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Created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his novel, Tarzan of the Apes, Tarzan is one of the most famous fictional characters of all time. Born to wealthy parents, Tarzan was raised in the African Jungle by apes and came in contact with civilization when he fell in love with an American woman, Jane Porter. While Gary Larson purposely did not have recurring characters in his cartoons, Tarzan shows up more than a few times on The Far Side.
Along with Superman, Tarzan seems to be one of the few permanent residents of The Far Side. With many of Larson's cartoons switching the roles of humans and animals, a man who was raised in the jungle by animals fits perfectly into the strange and hilarious world that Gary Larson created. Finding a wealth of comedy in humans' place among nature, Tarzan was a perfect subject for Larson to use for some of his funniest cartoons dealing with the relationship between humans and animals.
Jane Meets the Parents
Meeting a partner's parents can be an awkward experience, especially when they are a different species. In this early cartoon featuring Tarzan, the jungle hero takes his new love, Jane, to meet his parents. However, before they go inside, he warns her that they are a little different and to just ignore them if they start looking for fleas in her hair.
Highlighting the awkwardness of meeting someone's parents for the first time, this Far Side cartoon is just as funny as it is relatable. For as long as people have existed, parents have been embarrassing their children, so it's no surprise that this would be no different for Tarzan, despite his parents being apes. This funny situation also highlights Larson's naturalist views on how humans are no different from other species, with Tarzan worried about how Jane will receive his parents, just like anyone would even if their parents were human.
Party At Tarzan's Hut
Despite the many differences being raised in the jungle brings, many of Larson's cartoons featuring Tarzan showcase how Tarzan is no different from people who live in civilization. In this cartoon, readers see how even the king of the jungle likes to let loose as he and Jane host a party at their house. As the guests leave, Tarzan waves goodbye as Jane angrily looks around at the mess in the house with banana peels lying all over the ground. As she looks at the state of their home, she tells Tarzan, "Well, that's the last of' em... but just look at this place!"
Another cartoon depicting Tarzan in a mundane but relatable situation, this panel from Larson offers a funny perspective on the life of Tarzan. While his guests may be gorillas, Tarzan having the boys over for a couple of bananas is a hilarious way to depict the famous character and the relationship between man and nature. The cartoon is also funny, not just because of the bananas scattered around, but also because the furniture has been knocked over as well, indicating that it was a pretty wild party, and probably why Jane is so upset.
Swinging on Vines Isn't As Easy As It Looks
Despite being raised in the jungle among animals, even Tarzan can't escape his human nature of stupidity. Using vines as his main method of transport, this cartoon shows what happens when the famous Tarzan lets his human side take over. As Tarzan swings from the vines, he finds his next ride to be a snake, which starts to eat him as he hangs in the air with his head in its mouth.
In the bizarre and sometimes frightening world of The Far Side, surprises are around every corner. Human stupidity is one of Larson's favorite themes to use in his cartoons, with this one showing that stupidity is universal despite one's environment. The panel is also a hilarious visual gag with Tarzan's hands and feet dangling in the air while his head is completely consumed by the snake, perfectly conveying how much he has just messed up.
Tarzan Loses His Keys
Tarzan swinging his way through the jungle on vines is one of the character's most iconic moves, but The Far Side shows that he's often not very good at it. In another cartoon showing Tarzan messing up his travels, readers see that the jungle adventurer still deals with everyday problems. As Tarzan is seen swinging through the jungle, the bottom of the panel shows that he has dropped his keys, wallet, and comb as he looks down and says, "Dang!".
A simple and straightforward visual gag, this mundane cartoon still manages to be hilarious. Continuing the theme from Larson's previous Tarzan comics, his life is not all that different despite living in the jungle. The cartoon is even funnier when taking time to think about why Tarzan would need keys and a wallet in the first place.
Jane Becomes Suspicious
Finding humor in the way in which Tarzan interacts with the world and other people, many of The Far Side cartoons with the jungle adventurer center around his relationship with Jane. As Tarzan comes home, he is met by Jane at the door with her hands firmly on her hips, saying, "Saaaay. ... I think I smell perfume! ... You haven't been over at the Leopard Woman's, have you?". As Tarzan faces his wife, readers can see that he has scratches all over his back, indicating that he was indeed with the Leopard Woman.
Despite the trouble that Tarzan is in, this cartoon is a funny look into his relationship with Jane. This panel also shows Larson's expert use of perspective to deliver his punchlines, as Jane is only concerned about the perfume, not being able to see the scratches from the reader's point of view. The joke also plays perfectly into the ridiculous nature of The Far Side, as the scratches indicate it is a real leopard that Tarzan is seeing, but one that also wears perfume.
