# Larson comic - what's the funny **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** comic-strips\ **Created:** [September 20, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434 "2023-09-20T20:09:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/101 "2024-06-20T18:27:40Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I disagree, this will _always_ be my favorite. I dislike that one, because it’s _actively_ violent. Why is the dogs owner trying to hurt her? It’s mean and cruel, not funny at all. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/102 "2024-06-20T18:32:10Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Why is the dogs owner trying to hurt her? The dog is named Fifi. It’s right in the panel. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/103 "2024-06-20T18:32:16Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Why is the dogs owner trying to hurt her? Because Fifi is an annoying little yappy dog that needs to calm down in a funny way. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/104 "2024-06-20T18:32:30Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Why is the dogs owner trying to hurt her? I think that’s where the humor is. It’s absolutely terrible what this woman is doing. And yet it is in complete contrast with everything around it. The home is decorated with frilly curtains, she is done up in heels and pearls with a dress and hair bun. And clearly the dog is beloved enough that not only was a pet door installed for its convenience, but it has its name written in fancy script on the door. It leaves you with a discordant sense of the bizarre. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for this. I’ll also note that this is a frequent theme in Larson’s cartoons. They are often macabre and frequently cruel. If the depiction of confusing violence is a problem, you are probably not going to be a fan of much of _The Far Side_ (and many people are not). ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/105 "2024-06-20T18:33:17Z")
I know you can’t explain someone into finding something funny. But what’s funny about it to me is how it violates reader expectations. Everything about this scene is so safe and familiar on first blush…a well-coiffed middle aged woman calling her little dog. Then you notice the boards. What even? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/106 "2024-06-20T18:35:57Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I think that’s where the humor is. It’s absolutely terrible what this woman is doing. Yes!! It is Far from normal. Not as Far as Cow Tools, which isn’t my favorite despite the high rating I give it for distance from normality. All my favorites have dogs in them. They’re not as weird to dog owners as they are to the dogless because dogs are weird. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/107 "2024-06-20T18:41:47Z")
It’s the disconnect between the stereotype of the middle aged woman who dotes on her lapdog, and the unhinged cruelty of what she’s doing to it. There’s also a bit of implied backstory - she has a dog with a monogrammed dog door, that she’s trained to run through at full speed, and is only now turning it into a hastily constructed trap. Which suggests that until this moment, she _was_ the stereotype of a middle aged woman who dotes on her lapdog, and has only suddenly decided to be cruel to it, as if her entire ownership of the dog has been one long gaslighting of treating it well just to set it up for this absolutely bizarre prank. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/108 "2024-06-20T18:56:39Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Thus Cow Tools is the best Far Side panel of all time. I also disagree. This one is so superb that the spelling has entered my data base and I spell it that way on shopping lists. > **[https://preview.redd.it/rthq3rvcke921.jpg?auto=webp&s=84ee429c499751ed6014f4...](https://preview.redd.it/rthq3rvcke921.jpg?auto=webp&s=84ee429c499751ed6014f45e31abfa682b788f7c)** ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/109 "2024-06-20T19:00:06Z")
Oh I love that one too. That’s a classic. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/110 "2024-06-20T19:04:58Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > But that would have made the panel a landscape. Far Side panels are all in portrait. The sky and the driveway are all filler. Putting that hose and hubcap there is akin to putting a cloud or two in the sky just to break up the monotony of the dead space. Yeah, agreed. You’ve got space there, you need some sort of filler. What sort of filler makes sense? Or rather, what sort of filler would a cartoonist think makes sense? Maybe a hose, and a hubcap or something… Those seem like suitably garage-ish things. > [@Atamasama](#): > > Oh I love that one too. That’s a classic. The phrase “that’s a classic” could be said about a remarkably large number of Far Side panels. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/111 "2024-06-20T19:13:08Z")
