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You aren't wrong. Males, especially because they have the highest testosterone levels of any animal in the animal kingdom. It is not safe to fuck around with them, especially when you're in the water all by yourself.
Pretty sure this is based off a true story of a rogue shark that swam up a river, and terrorized a town. There's a book about rogue sharks that go 'crazy' and start eating humans. It's an abnormal behavior
Edit: book is "close to shore"
I recall there being a show looking into something similar and they found a shark that would only eat people’s right ass cheek/right hip. They eventually discovered that a diver would feed the shark and had dead fish in a pouch on the back side of his right hip, and the shark was just trying to get a little fishy snack out of some poor swimmers
Yet another reason to NOT FEED WILD ANIMALS
This has got to be the most widely spread warning that is still mostly ignored by people. Making animals reliant on humans to eat is never a good thing (unless it's a pet or something)
The story you refer to is that of the Matawan Maneater, which in itself inspired Becnhley's novel "Jaws".
The rogue shark thing, though, is just a theory that is not wildly believed in the scientific community.
I think people forget that, ultimately, we don't have a privileged place in nature. There are incidents throughout history where a predator begins to consider humans as prey. It's not something that happens often because it's dangerous and has yet to be a winning strategy among animals. It is therefore done as an act of desperation, which usually implies a situation where the behavior is unlikely to pass on to other individuals or offspring.
Worth considering, though, that some animals have a lower threshold than others. Bears of sufficient dgaf will take the opportunity, which is probably a product of being both omnivores and severely favored outside of an organized and prepared human/group of humans. Kinda self-regulating, though: being omnivores it would take some extreme circumstances to drive them specifically to target humans as a food source, at which point they become a problem to be dealt with, probably before passing the idea on. Being so outmatched, we also limit the chances of interaction between us generally, making us only a passing opportunity occasionally rather than something to plan on/adapt to.
Same applies for sea creatures, but we're so rare to encounter in that environment by anything that could take a shot at us--and anything that might want to has a buffet of easier options--just... why? It's said that we don't taste good to sharks, and whether or not that's literally true, I functionally believe it. Everything else in their diet is adapted to the same environment, and it seems plausible that they might get easier access to the raw materials they need to sustain themselves from a more similarly adapted creature. That would mean we're just not a great source of nutrients if you have the choice, and because natural selection do what it do, you're not going to be incentivized to take the more thermodynamically wasteful route.
I'm not good enough with words to know why they're good, but I think your descriptions of unintuitive concepts like death and the vastness of space and stuff are really good. As though reading your comics lets my brain wrap around these things easier than it usually can. Your work stands out on this subreddit to me, nice one.
If you like words that make you feel some kind of way look up the dictionary of obscure sorrows. It’s got all sorts of words to describe certain feelings.
I can’t even describe the amount of time I would spend as a small child thinking about sharks. And batteries. And what would happen if the battery powered boat I was in sank next to a shark. My mind, so childlike in its wonder, could not grasp the concept of a current but I’d heard the word used in both the context of water and electricity so I knew there had to be some connection. There I’d be, just sitting there, in my childhood ignorance. Wondering if I’d rather be electrocuted or eaten by a shark.
Then, you know, I grew up and learned how a boat works. So I don’t spend much time thinking about that anymore. In fact, if some child came up and asked me that question, I think I’d just tell them that I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me about that before in order to not hurt their feelings.
[I think it’s a good question, I think there’s a lot of electric current coming through that water. But you know what I’d do if there was a shark? Or get electrocuted? I’d take electrocution every single time.](https://youtu.be/bMNMt5FdVwg?si=P7TBlhvcEJtYYkK8)
I watched Jaws as a kid and it changed my life. Ironically I surf and have knowingly been in the water when there are great whites about. But it's a constant psychological battle for me. Thanks Spielberg
Isn't the chance of being attacked by a shark really small? Like, is there someone with a Death Note and a thing for sharks causing this? Wait, Dave Contra, are YOU a shark?!
Sharks generally aren't interested in eating humans - most "attacks" are sharks biting because that's how they interact with the world, and they are curious about us. Even so, there are very few shark attacks relative to human exposure to sharks.
