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Along with creating dark and hilarious cartoons, Gary Larson's biggest passion was nature. Growing up studying and admiring all forms of plants, animals, and organisms, if there is one central theme ofThe Far Side, it's that humans treat animals and nature horribly. This holds true for many of the animals in The Far Side, but particularly rhinos.
Being one of the many animals that have been nearly decimated by illegal hunting, rhinos have felt the brunt of humanity's destruction many times. With many of Larson's cartoons also containing the cartoonist's own commentary on the world, rhinos provided the perfect subject to get his point across. Despite the real threat of extinction that Larson would often depict, The Far Side cartoons featuring rhinos are some of his best when not dealing with farm animals.
Best Rhino In Show
A lot of The Far Side cartoons featuring rhinos deal with the horrible way humans treat them, but one of Larson's favorite bits was to make them house pets for humans. This cartoon shows some kind of contest where a group of people and their rhinos are all being judged, and the animals are wearing colored flags with names on them. As the winner accepts his first-place trophy, the other contestants can be seen in the background, all giving him dirty looks.
Putting rhinos in the shoes of dogs, Larson sheds light on how silly the concept of dog shows is. The absurd switch in roles is a hilarious perspective on how people parade around their pets. The scene itself is a great joke, but the real punchline is the small detail that the winning rhino has two horns while all the others have one, which is why he won. Also, if readers are willing to use their imagination just a bit, the owner of the winning rhino looks like a scientist, which could be Larson subtly suggesting that maybe he cheated by giving the rhino an extra horn.
Rhinos Lead To A Lot of Comedy
While a lot of Far Side comics seem simple, the best ones get funnier the more readers think about them. While the initial joke is usually obvious, Larson usually hides a few different punchlines in his Far Side cartoons. This cartoon shows a rhino with its nose stuck inside a phonograph record player while standing on top of a dog that it has squashed in its investigation.
What makes this cartoon so good is that it's instantly funny at a glance. The size contradiction between the small record player and the rhino is already a great visual gag, but when noticing the small dog flattened under his foot, it's almost impossible not to burst out laughing. The joke also goes a bit deeper, with rhinos having great hearing but terrible eyesight, which is why he didn't see the dog but found the record player.
Gary Larson Gives A Nature Lesson
Being a naturalist who studies all forms of animals, insects, and fungi, Larson would often use real aspects of animal behavior for his cartoons. Typically, used to show the similarities or differences between humans and animals, this cartoon provides readers with an insight into the mind of a rhino. As a tourist approaches a rhino trying to take a picture, a bird perched on the rhino's head tells him that the man is about fifty paces in front of him with no guide or gun. Smiling as he is about to get his picture, the bird also tells the rhino that he has a stupid grin and that he may even be making a face, implying he is making fun of the rhino.
Giving readers an explanation of why rhinos charge at people, Larson uses the real behavior of both humans and rhinos to create a funny scene that will most likely end in disaster. In real life, oxpecker birds perch on large mammals like rhinos to eat bugs, ticks, and the animals' blood in a symbiotic but also parasitic relationship. The bird is helping the rhino by alerting him to a nearby human, which is helpful, but also trying to push the rhino to put itself in danger. Having terrible eyesight, rhinos often charge at objects in front of them just as a precaution, which is why the bird is alerting him in the first place, despite the rhino looking right at the man.
Animal Defense Mechanisms
Nature is a beautiful and strange place that people often don't really understand. In this cartoon, two field researchers take to the planes to find what they think is a rhino. However, as one of the researchers looks over his field guide, he realizes it is only a rhino mimic, with it being just a harmless animal pretending to be a rhino behind a painting of its body and a horn stringed to its face.
Another cartoon using real animal behavior behind its punchline, the visual absurdity of the scene makes it a classic Far Side gag. Many animals in nature disguise themselves as something scarier in order to avoid predators. Taking this concept to apply to bigger animals like rhinos is a comical way of showing this real aspect of nature.
A Rhino Murder Mystery
Many of The Far Side cartoons feature subtle humor that goes over a lot of people's heads if not the right target audience for the joke. However, Larson would also create cartoons that genuinely didn't make any sense. One such cartoon featuring a murder shows a rhino with a knife in its back as its body has just been discovered in a closet. As a group of people gather around, a detective stands next to the body and says, "Blast! Up to now, the rhino was one of my prime suspects".
