7 Flawless Far Side Comics Set On Airplanes

More famous Far Side settings like courtrooms, and desert islands in the middle of the ocean, and living rooms that were anything but ordinary, tend to get more of the spotlight than the comics Larson set in mid-air, mid-flight. Yet that doesn't mean airplanes didn't produce their own significant share of iconic Far Side cartoons.

Be prepared to laugh at catastrophe and empathize with the passengers stuck on these planes, and be grateful that The Far Side isn't a more accurate depiction of how airline pilots behave.

"The ACME Wingbaby"

First Published: November 24, 1994

This is one of the last Far Side comics Gary Larson produced, and also one of the weirdest. There's a lot to unpack here. First, there's an all-time outrageous Far Side invention: "the new ACME Wingbaby." (ACME products were a Far Side staple.) A fake baby attached to the wing of a plane with a hook.

Why on Earth (or above it) would anyone want that? Obviously, the Wingbaby is targeted at parents who want to scare their children into behaving on their flight to wherever.

Larson illustrates this by having a father, presumably this Wingbaby's owner, point it out to his son and say: "See that little kid out there, Ricky? He wouldn't stop crying either." It is the kind of hilariously poor parenting Far Side characters were notorious for, taken to an extreme level.

"Ted Unwittingly Instigates A Disaster"

First Published: September 7, 1992

Yes, "Ted" from this Far Side comic should have been more careful. But if what is about to happen immediately after this cartoon were to be litigated in a Far Side courtroom, liability would surely end up lying with the designer of the airplane, who put the "wings fall off" switch right next to the recliner button on a random passenger's seat.

Because that sort of seems to make it inevitable, doesn't it? That some unfortunate soul "fumbling for [the] recline button" would "unwittingly instigate a disaster," if it weren't Ted.

Compositionally, this is an immaculate Far Side cartoon, with the serene sky out the plane window contrasting with the "unwitting" look on Ted's face, and the calamity that his fumble fingers are about to unwittingly unleash.

"My Worthless Copilot's Frozen!"

First Published: January 7, 1991

"My second engine's on fire, my landing gear's jammed, and my worthless copilot's frozen!" The three last things anyone wants to hear a pilot shouting into the radio after "Mayday! Mayday!" The illustration of this Far Side panel shows a close-up of the plane in a nosedive, plummeting toward the ground, with thick black smoke billowing out of the aircraft's left side.

All this together is set-up for the cartoon's visual punchline: the co-pilot? He's not frozen in fear, he's a snowman. It's a great joke. A dumb joke, but utterly brilliant in its own way. Especially the little details Gary Larson accents the comic with, like the frown made of pebbles on the face of the snowman copilot (snowpilot) as he sits there helplessly.

This cartoon is a perfect specimen of The Far Side's formula working at full strength. The caption and image are in harmony, working together to generate one laugh-out-loud punchline.

An Impossible Decision On The Far Side Of The Runway

First Published: February 7, 1988

This Far Side cartoon goes out to anyone who has had to make a snap decision at work, without having time to check in with their higher-ups first. That's what the aircraft marshaller in the top left corner of this extra-sized Far Side is forced to do when the commercial flight he's waving into the tarmac splits perfectly in half.

Well, which part of the plane, the front or the back, gets the runway? It's a ridiculous question, yes, which is why the punchline of this Far Side cartoon is that the guy on the ground is considering it for even a moment.

Whether this Far Side cartoon would be stronger with a caption or not is open for debate. What can be said for sure is that it exemplifies of Gary Larson's more subtle strain of humor. The kind of Far Side joke where readers have to put 2-and-2 together themselves. That means some people will miss the gag, but when it clicks, it hits.

"Why Do I Always Have To Sit Next To Some Weirdo?"

First Published: December 4, 1985

Most of the people on this Far Side flight are relatively normal. "Relatively" being the operative word. The Far Side was populated by Gary Larson's slightly askew caricatures of average people, and so is this airplane. (Including The Far Side's iconic nerdy kid.) With a few big exceptions.

Occupying the window seat in the second row is a particularly goofy-looking fellow. He's got a toothy smile on his face and look in his eye that suggests he might be the overly chatty type. The guy sitting next to him is not thrilled; a thought balloon over his head reads, "Dang! Why do I always have to sit next to some weirdo?"

That tees up this Far Side classic's real gag: an even weirder-looking guy just boarded the flight, headed for the aisle seat in that same row. This is The Far Side simultaneously at its most outrageous and most relatable, and the outcome is a perfect cartoon.

First Published: March 19, 1985

One of the hallmarks of a great pilot is keeping calm in a crisis. The pilot in this Far Side cartoon is not a great pilot. In fact, he simultaneously makes two of the worst cockpit mistakes possible. He misreads the instrument board, and in the process throws his passengers into a panic, at least momentarily.

"We're all going to die!" the pilot shouts in alarm, after looking down and seeing "the fuel light's on." Only, whoops, it wasn't the "fuel light" he was looking at, it was "the intercom light." Meaning everyone in the back of the plane just heard him freak out and proclaim that they're all doomed.

Look closely at the plane's windows in this Far Side panel and there are the outlines of fliers, eyes bulging with concern, as they process what just happened and try to figure out if they're really in danger or not. More flawless detail work from Gary Larson.

"There Is Some Irony In All This"

First Published: April 5, 1984

"There is some irony in all this," a pilot says to his co-pilot in this Far Side panel, which probably won't make any of their plane's passengers feel any better if they find out that the flight is in the hands of two guys with combined 50% vision between them.

That's because they "both [lost] a contact at the same time," sending them searching all over the floor of the cockpit, leaving the airplane on autopilot. (Hopefully.) The funny thing is, we're not sure this pilot knows the meaning of "irony," which itself is ironic because Gary Larson was a master of it.

One last time, let's just praise Larson's ability to be subtle when it suited him. A secondary punchline in this panel is that only one passenger has noticed there's a problem, so far. The guy in the back leaning into the aisle to clock what's going on in the cockpit. It's a perfect cherry on top of the sundae that is this Far Side airplane comic.