For much of its run,The Far Sidewas published daily, but only during select parts of Gary Larson’s career did he produced extra-sized, full-color Sunday editions of his cartoons;these were effectively “double strength"Far Sidecartoons, which gave Larson the opportunity to show off his skills as an artist to a greater extent than the average panel size.
This special style ofFar Sidecartoon was primarily produced in the mid-to-late 1980s, at what was arguably thepeak of Gary Larson’s career. By this point,The Far Sidehad be picked up by newspapers all across the country, and Larson’s work was in as high demand as it ever was.
Any space in the newspaper funny pages was coveted at this time in the ’80s, of course, but it was a true marker of success to get extra space in the Sunday paper, somethingThe Far Sideearned as it reached iconic status during this era.
10The Far Side’s Deer/Hunter Hostage Exchange Comic Is A Masterclass In Utilizing Space
First Published: Sunday, July 24, 2025
Deer hunters and their prey had a number ofmemorable confrontations inFar Sidecartoonsover the years, with this extra-width Sunday comic certainly ranking up there with the best of them. In the panel, the deer have taken a hunter hostage, and his hunting party have responded in kind, and now the two sides have come together in a clearing to exchange prisoners.
“No trade until we check our guy out…,” one of the hunters calls across the divide, asking, “Frank, you okay?” What makes this a great use of the additional space here is the extended gap it allows between the two sets of characters, withthe hunters and their hostage on the far left of the frame, while the deer and their hostage occupy the right side, with plenty of space in the middle to convey distance, something the confines of a standardFar Sidecomic wouldn’t afford.
9The Far Side’s Sunday Comics Gave Gary Larson Room To Try Different Things
First Published: Sunday, June 06, 2025
This is aclassic Gary Larson play on words, one which utilizes the extra space afforded by the Sunday slot to give the joke extra dimension;Larson also uses a split panel with thisFar Sidecomic, in order to present two moments, rather than capturing just one, as was his default. In the first frame, two gazelles are talking as other gazelles, along with a herd of zebra, graze around them…untilone of them makes the mistake of saying the word “lyin'” a little too loudly, which the surrounding animals mishear as “lion,” causing them all to scatter.
This would be a greatFar Sidepunchline on any day of the week, but by making it a Sunday comic, Larson allowed the punchline more room to breathe, giving himself extra space to illustrate the scene, which successfully elevates the joke.
8There’s Too Much Going On In This Far Side Cartoon, That’s Why It Needed To Be Published On A Sunday
First Published: Sunday, July 06, 2025
ThisFar SideSunday edition afforded Gary Larson extra room to play with depth of field in this cartoon, one ofThe Far Side’smany riffs on Frankenstein. Here, the monster itself doesn’t appear, but rather Larson focuses on the trope of the torch-wielding mob, on its way to storm the doctor’s castle, which is depicted far off in the distance.
However, the joke here is specifically aboutone member of the mob, who finds his torch has embarrassingly gone out in the middle of their march, prompting him to think back to earlier in the day, when he bought it on sale at “Bob’s Torches,“which is rendered in a thought bubble over his head. Additional space was crucial to this making this punchline work, as Larson needed all the room he could get to convey the concurrent action and scope of this scene.
7The Far Side’s Extra-Length Sunday Comics Allowed Gary Larson To Explore New Angles On His Humor
First Published: Sunday, June 08, 2025
“Hey Fletcher…have you ever noticed this before?” a man says in thisFar Sidecartoon about the big city, sticking his head out the window of a high-rise building and realizing, for the first time,that several buildings down from them, the city skyline turns into a row of massive dominoes.
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At the level of humor, meaning the joke’s premise, it is a patentFar Sidepunchline, in the way that it straddles the border being silly and absurd; in terms of execution, though, readers will recognize why the illustration needed more space in order to convey the comedy of the image. The perspective allowed by this double-wideFar Sidecartoon makes a huge difference here; even if the joke is only amusing, rather than laugh-out-loud funny, it still succeeds, rather than fails, because of its format.
6Gary Larson Brings One Of The Biggest Figures In World History Down A Size With This Far Side Comic
First Published: Sunday, July 18, 2025
Gary Larson was a student of history, and that translated to many classicFar Sidecartoons that made mockeries of historical figures, such as this one, whichfeatures “a young Genghis Khan and his Mongol hordette,” with the future infamous conqueror pictured, at this time, with just five guys, and four horses, by his side.
