10 best The Far Side comics about myths and legends

Gary Larson’s The Far Side explores many different themes and genres. At its core, Larson’s series is rooted in the comedy of it all. Larson is funny because he did not have qualms about the content he put out in his syndicated daily comic strips.

One of the many themes he explored was myths and legends. Larson always found a way to put a proper spin on the classic tales we were told as kids, either adding a gory twist or an adult-themed joke that was hidden under layers.

The beauty of Larson’s comics lies in “getting it.” His humor is unfiltered and quick, so quick that many blink and miss it. When it comes to myths and legends, however, readers enter Larson’s strips with foreshadowing — a piece of information that they are already aware of (the legend or myth) tinged by Larson’s pen into something Far Side-ish. Exploring some of Larson’s jabs at (rather ridiculous) conspiracies, legends, and myths adds up to a series of hilarious single-panel jokes that require almost no explanation. Being Larson, however, some analysis is required. The Far Side is layer after layer of jokes, all wrapped into single panels.

Getting Home From Vacation Can Be Rough

Always a Hassle, Figuring Out Where One Left Their Island

In interviews, Larson was always vocal about the intricate details that make his single panels so funny. He credits it to comedy, and comedy relies on timing. Larson operates his comic strips by placing his characters in medias res, or moments before the pin actually drops. Roy and Barbara arrive home from vacation in this strip, as it's plain by the text alone. However, the eye immediately catches the grand vastness of the panel at the top. It already tells a story. With no view of a city or life in the distance, readers can deduce that Roy and Barbara have walked a long way to get to Atlantis, adding to the comedy of the situation.

Then, Roy and Barbara have bags and vacation-ware on — they were placidly coming from their break by keeping their souvenir clothes on. Then, Roy and Barbara are standing looking at the shore of a barren island with a walkway. The water has bubbles, meaning that Roy and Barbara got there just as Atlantis went underwater. It all adds up to a ridiculous situation, which culminates by revealing that Atlantis is where the couple were from. It is not impossible, but rather something quite possible and realistic. It’s just Larson’s type of humor, but it takes the last spot on the list because of its simple and abrupt ending. There isn’t a lot to see, and the joke ends quickly.

The Nose Fairy Finally Visits

It’s an Important Milestone

Sitting at the table, a mother and father start their days. The father reads the newspaper, and the mother has rollers in her hair. Divided by a wall, the clear divisor between the parents and their child is subtle. The child runs down and has no nose. Already, the joke is easier to get here. It’s plain and simple, and Larson does not wait around for the ending. Instead of teeth, noses fall off, so obviously, there is a nose fairy.

In Larson’s comics, the punchline is almost always in the captions. Readers see a child but don’t immediately notice that he is noseless. It looks like a plain and simple scene at first glance. A family is starting their day, and many Far Side comics explore this. They capture a reader into a false sense of security by creating a scene they believe to understand, and then, as they read the caption, something more is revealed to them. It’s a masterful and hilarious way to get a chuckle out of someone, and for a cartoonist who had to come up with these types of jokes daily for ten years, one can’t help but appreciate the mastery at work in even the simplest of single panels.

Robin Hood Was Misunderstood

Or, Rather, He Misunderstood

Framed like a history book illustration, this comic works off the famous legend of Robin Hood. He is immediately recognizable and difficult to miss. Framed by trees on either side, Larson makes the reader’s eye veer toward Robin first rather than the porcupines. As readers go to the caption, they quickly realize what is happening in the scene, the comic reveals itself in beats despite it being a single panel.

Robin Hood is, in fact, stealing from the rich, but as the historical note declares, for a time, Robin Hood did not give back to the “poor” but to the “porcupines.” It is a hilarious scene because of how ridiculous it is. Why would Robin Hood be confused in the first place? What made him think the porcupines needed the money? What “further clarified” his destiny? The illustrated scene of Robin Hood heroically kneeling to the porcupines with his sack of coins is hilarious because of its absurdity. Like the readers, the porcupines do not understand what Robin Hood is doing, and it’s perfect.

King Arthur Addresses Serious Matters

Round Table Meetings Are No Joke

At a serious and important meeting opening for the Knights of the Round Table, King Arthur addresses the knights on a pressing matter he wants to address. Larson masterfully sets the scene so readers do not see the moment King Arthur tells them off for the gum under the table but the moment right after he breaches the subject, as he has already started to talk about it.

The kind of timing Larson shows here is when readers can see why his comics were almost always funny. He has a system for the delivery of his jokes. Yes, breaking down a joke takes away from its comedy, but in cases like The Far Side, such an exact formula must be analyzed for its ingenuity and uniqueness. It takes a specific type of writer and humorist to nail down the science behind being consistently funny. The scene, of course, is elevated by the visuals of every knight very seriously positioned at the meeting, discussing gum they’ve been chewing and pasting on the underside of the fabled round table like a serious business conversation.

