Summary
The Far Sideoften delivered an intimate look at the insect world, even ifGary Larson’s bug jokes often left readers incredulous. As often as ants swarmed across Larson’s panels, arachnids weaved webs that hopelessly ensnared audiences' attention. Spiders and spider-webs were a particular fascination for Larson, meaning they invariably manifested in his work in a variety of different ways.
With the many different non-human characters that populatedThe Far Side,Gary Larson did more than just substitute insects for humans – he used his understanding of the natural world to elaborate on his outlook on human nature.Spiders were no exception to this rule, though in a sense, their relation to humanity was the most tangled of Larson’s insects, at least in comparison to ants, or flies.
In other words,The Far Side’sspider punchlines were their own distinct strain of Gary Larson’s humor, which offers a unique perspective on his body of work as a whole.
Gary Larson’s Creative Process Explains Why The Far Side Comics Are So Weird
In “The Prehistory of The Far Side,” creator Gary Larson sought to once-and-for-all explain how he arrives at his jokes through his creative process.
10Broken Hearts Vs. Broken Webs: “The One Who Got Away”
First Published: August 03, 2025
In thisearlyFar Sidespider cartoon, two arachnids sit atop one of their webs –one section of which has been torn, the broken strands dangling in the breeze – as one consoles the other, saying: “everyone’s got a story about the one who got away.”
Of course, Gary Larson is doing what he did best here: transposing a familiar conversation two humans would have, after one’s romance ended badly, onto the insect world. For spiders, it becomes not a matter of lost love, but rather lost supper. By putting this stock wisdom in a nonhuman context, the artist invites readers to take an alien perspective on the general theme of things not going as one might have planned.
9The Rough Draft Of A Web: “That Can’t Be Right!”
First Published: July 01, 2025
In thisparticularly amusingFar Sidecomic, a spider sits on a leaf andobserves its freshly woven web – a chaotic, nonsymmetrical mess of uneven threads, some of them dangling loose, and poorly-executed linework. “Whoa,” the spider exclaims, in shock at its own work’s lack of coherence, adding “that can’t be right.”
While the image and the caption together are certainly funny, what elevates thisFar Sidespider panel is the way the joke doubles as an apt analogy for putting in legitimate hard work, only for the end result to come out so, so wrong. Whether someone has worked diligently to solve a math problem, or written a chapter of a novel, the idea of producing something, only to quickly realize it is haphazard and far from finished, is insightfully embodied in thisFar Sidecomic.
8Life On The Far Side Was Often Cruel: The Butterfly’s Tragedy
First Published: June 26, 2025
Here,Gary Larson wordlessly depicts a grim quirkof the cycle of life,as a newly metamorphosed caterpillar emerges from its cocoon to begin its life as a beautiful butterfly – only to promptly find itself stuck in an adjacent spider-web.
Conceptually, this is an example ofLarson’s ability to find humor in darkness; visually, the joke is accentuated by the look on the butterfly’s face. Rather than terror, the insect looks forlorn, as if simultaneously annoyed with itself for the gaffe of flying straight into the web, and sad at the thought that it will never get to truly fly free. While the spider is not the main focus here – and does not appear in frame – its ominous implied presence is vital to the comic, which represents the weighty concept of being caught in fate’s snare before having the opportunity to fully engage with the beauty of the wider world.
7Life Moved Fast On The Far Side: The Spider’s Lament
First Published: August 09, 2025
In a direct evolution of the earlier “one that got away” spider web joke, thisFar Sidepanel once more omits a caption in favor of letting them image do the heavy lifting ofgetting a reaction out of the reader. The entire panel is consumed by a spider-web –the center of which has been busted through by an evidently high-speed animal or object, as the spider peers through the freshly torn hole with a “sheesh, what was that” expression its face.
Again, the humor here hinges on the eyes of spider; thoughGary Larson didn’t indulge in fully anthropomorphizingspiders as often as he did other animals and insects, he tended to draw them with some semblance of humanity, to allow the reader a point of connection. In this case, rather than inhuman arachnid eyes, the spider here has human-like eyeballs, wide open in surprise.
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.
6The Far Side Was Full Of Dreamers & Schemers: “We’ll Eat Like Kings”
First Published: June 11, 2025
This hilariousFar Sidespider panel features two spiders plotting the biggest score of their lives, as theyhope to catch a human child by weaving a web at the bottom of a playground slide, with one of them noting: “If we pull this off, we’ll eat like kings.”
