Gary Larson's giant squid in various comical situations, and yet he also finds the time to give humble amphibians their own great moments.
Here are the 13 funniest Far Side comics starring frogs, including two of Larson's best wordless gags of all time. Be sure to vote in our end-of-article poll and help crown Larson's funniest frog comic.
13 "Ahhhh... Life!"
From a Bug's Perspective, Even Frogs Can Be Deadly
Larson originally wanted to call his comic Nature's Way, and that's exactly what's on show here, as from the perspective of an insect, even a frog can be a deadly predator. The strip relies on grim irony, as while the insect enjoys life and hangs out on a leaf, readers already know that a hungry frog is rising from the deep. Larson's love of bugs and insects is clear throughout The Far Side, but no matter the animal, he's always aware that life in nature is (in the words of Thomas Hobbes) "nasty, poor, solitary, brutish, and short."
12 Frog Hunting
Larson's Aliens Are Always On Hand to Teach Humanity a Lesson
One of the unique elements of Far Side's humor is treating humans as just another species of animal, even though we often think of ourselves as existing outside of nature. In this strip, Larson makes that point with typically dark humor, as one human advises his friend on how to catch frogs by hypnotizing them with light, not yet realizing that some unseen aliens are doing exactly the same thing to his 'hunting' partner. Larson enjoyed the idea of aliens treating humans like animals, with multiple gags about them catching humans like fish and bugs.
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11 Creature from the Black Lagoon
Far Side Loves This Horror Icon
In this surprisingly hilarious strip, a frog takes a moment to offer Creature from the Black Lagoon's Gill-Man some words of encouragement as the iconic movie monster prepares to prey on nearby humans. Larson loved using Gill-Man in The Far Side, turning the freaky creature into a recurring character.
While Larson repeatedly uses Gill-Man in his strips, this is only part of a larger obsession with horror movie monsters, with Frankenstein, King Kong and the Mummy appearing again and again throughout The Far Side. Larson's love of dark humor explains why these monsters find such a consistent home in his world.
10 Air Sac
Frogs Are Ripe for Physical Comedy
While Larson enjoyed putting frogs in unusual situations, he also liked to play around with their biology. In this strip, a ruptured vocal sac sends one frog flying as the air gushes out. While the image of a frog whizzing around like a balloon makes this Larson's funniest physical frog gag, he also enjoyed playing around with the amphibians' long tongues, with the strip below showing a frog who has become a victim of its own desire to feed.
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9 Frog Pioneers
How the Wet Was Won
In this strip, a group of frog pioneers (complete with Davy Crockett hats) plan out the swamp their children will one day live in. It's a cute and potentially mind-bending concept, turning nature from a natural process to a thoroughly planned out endeavor where each animal is responsible for creating its own ideal environment. It's the same humor fans can find in Larson's many cavemen comics, where early hominids all seem to understand that they're meant to be working towards creating the modern world.
8 Chef
Gary Larson Found Frog Legs Hilarious
While it's still considered unusual in America, frog legs are considered a delicacy in other parts of the world, and The Far Side gets a lot of humor out of asking what frogs might think of this. The best gag of the bunch sees a frog gun down the chef who has come to claim their remaining legs, but other strips see frog children hearing horror stories about leg poachers and a Blues musician lamenting the practice. The most surreal version of the joke sees a diner patron enjoying a plate of frog legs, only to find that one of them is wearing a tiny sneaker (part of Larson's other obsession with miniature people.)
7 Ribbit, Ribbit, Ribbit
Far Side Has a Surreal Explanation for Croaking
The Far Side loves to mess with even the internal logic of its own jokes, and in this strip a group of frogs gather around to 'sing,' only for every word to be "ribbit." Of course, the gag makes no sense since the frogs are already speaking English, but it does offer readers the hilarious experience of picturing a group of frogs gathered around a piano the next time they hear croaking out in the wild.
6 Frog Mobsters
Larson's Love of Organized Crime Meets His Amphibian Obsession
Yet again, frogs get into trouble by acting like humans, planning to hide a body in the nearby swamp only to realize that, as frogs, that's exactly where the authorities will look first. The surreal humor of frogs not quite realizing they're frogs is typical of Larson, and so is the decision to make organized crime funny.
The Far Side loves to show mobsters getting it wrong, taking deadly characters and tripping them up with everyday foibles and misunderstandings. This is typical of Larson's humor, where the most innocent things can be deadly (like frogs) and the deadliest things can be goofy.
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5 Jerry
This One Requires Some Outside Knowledge
This strip depends on the reader knowing the lyrics to Three Dog Night's Joy to the World, with Larson revealing that song's narrative should be taken incredibly literally. The iconic opening words say:
Jeremiah was a bullfrog
He was a good friend of mine
I never understood a single word he said
But I helped him drink his wine
And he always had some mighty fine wine
Music fans have long argued about the nonsensical lyrics, with some arguing it's a Biblical metaphor for the prophet Jeremiah while others claim that writer Hoyt Axton originally penned the lyrics for another project or as temporary filler to showcase the tune. However, it appears The Far Side has the inside track, confirming that both Jeremiah and the song's narrator are both just alcoholic frogs.
Despite its nonsense lyrics, Joy to the World was incredibly popular on its 1971 release, selling millions of copies worldwide and quickly being certified gold.
4 Diner
Larson's Unique Take on a Classic Joke
Frogs' love for flies is another of Larson's favorite themes when depicting the amphibians, and in this strip he pulls off his classic 'animals behaving like humans' gag with a frog politely asking another diner if he can have the fly floating in their soup. It's Far Side's unique take on a classic "waiter, waiter" joke, where the diner in question is actually glad to find a fly in their soup.
