In the strange world ofThe Far Sideby Gary Larson, basically every imaginable animal has undergone a human-like transformation in behaviors and actions. From fish to giraffes to even cows, a multitude of animals have undergone such an inversion. In fact, cows acting like humans was an incredibly common element inFar Sidecomics and even became a running gag of the comic strip property.
Placing cows in all-too-human situations has the ability to make even the most lackluster scenarios hilarious thanks tothe surreal execution and delivery of the comic strips.Cows are already a pretty humorous animal thanks to how clunky they can be in unexpected settings, a qualityThe Far Sideutilizes to its fullest comedic potential across its long publication history.
10"The Holsteins Visit the Grand Canyon"
November 20th, 1984
Much like how a human family wouldpose for a photo to capture their trip to the world-renowned Grand Canyon, the cow family, the Holsteins, apparently do the same inThe Far Side. Depicting the tourist family as cows is an incredibly random character choice to insert into the comic, culminating in an off-kilter and surreal strip that onlyThe Far Sidecould create.
Besides being barnyard animals, the Holsteins are a picture-perfect family…
The Holsteins are just like the archetypal human family… except they are cows. Besides being barnyard animals, the Holsteins are a picture-perfect family on a nice vacation - even if they are unlikely travelers to the real world. However, forThe Far Side, the Holstein family vacation is just another average day for the citizens of this kooky, bizarre world.
9"I’m Not Content"
November 28th, 1984
Straight out of a domestic drama fitting of a soap opera,a glamorous cow looks at Wendell the cow in his armchair and tells him that she is not content. There is no reason given as to what precedes the cow’s admission of her ill content, so the reader is left only to guess. Considering the main characters are cows, the reader is likely going to be guessing what preceded the admission for a while.
Whatever the case, the cow is definitely not happy with Wendell or even just happy in general in thisdramaticFar Sidestrip. The cows in the comic act very human, living in human-like dwellings and furniture as well as drinking out of glasses and cans like humans and wearing jewelry. There may be some marital strife between the cows of the comic strip, but they provide laughs for their readers.
8"Lawrence Milk"
October 19th, 1990
Two older cows sit on their couch and watch their beloved TV program,the Lawrence Milk show, led by the bandleader, Lawrence Milk himself.The comic strip is a reference to the classic TV musical variety show calledThe Lawrence Welk Showthat was led by a big band leader named Lawrence Welk.
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Typically, the main target audience ofThe Lawrence WelkShowwas people who were older, explaining the older appearance of the cows in the strip. Likewise, the events and characters of the strip are given a bovine makeover, with Lawrence Welk becoming Lawrence Milk. It is arunning gag of The Far Sideto give animal transformations to otherwise mundane human actions or references - in this case watching a TV episode.
7"Her Place Always Smells Like a House"
July 29th, 1987
Having some guests over to her house, a cow is met with some catty company as a fellow cow and her buddy Blanche remark onthe odor of their host’s barn, saying that it always smells like a house.In the human world, a house smelling like a house would be a good thing. However, inThe Far Side, a barn smelling like a house is an offense that must be gossiped about, or at least that is what the two cows in the strip seem to think.
Playing on the human insult of a house smelling like a barn, which means that someone’s house smells bad, this strip embraces the inverse in an insult to the cow host. Having people over for company makes these cows closely resemble people, especially when they start talking smack about the barn behind the host’s back; something only humans are truly adept at doing.
6"The Portrait of Dorian Cow"
December 25th, 1986
A cow sits with his newspaper in hand, relaxed,as his portrait sits overhead with wrinkles and other signs of age.Much like how the variety showThe Lawrence Welk Showgot a bovine variation, the classic literary work by Oscar Wilde,The Picture of Dorian Gray,gets ananimal version inThe Far Side.
The Picture of Dorian Graybecomes “The Portrait of Dorian Cow” thanks to Larson’s talent for creating unexpected strips using literary or pop culture references.
