Gary Larson's The Far Side loves depicting mundane reactions to truly bizarre situations, making grumpy old men his perfect subject matter. Whether it's being attacked by squirrels or granted superpowers, Far Side's older gentlemen muscle through with a well-earned growl and a few choice words.

Here are the 15 funniest Far Side comics starring grumpy old men, from Pinocchio's later years to old dogs who don't want to learn any new tricks. Be sure to vote in our end-of-article poll and let us know which of these hilarious comics is the best of the bunch.

15 Balloon

Far Side Knows Misery Loves Company

This comic is from February 1981, only Far Side's second year of syndication, and yet Larson's sense of humor is already on full display, as a grouchy older man uses a blowgun to take out a ing kid's balloon. Far Side is famous for its witty captions, but in this case the gag works without dialogue or explanation, and Larson makes the smart decision not to complicate the joke with anything unnecessary. This sense of when a compelling image was enough created some of Far Side's best strips.

Despite its early place in Far Side history, the balloon gag still ranks among Larson's best uncaptioned comics, simply because of how perfectly it evokes the mood of feeling incredibly grumpy and being unable to see why anyone else should be having fun.

14 Mother Was Right...

Larson Never Met a Saying He Didn't Want to Take Literally

Gary Larson loves to take an idiom or saying and render it literally, in this case the accusation that an ornery man is "an old goat." Larson's single images create impossible past events as part of their narratives - how could this man's wife only have realized he's a goat after decades of marriage?

13 Old Dogs

Far Side Knows (Grumpy Old) Man's Best Friend Ages Too

In this strip, two of Far Side's dogs realize they're aging when the sight of a cat who's also a mail carrier isn't enough to get them barking and chasing. Far Side's surreal edge shows here - most comic creators could come up with the base gags of old dogs being too tired to chase a cat, but it takes Gary Larson to give the cat a mailbag so it's even more irresistible. Like a lot of Far Side's dog comics, the gag here focuses on dogs having human awareness and language, but keeping their animal priorities.

Far Side's dogs have talk shows, supermarkets, schools and even go on dates, and yet they still drink from the toilet bowl, eat trash, rip up homework, and love to roll in anything that stinks.

12 Michelangelo's Father

Far Side Takes 'Back in My Day' to the Extreme

Michelangelo gets some 'helpful' advice on painting the roof of the Sistine Chapel from his dad. Larson makes a smart artistic decision by elevating the great master beyond the , making it so that the reader is left to imagine his exasperated expression.

11 You Again!

Old Men and Squirrels Are Far Side's Most Unexpected Nemeses

Some of Far Side's grumpy old men have cause to be in a bad mood - especially this guy, who has seemingly lost multiple hats to the same larcenous squirrel. Again, Larson's gag implies a surreal past where this same man keeps having his hat stolen by a squirrel, but nevertheless returns again and again to feed the squirrels on the same bench.

10 Vultures

Far Side's Grumpy Old Men Feed the Birds

Larson loves the image of vultures stalking their prey - a cliché that is usually only set in the desert, but in the world of Far Side can happen anywhere. To their credit, while these older gentlemen haven't quite figured out why they're being stalked, they also don't seem at all spooked by the large scavenger birds.

9 Pinocchio

Gary Larson Loves (Or Hates?) the Little Wooden Boy

This strip takes the time-honored tradition of grandpas telling their grandkids tall tales and gives it a twist, making the grandpa the one character who can never get away with spinning yarns. However, if you're feeling sorry for Pinocchio in this comic, know that he's been through far worse in his other Far Side appearances.

While Gary Larson often took shots at Disney characters, he seems to have had a special hatred for Pinocchio. In various Far Side strips, he has him pecked by woodpeckers, clawed by cats, and savaged by lions, while Jiminy Cricket suffers an even darker fate in the killing jar of an entomologist.

8 Old Cartoonists' Home

Far Side Gets Meta with the Fate of Old Cartoonists

Larson offers a glimpse at feuds between aging cartoonists, who use insulting graffiti to dig at each other with ridiculously specific jabs like "Bob can't draw feet." Larson often treats people with shared professions as if they're a unique species, with the cartoonists here having abandoned normal arguments in favor of communicating through their artistic abilities.

7 The Squirrels Have Got Him

Far Side Brings Back Old Men vs Squirrels

Somehow, the theme of grumpy old men falling afoul of squirrels returns, as Andrew's poor grandfather is stored away for winter. Larson clearly saw the visual of a grown man under attack by tiny rodents as inherently hilarious, but the staging of this comic takes it to the next level, as the old man stuffed in a tree knot is only just visible in the background of an otherwise normal scene.

6 Tell the Kids a Pleasant Story

Far Side Knows Some Grumpy Old Men Have Cause

In this gag, an older man regales his grandchildren with the story of how he lost his entire body, as his wife complains that it would be nice for them to hear a pleasant story instead. The hilarity comes from the fact that if anyone was rendered just a head, everyone would want to hear that story, and he could be forgiven for telling it to everyone he meets for the rest of his life.