Polygon.com - Comics

9 Perfect 'Far Side' Comics From the 1990s That Prove Gary Larson Is a Genius

Brian VanHooker — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:00:15 GMT

The 1980s were the best decade of The Far Side for one simple reason: there were just a heck of a lot more of them. Gary Larson’s comic strip debuted in 1980 in The San Francisco Chronicle and slowly expanded to more papers throughout the 1980s. Larson initially drew six cartoons a week before expanding to seven. He continued until October 1988 when he took a sabbatical until January 1990. When he returned, he did just five comics weekly until the strip ended in 1995. So, roughly, about two-thirds of Gary Larson’s The Far Side came from the 1980s.

60 Years After Her Peanuts Debut, Peppermint Patty Is Still the Best Friend Charlie Brown Ever Had

Thomas Hindmarch — Thu, 01 Oct 2026 04:00:20 GMT

If you're at all interested in Charles Schulz's Peanuts, it's a good idea to invest in Fantagraphics' The Complete Peanuts. It's a 26-volume set that contains every strip that saw publication, with around two years of strips per book. There's a Kindle version if you're strapped for shelf space, but if you're shelling out for 26 volumes of anything, you may as well go for the physical edition.

Snoopy's 5 Greatest 'Peanuts' Quotes of All Time, Ranked

Brian VanHooker — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 08:00:15 GMT

Snoopy the dog was often used by cartoonist Charles Schulz to share some deep wisdom. These are the best examples.

Star Wars' Most Cunning Villain Officially Returns in New Release | Exclusive Preview

Aimee Hart — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 14:30:30 GMT

When it comes to the smartest villain in Star Wars, two names come to mind. The first is Sheev Palpatine, who orchestrated not only the downfall of the Galactic Republic but also the fall of its greatest hero, Anakin Skywalker. Regardless of how he's presented, Palpatine is a mastermind through and through.

9 Classic 'Far Side' Comics About Cats Being the Worst

Brian VanHooker — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 01:00:15 GMT

In many of Gary Larson's Far Side comics, cats are depicted as the villains. Did he have something against cats?

60 Years Later, the Best 'Peanuts' Quote of All Time Still Doesn't Get the Credit it Deserves

Brian VanHooker — Sun, 27 Sep 2026 05:27:14 GMT

Schulz had announced his retirement two months earlier due to several strokes and advancing colorectal cancer, and he’d created his last strip shortly after he made the announcement. While Schulz knew he was dying, he couldn’t have known two months in advance the exact day he would die and that he’d essentially penned his own obituary by having his last comic run just one day after his death.

3 Perfect Calvin and Hobbes Stories From the 1980S That Prove Bill Watterson Is a Genius

Thomas Hindmarch — Sat, 26 Sep 2026 11:00:15 GMT

One of the most interesting parts of any long-running newspaper comic is often its first few years. The first entries in any new comic strip are often significantly different from what they’d later become, especially if they're given time in which to evolve. The jokes are rougher, different characters cycle in and out of the spotlight, and the cartoonist hasn’t quite finalized their art style yet.

29 Years Later, Charlie Brown's Wisest Quote Is Still an All-Time 'Peanuts' Classic

Thomas Hindmarch — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:00:14 GMT

By now, 26 years after the strip ended, Peanuts often feels like it comes pre-digested. Even during its original run, much of Peanuts got carefully filtered through layers of T-shirts, greeting cards, and inspirational wall posters. That reduced much of it to the benign emptiness of a Precious Moments figurine.

New 'Injustice 3' Leak Teases Highly Anticipated DC Characters

Elijah Gonzalez — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 14:29:25 GMT

We now have even more evidence that a new Injustice game is likely in the works. On Monday, MP1st spotted another mention of the unannounced title on a job resume. In this case, a stunt actor working on the game listed her involvement as a double for Injustice 3under coordinator Jake Huang, who oversaw stunt work for Mortal Kombat 1. While the stunt person’s resume has been updated to remove mentions of the game, an Internet Archive backup confirms the Injustice characters were listed as early as July of this year.

5 Perfect 'Far Side' Comics from the 1980s That Prove Gary Larson is a Genius

Brian VanHooker — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 10:00:15 GMT

Larson is a genius, but his success isn’t the only evidence of that; it's also the diversity of his work. The Far Side could be subtle and smart one day, then utterly stupid the next — it was occasionally even surreal. Larson could pull off a hilarious turn of phrase, or draw a brilliant comic without any words at all. His brilliance was abundant throughout The Far Side, and here are five such examples of all the different ways Gary Larson showed his genius.