Tarzan Misses His Ride
Everyone can relate to the experience of getting up late for work, a situation that is particularly annoying for Tarzan. Showing Tarzan getting ready for his day, he and Jane walk out of their house to see three apes swinging from a vine. As Tarzan looks down at them swinging, Jane looks at him angrily and says, "Well, you've overslept and missed your vine again".
Once again playing with the concept of Tarzan using vines to get around, this is another example of how Tarzan's life is more mundane than his books like to portray. Using Tarzan to highlight the funny and mundane parts of life, Larson's use of the character is a clever way of showing the humor of everyday life and how it relates to other lives around us. The joke is simple, but perfectly executed to deliver a cartoon that anyone can find humorous.
Tarzan Makes A Bad First Impression
With many of Larson's Tarzan cartoons centering around him and Jane, it only makes sense that readers would get to see how the two met on The Far Side. As Tarzan swings through the jungle to meet Jane, he practices how he is going to introduce himself, going through multiple different versions to make sure he gets it perfect. However, once finding Jane, all he can blurt out is: "Me Tarzan! You Jane!" and then covers his face in embarrassment.
A funny take on the couple's first meeting, Tarzan practicing what he is going to say, only to mess it up at the end, is a scene that most readers will be able to painfully laugh at. The cartoon also takes a comical twist on the Tarzan source material, as he does understand English but can't speak it due to never hearing it until he learns from Paul D'Arnot. The joke is made even better by the added detail of Jane's reaction, as she is smiling when he first arrives, but changes to a blank expression when Tarzan fumbles his line.
Learning The Ways Of The Jungle
In another cartoon making fun of Tarzan's main mode of transportation, this cartoon shows just how bad he really is at it. The panel shows Tarzan swinging on a vine as he is usually depicted, but upon further inspection, readers see he is actually sitting on a swing that is attached to the vine. As Tarzan swings, he looks concerned as he looks to the ape behind him and says, "Stop the swing! I'm getting sick! Stop the swing! Oongowa! Oongowa!".
Not only is Tarzan not good at swinging on the vines, but it actually makes him sick. The idea that Tarzan would get motion sickness is not only funny for its silliness, but also in the fact that he has no other choice if he wants to get anywhere, meaning that he is just always in a state of nausea. The cartoon is even funnier with the addition of Tarzan having his legs crossed like a little kid, showing how he is desperately trying to hang on and is also afraid, while also being sick.
A Party Gets Awkward
While commonly associated with apes, Tarzan is a friend and protector to all the animals in the jungle. In this cartoon, readers see Tarzan hosting another party alongside Jane, with their guests consisting of Tarzan's usual group of friends, including the apes, Tantor the Elephant and Cheetah the Monkey. However, the party comes to an abrupt stop when Tantor realizes that Tarzan has a piano with an ivory keyboard and makes a scene.
Calling back to his earlier Tarzan cartoon of him hosting a party, this continuation of the gag is even better than the first. Much of the comedy of this scene comes from the reactions of both Tantor and the guest, as they all awkwardly look at the elephant as he points in horror at the piano, and Tarzan is frozen with a blank stare, knowing that he has messed up. The cartoon also plays into some of the darker aspects of Larson's humor, as Tarzan is meant to protect the animals, but didn't think to not have a piano with ivory keys. This also plays into the Far Side theme of human ignorance, as despite living among the animals, Tarzan is still human and displays the same type of ignorance as most humans when it comes to the welfare of animals.
An Old Tarzan Meets an Old Friend
Most of The Far Side cartoons featuring Tarzan offer readers simple and easy-to-understand visual punchlines, but this cartoon shows the cartoonist using some of his best techniques that made The Far Side's comedy so unique. Depicting an old Tarzan who has long since left the jungle and rejoined civilization, he comes across his old monkey sidekick, Cheetah, who is working as a street performer. As the two recognize each other, they both stare at each other with the caption reading, "Their reunion was both brief and awkward, each still bearing the wounds from that ugly 'Jane incident.'"
Showing the dark reality of what happened to the once great adventurers, this panel showcases Larson's expert use of dark humor and ambiguity to craft a multi-layered punch line. While readers don't know what the Jane incident is referring to, the cartoon shows that they have both left the jungle and re-entered civilization, and have lost their freedom, with Cheetah even being physically tied to the street performer. This indicates that meeting Jane is what most likely caused them to leave the jungle, which ruined their lives, and why they still carry the wounds. With the incident being entirely up to the reader, the cartoon can also be interpreted in a darker sense in that Cheetah did something to Jane, such as attacking her, and Tarzan sold him to the circus, which is why the reunion was so awkward.
