The Far Sidefeatured some classic cartoons about being way too hot, and this list collects the best of them. Gary Larson’s comic tackled the subject of overheating in several different ways over the years, each equally ludicrous in all the ways that madeThe Far Sidea pop culture phenomenon.
This list includes jokes about the sun, a melting ice cream man, and the “phenomenon of cat mirages.” It also takes a look at several iconicFar Sidesettings that evoked the suffering that being hot can yield, notably the desert, and the depths of hell itself, both of which popped up frequently in Larson’s work.
With the start of summer bringing a gnarly heatwave to large portions of the United States, people everywhere are looking for ways to cool off, including revisiting some memorableFar Sidecartoons that they can commiserate with. In the process, these cartoons offer a look at Gary Larson’s humor at its finest.
10"Inside The Sun": The Far Side Hilariously Captures What Hot Summer Days Feel Like
First Published: August 10, 2025
Sometimes, when the heat is so dense, and the humidity so thick, it can make you feel as though you’re “inside the sun” itself, hyperbolically speaking, of course. ThisFar Sidecartoon makes that literal, to great comedic effect, bydepicting the interior of the sun as an office building, with a single employee, devoted to flipping the “rise/set” switch.
With the image of flames licking the office window, and fans surrounding the sweat-covered man in the sun, thisFar Sidecartoon brilliantly evokes the feeling of enduring extreme, oppressively hot conditions by any means necessary. Without question, this is one of Gary Larson’s defining jokes about the heat.
9"Those Are My Sunglasses": The Far Side Highlights The Horror Of Having Your Shades Stolen
First Published: July 01, 2025
In this laugh-out-loudFar Sidescenario, a spaceship pilot stares daggers at his copilot, because, despite the fact that their ship is “being sucked in by the sun’s gravitational field,” andthey’re about to burn to death in the atomic fires of the solar system’s star, he can’t help but point out: “those are my sunglasses you’re wearing!”
With this punchline, Gary Larson hysterically brings a petty dispute into the most high-stakes situation. Amusingly, readers will find themselves relating to thiswide-eyedFar Sidecharacternot just because of his vocal airing of a grievance, but also because there’s nothing worse than forgetting one’s sunglasses on a brilliantly hot day.
8The Far Side’s “Melting Ice Cream Man” Is A Hilariously Horrifying Illustration Of Extreme Heat
First Published: July 05, 2025
This earlyFar Sidecartoon is borderline body horror, in the way that itdepicts a terrified ice cream truck driver calling for help over the radio, because he has started to melt, just like the ice cream in the back of the truck. It isdeliriously weirdFar Sidejoke, at least until readers find themselves without air conditioning on a particularly brutal summer day.
At that point they might start to get the gag. Again, it is a matter of Gary Larson taking figurative language literally, albeit very subtly in this instance. Nobody bats an eye at metaphorically describing themselves as “melting” during hot weather, and thisFar Sidepanel nightmarishly envisions what that would look like.
7The Far Side’s Vampires Take Sunblock To An Entirely New Level
First Published: June 10, 2025
In thisFar Sideclassic, Gary Larson lampoons the familiar vacation tragedy of forgetting to apply sunscreen on a particularly intense day at the beach, and takes this to an absurd place by making thecharacters in question vampires, one of whom has shriveled up completely as a result of not putting on “sunblock.”
ThisFar Sidevampire jokealso, yet again, demonstrates Gary Larson’s knack for taking things overly literally; by using vampire characters, Larson conjures the most literal interpretation possible of the word “block,” in sunblock, suggesting the undead can withstand the sun’s rays as long as they apply some before heading outside.
6When It Came To Making Fun Of Familiar Phrases, The Far Side Was Always On Fire
First Published: August 01, 2025
In thisFar Sidecowboy cartoon, Gary Larson lampoons the idea of “riding off into the sunset” as a metaphor for having a happy ending, or for living a fulfilled life. Here, a “dang fool” who tried to do exactly that isdragged back into an Old West saloon, burnt to a crisp and still on fire.
Once again displaying the technique of literalization, this comic also cleverly evokes the origin of the phrase itself: Western films. This makes it a much smarterFar Sidejoke than it might seem at first glance, a commonFar Sideexperience, with the overt silliness of the joke masking the deep thought that went into it.
5The Far Side’s “Cat Mirage” Cartoon Is Perfect For The Dog Days Of Summer
First Published: Jul 25, 2025
“On hot days,” the caption ofthisFar Sidecanine cartoonexplains, “dogs are often subject to the phenomenon of cat mirages,” with the illustration accordingly depicting a pup standing on its hind legs, front paws on the window, watching a phantom-cat, conjured out of the heat waves outside, prowling around.
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As this list will address in the next few entries, Gary Larson was evidently fascinated by the concept of mirages, and what makes this a greatFar Sidecartoon is the way he takes that idea out of its usual milieu and turns it into a joke about the idea that the heat makes everyone act a little crazy.
4The Far Side Reminds Readers To Pick Their Summer Snacks Carefully
First Published: July 13, 2025
Gary Larson produced many certifiably hilariousFar Sidejokes about characters wandering the desert; in fact, along with its related trope,The Far Side’s"desert island" jokes, the concept of people stuck in the most miserably overheated conditions imaginable was seemingly on Larson’s mind constantly. The result? Frequent comedic gold.
Here, a man belatedly realizes thateating chips while walking through the desert in the middle of the day is probably not a sound idea.In this way, Larson hilariously pokes fun at the fact that people’s habits, snacking included, change with the weather, and that certain treats are more suitable for some seasons than others.
3The Far Side Pokes Fun At Some Peoples' Obsession With Tanning
First Published: June 30, 2025
In another iconic example of aFar Side"lost in the desert" panel, two men hide behind a large rock, trying catch a bit of shade from the beating down sun, anddespite the seeming severity of their situation, they’re preoccupied with which of them has gotten more of a sun tan while they have been wandering.
Of course, when heat conditions get to a certain point, safety is paramount to getting a natural tan, but nevertheless,with thisFar Sidecartoon, Gary Larson hilariously toes the dividing line between the best and worst parts of sun exposure, while absurdly blurring the lines between vacation and calamity.
2There’s Nothing Worse On A Hot Day Than Pointing Out How Hot It Is, And This Far Side Proves It
First Published: June 28, 2025
It can be hell when it gets too hot, and you have no cool place to seek respite, and it can be even worse if someone insists on calling attention to how hot you both are. Gary Larson perfectly captures that feeling in thisFar Sidepanel;captioned “nerds in hell,” it features one character turning to another, as they stand in line in perdition, and asking “hot enough for ya?”
The Far Sidefrequented hellin some truly classic cartoons, and this is a great example of an instance in which Larson managed to make fiery damnation actually feel ridiculously relatable. As if the suffering of these souls couldn’t get any worse, the “nerd” in question here has to ratchet up their agony by making annoying small talk.
1"The Dog’s On Fire": The Far Side Makes The Case That Summer Can Be Hell
First Published: July 01, 2025
This unforgettableFar Sidecartooncombines two of Gary Larson’s favorite settings: hell and living rooms. It features two demonic characters sitting in their respective armchairs, reading,when the wife looks up and notices their pet dog has burst into flames…again.“I think it’s your turn to put him out,” the woman of the house says, indicating this is a common occurrence.
Despite its infernal setting, thisFar Sidecomic is delightfully evocative of the feeling of a major heatwave, especially for those who lack luxuries like central air conditioning, which is definitively the case for theseFar Sidedevils. Which highlights the glory of Gary Larson’s work: the ability to be simultaneously totally absurd, and unexpectedly relatable.
