A comic strip by
Gary Larson popular in the late eighties, early nineties. The Far Side used a single-panel format, (you know, like
Family Circus, only the Far Side was as good as Family Circus is lousy) and explored issues such as mortality and the
absurd, usually using talking cows standing on their hind legs.
Larson's tastes tended towards the bizzare, sometimes to the confusion of the population at large. A Simpsons episode has a gag where Homer flips through a Far Side page-a-day calendar saying "I don't get it. I don't get it. Tee hee ... I don't get it." Folks with a penchant for the odd and a healthy eye for irony usually rolled in the aisles. Classic strips include:
No caption, cartoon of a boy pushing as hard as he can against a door. The door is labelled "pull," and a sign near the door says "Midvale School for the Gifted."
No caption, cartoon of a laundry room which has crudely drawn arrows scrawled on the wall and floor. The arrows point to the open door of the dryer, on which has been written "CAT FUD" and an arrow pointing into the dryer. A cat is eying the open door curiously, and behind the dryer you can see the dog hiding, thinking "Oh please, oh please..."
A common theme throughout the Far Side was 'What if animal treated humans like humans treat animals?' Also, clowns and frumpy women with horn-rimmed glasses. The strips are not generally available online, as Larson has stated that he feels uncomfortable seeing his personal work distributed beyond his control.