Seven Best Far Side Comics Starring Elephants

For as long as humanity has been telling jokes, elephants have made for unusually reliable punchlines. The metaphorical elephants in the room give comedians plenty to work with, but add in trunks, tusks, their reputation for never forgetting a moment, and the fact they look all around ridiculous trying to do anything remotely human, and there is practically an endless supply of material.

That material is something Gary Larson understood better than most. Throughout the cartoonist’s 15-year run on The Far Side, elephants showed up at cocktail parties, crime scenes, watering holes, and phone booths, usually behaving just enough like people to make the whole situation considerably stranger. Some of Larson’s best works leaned on familiar stereotypes about the animals, while others simply dropped them into situations where an elephant had absolutely no business being, and we have collected the best of the best.

Eat or Don’t Eat

Larson imagines early humans trying to keep track of whether or not they can safely consume elephants, complete with primitive tally boards. Unfortunately for these folks, the enormous test subject standing behind them makes the whole experiment feel slightly less academic.

Long-Distance Problems

Tackling the horrific idea of poaching head-on, an elephant makes a long-distance call only to find out their leg has been turned into a waste basket.

Ivory Keys

A party is going perfectly well until an elephant spots an ivory piano keyboard. Considering where ivory traditionally comes from, the mood change is immediate and completely understandable.

An Elephant Never Forgets

Larson takes the old saying literally, imagining an elephant drinking to forget but discovering he simply cannot. It is a perfectly miserable little joke built directly around one of the animal’s most famous traits.

Tiny Hands

Edgar tries to hide a strange ailment from the other elephants, but there is one obvious giveaway when he suddenly grows a tiny human hand.

The Butler Did It

A detective confidently announces that the butler murdered the Colonel by goring and trampling him. The elephant sitting quietly among the suspects makes the conclusion just a little suspicious.

Armed and Dangerous

Safari hunters are typically worried about an elephant’s size, tusks, and temper. Larson makes the situation worse by giving one an itty-bitty knife as if that should be the primary worry.

Source: Polygon