Explorers from another world land on the beach. They investigate the water. They don’t know about sharks. They get eaten.
Greetings, Waterling. Take me to your GAAAAAH!
I like it better than the overused size problem (e.g. frisbee-sized flying saucer in a dog’s mouth).
@ Arthur – I’d even rank this one ahead of the usual “amusing shape” gags, such as the “Far Side” panel in which the aliens had heads that looked like hands (resulting in disaster when the farmer shook them).
P.S. Larsen also drew one with aliens that looked like fire hydrants, who had just had an unfortunate encounter with a dog. That one was rejected by his editor (because of the drips shown falling off of one of them), but the panel did appear in one of the books.
P.P.S. Typos are always obvious right after clicking on “submit”: the name is pf course “Larson”.
so basically a sequel to Close Encounters AND Jaws?
Good one!
My assumption was that the aliens were themselves shark-shaped (well, except for having some sort of feet, I guess), and they were visiting earth to meet their long-lost relatives, and are thrashing around in excitement with them off in the water, shaking hands and everything (well, O.K., no hands).
I’m probably influenced by reading too many science fiction stories in which the humans assume aliens desire first contact with them, wheras they’re actually here for the sake of the *real* rulers/most intelligent beings on earth (variously, dolphins, dogs, ants, trees, whatever).
I’m on team Shrug. Probably not the original intent, but a lot more fun.
If you want to LOOK REALLY STRONGLY for alternative meanings, you could go with “space-Uber here for Mr Jaws… Mr. Jaws, are you ready to leave?”
I thought along the same lines as Shrug too. Aliens are often portrayed as having human-like features but there’s no reason that would be the case.
I think the problem here is the shape of the footprints appear to going towards the UFO. If the rounded end were going towards the water this would make sense as aliens getting chomped by sharks after walking into the water (for reasons?).
I’m in the standard alien eaten-by-sharks camp. I needed help from CIDU though because I thought the shark fin at the left end looked like a dolphin or similarly shaped sea mammal. That kind of creature would have had trouble walking to the beach leaving prints (I had considered the possibility they could be flapping tail prints).
One of the oldest sci-fi stories of all, “War of the Worlds”, had the same theme. But it was microbes, not sharks, that got them.
“I think the problem here is the shape of the footprints appear to going towards the UFO”
That was definitely my main point of confusion.
I see as going to the water. The ETs have very long toes.
I don’t buy that the aliens are shark-like, since the UFO does not appear to be filled with water.
However, either that beach drops off into deep water real fast, or those sharks are flatfish with shark fines.
Shark fins. If there was a lifeguard they might get fined for being too close to the beach and for going into the water less than half an hour after they ate.
I have heard two different versions of the joke where the first things the alien tries to talk to are the gasoline pumps at a gas station.
Version 1: “Well if you took your finger out of your ear you’d hear me!”
Version 2: Reporting back to his supervisor, “Not only are they unfriendly and refuse to talk, but you won’t believe what they put in their ears.”
I think it’s just cynical irony. Aliens come all this way only to be eaten by sharks. It works best if you don’t think about it. If you think about it you have to wonder why is that supposed to be funny and as sharks attacks are actually rare it isn’t ironic or funny.
“. . . or those sharks are flatfish with shark fines.”
Sharks can come VERY close to shore and have been known to almost beach themselves in pursuit of prey.
” It works best if you don’t think about it. If you think about it you have to wonder why is that supposed to be funny”
Oh, wait, it’s supposed to be *funny*? I thought it was STRANGE BREW. O.K., that changes everything; forget I said anything.
After being initially bothered by it, there’s now one thing that always keeps me entertained with nearly every Strange Brew panel: First, noticing how many directions the shading goes, then, wondering what each set of aligned or cross-hatch lines is actually supposed to represent. shadow?, light?, texture? surface shape? or something else.. It’s been the same game for at least a couple of decades.
@ Shrug – This may still be “Strange Brew”, but I thought this one was a lot better than the ice cream truck.
