The Far Sidefeatured a number of hilarious cartoons where the punchline involved a mystery, often leading to the appearance of one ofGary Larson’s few certified recurring characters, the detective; this list focuses onthe funniest of these cartoons in the context of how Larson was able to use the mystery trope and crime scene setting to his comedic advantage.
Certainly,The Far Sidefostered its own share of unanswered questions, often in the form of itsmost perplexing, “What the?"-inducing jokes, yet there is something distinct about Larson’s “murder mystery” jokes, as well as his occasional dabbling with real-world mysteries, a few classic examples of which are represented here.
In any case, as much ofThe Far Sidemystifying nature has been debunked, and explained in detail over the years, these legitimate mysteries still continue to throw readers for a loop, in Gary Larson’s patented manner of doing things.
10A Big (Bird) Mystery; The Far Side’s Perfect Mix Of Crime Scene Satire And Pop Culture Humor
First Published: August 11, 2025
In this classicFar Sidemurder mystery cartoon,Sesame Stteet’s Big Bird runs afoul of an unknown killer, who uses “big bird shot” to take out the children’s TV programming legend. The punchline here relies on the dissonance between the serious “Law and Order”-style tone of the detective characters and the immediately-amusing visual of Big Bird lying prone on the floor of an average-looking apartment building.
ForThe Far Side’smystery humor, the most crucial creative decision Gary Larson had to make was the choice of victim, which would make or break the joke. In this instance, it makes it, while also managing to deliver one ofThe Far Side’shilariously irreverent pop culture references.
9These Far Side Cops Try And Worm Their Way Out Of Working To Solve A Murder Mystery
First Published: June 19, 2025
“We appreciate your concern, ma’am,but this just isn’t enough for us to go on” a worm detective tells a distraught wife, in thisiconicFar Sideinsect cartoon,as her husband lies cut-in-half in the middle of their living room floor, with the investigator elaborating that, “find the other half of your husband, and now we’ve got a case.”
In this way, Gary Larson slyly uses his worm characters to lampoon the bureaucratic incompetence that often leads to the police being less-than-helpful when it comes to “whodunnit” murder investigations. Here, the worm detective immediately shifts the onus of uncovering leads in this case to the family of the victim, rather than taking it upon itself, in a great example of aFar Sidecartoon that combines absurdist humor and keen insight into contemporary culture.
8The Far Side’s Bird Detective Isn’t Optimistic About Their Chances Of Solving This Case
First Published: August 08, 2025
A mystery is once more at the center of another unforgettableFar Sidebird cartoon, and yet again, investigators find themselves amusingly obfuscated in their attempts to get to the bottom of it. “Aha! The murderer’s footprints” an avian detective says, in a revelatory moment, shining a flashlight on a set of prints leading up to the victim’s window,before throwing cold water on the potential hot lead, by noting, “of course, we all leave tracks like this.”
In this way, Gary Larson hilariously uses bird physiology to his comedic advantage here, allowing for a joke that highlights the potential problems inherent in a world of anthropomorphized birds. The ridiculous quality of bird cops, their ranks signified by hats and nothing more, does a great deal of work to get a laugh out of readers with thisFar Sidecartoon, while the mystery will leave readers wanting to know more.
7Gary Larson Delivers A Hilarious Interpretation Of The Real Mystery Of D.B. Cooper
First Published: June 28, 2025
ThisFar Sidecartoon actually stands out from the others listed here, because it offers a potential solution to an actual mystery, rather than posing an open-ended question for readers to puzzle over. However, it merits inclusion for precisely this reason, asGary Larson gleefully puts forth a possible “untold ending” of legendary thief D.B. Cooper.
In Larson’s interpretation, Cooper did not survive parachuting from the plane he hijacked because he landed in a pen full of ravenous rottweilers, who devoured him, leaving no evidence behind. It is a clever supposition about one of the 20th century’s greatest mysteries;The Far Sidealways had a speculative strain to its humor, but this panel gave Gary Larson one of his best opportunities ever to offer a unique, and honestly gruesome, guess at this perennial uncertainty.
6The Far Side’s Duck Detective Doesn’t Have Much To Go On To Quack This Case
First Published: June 19, 2025
“Suddenly, there was this tremendous, bloodcurdling ‘quaaaaacck.’ That’s when I called,” a witness tells a police officer inthisFar Sideduck cartoon, which once again finds its humor in a clash of disparate elements.The panel features a crime scene in a state of upheaval, with evident signs of struggle all around the body of the victim, which lies with its webbed feet sticking up in the air, with the joke being born out of the way the seriousness of this imagery butts up against the silliness of Gary Larson’s use of duck characters.
