The Far Side has featured all sorts of animals, from aardvarks to zebras. Cows, being one of the most common mammals on Earth, have unsurprisingly been a source of inspiration for creator Gary Larson. However, the inspiration may lean on the dark side, as numerous comic strips can attest.

Showing a more dangerous and less trustworthy side of the bovine kind, cows have their reputation under the microscope in The Far Side's version of the farm animal. Whether it be blaming cows for historic disasters or showing what a cow is capable of during a shipwreck, readers may never look at a cow (or a hamburger) the same way ever again. All farmers should keep a very close eye on their cows after perusing The Far Side.

10 "Cowboy Wax Museum"

August 23rd, 1994

For a wax museum solely for cowboys, the wax figures offer some unique scenes for its visitors. One such scene features a bunch of cattle in the great stampede of cleats event which sees all the cows wearing cleats on their hoofs. It should go without saying, but there was no actual stampede with cleats. However, The Far Side always has its own history that does not align with reality.

A stampede of cows is already a very bad thing for any cowboy, but adding cleats to the mix is just overkill.

A stampede of cows is already a very bad thing for any cowboy, but adding cleats to the mix is just overkill. Likewise, the cows in the wax museum scene have looks on their faces that are a little too gleeful for what they are doing. However, if readers think that the cow scene was bad, they are in for a rude awakening in the "sheep ranchers from hell" exhibit.

9 "His Ear"

January 10th, 1980

Bullfighting is incredibly dangerous, and it gets even more high-stakes for the bullfighter in this Far Side strip. Unbeknownst to the bullfighter, one bull says to get the ear from the bullfighter and bring it back. As if a bullfighter's job is not hard enough, they now have to deal with conspiring bulls who have a serious bone to pick.

No one thinks of bulls as calm or amiable animals, but this comic strip really makes it clear that bulls should really be side-eyed by all humans, especially bullfighters. One can't blame the bull, though, considering that in order to win the match, one of them can't leave the ring alive, and the bull definitely does not want it to be him or any of his peers.

8 "I Got One!"

February 19th, 1982

Rodeo clowns are often used to distract bulls when a bull rider falls and needs to run to safety. The clowns of The Far Side are not so lucky. A bull has caught one of the clowns and exclaims its pride at having got one. The clowns, especially the one caught by the bull, look terrified - and rightfully so. The clown in the barrel would be smart to stay in there until the bull goes away.

A clown may the noble occupation of clowning to make people laugh, but it is safe to say that this clown is rethinking his whole career choice and all his choices that led to this moment thanks to one over-eager bull. A bit of a show-off, the bull brags about his catch to his fellow bulls, gaining some major cred despite the clowns' horror.

7 "Agent 6373"

March 13th, 1980

The Far Side is no stranger to showing a unique twist on historical events, which is the case in this comic strip, where two cows look at Chicago on fire and remark that Agent 6373 has accomplished their mission - made clear by the city's decimation. The fire is clearly the Great Chicago Fire, which was a conflagration that affected the city in 1871 that devastated a large portion of the city.

Not many would joke about a deadly fire, but then again, not many have the dark humor of Larson. Blaming the tragic event on a cow operative who was working on behalf of a cow organization that wanted to do away with humans, the comic suggests a completely outlandish reason for the historical disaster, showing that cows are not to be trusted.

6 "The End"

October 28th, 1988

In a very clever wink to his "Cow Tools" comic strip, Larson portrays his own end through cows, who menacingly appear complete with tools in their hoofs. Mad at how ill-received their comic strip was, the cows and their cow tools are about to finally get their revenge. Larson has no problem poking fun at himself, and this comic strip about one of his most polarizing and controversial comic strips proves it.

The character Nancy from the beloved Nancy daily strip by Ernie Bushmiller makes a picture-frame cameo in this metatextual Far Side entry.

The man in the comic strip is clearly Larson because the cartoonist protagonist is shown working on a Far Side comic as the cows barge into the room. Likewise, the reader can tell that the tools the cows are holding are not random, because the cows are holding the same exact tools as those shown in the "Cow Tools" comic.

5 "Out at Sea"

July 8th, 1985

Somehow deserted in the middle of the ocean, an unlikely duo of a cow and a man are stuck on a lifeboat together. Being at sea without any food has taken its toll on the pair, as seen in what they see when they look at each other. The man sees the cow and thinks of a nice steak, while the cow looks at the man and sees a grass-and-flower-covered man who looks delectable to the cow.

In images (and jokes) about shipwrecks, it's common enough to show someone imagining their companion as a favorite food. However, even in shipwreck scenes, rarely is a cow shown imagining a human to be their favorite food. Come to think of it, cows are not usually featured in scenes portraying shipwrecks...

4 "We've Discovered a Leak"

March 2nd, 1981

When a group of cows organizes a revolution, they must postpone it, because they have a mole among them. Not a literal mole, of course, but a spy who has been leaking information. A cow that looks suspiciously like it is made out of a fabric costume appears alongside the more natural looking cattle, and so it is pretty obvious who the leak is. One can only imagine what fate will befall the spy due to how angry the cows are.

There are a lot of cows in the world, so if they are building a revolution, then everyone is in trouble, making people view cows with suspicion after this Far Side comic strip. Just what the revolution is about is never revealed, but what is made abundantly clear is that these cows have had enough, and they are not about to jeopardize their revolution due to a troublesome leak.

3 "Their Revenge Was Meted Out"

January 7th, 1992

A bunch of angry cows march up to their farmer's home with an automatic milker in hand - or in hoof. It is revealed that things get messy, and police investigators have had to come in, describing the crime scene as "grisly, yet strangely hilarious." Whatever way Farmer Macdougal treated his cows must not have been all that great, if his cows then enacted such hardcore revenge.

Moreover, the revenge is not just a run-of-the-mill prank but a full-scale "grisly" crime scene. The actions of the cowsin this comic strip are enough to make someone consider a dairy-free lifestyle. Got Milk ad campaigns will never hit quite the same way for those aware of the Macdougal crime scene.

2 "Cow Documentaries"

1987

Riffing on the making of shark documentaries that entail someone being lowered in a steel cage into the ocean, The Far Side imagines the same process for cow documentaries. As the comic illustrates, the filmmaker in his cage is lowered into the cattle, ready to shoot... something. Larson had a habit of inverting even the most seemingly low-key subjects to make them surreal and humorous, a quality on display in this strip.

Typically, cows are not considered dangerous animals. However, in The Far Side, anything is possible, so humans need to be in a metal cage in order to be protected from cows. Just what the cows would do to the cameraman without the cage is anyone's guess, but it is enough to warrant a lot of effort put into protecting the him.

1 "Farmer Brown Froze"

February 12th, 1986

The Far Side has a habit of getting a bit morbid, though that morbidity is a beloved aspect of the strip's sense of humor. That macabre sensibility is very apparent with an unlikely animal, as seen in this farm comic strip. Two cows get caught at an extremely inopportune time. They are going over the best cuts of farmer meat just as their farmer, Farmer Brown, walks in and sees everything.

They all stare at each other in a tense showdown. How awkward... and creepy! Farmer Brown should really consider making a run for it, or he may be the one being served as dinner rather than the cows. The adored barnyard animals are usually thought of as sweet-natured animala, but The Far Side imagines cows to be a lot more homicidal.