Some ofThe Far Side’sless well - known recur elements deserve recognition alongsidethe strip ’s omnipresent oxen , andits incessant joke focus on around canine – event in full stop , the regular appearances of Igor , the consummate mad scientist ’s supporter , who kill up in many hilarious panel over the geezerhood , in which he routinely stole the public eye .

Frankenstein was a common subject of Gary Larson’spop finish liquid body substance , and Igor by nature share many panels with both the ill-famed Doctor , and his monster . Yet there are a surprising figure of cartoon in which Igor give way solo , and some of these correspond Larson ’s funniest use of the fibre .

The Far Side’sIgor panel also offer a window into how estimation be given to get stuck in Gary Larson ’s mind , causing him to return to them over and over , so as to find the perfect formulation of a joke , even if it took years .

Gary Larson (left) and a Far Side cartoon featuring him being accosted by cows as he draws (right)

accord to Gary Larson , once his laughable strip The Far Side develop a report for being " unearthly " and " perplexing , " there was no wait back .

10Igor’s First Far Side Appearance Finds Him Freelancing

First Published: May 26, 1980

Though they are most ordinarily associated with one another – in pop refinement andThe Far Side – Dr. Frankenstein and Igor really made their launching in the strip separately . Frankenstein and his monster first appeared a little over a calendar month before Igor show up up in this control panel , in which he , more or less surprisingly , is n’t function for his common genus Bos .

Or at least , it can be inferred this is n’t Frankenstein from the fact that the unnamed defeated scientist – who broadcast Igor to the store for " two size five hundred flashlight electric battery " when their distant control dies – is not work on reanimating the all in , but rather on a giant metropolis - destroy robot . In any case , it is clear that Gary Larson regard Igor the prototypical mad scientist ’s assistant , making it a no - brainer that he would be used to helpmake this punchline more accessible to readers .

9The First Of Many Mix-Ups & Mishaps For The Far Side’s Igor

First Published: January 14, 1983

In this panel , Gary Larson establishes a premise he would revisit in multiple panels starring Igor , in which he is depicted as perennially hapless and put - upon by his manic employer . Here , Igor is shouted at , lambast after he brings the untimely - sized wrench to Dr. Frankenstein , who is madly working on his monster .

This characterization is the Southern Cross of the joke in this panel;while someFar Sidereaders might thinkthey’re miss something here , rather than being too subtle , this cartoon is almost too obvious . That is , the punchline relies a slight too heavily on readers to already find out the moral force between these fictitious character funny . Nevertheless , the aspect on Igor ’s expression in this comic is enough to get at least a solid chortle out of many fans .

8A Classic Misunderstanding Has Igor In Trouble Again

First Published: November 18, 1983​​​​​​​

Without a doubt , this is one ofThe Far Side’sfunniest Igor coming into court , as well as one ofGary Larson ’s most outrageous pieces of pun . It is also a marvel of composition at the level of illustration , which works flawlessly with the caption to deliver a laugh - out - forte punchline .

As Dr. Frankenstein brook with his hands on his rose hip , complain about how long he ’s had to wait for Igor to " bring back a simple lilliputian brain , " Igor appears at the top of the stairs tug a railroad train . The humour of this panel has an almost slapstick quality to it , while the funniest part by far is the look on Igor ’s grimace , as he overhears the mad scientist ’s grumbling and realize he completely misunderstood the assignment .

7It Doesn’t Take A Lot Of Brains To Understand What Makes The Far Side’s Igor Funny

First Published: September 19, 1985

Once more , theunderlying premiss of thisFar SideIgor panel involve the character being beam out into the macrocosm to pander a mind for his employer ’s experimentation . In this instance , it seems as though his task is easier than ever , as he walks down a city street past multiple brain store , include " Cerebellum City , " " Brainland , " " World of Brains , " and even " Bucket type O ' Brains . "

Of of course , readers have to question whether the pleasantly goofy look on Igor ’s look is a result of the bounteousness of brainpower - selling establishment he has to take from , or if it is a sign that he is obliviously walking right past all of these stores . Either option serves to similarly play up the irreverent , outright goofy nature ofThe Far Side’sincarnation of Igor .

Fans of the far side ca n’t go across up this captain collection of Gary Larson ’s finest work .   in the beginning bring out in hardback in 2003 ,   this soft-cover book set comes complete with a fresh designed slipcase that will take care 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 retire .

far side phobias

6Sometimes The Far Side’s Igor Was Too Weird Even For Doctor Frankenstein

First Published: December 17, 1985

Another laugh - out - loudFar SideIgor joke , this one place upright out for the way that it " lampshades " the outlandishness of Gary Larson ’s humour . In other word , this ego - aware punchline shout out aid to its own strangeness , as Dr. Frankenstein bark at Igor to kibosh putting his Wolfman puppet in the monster ’s facial expression , total , " boy , sometimes you really are outlandish . "

uproariously , this by from no less than a disturbed scientist has thefeeling of Gary Larson turn to himself – not just in a moment of personal reflection , but as if he has fully stepped outside himself and , even for a abbreviated moment , into the shoe of the average referee . Without a doubt , many fellow member Larson ’s audience would have sound out to him precisely what Frankenstein tell apart Igor here .

