When we askedFar Sidefans for the best comic starring Gary Larson’s recurring ‘Nerdy Kid’ character, we expected a range of opinions. But while over 600 readers named their #1, the winner was apparently never in doubt. With 42% of the total vote andalmost 200 more votes than its closest competitor, it seems reasonable to state that our poll has officially foundFar Side’s best ‘Nerdy Kid’ comic.
On August 23, 2025, Screen Rant published ‘15 Funniest Far Side Comics Starring Its ‘Nerdy Kid’ Recurring Character.’ We asked fans to vote on which entries in the list were the funniest, as Larson’s child character is tortured by his brother, sets a killer robot on his shop teacher, and is ultimately eaten by a bear. Here are the runners-up in our poll (be sure to open the image gallery for the full comic and caption.)
However, each of the comics above was soundly beaten by a strip showing the Nerdy Kid failing to open the door to Midvale’s School for the Gifted -see the comic below, after the official results of the poll.
Larson’s school days took place during the Cuban Missile Crisis -“I remember sitting in my seventh-grade English class thinking that the world was going to end…”
7
1%
#13
12
2%
#12
15
#11
16
3%
#10
18
19
#8
21
#7
22
4%
#6
Playing with the Dog
29
5%
35
6%
#4
55
9%
#3
57
#2
255
42%
#1
15 Funniest Far Side Comics Starring Grumpy Old Men
Gary Larson’s The Far Side loves depicting mundane reactions to truly bizarre situations, making grumpy old men his perfect subject matter.
The Nerdy Kid’s Best Comic Is a Far Side Classic
Screen Rant Readers Preferred the Darker Options in Our Poll
Screen Rant readers made it clear that no other Nerdy Kid comic comes close to the one above, where the character proves he probably doesn’t quite deserve the ‘gifted’ label, relentlessly pushing at a pull door. It’s worth noting thatreaders clearly favored jokes where the Nerdy Kid is suffering, with the runners-up seeing him chased by wolves, menaced by the floating head of death, and eaten by a bear. However, it’s a far more relatable moment of embarrassment that won out.
The Nerdy Kid’s suffering might not be his fault. Designer Don Norman has pointed out that some doors have design elements that subconsciously cue users to try and open them the wrong way, with examples being given the name ‘Norman doors’ in his honor.
Gary Larson Turned School into One of Far Side’s Weirdest Locations
His Own School Experiences During the Cold War Influenced His Sense of Humor
It’s not surprising that one of Larson’s most beloved comics is set in a school, as theFar Sidecreator often used an educational backdrop. Larson has cited several influences onThe Far Sidefrom his childhood,from his brother’s pranksto growing up during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In a 1987 interview with20/20, Larson attributed his morbid sense of humor to thefear of nuclear war during his childhood, saying:
It was going from Leave It To Beaver to bomb shelters. I remember sitting in my seventh-grade English class thinking that the world was going to end during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It made you look at the world a little bit askew.
Larson brings that dark tension to his comics which, while hilarious, rarely extend much sympathy to their human characters, schoolkids or not. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, schools held drills instructing children to duck and cover, hiding under their desks and covering their heads for a greater chance of survival. This dark reality helps make sense of Larson’s worldview, where childhood, classic Americana, and a sense of menace are all bound up together.
Larson never meant to have recurring characters, pushing back when his editor suggested it would help create a following.
Far Side’s Funniest Cow Comic Is So Good, It Inspired a Hilarious Cheers Moment
Cheers nailed the experience of reading Gary Larson’s The Far Side with a genius joke that referenced one of his funniest comics.
The Nerdy Kid Isn’t Far Side’s Only Recurring Character
There’s Even a Secret Character Who Returns Again and Again
Gary Larson never wantedThe Far Sideto have recurring characters, and even pushed back when his editor suggested it early in the comic’s syndication. InThe Complete Far Side, Larson says thatunlikePeanutsorGarfield, he didn’t want readers to get attached to his characters, since he wanted to create a world where they could be"crunched, speared, shot, beheaded, eaten, stuffed, poisoned, and run over about twice a week.“Larson knew he couldn’t get away with treating any fans favorites so badly, and was relieved when his editor dropped the request.
However, Larson’s art style eventually created a form of stock character who appeared again and again, often with a different name. As fans began to get used to these characters, Larson began recognizing them in his comics, giving them nicknames and treating them as actors playing a part. In fact,one Far Side comic is a ‘cast list’of his characters, with other comic roles they’ve played (above, with examples of their ‘roles.') Larson often used a recurring scientist, the Woman in the Horn-Rimmed glasses, and of course the ubiquitous cow character. Among these stock figures was the Nerdy Kid, with milk bottle glasses, freckled cheeks, and a shock of red hair.
13 Funniest Far Side Comics That Somehow Make Worms Funny
In Far Side’s funniest comics about worms, it’s easy to see why Gary Larson loved the subject so much that he wrote a children’s book about it.
Larson’s repeated use of names also created ‘secret’ recurring characters.The Far Sidehas a lot of disastrous businesses in its comics, with the repeated name ‘Al’ suggesting the same character is encountering one professional disaster after another. Larson alsorepeatedly depicted cavemen named Thag, giving the comic what appears to be its only named recurring character
Gary Larson’s ‘Midvale School for the Gifted’ is an iconicFar Sidestrip and one of the comic’s most beloved, and ultimately none of our other offerings starring the Nerdy Kid could come close. Is there a comic that can unseat ‘Midvale’ from its throne, and is the Nerdy KidFar Side’s most beloved recurring character? We’ll keep sharingThe Far Side’s genius jokes and polling readers until we have a definitive answer.
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.
