The funniest thing aboutThe Far Sideis actually what makes it stand out from practically every other iconic comic strip (likeGarfieldandCalvin and Hobbes):it doesn’t feature a main character. Sure, there might be somerecurringFar Sidecharacters, but for the most part,The Far Sideis merely a single-panel comic strip that highlights its own seemingly random jokes through a wide range of characters. Those include aliens, demons, and even anthropomorphic cows. And, occasionally, rabbits and moles.
The idea that a comic strip could make the likes of rabbits and moles funny may seem a bit far-fetched, as that just seems too weird and random to work. But, that’s the beauty ofThe Far Side. It’s not driven by its characters, it’s driven by the jokes themselves, and sometimes those jokes put the likes of rabbits and moles in a starring role to land - andThe Far Sidehas never had an issue landing a joke. Here are the10 funniestFar Sidecomics starring rabbits and moles!
10The Far Side Takes “Hop Out of Bed” Hilariously Literally
Two bunnies, presumably a husband and wife, are lying in bed together one morning when one of them makes a comment to the other, “I wish I didn’t have to hop out of bed first thing every morning”, then follows that statement up with, “‘Course, that’s the only way I know how”. It’s funny because they’re bunnies, andbunnies literally hop everywhere they go - including out of bed.
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Far Side doesn’t have any main characters, allowing the comic to explore a ton of different wacky characters, including hilariously relatable aliens!
It’s also a play on “hop out of bed”, referring to someone simply getting up in the morning. This one definitely ventures into ‘dad joke’ territory, and it couldn’t have been told using any other character than a bunny.
9Far Side Proves Wordplay is Always Funniest with Animals
A Donkey And A Bunny After An Argument
A donkey and a bunny are sitting in a room together, seemingly after an argument of some sort. They’re in the same room, but they’re not speaking to each other, only thinking negative things about the other.The donkey calls the bunny a “dumb bunny"in their mind, whilethe bunny similarly calls the donkey a “smart ass”.
Both insults are a play on words that use popular idioms in reference to each specific animal. “Smart ass” is a common insult, but in this case, it’s also literal, as the person it’s used against is literally an ass. Similarly, “dumb bunny” is an idiom that means ‘stupid person’, but since it’s used against a literal bunny, the donkey could just be calling them dumb. Indeed, wordplay is never funnier than when it’s paired with animal characters.
8The Far Side Hilariously Flips Shadow Puppet Expectations
Bunnies Make Shadow Puppets Of People
One of the most popular and easy-to-do hand shadow puppet designs is the bunny rabbit, making it a mainstay in shadow-puppeting. But, that’s only when humans do hand shadow puppets. When bunnies do it, they don’t make shadow puppets of themselves,they make shadow puppets of humans.It’s a classic flip-the-script scenario, hilariously subverting readers’ expectations. And the funniest part? The comic totally ignores why ‘bunny shadow puppets’ are so widely used by people.
It’s a classic flip-the-script scenario, hilariously subverting readers' expectations.
The ‘bunny shadow puppet’ is only popular because it’s easy to do with one’s hands, whereas making shadow puppets of humans is virtually impossible. But, since people make shadow puppets of bunnies,bunnies make shadow puppets of people, which makes sense in an absurdly hilarious sort of way.
7The Far Side Shines a Grim Light on Bunnies' Reputations for Having Lots of Children
A Bunny Drinks His Problems Away At A Local Bar
A rabbit is sitting at a bar next to a beaver, speaking with the bartender (who is a moose). The rabbit says, “Listen–if you think you got it rough, you should trymychild-support payments”. It seems either the moose or the beaver complained about their lives, andthe bunny had them beat, as he has to support an unknown (yet assuredly great) number of children.
While it’s funny enough to see a bunny drinking his problems away at his local bar with a couple of other animals, the real joke is a reference to real-world rabbits. Rabbits famously have lots of children, something that’s even highlighted in a less-than-appropriate common phrase. And thisFar Sidecomic references that in the most hilarious way possible.
6The Far Side Offers a Grim Re-Telling of “The Tortoise and the Hare”
Hilarious In The Darkest Way Possible
Everyone knows the story of “The Tortoise and the Hare”, as it was that story that taught the age-old lesson: slow and steady wins the race. Over the years, there have been a number of re-tellings, but overall the story and the message has stayed true to the original tale. That is, untilThe Far Sidegot ahold of it. In this comic, the tortoise and the hare are at the starting line, ready to start their iconic race.
