Those who have never seen “The Far Side’s” final strip are about to get a whole new appreciation for The Wizard of Oz and its extremely popular musical cousin, Wicked. It’s been decades since Gary Larson ended his classic comic strip, but he ended it in a way that puts a hilarious spin on a classic conclusion.
In 1995, Gary Larson published the last strip of “The Far Side’s” initial run. The strip’s first panel shows a man named Gary who stands in front of a woman waving a magic wand as she tells him that he’s always had the power to go home. Surrounding the two are characters and animals often featured in “The Far Side”.
The second panel shows Gary in his bed, much like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, where he remarks on the journey he’s been on and notes how everyone in his life looks like the residents of the Far Side.
“The Far Side” Puts a Dark Twist on A Famous Ending
Imagine Applying This Hilarious Take to Wicked…
There’s hardly a person alive that doesn’t know the ending to The Wizard of Oz. From Dorothy’s mantra of “There’s nowhere like home” to the revelation that the characters she met on her journey in Oz were based on people she knew in real life, it’s an ending that’s inspired generations of storytellers. The Wizard of Oz has had numerous parodies, imitations, and adaptations, but none more famous than Wicked, the hit stage musical based on Gregory Maguire’s classic book. Now a movie, Wicked is experiencing a resurgence of popularity across the world as it rakes in millions of dollars.
On the surface, “The Far Side’s” final strip is just a wacky parody of a beloved classic to somewhat rationalize the bizarre world Larson spent years building. This strip isn’t the first to borrow The Wizard of Oz’s classic ending, but it does take a more irreverent approach and makes one wonder how this would have impacted other Oz-inspired works. In Wicked’s case, just imagine if Elphaba or Galinda woke up midway through the musical, only to discover their magical world was all a dream and that reality was much more like Gary Larson’s offbeat masterpiece?
Gary Larson’s Wicked Would Be a Hilarious Crossover
“The Far Side” of the Rainbow?
The real beauty of “The Far Side” is that Larson’s strip invites viewers to look at the world around them with a more sardonic perspective. Wicked, on the other hand, is an earnest retelling of a beloved story that takes itself a bit more seriously. But after looking at the final “Far Side” strip, one could see just how chuckle-worthy it would be to blend these two worlds and have Elphaba and Galinda’s beautiful story of friendship and self-discovery take a more ironic (and undoubtedly cow-filled) turn.
Of course, nothing’s going to stop the musical from being the smash sensation that it is. But looking at Wicked after witnessing the final “Far Side” strip will definitely have one smirking a bit more the next time they hear “Defying Gravity”.
The Far Side
The Far Side is a humorous comic series developed by Gary Larson. The series has been in production since 1979 and features a wide array of comic collections, calendars, art, and other miscellaneous items.
