The Far Side featured a number of characters who proved to be a threat to themselves, and others, when they got behind the wheel of a car; collected here are some of the worst drivers that creator Gary Larson ever managed to make funny, proving he could turn even the most stressful scenario into comedic gold.
In general, cars play an underappreciated role in The Far Side. Automobiles, as a motif, allowed Larson to easily communicate movement and action. As might be expected, these jokes most often derived their humor by evoking a “my God” reaction from the reader, in this case short for “my God, that person [or bear, or duck] should not be allowed to drive.”
Notably, Gary Larson illustrated his share of jokes about car crashes, but accidents happen to even the best drivers; presented here are the Far Side drivers who are scary because they are still on the road.
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The Far Side Reminds Readers That Being A Good Driver Means Sharing The Road
First Published: September 1, 1992
The Far Side took every opportunity it could to undermine the fearsome reputation of Vikings, and that is certainly the case here, as Gary Larson transposes their history to a contemporary setting, remixing a Viking longboat as a “longcar,” the body of which is depicted as ludicrously extended, and commenting in the caption that it “was once the scourge of European roadways.”
Like most of The Far Side’s Viking jokes, this panel is silly, first and foremost, but it does speak to something legitimate about being a safe, conscientious driver, which is that one must share the road, something that the “Viking longcar” shows a clear disregard for. Maneuvering that thing, or worse, maneuvering around it, would certainly be a nightmare, and a safety hazard, earning this Viking his reputation as one of The Far Side’s worse drivers.
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These Far Side Commuters Should Be Charged With DUDs: Driving While Deceased
First Published: July 31, 1992
This Far Side cartoon is all about a pun, the kind, to be honest, where its lameness is meant to be part of its charm. Captioned “zoombies: the driving dead,” the panel features exactly that, a trio of wild-eyed undead driving their cars down a city street at presumably high speed.
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This might not strike the majority of Far Side readers as one of Gary Larson’s certified classics, and it is likely good for more of a chuckle than a chortle, or a guffaw; yet it merits inclusion here for its premise alone, which suggests that even if these zombies are slow and shambling on foot, get them behind the wheel, and they are total speed-demons, careening around town with presumably little-to-nil regard for the lives of any pedestrians that might get in their way.
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A Human Driver’s Trauma Is A Wolf Driver’s Sport, According To This Far Side Gag
First Published: January 27, 1986
This Far Side comic foregoes a caption, in order to make the reader look closely at the details of the illustration and connect the dots of the punchline themselves, a common Larsonian comedic technique. In the panel, a pack of wolves crammed into a car with a smashed-in front end drive past a “Deer Xing” sign, suggesting that they have found an innovative new way to take down their prey.
For drivers in rural areas, especially during certain months of the year, and particularly at night, it is vital to remain vigilant look-out for deer in the road. Hitting one can be one of the most stressful, and at times dangerous, things that can happen to any driver. Here, though, Gary Larson finds the one group of characters who would, naturally, go out and enthusiastically try to smash into deer for sport.
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The Far Side’s Cruelest Canines Should Not Be Allowed To Operate A Car
First Published: December 21, 1985
This is an earlier iteration of the same joke from the previous entry, one which is actually darker than its follow-up. To the credit of Larson’s car-driving wolves, they are at least hunting other wild animals; in this Far Side cartoon, a trio of dogs drive around town hitting neighborhood cats for fun, to the extent that they’ve even developed a point system.
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This is straight-up murder between domesticated animals, ranking these canines among The Far Side’s most malicious drivers, not just dangerous. The composition of this cartoon leaves readers in a state of anticipation, forcing them to use their own imaginations to fill in what comes next, presumably “Rusty” putting his paw down on the gas peddle and ramming forward to hit the orange tabby before it crosses the road.
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A Reminder That Distracted Drivers Are The Most Dangerous Drivers, Far Side Style
First Published: March 6, 1985
In this classic Far Side vampire cartoon, a vamp driving down the city street cranes his neck to gawk at a woman with an absurdly long neck of her own, causing him to rear-end a car waiting at a stop sign…and even then, the bloodsucker can’t even take his eyes off the woman.
Though The Far Side rarely had an overt “message,” there are certain cartoons that feel like disguised public service announcements being subtly delivered by artist Gary Larson; there is an argument that can be made that underneath this thoroughly ridiculous punchline, Larson was making a comment on the perils of distracted driving. He simply found the most over-the-top way to express it, which was an essential part of The Far Side’s style.