5Igor Blows Off Some Steam, As Gary Larson Finds An Innovative Use For Him

First Published: January 8, 1987

By this stage inThe Far Side’srun , Gary Larson had already gotten some solid gag with the idea of Igor as the forever put - upon and put down supporter ; here he finds a fresh new angle for that same gag , as Igor sits at a crowded legal community and complains about how he is undervalued at work .

" My chief does n’t appreciate me either " Igor spellbind , and in the process , Gary Larson turn him into a proxy for every reader who might be disgruntled with their job , or find stuck in their career , or detect themselves at odds with their boss . By ingest the theatrical role out of the laboratory and set him in a public mount , Larson was able to inject new life into this premise , and the event is incredibly funny .

4A Wild Departure From The Igor Readers Grew Familiar With

First Published: November 7, 1987

In one of Gary Larson ’s patented wild swings , thisFar Sidepanel does n’t feature Igor right , so to verbalize , but instead delivers a farcical extrapolation of the concept of the Igor fibre . It does this bydepicting " a camel named Igor " – the antic being that the camel has an inverted prominence , or an anti - hump , in contrast to the human Igor ’s traditional portraying as having a hump on his back , something that Larson routinely leaned into with his iteration of the character .

While moreso smile - make than jest - provoking , this panel is a great model ofLarson ’s manner of experimental humor : first , observe something , in this case that Igor is unremarkably associated with suffer a hump , and then find a way to invert it , here by taking the animal realm ’s most recognizable humpbacked brute and imagining that their version of Igor would have a valley on its back , rather than a peak .

harmonise to Gary Larson , a seemingly unobjectionable error of omission from a Hellenic Far Side sketch really frequent him well into retreat .

Far Side human character sticking out tongue as he writes (left, foreground) with Igor walking in the background

3Back To Basics For This Far Side Igor Appearance

First Published: February 11, 1988​​​​​​​

ThisFar SideIgor toon goes back to the well , but it does so in club to deliver a mellow - caliber adaptation of a familiar joke . Here , Dr. Frankenstein once again objurgate Igor for costly mistakes in the laboratory . " First there ’s that fucking up with the wrong brain business " the scientist laments , thengoes on to say , " and now you ’ve let this head go through the wash in your bloomers ' pocket " as he holds a diminutive version of the lusus naturae ’s head in the palm of his hand .

Compositionally , this is anigh - perfectFar Sidecomic . From the deadbolt of lightning through the window at the top of the shape , to the hue of the panel – which educe a classical black - and - white picture show – to the look on Igor ’s face , everything about this cartoon adds up to a put-on that is efficacious at every stage of its set - up and carrying into action .

2The Far Side Features Igor’s Origin Story

First Published: August 2, 1988

" A unseasoned Igor starts on his road to crime"in thisFar Sidecartoon , as the slippery slope toward helping a harebrained scientist revive the dead using pilfered trunk parts set forth with an impressionable Igor being win over to go " graveborrowing . “The panel hilariously depicts Igor ’s " Quaker " standing over a grave accent as he excavates it , laughing and drinking .

Though this is sure enough singular , it also carries a unattackable notation of understanding for Igor . While this has been inexplicit in many of his panels , it is more overt here ; as the caption wee-wee clear , Igor is mislead into stab up a grave , and readers that know it will become more than just a pursuit for him , but a career , are likely to empathize with the inadverant start to his path in life .

1This Far Side Flashback Depicts Igor During His Glory Days

First Published: April 29, 1993

suitably , Igor ’s finalFar Sideappearance finds him in an unfamiliar placement – fitting in and having fun , rather than being throw up out and castigated . “Back in his college days , " the subtitle explain , " Igor was known as the HBOC " ; the acronym traditionally stand for " Head Boy on Campus , " and here , it not - so - subtly double for that , as well as a mention to Igor ’s bod .

However , the funniest thing in the jury , once more , is Igor ’s face , and the looks on the faces of a group of college girls who thirstily crowd around him ; he is limn nurse a football game as he sustain court , with another male student walk nearby , reckon on with envy . In effect , it is agreat path for Gary Larson to have leftThe Far Side’sversion of Igor , as buff were secluded to one of the type ’s funniest , and most unique , appearances in his terminal cartoon .

The Far Side is a humorous comic serial developed by Gary Larson . The serial publication has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comical collections , calendar , graphics , and other multifarious items .

Far Side, May 26, 1980, mad scientisr yells at Igor to run to the store for batteries when their giant robot controller dies

Far Side, Igor brought Dr. Frankenstein the wrong sized tool

Far Side, November 18, 1983, Igor brings back a train instead of a brain

Far Side, September 19, 1985, Igor walks past multiple stores selling brains

The Far Side Complete Collection Book Set

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.

Far Side, December 17, 1985, Igor is admonished by Dr. Frankenstein for being ‘bizarre’

Far Side, January 8, 1987, Igor at the bar complaining about his boss

Far Side, November 7, 1987, a camel named Igor with an inverted hump

Far Side, February 11, 1988, Igor is chastised by Dr. Frankenstein for making costly mistakes with their materials

Far Side, August 2, 1988, Igor digs up his first ever grave while his buddies stand by and watch

Far Side, April 29, 1993, Igor is described as the ‘HBOC’ during his college days

The Far Side Comic Poster

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.

The Far Side