Gary Larson's The Far Side may be beloved by all fans of all ages, but the comic has always dealt with some dark subject matter, from animals eating humans alive to worldwide thermonuclear war. Indeed, war is a recurring theme in Larson's comics, and for very good reason, given his own childhood experiences.

In June 2024, we published '15 Funniest Far Side Comics That Somehow Found the Funny Side of War,' ending with our request for readers to vote for their #1. Over 1200 votes were cast, with every comic getting some love, and a clear winner emerging that couldn't be more relevant to its creator's life. Enjoy the runners-up by opening the image gallery below.

Larson covered warfare in every era, from Ancient Greece to the Vietnam War. Those many time periods were reflected in our poll, with runners-up including gags based in WWI (where a pilot shoots down Snoopy's doghouse), the Middle Ages, and the American Revolutionary War. Of course, Larson's goofy characters don't take life and death seriously, pausing their battles to point out goldfish and go to the bathroom. Check out our winning comic below, after the official results of our poll.

Gary Larson's Best War Comic Is a Nuclear War Reference

The Cuban Missile Crisis Influenced Larson's Humor

Larson's #1 war comic shows two people trapped in a bomb shelter during a devastating nuclear war, only to realize that - because they forgot a can opener - none of the food they carefully squirreled away can actually be eaten. This strip is the perfect example of Gary Larson combining extreme situations with mundane reactions, as he contrives for a character to be mad about a can opener even as the world is ending above them.

Nuclear war appears again and again in The Far Side, happening to everyone from the family dog to Laurel and Hardy.

Nuclear war was a major recurring theme in The Far Side, with Larson using the image of a mushroom cloud again and again. Variations include everyday people responding to a world-ending conflict with mild irritation, animals not understanding what all the fuss is about, and bugs reclaiming the Earth once humanity is wiped away. However, there's a reason Larson goes back to the imagery of nuclear war again and again.

Gary Larson's Sense of Humor Was Shaped by Nuclear War

Larson Credits the Cuban Missile Crisis With Shaping The Far Side

In a January 8, 1987 interview with 20/20, Gary Larson explained that living through the Cold War influenced him in developing his irreverent, morbid sense of humor. Larson lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis - often considered the closest the world has ever come to true nuclear war. Larson was in school at the time, and recalls:

It was going from Leave It To Beaver to bomb shelters. I sitting in my seventh-grade English class thinking that the world was going to end during the Cuban Missile Crisis. It made you look at the world a little bit askew.

Death and doom were crucial to Larson's vision of The Far Side - it's the reason he uses new characters in every comic.

This combination of mundane life and the menacing threat of total oblivion is key to The Far Side's outlook, where the worst possible thing can (and does) happen. During the Cold War, schoolchildren were taught 'duck and cover' drills to try and protect those who were far from the epicenter of any attack, so it's clear to see how much the concept of a nuclear exchange would have featured in Larson's childhood. Indeed, Screen Rant readers' choice for his #1 war comic is exactly the kind of concern a child might have about life after the bombs fall.

Larson Made Death and Disaster Integral to The Far Side

There Are a Lot of Far Side Gags Where No-One Survives the Punchline

Larson's childhood experience of the Cold War doesn't just explain his inclusion of nuclear armageddon as a theme in The Far Side. There are plenty of Far Side gags that imply dark fates for the comic's characters, with everything from bears to vultures finishing people off, while aliens also destroy Earth in multiple gags. Larson's desire to kill off his characters was key to the entire concept of The Far Side, and his decision not to match elements that made contemporaries like Peanuts so successful.

In The Complete Far Side, Larson mentions that his editor originally wanted him to include some recurring characters. These would have given Far Side a clear identity from the start, and helped get readers to keep coming back to see characters they liked. Larson describes panicking at the suggestion, as it was the last thing he wanted. Indeed, Larson was set on creating a comic world where his creations could be "crunched, speared, shot, beheaded, eaten, stuffed, poisoned, and run over about twice a week. (Tastefully, of course.)"

Larson's Focus on War Perfectly Complements His Animal Obsession

The Threat of Death Is a Hard Fact of the Animal Kingdom

The Far Side's morbid sense of humor was also doubtless influenced by Larson's fascination with the animal kingdom - a place where, as in his childhood, death is a constant possibility and life could end at any moment. Many fans have noted that Larson's sympathies tend to lie with the animals in his comics, and his childhood is one explanation for why - living through the height of possible nuclear warfare could easily have given Larson an understanding of what it's like to live under the constant possibility of death.

The Far Side took a genuinely dark time in world history (and the uncertainty of Larson's own childhood) and turned it into hilarity, with Larson's commentary on war threading surreality and humor through the darkest subject possible.