I love that one too. If you’re looking for an Easter Egg it has a box of Acme Detergent. Although an unimportant detail in this panel Acme products are notably used by another Canis lupus subspecies. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/112 "2024-06-20T19:14:56Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I also disagree. This one is so superb that the spelling has entered my data base and I spell it that way on shopping lists. Beat me to it! I was waiting to get to the end of the thread to post this one as my fav Far Side. I also often spell it Cat Fud. I think a lot of the humor is that misspelling. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/113 "2024-06-20T19:24:00Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > I get the John Brown’s Body and fender shop thing, but I can’t let go of the hose. It sits firmly in the center foreground, and John Brown’s wide-eyed expression makes it look like he’s surprised about the hose. The dish looks like an oil drain pan. It’s a hubcap or some such part (I’m guessing hubcap because it would be the most obvious choice, especially with the hubcap-less tire against the shop), repurposed as a dog water bowl. The dog just isn’t in sight. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/114 "2024-06-20T19:25:15Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > 1. John Brown’s Body is already a funny name for a garage. > 2. If John Brown’s dog escaped (dog dish in the picture, no dog), he might chase cars, catch them, and bring J Brown the fenders / damage the fenders / whatever, > 3. Forcing J Brown to change the name of the shop (smaller letters) to add “and fender shop.” > > Funny! I like it! I think this is one of his funnier panels: [![](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-far-side-a-father-fakes-a-monster-in-the-basement.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1/) ](https://static1.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/the-far-side-a-father-fakes-a-monster-in-the-basement.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=825&dpr=1/) Equally cruel, imo. I love how he used dotted lines for the ‘see-thru’ wall. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/115 "2024-06-20T20:13:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I also disagree. This one is so superb that the spelling has entered my data base and I spell it that way on shopping lists. \< sarcasm\>Oh, please. That cartoon is entirely unrealistic. First of all, cat’s can’t read. Second, dogs are happy-go-lucky, and would never stoop to subterfuge to trick a cat. Finally, a dog would never be that cruel. \< /sarcasm\> ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/116 "2024-06-20T20:16:52Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I also often spell it Cat Fud. I think a lot of the humor is that misspelling. What’s awesome is that these strips predated the “I Can Haz Cheezburger” memes by quite a few years, and (solely my WAG) may have even had a hand in inspiring them. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/117 "2024-06-20T20:25:16Z")
This makes me think, what is my favorite Far Side? Maybe the slugs worshipping the giant salt shaker. Or… [![](https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/the-far-side-tall-chickens-longcow.jpg) ](https://static0.srcdn.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/the-far-side-tall-chickens-longcow.jpg) I have a long baking dish I call the longcow. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/118 "2024-06-20T20:28:28Z")
That cartoon can be interpreted in at least two ways: “Now what?” = “I wasn’t expecting this!” or “WTF do I do now?!?” Hitler said the same thing when he was told Britain was declaring war in 1939. Ribbentrop replied ‘I assume that the French will hand in a similar ultimatum within the hour.’ ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/119 "2024-06-20T20:34:43Z")
Due to relativistic length contraction, a longcow moving at nearly the speed of light can fit inside a much shorter barn, even when the doors are closed. Larson seems to have anticipated (or prompted) another bastion of meme culture: the longcat. > **[Longcat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longcat)** > > Longcat (2002 – 20 September 2020) was a Japanese domestic cat that became the subject of an Internet meme due to her length. Longcat, whose real name was Shiro,\[a\] was born in 2002. An image depicting her being held with "outstretched paws" became popular on Japanese imageboard Futaba Channel, where it was nicknamed Nobiko ("Stretch" in Japanese\[b\]) some time around 2005 or 2006. She was reportedly 65 centimetres (26 in) "from head to toe". > In a 2019 interview, Longcat's owner said that the ca... [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Longcat_is_loooooooooong.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3d/Longcat_is_loooooooooong.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434/120 "2024-06-20T20:37:21Z")
To me, Larson’s genius is his ability to capture - in a single frame - an entire story. The discussion about poor Fifi the dog being baited into bashing her head on the door is in point: > [@Atamasama](#): > > I think that’s where the humor is. It’s absolutely terrible what this woman is doing. And yet it is in complete contrast with everything around it. The home is decorated with frilly curtains, she is done up in heels and pearls with a dress and hair bun. And clearly the dog is beloved enough that not only was a pet door installed for its convenience, but it has its name written in fancy script on the door. Two of my favorites are at the bottom of this page: > **[The Far Side Gallery 1 by Gary Larson - Page 36](https://thefarside.net/i/14bf60d1)** > > "The revolution has been postponed... We've discovered a leak." • "I told you guys to slow down and take it easy or something like this would happen." One is the cow spy, the other is some medieval soldiers who have accidentally catapulted one of their comrades over the wall - their commander is scolding them that he had warned them to slow down and be careful earlier. Both are culminations of compelling stories. The cows are staging a revolution? They have meetings? And how did the spy scheme come off so badly? The catapult soldiers is one I show to flight students when I impress upon them the importance of checklist usage. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/larson-comic-whats-the-funny/990434.md?page=7)