Gary Larson’s The Far Side is all about finding surreal humor in the mundane, everyday moments of life. It’s therefore no surprise that many of the strip’s funniest gags see characters fishing, only to encounter bizarre situations. From giant fish to the end of the world, Larson’s fishing comics combine the surreal and morbid in a perfectly Far Side way.
Larson’s love of nature is an iconic part of The Far Side, and in his world, the battle between fish and human has no clear winner. Indeed, Far Side‘s fishing comics are often its most morbid, with both humans and fish lucky to make it out alive (though at least they die in hilarious ways.)
Here, then, are the ten funniest Far Side comics about fishing – don’t forget to vote for your favorite in our end of article poll and decide the official readers’ number 1.
While Larson’s art style has always been minimalist, he’s never been afraid to stretch himself to depict various grotesques. In this case, the unfortunate looking Allen and his brother go fishing, putting their own twist on a classic piece of fishing advice. While most fishers are advised not to do anything that will scare their quarry, the characters aren’t so much worried about casting a shadow or disturbing the water, but rather at risk of terrifying the fish with their unfortunate faces.
Larson’s love of nature is woven throughout The Far Side, and his unique perspective often sees humans treated as just another animal. Here, a fisherman waits for a bite, only to be greeted by his colleague – a spider who is essentially pursuing the same goal. It’s not unusual for Larson to focus on bugs in The Far Side, and creepy-crawlies often star as the main characters in his jokes, whether raising their little grubs or being pinned to boards by lepidopterists.
Larson’s love of insects is so apparent that Far Side counts many prominent entomologists as fans. Indeed, Larson has had multiple insects named in his honor by scientist fans of The Far Side, including the louse strigiphilus garylarsoni and the butterfly serratoterga larsoni.
While The Far Side may be famous for its love of bugs, it’s iconic for its depiction of castaways, usually marooned on a tiny desert island with a single coconut tree. Larson used this imagery so often and so well that the ‘two people on a desert island’ scene is known as a “Far Side Island” by cartoonists. Here, the castaways at least have some hope of rescue, as they’ve finally floated into the path of some (hilariously oblivious) fishermen who are out for a friendly drink on the open water. Given that Larson’s other castaways have found themselves attacked by pirates, pursued by vultures and crushed by cruise ships, the guys in this particular comic should count themselves lucky.
One of the reasons fishing works so well for The Far Side is the comic’s love of morbid humor. Fishing is a relaxing hobby where the fisher is nonetheless trying to catch (and often kill) another living thing with a metal hook. From the fisher’s perspective, it’s a fun day out, while from the fish’s perspective, it’s a matter of life and death. That’s the exact kind of perspective shift that Larson thrives on, as this murderous comic shows.
Some Far Side comics ask a lot of their readers, depending on literary references or scientific knowledge for the punchline to really land. Others are far goofier, simply presenting the reader with a bizarre image for their enjoyment. In The Complete Far Side, Larson draws a major distinction between “wit” and “sense of humor.” The Far Side creator freely admits that he doesn’t see himself as working with the former, which relies on banter and recognizable characters. Instead, Larson claims The Far Side emerges from what’s instinctively funny, crediting his feel for this kind of humor as a product of “growing up in a family that had a deep, sincere appreciation for the many uses of a good gorilla mask. (It was kept on the shelf in the coat closet, for quick access.)”
While fans might argue with Larson that his skill with language is certainly witty, ‘what if a fisherman caught a cow’ is definitely a gut laugh rather than a thinker. Of course, it couldn’t just be any random animal – the cow has long been Far Side‘s defining obsession. Asked why he focuses on this specific animal so often by The New York Times, Larson once explained “I’ve always thought the word cow was funny, and cows are sort of tragic figures. Cows blur the line between tragedy and humor.” Those qualities shine through as the ‘majestic’ cow struggles on the line, with Larson giving his bovine character the perfect pose that makes it feel totally at home in the ocean.
Far Side aficionados will instantly recognize from the squat people in this comic that it’s from early in the comic’s run, and indeed it was first published in 1980 – the first year of The Far Side‘s syndication. The gag once again conflates humans and animals, as two aliens fish for humans with some less-than-perfect bait. Larson revisited this gag concept over a decade later in 1992, this time depicting some more successful aliens who are less than thrilled with their catch.
While both gags are good, we’re going to award this place on the list to the first, due to the focus put on the aliens doing such a bad job of catching their prey. Aliens fishing for humans is funny on its own, but it’s a uniquely Far Side twist to have them do such a bad job of it.
The Far Side‘s humans usually have to contend with different levels of failure, so it’s a fun change to see one deal with a level of success he never saw coming. Another early entry, this 1982 comic uses some masterful understatement, as Stuart’s over-optimistic fishing partner understands that there’s no way to get the giant fish aboard with only a fishing rod, while still entertaining the belief that a net might be the answer.
One of the aspects of Gary Larson’s style that other cartoonists often praise is his ability to fit multiple perspectives into a single image. Whether using foreground and background or finding ways to divide up the story while sticking to one panel (for example, including different floors of a building), Larson uses every visual trick possible to tell an entire ‘story’ in each comic. Here, readers see both above and below water, contrasting Stuart’s effort with the impossibility of his task. It’s the exact kind of gag that comics are best placed to tell over any other medium.
Larson’s love of wordplay is one of the key aspects that makes The Far Side so beloved even today, with the pace and cadence of his writing always finding the best form of the joke. Of course, sometimes the best form of a joke is a silly pun, as Fritz finds when “threatening clouds” suddenly means not dangerous weather, but fighting talk spelled out in giant cumulonimbus letters. It’s typical of Larson to add the extra wrinkle that Fritz doesn’t understand the risk he’s taking, as The Far Side yet again creates the opportunity to combine goofy puns with a sense of menace.
Describing The Far Side as morbid is something of an understatement, as there are many Larson comics where it’s strongly implied the characters won’t live to see tomorrow. Larson has attributed this to growing up during the Cold War and especially the Cuban Missile Crisis. In a 1987 interview on 20/20, Larson explained, “I remember sitting in my seventh-grade English class thinking that the world was going to end during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It made you look at the world a little bit askew.”
It’s therefore not surprising that many of Larson’s comics take place during the opening minutes of nuclear war, though always with a wry attitude to the impending end of the world as we know it. The fishermen in this comic see the growing mushroom clouds as an opportunity to ignore the usual rules of their hobby, yet again reflecting The Far Side‘s poorly-hidden instinct that humans are best understood as just another kind of animal. Having lived through the era of nuclear proliferation, it makes sense that Larson learned to treat the idea with gallows humour.
One of the rare Far Side comics with no words to enhance its joke, this comic exemplifies Larson’s ability to tell an entire story with a single image. In The Pre-History of The Far Side, Larson shares some of his techniques for developing ideas, sometimes writing out short stories or drawing different moments within the same joke. The concept of an unlucky fisher hooking onto a submarine and being dragged into the depths could form several different ‘moments,’ but it’s a real indicator of Larson’s instincts to know that the funniest image is one where the poor individual at the heart of the joke is no longer even present.
Larson’s love of finding the surreal joy in everyday activities means that fishing was always going to be a gold mine for The Far Side, with these great strips showing how rich the seam turned out to be – don’t forget to vote for your favorite Far Side fishing strip below in our reader poll.
Source: The New York Times
