Cumulative Attack of the Willies” cartoon perfectly illustrates how asking “What if?” was foundational to Gary Larson’s writing process.
There is a deeper resonance to this comic, however, likely one that was entirely unintended by Gary Larson. Nevertheless, this joke actually evokes the heartbreaking reality that couples face as they grow old together: that, at some point, one of them might forget the other.
8The Far Side Version Of “The More Things Change”
First Published: Jul 17, 2025
ThisFar Sidecomic is borderline poignant in the way it evokes the passage of time, and the succession of generations, although any poignancy is undercut by its weirdness, as itfeatures a chameleon vendor, whom a man recognizes from “selling these things thirty years ago.”
Readers will identify with the sentiment here, the feeling of nostalgia that can come for parents as they introduce their kids to the same things they experienced in their youth. This near-universal premise is part of what makes thisa great Gary Larson cartoon; another vital part is the intrusion of the strange onto the familiar, which Larson achieves by making the man sell chameleons – a weird little touch that makes the joke a uniquelyFar Sidecreation.
7Successful Far Side Cartoons Were All About How Different Elements Bounced Off One Another
First Published: August 06, 2025
“Watch it Randy,” a kid in a bumper car says to his friend, as they engage in a high-speed chase with the old woman in hot pursuit,who the speaker in the caption shouts is “on your case!” Like all the bestFar Sidecomics, the caption and illustration adeptly work off one another to create a strange but memorable scene.
Anyone who has gotten into a hobby late in life will feel at least a twinge of connection to the old woman in this cartoon, while anyone who ever had an overbearing grandparent will relate to the kids. Again, the collision and collusion of the familiar and the out-of-place is a crucial dynamic here, which is effectively deployed, even if this isn’t the mostlaugh-out-loud of Gary Larson’s cartoons.
6The Far Side’s Carrion-Eaters Knew How To Play The Waiting Game
First Published: July 14, 2025
Vultures starred in as many memorableFar Sidecartoonsas old men did, and here, Gary Larson brings the two together, in a hilarious comic that featurestwo old guys sitting on a park bench, feeding pigeons, as a pair of vultures sit and “just sit and stare at them,” patiently waiting.The interplay between these two recurring elements is a natural one, and Larson delivers the perfect punchline here as a result.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
The crux of the joke here is the way the men don’t seem to realize what the buzzards are waiting for, instead marveling that “them big birds…never eat a thing.” If Barnaby, the non-speaking old man in the panel, knows that vultures eat meat – specifically, dead meat – he’s keeping that to himself for the time being.
5This Far Side Cartoon Uses Aging Arachnids To Catalog A Uniquely Human Experience
First Published: June 11, 2025
Captioned “at the Old Spiders' home,” thisFar Sidespider comicfeatures a trio of elderly arachnids sitting around asone reminisces “‘bout the time back in ‘54 when I was out on my web and a fly flew right down my throat?” – while one of his cohorts silently reflect that he has told this story nearly a thousand times.
This panel exemplifies the way Gary Larson used animal and insect characters – as well as the occasional fruit, vegetable, or inanimate object – as unexpected perspectives through which to highlight deeply human experiences, such as this one. There is nothing more human than thinking about glory days gone past, except perhaps being annoyed having to hear the same glory days stories over and over again.
First Published: July 28, 2025
In this memorableFar Sidepop culture reference,“the Lone Ranger, long since retired, makes an unpleasant discovery,” as he learns that “kemosabe” is not an indigenous word for “friend,” but rather, apparently, is an “Apache expression for a horse’s rear end.”
Again, Gary Larson channels a very real experience here, as many readers will relate to the moment in which they reflected on a cherished memory, only to have it soured by a retrospective realization. In this case, the Ranger’s bond with Tonto was not exactly what he thought it was – and if he hadn’t gotten overly nostalgic about the past, he wouldn’t have tarnished some of his best memories. In other words, when retreating to the past, one must always be careful what one goes looking for.
3The Far Side Pokes Fun At Long, Drawn-Out “Remember When…” Conversations
First Published: June 28, 2025
This comic riffs on the same premise as the earlier “Old Spiders’ Home” joke, except this timeit is the “Old Cartoonists’ Home,” and in this case, the residents are arguing over who drew the biggest nose, the way other old men might debate who caught the biggest fish.
With thisFar Sidejoke, Gary Larson lampoons the tendency for older individuals to sit around, idly disagreeing about things like who snagged the biggest bass back in the day. What is novel about his take on this premise is that he converts it into his own milieu, using it to also poke fun at his profession.Far Sidejokes tend to be more memorable when they can carry multiple meanings, and target multiple audiences, and this is an effective example of that.
2Gary Larson Takes Readers Inside The “Old Cartoonists' Home” – And It’s Not Pretty
First Published: July 09, 2025
In a “sequel” of sorts to the first “Old Cartoonists Home” panel, this time readers are privy to what is going on inside, which turns out to bethe residents drawing crude depictions of one another all over the walls, including one that is labeled “Bob can’t draw feet,“a reference to a perennial problem for many artists.
Why The Far Side’s “Dog With Gun” Comic (And Its “Sequel”) Illustrate Gary Larson’s Favorite “Animals Turning the Tables On Humans” Trope Better Than Any Other
“Dog With Gun” is one of the most recognizable Far Side cartoons, and in a way, it represents the pinnacle of a classic Gary Larson recurring joke.
Evidently, the idea of the “Old Cartoonists' Home” charmed Gary Larson, given that it resulted inmultipleFar Sidecomics– a feat that only a handful of concepts ever achieved. While Larson often played with the same set-up, or punchline, in a variety of different ways, usually the contexts were notably different. Here, the same setting is used a second time, for a totally different type of joke, a rarity forThe Far Side.
1These Young Far Side Pencils Don’t Realize They’re Going To Be Worn Down By Life Too
First Published: Aug 11, 2025
In this potently metaphoricalFar Side,a pair of brand-new pencils look down, literally, on their well-worn predecessor, saying “there’s an old-timer with one foot in the wastebasket”– seemingly not cognizant of the fact that they are looking at their own eventual futures.
Of course, what makes this anall-time greatFar Sidepanelis the fact that it is reminiscent of the way everyone treats older people, at some point or another in their own youth. Everyone fails to recognize that growing old is inevitable when they’re younger, and, as silly as it might seem, Gary Larson materializes that point incredibly astutely by using pencils as his characters. While it might not be the most uproarious joke, its relatability to people as they grow older is what makes this a legendaryFar Sidecartoon.
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.
