The Wasp — 1894 — page 479: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This eight-panel comic strip depicts a well-dressed gentleman repeatedly encountering a wasp, which repeatedly stings him despite his various attempts to escape or explain himself away. The subtitle reads "Weird experience of a man who knew it all" and "(A mirror illusion)" and "(And its effects.) The satire targets a pompous, self-assured man who believes he can talk or reason his way out of any situation. Each panel shows him confidently asserting something ("I can lick you anyway," "What the—," "Help!") only to be stung. The joke mocks pretentious men who overestimate their sophistication or ability to control events through bluster and confidence. The "fair fakes" title suggests he's being exposed as a fraud when reality (the wasp) literally stings his pretensions.