Summary
AmongThe Far Side’smost memorable recurring gags wasthe vacation photo slideshow, in which characters subjected their guests to pictures taken during their travels.Creator Gary Larson lampooned this bygone tradition in a variety of incredible ways over the years, with the familiar set-up offering boundless opportunities for the artist to offer his subversive take on.
Often starringThe Far Side’ssignature anthropomorphized animals, Gary Larson’s slideshow cartoons elaborated on the inherent – if by and large innocuous – absurdity underlying the cultural practice of entertaining by showing vacation photos, which became a familiar part of the fabric of American middle class life in the 1970s and 1980s.
Larson’s vacation slideshow jokes were, for the most part, among the more lighthearted jabs at American culture contained inThe Far Side– perhaps suggesting some nostalgia on the artist’s part for the tradition.
Long before social media made seeing friends and family’s vacation photos a ubiquitous part of daily life, it became common for people to share pictures by setting up a projector and a screen, and walking their guests through a slideshow presentation. Over time, the practice fell out of favor, but Gary Larson’sFar Sidepanels depicting variations on this activity came at the peak of its prominence.
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10The First Far Side Vacation Slideshow Comic Set A High Bar
First Published: July 05, 2025
While many ofThe Far Side’sclassic recurring elements wereestablished in its first year in publication, the “vacation slideshow” bit was an exception. When it finally did appear, it proved to be one of Gary Larson’s most visually interesting – and immediately amusing – panels up to that date. In the comic,a man who appears to be melting points at a picture of a furious looking woman, remarking to his wife, “…that’s the old peasant woman who said she’d put a curse on me if I snapped her!”
What makes this panel especially funny is the collusion of elements. The way the man is drawn is grotesquely funny, while his remarkably casual tone adds another layer of humor. So does the image of the angry woman, raising her fist and cane to ward off the interloping couple. In all, this is a particularly potent example of aFar Sidecomic where the concept, caption, and image all work together in harmony toevoke a response from the reader.
Technically, the projector did appear in at least oneFar Sidecartoon from 1980, in one of Gary Larson’s “classroom lecture” panels, which constitute a similar, though distinct strain of the artist’s humor.
9The Second Far Side Vacation Slideshow Comic Is Out Of This World
First Published: July 09, 2025
Gary Larson returned to the vacation slideshow premise not long after introducing it intoThe Far Side’srepertoire, this time in one ofthe comic’s classic installments starring aliens. Here, several extraterrestrials look at a picture of the Earth from outer space,reminiscing about a pit stop they made there once, noting: “…now that place was really a greasy spoon.”
Evoking an interstellar take on the road trip, with thisFar Sidepanel, Larson offers a literal alien perspective on two traditions deeply ingrained in the American experience: exploring the country by taking a road trip, and talking about it after for years to come.
8Gary Larson Puts His Unique Spin On A Familiar Phrase In This Far Side Comic
First Published: June 26, 2025
Gary Larson utilized the vacation slideshow premise in this panel to indulge in a bit of blatant wordplay, something he did frequently throughoutThe Far Side’stime in publication. Entertaining a pair of guests, a husband projectsa picture of his wife with the Devil himself – Satan grinning, his arm draped around here – and explains: “Now, this is from last summer when Helen and I went to hell and back.”
Though the phrase is generally used to describe overcoming hardship and adversity,Larson finds the humor in “to hell and back"by making it both literal, and playful, as the couple’s trip into the underworld was seemingly not only intentional, but a memorable, positive journey.
7Funny Faces Were Peak Comedy For Gary Larson
First Published: July 25, 2025
In this panel, the blame for a family’s goofy photo at the Grand Canyon falls on young Johnny for making a funny face – even though his family is drawn to be deliberately strange looking, in the manner ofmany ofThe Far Side’shuman characters.
One thing that is evident upon becoming familiar withThe Far Sideis that Gary Larson had a deep, abiding love for funny faces; or, at least, he saw them as a surefire comedic shortcut. In any case, Johnny in this panel is far from the the onlyFar Sidecharacter to stick his tongue out in an irreverent response to having their picture taken.
The Far Side Complete Collection
Fans of the far side can’t pass up this master collection of Gary Larson’s finest work. Originally published in hardcover in 2003, this paperback set comes complete with a newly designed slipcase that will look great on any shelf. The Complete Far Side contains every Far Side cartoon ever published, which amounts to over 4,000, plus more than 1,100 that have never before appeared in a book and even some made after Larson retired.
6This Far Side Panel Approaches The Vacation Slideshow Gag From A Different Angle
First Published: June 17, 2025
This vacation slideshowFar Sidefeatures a giraffe venting their frustration when another poorly framed photo is projected on screen; “oh lovely,” the giraffe says sarcastically, “just the hundredth time you’ve managed to cut everyone’s head off.”
