Gary Larson’sThe Far Sidedoesn’t have many recurring characters, but when they do appear, they’re used for some of his best comics in the whole series. Perhaps the most iconic ofFar Side’s repeat offenders is ‘the woman in horn-rimmed glasses’ - an unfortunate star of Larson’s comic who has had more bizarre things happen to her than any other figure inFar Sidehistory.
The woman in horn-rimmed glasses started out as just the way Larson tended to draw a similar type of character, but because she’s so recognizable, she quickly became a favorite of fans, appearing on the covers of variousFar Sidecollections.Fans even eventually learned her name, asLarson’s strip introducingThe Far Side’s castintroduced her ‘actor’ as Arlene Carmichael, who apparently ‘played’ the many different women in horn-rimmed glasses across Larson’s comics.
Here, then, are the 15 funniest comics starring Arlene Carmichael, as she makes her way in the wild world ofThe Far Side.Be sure to vote in our end-of-article polland have your say on which of the woman in horn-rimmed glasses' many appearances are the best of the best.
15Dog Food Again
A Rare Optimistic Far Side Comic
Some of Arlene Carmichael’s appearances are relatively thankless, as she plays the straight woman to funnier characters. In this case, Arlene serves a can of dog food to two overjoyed canines who are thrilled with her choice of meal. The gag hinges on the idea that surely it’s dog foodeverynight, with the family pets somehow still being enthused and surprised when Arlene opens the can.Larson’s dogs were never his smartest characters, but here they star in one of his rare comics where everything works out for the protagonists.
14My Couch!
One of Larson’s Darker Far Side Comics
Sadly, things can’talwayswork out in the world ofThe Far Side, and here Arlene is the mother of ‘Leonard,’ aPsycho-worthy obsessive who can’t stand anyone sitting on his favorite couch (essentially a lethal version ofBig Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper.) The shadow in the bottom left of the panel shows that the painting is about to become gory reality, though it’s a mark of Larson’s comedic genius that he makes Leonard’s presence so understated.
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13Sorry to Bother You…
Sometimes, Far Side Doesn’t Need Anything Beyond Pure Surrealism
Far Sideloves swapping human and animal behavior, and here the woman in horn-rimmed glasses calls her neighbor with a request to come and fetch her husband, as he’s bothering her cat.The blasé way that characters handle bizarre situations is one ofThe Far Side’s funniest conceits, although given everything Arlene has seen, it makes sense this doesn’t freak her out too much.
12Rebuild the Fort Later
Larson Echoes Classic Sitcoms with His Childish Husbands
In the style of endless shows likeTheSimpsons,Married with Children, andKing of Queens, Arlene plays the put-upon housewife dealing with a childish husband. However, in the world ofThe Far Side, the dial always goes up to eleven, so Arlene’s partner isn’t just engaged in selfish hijinks - he’s literally hiding in a pillow fort.
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11Don’t Sit There
Larson Loves Taking Common Sayings To the Extreme
One ofThe Far Side’s favorite tricks is to take an idiom or saying and push it to its most absurd limits. In any normal household, saying that a chair isn’t safe just means it has a wobbly leg. However, in the world ofFar Side, it’s besets with spikes, bear traps, and a hanging snake. Larson’s attention to detail is showcased by the fact that the snake isn’t just held up by a rope, but by afrayingrope that’s ready to give.
Workingalmost exclusively in single panels,The Far Sidederives a lot of humor from moments that wouldn’t make any sense if you had to depict the lead-up. After all, how did Doreen miss the myriad dangers of this chair before needing to be warned?
10I’m Not Kidding About This
Far Side’s Malevolent Ducks Are a Genius Choice
Larson loves bringing the bizarre into the inherently mundane, and some of his weirdest gags take place in offices or nice suburban households. Here, J.F. Jones is revealed to be that classic gag - several animals dressed up in a man suit. Hilariously, being exposed doesn’t change Jones' attitude, as one of the ducks sternly warns Arlene’s character Miss Billings to forget what she just saw. Again, the gag hinges on the unseen - what did Mr. Jones look and behave likebeforethe ducks were exposed?
Larsonuses ducks throughoutThe Far Side, often giving them malevolent energy and using clichés associated with crime fiction. In another duck gag (above) Arlene is pushed down a staircase by two enterprising ducks, while in another an innocent office worker is terrorized by the distant gaze of a hidden waterfowl.
9A Dream Come True
Dog vs Cat Is a Longtime Far Side Theme
Larson loved to play with theenmity between cats and dogs, and here Arlene is again the straight woman as she turns on the dog after her cat is arrested for unknown crimes. While the woman in horn-rimmed glasses is probably right,someblame has to fall on the cat, who has apparently done something so heinous that the cops thought they’d need a shotgun for the arrest.
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8Howler Monkeys
Larson Loved the ‘Weird Neighbors’ Gag
This time without her glasses (she is in bed after all) Arlene stars inone of Larson’s favorite formats - an all-American family dealing with bizarre neighbors. The woman in horn-rimmed glasses appears in a lot of these comics, but we’ve chosen the howler monkey gag to represent them because of the amazing visual of the monkeys screaming for all they’re worth while staring directly at the poor couple just trying to sleep.
7Does Someone Have a Hammer?
One of Far Side’s Most Surreal Visuals
Inone of Larson’s most surreal comics(and another that thrives on playing with the idea of how we got to this point), a woman finds herself trapped inside her own wine glass. Thankfully, one of her fellow diners has been in this situation before. This is one ofFar Side’s biggest belly-laugh comics, but doesn’t appear higher on this list since the woman in horn-rimmed glasses is only an onlooker to the gag.
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6Not Even Drawn Yet
Far Side Breaks the Fourth Wall With This Meta Gag
The Far Sidewasn’t averse tometa humor gags that break the fourth wall, and here Arlene plays the nagging wife to a husband who Larson hasn’t yet finished drawing. Part of the genius ofThe Far Side’s humor is how the caption often explains an image that makes absolutely no sense on its own, and that’s definitely the case here.
