The joke is simply that cow tools would be ineffective.

The joke isn’t clear in this cartoon until one recalls the idea of metamorphosis in insects.

“To this day, this “purpose” doesn’t stick out immediately to the viewer.

the far side shark art

This effect, described by Gary Larson as the"What-the?

Here, the story is acting like easy enough to comprehend.

In this cartoon, a shark stares at his reflection in the mirror as remoras dangle from his chest.

Characters from The Far Side drawing and waving.

The caption vaguely describes this image as"the heartbreak of remoras”.

For those wondering what the joke is, it requires a bit of a history lesson.

(Let’s just call it “quiet humor,” okay?)

Far Side grinning man (left) and a man walking into a pole as he takes the stage at a conference (right.)

Because “home” to these creatures is anywhere that is comfortably below tide.

One of The Far Side’s signature cows (foreground) with a red newspaper front page in the background.

Far Side, October 28, 1982, a cow stands in front of a table with ‘Cow Tools’ on it

Far Side, August 2, 1980, a person emerges from a sleeping bag as a butterfly

The Far Side Edgar Finds His Purpose

Far Side, December 14, 1985, silhouette of a rhino at night

Far Side, cowboy being thrown out of a saloon window as a bear sits hitched alongside horses out front

Far Side, January 16, 1987, a man looks out his window at a tied up cat

Far Side, a cave painting of Lucy from Peanuts is discovered by archeologists

Far Side, the heartbreak of remoras (attached to the belly of a shark looking in a mirror)

Far Side, November 28, 1984, a cow tells her husband she’s not content.

Far Side, January 15, 1991, two plane crash survivors cling to a rock covered in shellfish in the middle of the ocean

The Far Side Comic Poster

Comics

The Far Side