In this panel, Gary Larson highlights an all-too-real aspect of revisiting vacation photos – as often as it can be a return to positive memories, it can lead to tension, and even conflict. Here, Larson uses the giraffes' physique to make a joke at the expense of those who have been put in charge of taking pictures on their family vacation, but ultimately proved not to be up to the gravity of the task. It is a gently absurd twist on a familiar reality, making it ahighly effectiveFar Sidepunchline.
5Vacations On The Far Side Were All About Finding The Best Places To Eat
First Published: June 15, 2025
This is in the conversation for the funniestFar Sidevacation slideshow panel, as itdepicts an image on the projector screen of a smiling shark, waving a fin, as a gaggle of unsuspecting beachgoer’s legs tangle directly above. “And here we are last summer off the coast of,” the shark husband informs his guests, before asking his wife, “Helen, is this Hawaii or Florida?”
The Far Sidefeatured its share of characters in the moments before theyunwittingly met their doom; while the bathers here seemingly escaped unscathed, they have no idea how close they came to becoming a memorable vacation meal for this shark couple. As with so manyFar Sidecartoons, the dissonance between the mortal tension implied, and the otherwise silly nature of the joke, elevates the humor of Gary Larson’s joke to another level of complexity.
Interestingly, this is the second “Helen” to appear in aFar Sidevacation slideshow panel.
4This Is Universally The Worst Case Scenario For Vacation Photos
First Published: June 17, 2025
Most people know the dismay of blinking at precisely the wrong moment, forever immortalizing them with their eyes clenched shut in a group photo, where everyone else is wide-eyed. Gary Larson captures that feeling here, in aFar Sidepanel entitled “alien slide shows,” which depicts a photo of three one-eyed extraterrestrials;two of them have their single eyes wide open, with black pupils directly in the middle, while the third has a straight line across their eye.
In a rare instance whereLarson seemingly didn’t trust his readers to get the joke, he also includes dialogue from one of the alien parents. “This isn’t bad,” the alien says, “except Zubo must have blinked.” Yet the joke seems evident enough without this line – as the contrast between the two open eyes, and one closed, makes it clear what the artist is going for here.
3Always Prepare The Slides Before Company Comes Over
First Published: July 02, 2025
ThisFar Sidecartoondepicts another classic vacation slideshow foible: the upside-down slide.In this panel, a husband becomes irate with his wife for loading the slide in the wrong way – and while Gary Larson wasn’t shy about finding the humor in martial turmoil, here he takes the edge off bymaking the couple ducks, with the mix-up concerning whether they flew north or south for the summer.
There are certainly a number of reasons that the practice of showing guests vacation photos went from being considering conventional to cringe, and without a doubt, conflicts like the one that Larson lampoons here were one relevant factor in that shift. Again, thisFar Sideembodies the inherent silliness of this kind of snapping at one’s spouse through its irreverent use of ducks.
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Though it didn’t appear with the frequency of the comic’s infamous dogs, ducks, cats, & chickens, one repeat gag perfectly sums up The Far Side.
2This Far Side Cartoon Features A Memorable Day At The Snake Pit
First Published: July 09, 2025
Snakes appeared often inThe Far Side,so it is somewhat surprising that it took as long as it did for them to slither their way into a slideshow panel. Here, a snake recounts the story of a time a human accidentally stumbled into its nest, consequently being bitten repeatedly, and presumably killed.
“Count those fang marks, everyone!” the snake tells its guests, as the projector screen fills withan image of the serpent smiling, its rattle vibrating with excitement, next to a prone pair of human legs.Once more, thisFar Sidecounts on the incongruity between the human’s gruesome fate, and the glee of the snakes as they recall the memory of biting the man to death, in order toprovoke a response from the reader.
1This Memorable Far Side Slideshow Panel Highlights Puppy Love
First Published: August 01, 2025
Dogs were among Gary Larson’s most beloved recurring subjectsthroughoutThe Far Side, and this slideshow cartoon depicting the origin of a canine love story is memorable for how three-dimensional Larson manages to make this dog couple in just a single image, and a single line of dialogue.
Gary Larson once noted that many of hisFar Sidecomics began as short stories, and it would not be surprising to discover that to be the case for this one. The giveaway is the odd specificity of the punchline, as the dog husbandadmits that his wife doesn’t like him showing this picture, but that he’s doing so anyway, explaining: “It’s halftime at the ‘88 Detroit-Chicago game when we first met.“As brief and simple as it might seem, this puts these dog lovers among the most fully-realizedFar Sidecharacters.
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.
