When it came toThe Far Side, things were often not what they appeared to be on the surface;this was especially in the case of Gary Larson’s affinity for putting characters into disguises, which resulted in some all-time unforgettableFar Sidecartoons. It also led to some underappreciated deep cuts, and this list celebrates both.
Larson’s go-to move involved animals pretending to be humans, for one reason or another, but he also featured his share of aliens in disguise, and animals trying to put one over on other animals.
These jokes were aFar Sidestaple, yet the “disguise” trope is often given less consideration than it deserves when it comes to Gary Larson’s canon.
10"We’ve Changed Our Minds": The Far Side’s “Rats In A Trench coat” Joke Is An Early Classic
First Published: June 15, 2025
“I’m sorry, we did call an exterminator,” asuspicious character in a trench coat says in thisFar Sidepanel, “but we’ve changed our minds.” The reason? Clearly,the “person” who answered the door is actually a horde of rats in disguise, with the darkly hilarious implication being that they eliminated the homeowner, who called “Al’s Rat Control,” before the exterminator got there.
This cartoon set the precedent for many ofThe Far Side’sdisguise gags that would come after, including the trenchcoat motif, and the interaction with another character, who may or may not be suspicious. Here, it’s unclear if the pest control guy can tell he’s speaking to a bunch of stacked rats or not; it is very funny either way.
9This Far Side Elephant Goes To Absurd Lengths For A Few Peanuts
First Published: Aug 04, 2025
ThisFar Sidecomic omits a caption, as Gary Larson instead opts to let the broad visual comedy of an elephant in a trench coat speak for itself. This is enough to get a laugh in itself, but Larson elevates this joke even further by putting that image in the perfect context.
That is,the elephant has disguised itself in order to get close to a man with a bag of peanuts, sitting on a park bench feeding squirrels. This genius motive is evident from the elephant’s shifty eyes, locked on the “Nuts” bad in the human’s hand, his mind presumably working to come up with an excuse to ask for some.
8"Knuckle Sandwich": A Translation Fail Ruins This Alien’s Visit From The Far Side Of The Galaxy
First Published: June 21, 2025
Aliens were a constant fixture of the world ofThe Far Side, and this is one of Gary Larson’s most celebrated jokes about the subject of alien visitation to Earth. That is because it mixes the jarring sci-fi imagery of an alien in a human disguise with a hilarious “lost in translation” punchline.
In this panel, an alien’s lack of understanding of Earth culture, and more importantly, Earth idioms, is about to land it a punch in the mouth, as it lands its flying saucer in a rough neighborhood, and then proceeds to misunderstand the threat of a “knuckle sandwich,” taking it as a gesture of hospitality.
7"Something’s Going On": The Far Side’s Funniest Disguises Were Its Most Obvious
First Published: June 29, 2025
The Far Sidewas home to many hilarious obtuse characters, and there are few more overt examples than this gaggle of penguins, who can’t figure out the obvious culprit behind a sudden rash of disappearances:the polar bear in their midst, wearing a “disguise” that amounts to a penguin beak strapped to its nose.
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The Far Sidecould be brilliantly dumb, or stupidly smart, and this punchline straddles the line between the two; the tragic ignorance of the penguins takes on an almost slapstick quality, and the visual contrast of the “hidden” bear and the flightless birds is a winning combination with laugh-out-loud results.
6"I Can’t Live This Charade Any Longer": This Far Side Lizard Couldn’t Keep Up The Lie
First Published: June 17, 2025
This is perhaps themost memorableFar Sidejokeabout an animal in human disguise. In part, that’s because of its extended caption; it’s also partly a result of the sheer absurdity of the cartoon, from premise to punchline. It is the kind ofGary Larson joke that leaves readers clamoring for more context, or some clarifying backstory, or a sequel.
“I can’t live this charade any longer,” a Komodo dragon says to its girlfriend, shedding its human mask and revealing its true form. The question on readers' minds, of course, iswhy the giant lizard showed up at the door of “Monica” pretending to be “a telephone repairman” in the first place.
5"You Have Not Seen A Thing": This Far Side Executive Won’t Be Able To Duck The Truth If This Gets Out
First Published: July 24, 2025
ThisFar Sidecartoonis as funny of an execution of the “animals masquerading as human” concept as the preceding entry, but it doesn’t get nearly as much attention as it deserves, a fate that befalls manyFar Sidecartoons that should be held up as classics. Here, “Mrs. Billings,” a corporate secretary, gets a major surprise.
That is,her boss tumbles out of his office and is revealed to be a bunch of ducks stuffed into a human costume, one of whom points a wing at the secretary and swears her to secrecy, sternly instructing her “you have not seen a thing.” It is peakFar Sideabsurdity, mixing full-on genius with total ridiculousness.
4The Far Side’s Dogs Use Disguises For A Sneak Attack In This Hilarious Panel
First Published: Jun 06, 2025
The Far Sidechronicled many chaptersin the “dog vs. postal worker” conflict, but this is perhaps the pinnacle of Gary Larson’s achievements in that comedic category. “NOW,” a canine cries out, as it and its comrades,who have infiltrated the post office in disguise, launch a sneak attack on the unsuspecting employees.
It is a greatFar Sideuse of action, capturing a single kinetic moment, and it also uses the “disguised animal” trope to peak hilarity, as it is amusingly over-the-top that no one (no human, that is) at the post office noticed the disguised dogs filing into the building at the same time.
3"The Foolish Earthlings Do Not Suspect A Thing": The Far Side Uncovers The Truth About The Media
First Published: June 09, 2025
Again, Gary Larson returns to the idea of aliens in disguisewith thisFar Sidecartoon, but this time it is in the service of a silly joke about news broadcasters. That is, he answers a question nobody really asked, which is “why we see news anchorpersons only from the waist up.”
And the answer is…that they are all alien invaders, who have tentacles in place of legs, and only appear human from the waist up. Here, Larson riffs on a decades old sci-fi trope, one perhapsembodied best by John Carpenter’sThey Live, but he does so in a way that undermines the idea, rather than reinforcing it.
2"Zipper!": This Doomed Far Side Researcher Won’t Be Able To Roar His Way Out Of This One
First Published: July 29, 2025
Often,The Far Side’scharacters couldn’t see through even most obvious disguises, and that was an essential part of the humor of those panels. ThisbrilliantFar Sidebear cartoonsubverts that, by having a human researcher in a bear costume be found out, thanks to the giant zipper on the front of his suit.
What makes this joke certifiably hysterical, though, is the way that the demise of “Professor Wainwright” goes down, ashis attempt “to decode the language of bears” succeeds, but only with the word “zipper,” as an aggravated bear outs him as an intruder, leading to “a sudden and horrific end.”
1"What A Great Day For A Picnic": The Far Side’s Anteaters Get Hilariously Innovative
First Published: August 13, 2025
In this classic cartoon fromthe final year ofThe Far Side, animals once more masquerade as humans, but this time it isn’t people they’re trying to fool, but ants. That’s because these animals are anteaters, and they’re trying a new tactic for finding dinner: pretending to be two lovers on a picnic, who definitely “don’t” want ants interrupting them.
“Oops, I dropped some potato salad at this, our picnic,” one of the anteaters says, in an amusingly poor attempt to play act as a picnicker, and the result is a ridiculous mix of imagery and broad comedy that makes this a near-perfectFar Sidecartoon, one that readers won’t easily forget.
