10 Most Clever Far Side Comics Poking Fun at Doctors & Medicine

The Far Side featured a number of hilarious jokes about doctors during its time in publication, as Gary Larson skillfully undermined the gravitas typically associated with the medical profession. In his topsy-turvy fictional world, doctors were among the most outrageous characters, and appeared in some of Larson’s most remarkable panels.

Not just doctors, but dentists, optometrists, and, of course, surgeons, were all at the center of multiple wickedly funny Far Side cartoons over the years, which used audiences’ mixed feelings about the medical field as a springboard to some stand-out punchlines.

Alongside the frequent appearance of scientists throughout The Far Side, doctors were perhaps the career path Larson lampooned the most, though remarkably, his doctor humor never risked getting stale, as he remained continuously inventive right up until his retirement.

10 The Far Side Makes Going To The Dentist Even Scarier (Where Did She Get Her Degree?)

​​​​​​​First Published: February 28, 1994

The Far Side was full of memorable monster moments, and this cartoon cleverly combines Gary Larson’s penchant for drawing monsters with his tendency to poke fun at doctors. In this case, a boy sitting in the waiting room at the dentist’s office is told he can go into the office of “Mrs. Llewellyn” – a monstrous figure in a white lab coat, smiling wickedly through the examination room’s glass door, as she examines what is seemingly a disembodied head.

This is an example of Larson’s keen ability to take a familiar scenario and dial it up to an uproarious extreme; as if a visit to the dentist weren’t enough to make a kid uneasy, here, “Bobby” must also face the terrifying reality that his oral hygeine is about to be scrutinized by an inhuman crature.

9 The Far Side’s Least Qualified Doctors Were Often Its Funniest (Shouldn’t He Take Sir Dwayne’s Armor Off?)

First Published: November 11, 1993​​​​​​​

The Far Side’s doctor jokes routinely relied on the premise that they were less qualified than a patient would be comfortable with – and often, their bed-side manner was far from ideal. This cartoon is a great example of that, as Gary Larson depicts a knight suffering from multiple bee stings, after a bee has gotten stuck in his armor, yet his doctor expresses no urgency when it comes to easing his suffering, instead putting his ear against the chestplate of “Sir Dwayne” and noting, “if I knock right here, I can make him start buzzing…ooh and he’s angry!“

Naturally, the doctor’s behavior is likely to result in more stings for Sir Dwayne, as rather than removing his armor and immediately treating the wounds, this doctor remains fixated on his own curiosity when it comes to his patient’s peculiar condition.

8 The Far Side Depicts A Classic Surgeon Prank (Should Readers Sympathize With The Patient?)

First Published: January 26, 1993

In this Far Side cartoon, Gary Larson offers readers a peek into the operating room – where a group of surgeons burst out laughing, after “Carlton falls for the old rubber-scalpel gag,” attempting to cut into the patient on the table, only to have the blade glance off his body.

The Far Side’s humor was always a matter of perspective, and while the joke here is based in the idea of surgeons acting incredibly unprofessionally, most readers will find themselves empathizing with the patient on the table, to at least some degree. Rather than undercutting the panel’s punchline, however, this emphasizes it; only by evoking the gravity of a situation like surgery can Larson truly make the humor of this cartoon land.

7 This Far Side Character Waited Too Long For A Check-Up (How Bad Can The Evil Eye Get?)

First Published: April 2, 1992

In this laugh-out-loud Far Side cartoon, an optometrist diagnoses his patient with “corneal corruption,” or “evil eye;“ while one of “Mr Gruenfeld’s” eyes is perfectly normal, the other is enlarged, yellow, and his an angry-looking slit for a pupil.

What makes this comic especially funny, though, is the way Gary Larson writes the eye doctor as being actually excited to have a patient come in with “evil eye.” “Oh, this is wonderful…” the doctor exclaims, his professional interest overtaking any attempt to offer support to his patient as the man processes this news about his health. As always, this Far Side doctor joke is aimed squarely at the optometrist himself, and once more, readers will have at least some amount of sympathy for the poor patient.

6 Gary Larson Didn’t Pull Any Punches With His “Horse Hospitals” Panel (Is This The Far Side’s Darkest Doctor Joke?)

First Published: May 17, 1991​​​​​​​

The Far Side’s humor was often dark, especially when Gary Larson dwelt on the inequities of the relationship between humans and animals, and this is perhaps the most potent example of that. Captioned “horse hospitals,” two equine patients laid up with broken legs look around nervously, as doctors walk to and fro carrying clipboards in one hand, with rifles clutched under their other arms.