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Funniest of all is the note of the final cry of “quaaaacck” before the killing blow is struck, of course, but the overall impression of this mix of gravity and levity is what will make it the most memorable forFar Sidefans; the level of detail in both the image and the caption are certain to stick with readers, who will recall thisFar Sidecrime scene cartoon fondly.
5This Far Side Penguin’s Untimely Death Has A One-In-A-Million Chance Of Being Solved
First Published: May 24, 2025
Of allThe Far Side’scartoons featuring unexplained murders, this stands as perhaps Gary Larson’s funniest elaboration on this premise. In fact, this is also an arguably even funnier version of the “Bird Detective” cartoon from earlier in this list, which chronologically, was published several years later.
In thisFar Sidepenguin cartoon,a dead penguin is surrounded by hundreds of identical birds, as one among them confirms that it was “beaked in the back,” before adding that “you know this won’t be easy to solve,“given the sheer number of suspects, each armed with their own personal murder weapon, who will be largely indistinguishable from one another. This is as much of a laugh-out-loud use of the “murder mystery” joke premise asThe Far Sideever featured, delivering a punchline that invites the reader to find amusement in the fact that this is a nigh-unsolvable crime.
4What Did This Far Side Cat Do To Deserve Being Hauled Off To Jail? We’ll Never Know
First Published: July 01, 2025
“I suppose you think this is a dream come true,' an upset woman says to her dog, while they watch together through their living room window as the household’s cat is carted off to jail, at gun point no less, by the local police. Of course, once more this is a “mystery” without an answer, yet unlike the previous entry on this list, is one that will haveFar Sidefans begging for more context.
To be fair,moreFar Sidepunchlines had backstoriesoutside of their single panel than the average reader might expect, and this feels like exactly the kind of cartoon where it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that Gary Larson has an answer to what exactly the cat did, but it is one fans of his work should not ever expect to learn, a reminder that sometimes it is better to get comfortable with the unknown.
3The Far Side Visits The Starting Point Of The Great Amelia Earnhart Disappearance Mystery
First Published: August 02, 2025
This classicFar Sidecomic tackles real world history, touching on the legendary disappearance of early aviator Amelia Earhart. Similar to the way he revealed the “truth” behind D.B. Cooper’s disappearance, Gary Larson would subsequently return to Earhart’s disappearance at least once, to confirm the grim reality of her fate, yet with thisFar Sidecomic, he openly revels in the mystery.
Larson does this by depictinga gathering of people eagerly awaiting Earhart’s arrival home, with one woman quietly noting “I’m just starting to worry about that roast in the oven,” indicating they’ve been waiting much longer than expected.As mostFar Sidereaders will know, they will be waiting indefinitely, adding a hint of tragedy to this otherwise amusing cartoon.
2A Closet Full Of Ducks Is A Common Far Side Crime Scene Complication
First Published: July 13, 2025
“Ahh…,” a detective says in the caption to thisFar Sidecartoon, as he discovers a bunch of ducks stacked in the closet of a murder victim, with the investigator musing to himself that “the plot thickens"as a result of this revelation. However, his thought process is not elaborated on further, leaving the reader to have to do their own detective work to piece together the connection between the details of the crime scene here.
This is aclassicFar Sidepanel, an early example of Gary Larson’s knack for throwing an absurdist twist at the reader, and letting them stew on it, as well as his ability to raise a lot of questions with a minimal use of words and imagery.
1The Far Side’s Obtuse Detective Needs To Take A Second Look Around In This Classic Far Side Case
First Published: Jun 09, 2025
In thistimelessFar Sidecartoon, a detective stands over the body of a slain horologist, a clock collector, and holds up a machine gun,stating “we’ve got the murder weapon and the motive,” though this latter evidence goes unexplained, before adding “now if we can just establish the time of death,“as though that seemingly weren’t the easiest part of the investigation, given the surplus of clocks at the crime scene, most of them stopped at the precise moment of the murder, a result of catching stray bullets.
It is an iconicFar Sideuse of overly obvious humor, one in which Gary Larson masterfully displays his use of details to make a laugh-out-loud punchline, making this stand up as one ofThe Far Side’sgreatest mysteries.