In This Case, The Chicken Came First

And Birds Definitely Can’t Read

Immediately, many things are apparent in this comic. The fountain of youth is a tiny stream more than a gushing jet. The unsuspecting tiny stream of water in the massive bowl is already a perfect and funny visual to center on. Then, the eyes stray to the bird, about to land on the fountain and perhaps take a sip. Readers then wonder what will happen when it does and why Larson picked this moment to focus on. The caption is not immediately apparent if readers don’t pay close attention.

The reveal is the three small eggs on the grass by the fountain of youth. It ties up the scene. The fountain of youth is in an uncharacteristic plain grass field, right beside one lone tree, and sometimes, birds come down to innocently take a sip of water before they are reversed from their grown forms back to eggs. It is as creative as it is hilarious. Larson does not usually write such dry and short captions, but it is with good reason when he does. Any more text would over-explain the joke. In single-panel comics like these, less is more, and Larson’s The Far Side often follows such a motto.

Happens To The Best Of Us

Dale Is Not Having A Good Day

An unlikely trio with Big Foot at the center — Larson begins this hilarious comic by surrounding the mythical creatures (and Jackie Onassis) with trees. Larson was a vocal naturalist who loved and respected nature and animals. His comics often reflect as much. Many strips are set in the woods or near natural places for this reason, and in this panel, the two creatures and person pose for a picture in what looks like a forest. However, this will be a picture Dale will not be able to take. The caption sets a scene, much like scenes are set in scripts.

When thinking of myths, the first ones that come to mind are the Loch Ness monster or Bigfoot. However, it’s fair to say Jackie Onassis may not be a third legend one thinks of with the other two. Of course, it’s important to note the context of the time for this strip (1987). Though The Far Side does not often refer to current events, the strip includes Onassis in this case because of her rather quick disappearance from the public eye. Following her life as First Lady, Onassis had no interest in the limelight, and what Larson communicates by placing her beside two myths is the elusiveness of a First Lady who used to be a beloved and lauded figure in America. This strip takes the middle spot for its iconic and unlikely trio but also all its moving parts and many facets.

The Big Bad Wolf Discovers Something About Himself

And All He Wanted Was a Quick Bite

The Big Bad Wolf attends a psychiatry appointment in this heartwarming and hilarious strip. The comic is masterfully set up. The subtle glimpse of the doctor’s office lets readers know exactly what kind of doctor the wolf is talking to and why he might be there. Of course, in classic Larson fashion, the caption of the strip reveals a new layer the visuals cannot.

Put in a different context, the tale of Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf sounds hilarious. A wolf who cross-dresses to trick a little girl and eat her is the object of nightmares, but once again, Larson points at this story for what it is — plain absurd. By placing an unlikely fairy tale character in a very human setting, this strip can’t help but get a laugh out of readers and become iconic in the process.

This Legend Got Caught By Paparazzi

Yes, It Looks Very Real

The unstoppable obsession humans continue to display with myths and legends like the Loch Ness monster is a phenomenon worth studying. Since 565 AD, the legend of a water monster residing in the Scottish Loch Ness has survived generations. However, as a big paleontology fan, Larson pokes fun at the unsubstantiated photograph of the legend from 1934 by illustrating a small child-like drawing of a dinosaur riding a cab.

Larson was a writer who based his comics on absurdity, and poking fun at the revered picture of the cryptid makes for a hilarious display of mockery. The 1934 picture has been proven to be a hoax, and it was most likely a tree log floating far from the shore and confusing the average person because of its shape. However, Larson does not only make fun of the picture itself but of the people who continue to believe in it despite its studies defining it as a fake. It is both funny and humbling — classic emotions for The Far Side fans.

The Witch Babysitter Wasn’t Very Good

This One Gets Dark Quickly

A witch isn’t perhaps the first option a parent would consider when hiring a babysitter for their child. Yet, in this strip, Larson shows parents who were somehow willing to give the witch a try. Obviously, it didn’t end well as she cooked them.

At a rare lecture at UCLA, Larson breaks down this comic himself. He explains how the humor in this strip focuses on the word “both.” He explains that using this word implies that the parents would be okay if one of the children had been cooked, but instead, she cooked them both. It is a strip elevated once more by its visuals of the witch looking slightly guilty as the parents loom taller over her, telling her off like a child rather than a grown woman. The summation of its moving parts makes for a strip worth mentioning.

Thor Has A Toolkit

He Got His Hammer From The Hardware Store

The mythological tale of Thor’s famous hammer dates all the way back to 1000 AD. The Norse believed Thor’s hammer, Mjölnir, had been forged in the heart of a dying star by the dwarves Sindri and Brokkr. The legend and its retelling survived 300,000 years, being passed down from generation to generation, all until it reached Larson.

In this strip, the Norse god Thor is shown in a very human-looking shop, arms crossed in a very intimidating way. On his wall, a calendar with a model posing for April is pinned with a thumbtack. On his table, the tools on display are simple, hardware-store tools. No legendary Mjölnir or any other god-like objects are in the frame. The most mythological aspect of the strip is perhaps Thor’s winged hat. For its perfect and quick delivery, as well as for its impeccable visuals, this strip takes the number one spot. It is Larson’s essence, and it is him at his simplest, illustrated in an entertaining and hilarious way.