And then,a truck drives right through the racetrack, running over both the tortoise and the hare. There doesn’t seem to be a timeless lesson involved in this story, except maybe to be careful when playing near a road. However, lessons aside, this Far Side comic is absolutely hilarious in the darkest way possible.
51 Far Side Bunny is Faced with a Jump Too Intimidating for Even Them
Sid Is Not As Confident As He Should Be
In thisFar Sidecomic, a rabbit has the reins of a horse-drawn carriage with one human next to them and another riding inside the carriage. The horses are about to run right off the edge of a cliff, and everyone riding on (and in) the carriage is freaking out. However,the man sitting next to the rabbit has the utmost confidence that the bunny will get them out of this safely, as he turns to the rabbit and says, “Go ahead and jump, Sid! Hell, Iknowyou’re thinkin' it!”.
While the man might be confident in Sid’s ability to jump, given that Sid is a rabbit,Sid doesn’t seem as confident. The bunny’s eyes are wide with fear, indicating that, despite the fact that Sid’s a bunny, they certainly were not thinking about jumping.
4The Far Side Gives a Whole New Meaning to ‘Prison Mole’
This Time The Name Means Something Much More Literal
‘Prison Mole’ is used to refer to a prisoner who’s secretly an informant, passing information to the guards/warden for a chance at a reduced prison sentence. However, in thisFar Sidecomic,‘Prison Mole’ takes on a whole new meaning, as this prison is filled with nothing but literal moles. Not only that, but these moles understand that ratting on their fellow inmates isn’t the fastest ticket out of the slammer, but rather a skill real-life moles are known for: digging tunnels.
The warden of this prison knows that every mole prisoner is just waiting for their chance to dig through the dirt and escape. While real-world ‘Prison Moles’ use information to try to get out of prison, these literal ‘prison moles’ are thinking much more like the animal, giving a hilarious new meaning to the term ‘Prison Mole’.
Statistics Are Proven True
In this comic, a mole is sitting in his hole reading a newspaper while another mole (perhaps his wife) is getting eaten by a snake that slithered silently into their home. The mole is reading about current events, notinga recently-published statistic that 70 percent of all accidents happen in the “hole”(with “hole” meaning “home”). And, right behind him, that statistic is being proven true, as the other mole is getting killed in their home - and the mole reading the paper is assuredly next.
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One of The Far Side’s most underrated recurring jokes involved unusual pets, from unexpectedly domesticated squids to goldfish that did tricks.
This mole was very well-informed, so much so that he unwittingly predicted a disaster within his own home. However,being well-informed will not save the mole from the snakethat has already found its way into his home and has eaten someone close to him - adding a touch of tragic irony to this already darkly funny comic.
2These Far Side Moles Offer Great Emergency Preparedness Advice in an Absurd Way
A Mole Tries To Use The Elevator During A Life-Or-Death Situation
An entire colony of moles is getting washed out by a garden house, as the woman whose yard these little critters have been tearing up has finally had enough. She’s flooding the moles' tunnel system, and the ones that don’t make it out in time will assuredly drown, meaning escaping in the fastest and safest ways possible is paramount.
That’s why it’s so frustrating that one mole, Randy, istrying to use the elevator, even though everyone should know never to use an elevator during situations like this, as it can break down easily and cause one to be trapped. This is actually a great piece of advice in terms of emergency preparedness. However, the idea that moles have elevators installed within their tunnel system is utterly absurd, making the entire comic absolutely hilarious.
1The Biblical Story of Adam and Eve has a Hilarious Twist in The Far Side
It Wasn’t Satan Who Convinced Them To Eat From The Tree of Knowledge
In the Bible, Adam and Eve are tempted to eat from the Tree of Knowledge by Satan, who first seduced Eve as a serpent. Adam and Eve knew that if they ate from the Tree, they would be cast out of the Garden of Eden forever by God Himself - which is something that sounded really good to one mole in particular.
This twist is absolutely hysterical, which is why this is one of the 10 funniestFar Sidecomics starring either rabbits or moles.
This mole was sick of Adam and Eve setting life-threatening mole traps, so he rigged up a microphone system and hid it in the Tree of Knowledge.The mole uses the mic to convince Adam and Eve to eat from the Treeto get them kicked out of Eden, and then pretends to be God to kick them out himself, thus saving himself from their mole traps.
The Far Sideasserts that it wasn’t Satan who convinced Adam and Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge - thereby dooming all of humanity to suffer Original Sin - and it wasn’t God who cast them out of Eden, it was just one vindictive mole. This twist is absolutely hysterical, which is why this is one of the 10 funniestFar Sidecomics starring either rabbits or moles.
The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
