For 15 years, cartoonist Gary Larson's single-panel comic strip, The Far Side, delivered a unique brand of surreal, non-sequitur humor that often appealed to adults. Unlike many of its contemporaries, The Far Side rarely featured recurring characters, instead introducing new scenarios and personalities for each daily joke. However, certain themes and subjects did reappear, with cows emerging as a particular favorite for Larson.
Larson created 4,337 comics during The Far Side's run, and a significant portion of these involved cows. He explained his fascination with them in an interview with The New York Times, stating, "I've always thought the word cow was funny. And cows are sort of tragic figures. Cows blur the line between tragedy and humor." His cow-centric strips often depicted them engaging in human activities or exhibiting subtle villainy behind the backs of unsuspecting farmers.
A History of Bovine Humor
Among the most memorable cow-themed strips is the one from October 28, 1982, famously captioned "Cow tools." This comic depicted a cow behind a table laden with crude-looking instruments. It generated significant confusion among readers, who inundated newspapers with letters seeking a deeper meaning. The widespread bewilderment prompted Larson to issue a press release the following day, clarifying that the joke was intentionally simple: "cows are bad at making tools." This incident highlighted how readers often overanalyzed Larson's work, seeking complex scientific or philosophical underpinnings in what were frequently straightforward gags.
Another notable cow strip from October 16, 1981, presents a cow having a simple, yet profound realization: she has been eating grass. This comic exemplifies Larson's ability to craft both subtle and straightforward humor. Role reversals also featured prominently, such as a July 8, 1982, strip where a cow is sent to the barn, a humorous inversion of the old trope of travelers being housed in a barn.
Larson occasionally combined his love for cows with his other frequent muse: dinosaurs. A strip from February 16, 1983, depicted dinosaurs as cows, or vice versa, showcasing his thematic range. This particular strip indirectly contributed to scientific nomenclature. A 1982 dinosaur comic by Larson introduced the term "thagomizer" to describe the spikes on a Stegosaurus tail, a name that has since become officially recognized by paleontologists.
Other cow comics played with sight gags and dark humor. A strip from September 25, 1986, featured a woman proudly displaying a plastic cow ball, relying on the visual absurdity for its humor. In contrast, a May 13, 1983, comic offered a darker take, a style rarely seen in more family-oriented comics.
Larson's versatility extended to format as well. While most strips were single panels, he sometimes employed a setup-and-punchline structure, as seen in a January 6, 1984, strip where cows stand upright only when cars are not observing. The strip's flexible format, distinct from the rigid structure of many other comics, allowed for a wide range of comedic approaches.
Humor derived from human foibles also appeared, such as a January 22, 1983, strip illustrating human stupidity. The comic from February 12, 1986, is often cited as one of Larson's funniest cow strips, blending darkness and silliness effectively. Collectively, these comics demonstrate Gary Larson's enduring talent for finding the extraordinary and the humorous in the ordinary, particularly within the world of cows.