A story of how a man sells his soul so that he will not age or show any signs of his cruelty or sins in favor of his portrait taking on all the physical marks,The Picture of Dorian Graybecomes “The Portrait of Dorian Cow” thanks to Larson’s talent for creating unexpected strips using literary or pop culture references. The strip’s cow seems very content with his decision, happily reading the newspaper despite his portrait showing all the age that the cow has amassed.
5"Satisfied?"
September 17th, 1982
When the farmers invite the cows in for a drink, they get way more than they bargained forwhen the cows get more than a little tipsy. They are so drunk that one of the cows is dancing on the table. The behavior of these rowdy cows, especially the table-dancing one, prompts an “I told you so” moment from one of the humans, obviously not entertained by the show of the buzzed bovines.
It can be annoying when party guests get a bit more amped up than expected, something the farmer has had to find out the hard way. The cows have single-handedly ruined any chance of a repeat invite and for any future invites for any of the other barnyard animals. Dancing on the table after some drinks like a very intoxicated human, theseFar Sidecows embracetheir human ways in this comic strip.
4"Bovines at Work"
August 10th, 1986
In a world populated entirely by anthropomorphic cows, a busy street intersection sees somebovine construction workers whistling at a classy-looking cow walking down the street. Riffing on how construction workers have a reputation for catcalling people who pass by their construction sites,The Far Sideuses that tropeand makes it silly thanks to the characters being cows rather than humans.
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The “bovines at work” clearly get distracted by the cow walking past, setting the scene for a strip that seems like it is out of a comedy version ofThe Twilight Zone. The cow getting catcalled (or cowcalled…) seems to pay the whistles and hollering no mind at all, just minding her business as she goes about her day. Catcalling is frequently regarded as a demeaning act, but sinceThe Far Sidemakes the offenders cows rather than humans, the strip is given a humorous edge.
3"One or Two Empty Stomachs"
November 28th, 1985
Many people believe that cows have four stomachs. As a result, people who are extremely hungry or who can eat a lot of food in one sitting, joke that they have four stomachs like a cow.The Far Sideuses this widely held myth(cows actually only have one stomach that is divided into four different compartments) to make a funny joke in this clever comic strip.
At Lulu’s Restaurant, a party of cows is leaving after they finish their meals, butone cow is left still sitting, not quite done eating.He still has room in his one or two empty stomachs, not understanding the rush for everyone to get back to their day. Cows can put a lot of food down their gullets, a predicament that thisFar Sidecow falls into while at a meal with his peers.
2"Cow Poetry"
A cow reads their poetry about the distant green hills and rolling wavesthat are outside their reach thanks to the electric fence that keeps them fenced in…literally.The cow is passionate about the natural landscape that eludes them, desperate to enact their grazing in the lush valleys. However, the electric fence hinders them every time, causing the cow to damn the electric fence with all their might.
Great poetry stems from intense desire, which this cow evidently has in spades.
Great poetry stems from intense desire, which this cow evidently has in spades. Much like how humans write and read poetry in groups,cows do too inThe Far Side. However, these cow poems are a tad different from human poetry, especially thanks to the electric fenced component. One would hope, at least, that the cow and human poems would differ in the fence aspect.
1"And We Just Sit Here Without Opposable Thumbs"
March 29th, 1984
Opposable thumbs are all the rage for the species that have them, as they can grip things and allow for some impressive dexterity, garnering the envy of all other animals that are not born with this genetic trait.The Far Sidehilariously pointsout the downsides to not having any opposable thumbs in this strip. The phone rings while two cows stare at the phone, hopeless as, yet again, they cannot answer the phone thanks to their lack of opposable thumbs.
It would be a wise investment for the cows to get a voicemail machine because they are missing an insanely high number of calls. At least theseFar Sidecows do not have to deal with scam calls, since they do not have to deal with any calls at all due to their hoof hands.
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.