These spiders were certainly not the onlyFar Sideinsects to try to eat a child; in fact, it was endangered children that often resulted in themost critical responses toThe Far Sideduring its time in publication. That said, this is one of the more innocuous takes on this strain of joke, as no child actually appears in the cartoon – and even the most sensitive reader is likely to recognize that, whatever the spiders' intent, their plan is not going to go the way they want it to.
5The Far Side Was A Vibe: “Think I’ve Caught Somethin' Pretty Big”
First Published: June 17, 2025
Though subtext and deeper meaning can be extracted fromThe Far Side, Gary Larson warned readers that they should do so at their own risk. That is, meaning was alwaysincidental when it came toThe Far Side; Larson’s goal was always, first and foremost, to evoke a reaction in his audience.
In other words,The Far Sidewas all about giving off a specific vibe, rather than communicating a point. That is illustrated effectively here, ina cartoon featuring a spider talking on the telephone, who tells the person on the other end that they have to hang up because “somethin' pretty big” has hit their web.The collusion of the spider using a phone, the way Larson draws the rapid movement of the web shaking, and the arachnid’s response all work together to make the reader feel like they’veencountered something “confusing, obtuse, esoteric, and strange.”
4Time Was Rarely On Far Side Characters' Side: The Agony Of The Fly
First Published: July 15, 2025
Once again, in this panel, Gary Larson uses the absence of the spider to increase its menace, and overall, uses the “trapped in a web” motif to tell a joke about the torment of waiting for the inevitable. As so many of its forebearers have,an unlucky fly finds itself stuck in a spider-web – forced to look over in horrified anticipation at the sign tacked to the center of the web, which says “will return at 4PM.”
Elaborating on a familiar technique at this point, the success or failure of the joke is yet again pinned to the human eyes, and in this case, mouth of the fly. Beyond that, the abstract idea of the terror of waiting for something bad to happen is whatdrives thisFar Sidejoke– and makes it metaphorically potent, whether Gary Larson would admit it or not.
3The Far Side’s Most Vulnerable Arachnid: “And Suddenly A Foot Sticks”
First Published: July 13, 2025
In this very funnyFar Sidecomic,a spider unburdens itself of a recurring nightmare to a psychologist, revealing its deep, subconscious neurosis about getting stuck to its own web. As with themost successfulFar Sidepunchlines, the image and the caption each add something distinct to the humor of the panel.
The spider’s monologue, naturally, relies on the creature’s multiple appendages to build the joke up; it successively describes each of its limbs sticking to its web in turn. At the same time, the illustration should immediately amuse the reader, as it depicts the tiny spider patient as a small black dot on a large white couch – again using the mix of anthropomorphic and nonanthropomorphic qualities to the advantage of the gag.
This Recurring Far Side Joke Is the Perfect Metaphor For Gary Larson’s Humor
Though it didn’t appear with the frequency of the comic’s infamous dogs, ducks, cats, & chickens, one repeat gag perfectly sums up The Far Side.
2The Far Side’s Most Hardcore Arachnid: “Tough Spider”
First Published: July 25, 2025
Certainly, this is one of the most absurd arachnidFar Sidecomics, whichdepicts a spider with a “Mom” heart tattoo on its chest, leisurely smoking a cigarette as it kicks back at the center of a web made of chains.Captaining the image “tough spiders,” Gary Larson ingeniously renders the popular conception of a rough-and-tumble individual in spider-form.
While the anthropomorphic qualities of this panel’s spider are definitely funny – the tattoo, the cigarette, the sunglasses, the spider limbs propped behind its head in a “too cool” posture – it is the chain webbing that takes this joke to the next level, making it certifiably laugh-out-loud funny. Ultimately, it was that kind of extra detail work that oftendistinguished a goodFar Sidecomic from a great one.
1As Close To Crass As The Far Side Got: “Did I Scare You Or What?”
First Published: June 26, 2025
The Far Sidedidn’t often indulge in scatological humor, though in this panel, Gary Larson seems to have only made an exception because of the unique opportunity afforded by spiders. In the comic,a spider with a paper-bag mask on its head jumps out at its friend, with the caption reading, “hey Bob…did I scare you or what?” – as a spool of webbing is piled on the ground below, tracing back to its friend.
The joke here is clear– and particularly effective for what it is; moreover, it is agreat example of Gary Larson’s truly idiosyncratic abilityto make connections between the natural world and the human. Even if those connections resulted inFar Sidecartoons that were highly silly, or highly bizarre, or in this case, both.
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.