Once more, it is a silly joke, one that could even be called outright frivolous. Yet what makes it funny is the composition of the panel, which again makes great use of negative space. That is, the humor of the punchline, which rests on the fact that Gengis doesn’t have the followers to constitute a “horde” yet, is conveyed by the empty plain and rolling hills surrounding them, adding to the idea of how small a group they really are, something that wouldn’t have come across as clearly in a regular-sizedFar Sidepanel.
5The Far Side’s Labyrinthian Sense Of Humor Is On Full Display In This Sunday Edition Comic
First Published: Sunday, August 07, 2025
Gary Larson’s frequent use of ants as characters, in addition to stemming from his obsession with insects, was another perspective trick he used. By choosing the tiniest possible subjects, he could convey the sense of a much larger world, even in the averageFar Sidecartoon’s limited confines, and that is doubly true for this Sunday edition.
Here,a group of ants waits for the guest of honor to arrive at a surprise birthday party, but it is a protracted process, considering the lone, unsuspecting ant has to navigate a series of long, complex ant tunnelsin order to reach the cavern where his friends are waiting with a cake. ThisFar Sidejoke is all about scope, and that is what makes it a noteworthy example of the benefits of the Sunday slot for cartoons like this one.
4"Bobo’s Escape” Is A Perfect Example Of The Strengths Of The Far Side’s Sunday Cartoons
First Published: Sunday, July 15, 2025
In thisall-time greatFar Sidebear comic, a circus bear that has endured far too much humiliation at the hands of its captors finallymakes a triumphant break for the wild, busting through the side of the tent mid-performance, riding a bicycle while wearing a tutu, and a matching pink muzzle, with a yellow top hat.
“Bobo remained free for the rest of his life,” the caption informs readers, while adding, “although he did find it necessary to seek counseling.” The caption and illustration work in perfect harmony here to deliver an unforgettableFar Sidejoke, in both its concept and its imagery, one in which the spatial aspect of the Sunday-sized strip is vital to the full embodiment of the joke.
3The Far Side’s “Late Bird” Comic Uses Its Extra Space To Convey A Deeper Feeling
First Published: Sunday, June 27, 2025
“I guess you could just call me the ‘late’ bird,” a down-on-its-luck avian says to the man sitting next to him in an alleyway, as they commiserate, as Gary Larson hilariously offers up a dark alternative to the axiom that “the early bird gets the worm.”
There was often a certain voyeuristicquality toThe Far Side’shumor, by way of its “outside-looking-in” perspective, but it is especially notable here, given the wistful tenor of the moment Larson captures alongside the overt humor of the punchline. Yet again, the additional space allowed by the Sunday strip helps add to this feeling, making the melancholy of the “late bird” seem that much more isolating.
2Gary Larson’s “Tumblenerd” Cartoon Is One Of The Far Side’s Most Underrated Gems
First Published: Sunday, June 05, 2025
In this panel, Gary Larson uses every inch of extra space afforded by the Sunday slot to maximize the effectiveness of his punchline, in both the illustration and the caption of this cartoon. The text of thisFar Sidecomic conveys the tone of a nature documentary, proceeding in very straightforward fashion until it reaches the word “tumblenerd.”
It is a hilarious curveball, one of Larson’s all-time best, which is perfectly complimented by the image above, which featuresa version ofThe Far Side’sfamiliar nerdy kidtoppling end-over-end across a wide-open desert landscape, the exact same way a tumbleweed wood. It is a thoroughly laugh-out-loudFar Sidecartoon, one in which the Sunday-size gives each part of the joke greater space to play out, to great effect.
1This Far Side Comic Takes What Gary Larson Did Best And Doubles It
First Published: Sunday, August 18, 2025
“Dwayne paused,” the caption ofthisFar Sidecartoonbegins, before going on to explain,“as usual, the forest was full of happy little animals…but this time, they just seemed too happy,” while the illustration shows a horde of woodland creatures staring back at Dwayne with creepy smileson their faces. Even more ominously, many of them appear to have their hands clasped behind their backs.
By making this a Sunday panel, Gary Larson was able to depict a volume of borderline-creepy animals confronting Dwayne, the unfortunate backpacker, to an extent that greatly increases the comedic effect of the image. It is just one of many examples of what madeThe Far Side’sextra-sized Sunday cartoons so great while they lasted.