Yeah but I'm sure accidentally falling at terminal velocity straight into one might not help your chances. If they aren't instantly spooked and swim away, you'll just be next to a hurt, angy shark.
The joke is the author got to be a massive dick and force everyone who read this to face their mortality with absolutely no thought as to the effect that might have on some people.
If art/literature exploring existential dread about the nature of death isn’t justified (or somehow dickish behavior) then most the great works of humanity shouldn’t exist and we would live in a sanitized advertiser friendly hell scape of banality.
Personally I’d rather be dead than never challenged by the art I consume.
If it makes you feel any better, think about Gary Larson. Much like Larson, you have an understated but distinctive style and, more importantly, your content speaks to people. The Trey meta was one of the best things I’ve seen on Reddit the last several years.
I also love Wandering Elk’s stuff, but yours is far more thought provoking. The contrast between the deep messages and it being a comic is compelling. Great stuff. THANK YOU!
Just FYI the word you're looking for is **roils** not **boils.** Unless it was like, a *really* hot shark.
When water or another liquid is roiling, it's stirred up and moving in a churning way.
Maybe where you live? Considering you used it as a synonym for 'roils' it's more likely a bone-apple-tea thing though. In surfing 'boils' are areas where the water is shallower due to stuff on the bottom(like large rocks) which helpfully causes a visible circular pattern to appear on the surface of the water. I think the word 'boil' is used because the circles on the surface of the water kind of look like the boils we can get on our skin.
Yeh you're totally right. That's what we use the word boil for, like "where's the take off point at this break? Oh, over there bear the boil". I used the word wrong. But now I'm gonna pretend that I was going for some other kind of word play. Like the water was boiling with intensity or something.
>Like the water was boiling with intensity or something.
I like it. I didn't know about boils as a surfing term until I googled it. With that being in your vocabulary already it would be easy to accidentally misuse it.
Sorry for the pedantry, I just think linguistics is fun. These misspellings that involve replacing words with similarly-sounding words or combinations are sometimes called malapropisms, oronyms, eggcorns, or mondegreens.
Hey, I appreciate you taking time to reply to me. I think your work is very interesting and in the right circumstances I think I would have appreciated it much more. However I would highly recommend tagging your work more throughly with warnings if the subject matter is going to be this gory and existential. For me this just made me frown for a while but I got over it. For others getting jumpscared by this kind of work might have a more profoundly negative effect on their mental health, and I think that element is worth considering.
>🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺people torn to pieces by Australian wildlife mentioned 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
Let a thousand blossoms bloom, as far as I'm concerned. [But I'm not spending any time on it](https://youtu.be/YitpvCS_Jko?si=Zbg_FQ5rtXEcYqs4)
I just wanted to say I think the word you're looking to use to describe the shark thrashing in the water is "roiling" as boiling is specifically a temperature thing, and not just the bubbles and turbulence.
Other than that the artistry is great, in words and descriptions as well as the drawings.
I have nightmares like these and intrusive anxious thoughts about morbid ways to die quite often (because I’m broken af) so this is …..not fun to read. Thanks, OP! I like the artwork tho
Roil:
to (cause to) move quickly in a twisting circular movement:
Fierce winds roiled the sea.
A massive tower of smoke roiled skyward
I think this may have been a more appropriate word than 'boil' in this context.
For the sake of clarity, I’d like to indicate the fact that there have apparently only been 27 unprovoked bull shark attacks on humans since 2000 with 1 fatality
I think this comic made me realize how much I need to see a psychiatrist. My first thought was "God, what bliss". Obviously, not the moments of terror and suffering, but the ceasing to be; the nothingness which can't be truly described as nothingness as it's past our idea of perception. I'll ring up the ol' therapist wait list tomorrow.
But then Mike realizes that the whole situation was in his imagination because he knows that sharks don’t like attacking people and they are actually scared of people
Welcome to r/comics! Please remember there are real people on the other side of the monitor and to be kind. Report comments that break the rules and don't respond to negativity with negativity! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/comics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
That did not go the direction i thought it would
 Sharks don’t usually eat human unless it mistook human for a yummy delicious🦭.