Comics I Don't Understand 
Explorers from another world land on the beach. They investigate the water. They don’t know about sharks. They get eaten.
Greetings, Waterling. Take me to your GAAAAAH!
I like it better than the overused size problem (e.g. frisbee-sized flying saucer in a dog’s mouth).
@ Arthur – I’d even rank this one ahead of the usual “amusing shape” gags, such as the “Far Side” panel in which the aliens had heads that looked like hands (resulting in disaster when the farmer shook them).
P.S. Larsen also drew one with aliens that looked like fire hydrants, who had just had an unfortunate encounter with a dog. That one was rejected by his editor (because of the drips shown falling off of one of them), but the panel did appear in one of the books.
P.P.S. Typos are always obvious right after clicking on “submit”: the name is pf course “Larson”.
so basically a sequel to Close Encounters AND Jaws?
Good one!
My assumption was that the aliens were themselves shark-shaped (well, except for having some sort of feet, I guess), and they were visiting earth to meet their long-lost relatives, and are thrashing around in excitement with them off in the water, shaking hands and everything (well, O.K., no hands).
I’m probably influenced by reading too many science fiction stories in which the humans assume aliens desire first contact with them, wheras they’re actually here for the sake of the *real* rulers/most intelligent beings on earth (variously, dolphins, dogs, ants, trees, whatever).
I’m on team Shrug. Probably not the original intent, but a lot more fun.
If you want to LOOK REALLY STRONGLY for alternative meanings, you could go with “space-Uber here for Mr Jaws… Mr. Jaws, are you ready to leave?”
I thought along the same lines as Shrug too. Aliens are often portrayed as having human-like features but there’s no reason that would be the case.
I think the problem here is the shape of the footprints appear to going towards the UFO. If the rounded end were going towards the water this would make sense as aliens getting chomped by sharks after walking into the water (for reasons?).
I’m in the standard alien eaten-by-sharks camp. I needed help from CIDU though because I thought the shark fin at the left end looked like a dolphin or similarly shaped sea mammal. That kind of creature would have had trouble walking to the beach leaving prints (I had considered the possibility they could be flapping tail prints).
One of the oldest sci-fi stories of all, “War of the Worlds”, had the same theme. But it was microbes, not sharks, that got them.
“I think the problem here is the shape of the footprints appear to going towards the UFO”
That was definitely my main point of confusion.
I see as going to the water. The ETs have very long toes.
I don’t buy that the aliens are shark-like, since the UFO does not appear to be filled with water.
However, either that beach drops off into deep water real fast, or those sharks are flatfish with shark fines.
Shark fins. If there was a lifeguard they might get fined for being too close to the beach and for going into the water less than half an hour after they ate.
I have heard two different versions of the joke where the first things the alien tries to talk to are the gasoline pumps at a gas station.
Version 1: “Well if you took your finger out of your ear you’d hear me!”
Version 2: Reporting back to his supervisor, “Not only are they unfriendly and refuse to talk, but you won’t believe what they put in their ears.”
I think it’s just cynical irony. Aliens come all this way only to be eaten by sharks. It works best if you don’t think about it. If you think about it you have to wonder why is that supposed to be funny and as sharks attacks are actually rare it isn’t ironic or funny.
“. . . or those sharks are flatfish with shark fines.”
Sharks can come VERY close to shore and have been known to almost beach themselves in pursuit of prey.
” It works best if you don’t think about it. If you think about it you have to wonder why is that supposed to be funny”
Oh, wait, it’s supposed to be *funny*? I thought it was STRANGE BREW. O.K., that changes everything; forget I said anything.
After being initially bothered by it, there’s now one thing that always keeps me entertained with nearly every Strange Brew panel: First, noticing how many directions the shading goes, then, wondering what each set of aligned or cross-hatch lines is actually supposed to represent. shadow?, light?, texture? surface shape? or something else.. It’s been the same game for at least a couple of decades.
@ Shrug – This may still be “Strange Brew”, but I thought this one was a lot better than the ice cream truck.
Greetings, chum!
@Catlover wow, such a good fit.. nice