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These Far Side Characters Ignore The Warning Signs And Pay For It
First Published: December 23, 1983
Part of The Far Side’s tragicomic style involved frequently springing abrupt, ignominious deaths, or at least near-death disasters, on its characters, which they usually never saw coming. Notably, these Far Side characters were given a literal warning sign, telling them to look out for elephants in the road, and they still somehow managed to run into one at high speed, which Gary Larson captures in one of his iconic “moment before” panels.
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Once again eschewing a caption, this comic’s impact relies on the fact that the reader’s attention is drawn to the looks of surprise and shock on the characters’ faces, before the “Elephant Xing” sign in the background clarifies what is happening. Further, the humor here is tied to what makes these characters bad drivers: the absurdity of not paying attention to the road to the extent that one could ram full-speed into an elephant.
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The Far Side’s Most Dangerous Car Meets Its Worst Driver
First Published: February 26, 1983
This particularly absurd Far Side cartoon takes a shot at a classic 1980s target, used car dealers, but the real focus of the punchline is on the customer here. In the panel, the dealer pressures a man into buying a car made of wood, with the caption informing readers that “Andrew is hesitant, remembering his fiasco with the car of straw.”
In a way, this is perhaps The Far Side’s weirdest riff on a nursery rhyme, with its parallels to the “Three Little Pigs,” making the salesman the equivalent of the “wolf” and the customer the “sheep.” On the surface, though, it is about a man who presumably wrecked his last ride, and is now about to make a similar mistake by buying another highly flammable vehicle.
3
The Far Side’s Version Of Tarzan Should Be Cited For Operating An Elephant Herd Within City Limits
First Published: February 23, 1983
Though the “vehicle” is not a car here, and not a “vehicle” at all, but rather a herd of elephants, a list of The Far Side’s worst drivers wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Gary Larson’s goofy interpretation of Tarzan. In this classic comic, captioned “Brian has a rendezvous with destiny,” a man rollerblading down the sidewalk is about to intersect with an elephant stampede coming in the opposite direction, with Tarzan at the helm.
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This is one of just several instances in which Tarzan was shown at the “wheel” of an elephant, or where Tarzan’s elephant was equated with his car. Here, Larson inserts them into a city setting, and the results are tragic for “Brian,” but laugh-out-loud funny and unforgettable for Far Side fans.
2
The Far Side’s Bumper Car Granny Is Out For Blood
First Published: April 8, 1981
Here, the cars being driven are of the bumper variety, but there is a gleefully wicked look on this Far Side grandma’s face as she gets a child, “Randy,” in her sights and prepares to ram her car into his, which raises the question of what she might be like behind the wheel of an actual car.
Gary Larson often used car accidents and bad drivers to raise the stakes of a Far Side comic, so that he could then proceed to undermine the seriousness for comedic effect; this comic, in contrast, uses deliberately low stakes while using the look of alarm on the face of “Randy” to add a child-like sense of gravity to the situation. This makes it one of The Far Side’s more whimsical cartoons, which were integral to balancing out Larson’s tendency toward dark humor.
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The Far Side’s Most Dangerous Driver Is Proud Of That Title
First Published: January 26, 1981
This Far Side cartoon once more lacks a caption, but in this case, Gary Larson “cheats” a little bit, by having his punchline encapsulated by a bumper sticker on the back of a car, which says “I Don’t Break,” informing readers, and other drivers, that the car’s owner won’t slow down for anyone, and probably doesn’t care very much who he hits, or runs off the road. The starkness of the drawing, and the lack of additional context, serve to lend focus to the bumper sticker, and give the car in the illustration an ominous air.
Offering a dark alternative to the “I Break For ______” bumper stickers that became popular in the preceding decade, this early Far Side cartoon emphasized Larson’s “edgy” style of humor, which became his calling card as the 1980s progressed, and The Far Side grew from a small, regionally-published comic strip into a nationally syndicated sensation.
- Writer
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Gary Larson
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Gary Larson
Summary
Written and drawn by Gary Larson, The Far Side is a comic strip series that ran from December 1979 to January 1995. A worldwide hit, The Far Side explores life’s surreal side and uses a mix of humans and anthropomorphic animals. As of 2020, Gary Larson decided to pick his pencil back up again and has started The Far Side up, circulating the comics on his official website.