This Far Side cartoon is dark, strange, and makes absolutely no sense. Not only is there the question of who killed the rhino, but also why he was the prime suspect before his death. There's also the bigger question of what crime the rhino was suspected of in the first place. Seemingly a take on the game Clue, this cartoon could mean anything, which is also what makes it so funny.
The Reality of Rhinos is A Dark Future
Known for his dark sense of humor, Gary Larson was never afraid to point out horrible things about the world while still basing it in humor. Showing a rhino sitting down with a fortune-teller, the horned mammal gets a grim prophecy of his future. Pulling the seven of clubs, the fortune-teller says that people will hunt the rhino to grind his horn into powder as an aphrodisiac and leave his carcass for the buzzards. However, instead of being concerned about this terrible fate, the rhino just says he wants his two dollars back.
Describing the real and horrible history of rhino poaching, Larson points out just how stupid and terrible the whole thing is. When broken down, the reasoning behind why rhinos are so sought-after does sound unbelievable and makes sense why the rhino would be skeptical. Perhaps just a coincidence, but the seven clubs are said to represent someone who is never satisfied with the answers they find, which could be another reason why the rhino responded this way.
Everyone Has a Pet Rhino On The Far Side
Another cartoon depicting rhinos as pets, one rhino gets a new playmate when new neighbors come to town. As the rhino and his owner watch over the fence, a new couple can be seen with a moving van walking up to their new home with their pet rhino following behind. As the rhino wags its tail and watches the new rhino run around, its owner says, "Well, well, King... looks like the new neighbors have brought a friend for you, too."
Having a rhino as a pet is absolutely insane, but somehow seems normal in The Far Side. This cartoon also seems to have a subtle joke pointed at fellow animal lovers with the uncertain outcome of these two rhinos meeting. Despite their names implying differently, both black and white rhinos are actually gray, but have very different behaviors when it comes to making friends. White rhinos are social and live in herds, while black rhinos are solitary animals, meaning the rhino wagging its tail could be both in excitement for a new friend or preparing to defend its territory.
Rhinos Can't Take A Joke
This Far Side cartoon gives readers another insight into the behavior of rhinos. Claiming that they have little or no sense of humor, Larson depicts a scene in which a comedian is attempting to make a rhino laugh. As the rhino blankly stares at the comedian, he cheerfully waves to the animal as he stands in front of a microphone and holds a violin.
A scene that most likely has a gruesome ending off-page, this cartoon shows the importance of understanding one's target audience. Putting on a comedy routine in front of a rhino is already a bad idea, but given their terrible eyesight, this comedian would be in danger even if he were hilarious. However, not everything may be as it seems, as rhinos do have incredible hearing, which could be why he brought the violin with him and shows he actually does know his audience, and the cartoon portrays his success in making an animal with no sense of humor laugh.
Dennis's Rhino Farm
Exploring the relationship between people and their pets, this cartoon once again imagines a world where people keep rhinos as pets. However, instead of the typical dog or cat, this cartoon puts the rhinos in an even weirder situation. As two rhinos navigate through giant tubes in a kid's bedroom, the boy's mother and her friend come in to see his pets, with his mother saying, "Dennis, do you mind if Mrs. Carlisle comes in and sees your rhino rube-farm?"
Rhinos acting like dogs is one thing, but ants are even more absurd. As the rhinos are shown trapped inside the tubes as the people watch, the silly concept also feels bleak, as it is a reminder of how people more or less imprison their pets. The visual humor of the rhinos in the tube is a silly way of highlighting how strange and sort of disturbing it is to keep an ant farm to observe the ants' behavior instead of in the wild.
Rhino's Doing Hard Time
With Larson's only true message being advocating for animals and nature in a world where most people exploit them, this cartoon drives it home. Taking place in a zoo, a rhino's wife visits him, and they talk using a phone separated by glass, like people do in prison. As the rhinos are talking, other people can be seen walking around and watching the animals, with a father and his son heading towards the primate house.
A grim but humorous look at keeping animals in cages, this cartoon contains everything that makes a great Far Side cartoon. The visual of the rhinos talking is funny as well as sad, with Larson giving the wife a fancy little hat, as well as the wooden side panels that hold the glass embedded into the concrete of the enclosure. There's also the more subtle commentary of the humans walking towards the primate house, as humans are primates themselves, and it gives the situation an added level of irony. A hard-hitting look at reality mixed with dark and absurd humor makes this a great example of Larson at his best.
