10 Funniest 'Far Side' Comics About Dinosaurs That Prove Gary Larson Is a Mad Genius
The Far Side ran from 1980 until 1995 and Larson created over 4,000 strips during that time. Dozens of them featured dinosaurs.
On May 27, 1982, The Far Side cartoonist Gary Larson published a comic strip that would become one of his most famous. The image showed a classroom of cavemen being instructed by a caveman teacher, who pointed at a Stegosaurus tail, specifically the spiky end at the bottom. The teacher explained it was called the "thagomizer," named after the late Thag Simmons. At the time, this spiky tail had no name, but the joke became so popular that it was recognized by institutions like the Smithsonian.
While this comic may be Larson's most historically significant dinosaur comic strip, it was far from his only one. Over his 15-year career, Larson created over 4,000 Far Side cartoons, many of which featured dinosaurs. In these strips, dinosaurs were often shown doing everyday human activities or being completely oblivious to their impending extinction. The humor came from the absurdity of giant prehistoric creatures acting like normal people.
For example, one strip depicted a juvenile T-rex looking for a prize inside a cereal box, highlighting the humor in dinosaurs acting like humans. Another showed a press conference where a dinosaur blamed mammals for climate change, further emphasizing Larson's theme of extinction. In another comic, a caveman questioned the name of a dinosaur's tail, highlighting the confusion surrounding dinosaur naming conventions.
While the thagomizer comic is Larson's most famous dinosaur-related strip, there were many unforgettable ones. Some depicted dinosaurs as schoolyard bullies picking on mammals for their fur, while others showed them smoking cigarettes or unaware of their extinction. One of Larson's most famous dinosaur images, without words, depicted dinosaurs bullying a mammal for its fur and another dinosaur noticing it was snowing, poking fun at their obliviousness to their fate.
Overall, Gary Larson's Far Side comics offered a unique and humorous perspective on dinosaurs, showcasing their absurdity and their inevitable demise.
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