From behind a curtain next to them, the “BLAM” of a rifle reports, and it is clear these two horses are next. As grim as the joke is, it also drives home Larson’s frequent point about the inherent inhumanity of how people treat animals, in this case by taking how race horses with broken legs are traditionally disposed of and putting it in a human context.

5 The Far Side Gets Up Close & Personal With A Werewolf (What Medical Options Do Bob & Frank Have?)

First Published: February 25, 1991

In this particularly funny Far Side cartoon, two conjoined twins sit together in the doctor’s office, with one of them covered in cuts and scrapes, his arm in a sling, as he explains that his brother Frank is a werewolf. This absurd joke seems to stem from Gary Larson asking a “What if?” question – that is, asking “what if one conjoined twin was afflicted with lycanthropy, but not the other?” – and then determining that a doctor’s office was the perfect venue for turning this flight of fancy into a fully-realized panel.

Here, the doctor in question is primarily a source of exposition, with the humor coming from the unfortunate fact that Bob must endure his brother’s transformations, during which he is naturally the most obvious, and most available, human target.​​​​​​​

4 Gary Larson Lampoons Elective Surgery With An Unusual Comic (Why Does Farmer Brown Want A Skinny Pig?)

First Published: January 29, 1991​​​​​​​

Without question, this ranks as one of The Far Side’s most outright absurd doctor jokes; captioned “the growing field of animal liposuction,” a plastic surgeon carries a skinny pig out to “Mr. Brown” in the waiting room, reminding him “she’ll be a little sore for a few weeks, but that’s normal.”

This panel is ridiculous from premise to execution, and is sure to leave many readers grasping for more context to the story behind this joke, whether there is any or not. The Far Side frequently forced readers to confront questions raised by its cartoons, many of which lacked evident answers, and that is the case here, as the “what” and the “how” of this comic are immediately overridden by the “why?”

3 The Diagnosis No Bird Wants To Hear (Is There A Cure For Being Stuffed?)

First Published:​​​​​​​ January 21, 1991

In another strange, yet hilarious Far Side cartoon, a turkey named “Mrs. Griswold” is told by her doctor that her “body cavity is filled with a tasty, breadlike substance.” Of course, the humor derives from the idea that being stuffed is a condition, rather than an end-point – though the way the turkey doctor describes this as “bad news” suggests it is unlikely there is a simple solution to her problem.

Again, this panel exhibits the cleverness that pervaded The Far Side; Gary Larson takes something that most readers would take for granted, a stuffed bird, and makes her a living character, one who has gone to the doctor in search of a cure. The result is that at least one Far Side reader over the years has likely hesitated when it came to eating Thanksgiving dinner, thanks to this memorable comic.

2 The Far Side’s Origin Story For A Three Stooges Favorite (So Curly Was Always That Way?)

First Published: December 7, 1990​​​​​​​

In a reference to slapstick comedy legends the Three Stooges, Gary Larson depicts Curly’s mother getting an ultrasound, as he makes his characteristic “woo woo woo” noise, revealing that the character’s classic humorist stylings started in utero.

For fans of the Three Stooges, this cartoon is certain to elicit a smile, while those who don’t get the reference will be left scratching their heads, asking “What the?“ Rather than treating the process of childbirth as a mystery, or a miracle, Larson makes a mockery of it here, but in the most lighthearted way possible. Again, this joke can be traced back to the author asking himself what it would be like if the behavior of a Stooge was the product of nature, rather than nurturing a comedic routine.

1 These Far Side Veternarians Stink (Is This The Far Side’s Funniest Surgery Cartoon?)

First Published: November 23, 1990

The Far Side excelled at capturing a singular moment in time, something that is apparent here, as Gary Larson delivers a freeze-frame of the action as a group of veterinarians scatter, after “the first skunk de-scenting operation” goes awry. Hilariously, one vet shouts “Johnson, you idiot! You’ve armed the damn thing! She’s gonna blow!” as if the skunk were a bomb, which when added to the hilarious expressions of terror on these Far Side characters’ faces, makes this an all-time great comic.

By lowering the stakes of the operation in question, Larson is able to deliver a punchline without any undercurrent of pathos, so the reaction from readers should be one of unabashed laughter when they encounter this classic Far Side panel about erstwhile medical professionals.