The Wasp — 1878 — page 187: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a humorous narrative comic strip showing a hunter's misadventures in the wilderness. The sequence depicts: 1. A hunter venturing into mountains 2. Meeting an unhappy resident (appears to be a bear) 3. The bear chasing the hunter 4. The hunter falling off a high cliff 5-8. The bear repeatedly besting the hunter through various physical encounters, ultimately drinking whisky meant as poisoned bait The satire targets the stereotype of the overconfident, incompetent sportsman—a wealthy urbanite whose hunting prowess doesn't match his presumption. The bear consistently outwits him through common sense, and the hunter's elaborate schemes (poison whisky) fail comically. It's a reversal-of-expectations joke popular in late 19th-century American humor magazines.