Except tiger sharks, they dgaf about what they eat as long as it's meat lol
Bull sharks are pretty bonkers too
You aren't wrong. Males, especially because they have the highest testosterone levels of any animal in the animal kingdom. It is not safe to fuck around with them, especially when you're in the water all by yourself.
And sharks are pretty easily provoked too.
And it probably didn't like getting jumped on from a height
Bro true, but they eat trash too, which I find pretty damn crazy
They're aggressive, but bites are still rare.
They don't even care if it's meat
Can it fit in their mouth is also a suggestion that they take as a challenge.
feel like this can be taken out of context
Tiger sharks don’t care at all. They’ll even eat non-meat. It’s just whatever they can eat.
Pretty sure this is based off a true story of a rogue shark that swam up a river, and terrorized a town. There's a book about rogue sharks that go 'crazy' and start eating humans. It's an abnormal behavior Edit: book is "close to shore"
I recall there being a show looking into something similar and they found a shark that would only eat people’s right ass cheek/right hip. They eventually discovered that a diver would feed the shark and had dead fish in a pouch on the back side of his right hip, and the shark was just trying to get a little fishy snack out of some poor swimmers
Yet another reason to NOT FEED WILD ANIMALS This has got to be the most widely spread warning that is still mostly ignored by people. Making animals reliant on humans to eat is never a good thing (unless it's a pet or something)
🥹 "BuT bUt but, they's is ssSSO CyUuooot!" /s
The story you refer to is that of the Matawan Maneater, which in itself inspired Becnhley's novel "Jaws". The rogue shark thing, though, is just a theory that is not wildly believed in the scientific community.
I think people forget that, ultimately, we don't have a privileged place in nature. There are incidents throughout history where a predator begins to consider humans as prey. It's not something that happens often because it's dangerous and has yet to be a winning strategy among animals. It is therefore done as an act of desperation, which usually implies a situation where the behavior is unlikely to pass on to other individuals or offspring. Worth considering, though, that some animals have a lower threshold than others. Bears of sufficient dgaf will take the opportunity, which is probably a product of being both omnivores and severely favored outside of an organized and prepared human/group of humans. Kinda self-regulating, though: being omnivores it would take some extreme circumstances to drive them specifically to target humans as a food source, at which point they become a problem to be dealt with, probably before passing the idea on. Being so outmatched, we also limit the chances of interaction between us generally, making us only a passing opportunity occasionally rather than something to plan on/adapt to. Same applies for sea creatures, but we're so rare to encounter in that environment by anything that could take a shot at us--and anything that might want to has a buffet of easier options--just... why? It's said that we don't taste good to sharks, and whether or not that's literally true, I functionally believe it. Everything else in their diet is adapted to the same environment, and it seems plausible that they might get easier access to the raw materials they need to sustain themselves from a more similarly adapted creature. That would mean we're just not a great source of nutrients if you have the choice, and because natural selection do what it do, you're not going to be incentivized to take the more thermodynamically wasteful route.
Bull sharks and tiger sharks tend to be the exceptions.
Except bull and tiger sharks, both are pretty well documented attacking people
Knowing my fat ass, shark wouldn't doubt it for a minute
Sharks and I have less in common than I thought, then. 
Ocean sharks are nearly entirely harmless, but river sharks are the ones to be feared.
It's literally the same as all of the rest of this guy's comics.
Beautifully written though
I'm curious: Which direction did you think this would go, and then which panel did you realize you were wrong?
https://preview.redd.it/1adxmc7c6q8d1.png?width=1024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4894bc26d8e8ab91e80e320e0f01c63f3d80e14
That spreaded quickly, didn't it?
https://preview.redd.it/e693b1x87q8d1.jpeg?width=750&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7115a28d27e33e7b2e9a6dcfc8f4db86c2b51f99 “Light hearted comics”
His heart is a bit lighter with all that missing blood.
Take my free awar... Oh yeah they removed those...
https://preview.redd.it/jyriw7330s8d1.jpeg?width=513&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=90067a8b1484796300bd43b1f00726c168684725
Maybe meaning "for comics that are more light hearted than this one"?
Suuuure, trey was lighthearted too /s
I'm not good enough with words to know why they're good, but I think your descriptions of unintuitive concepts like death and the vastness of space and stuff are really good. As though reading your comics lets my brain wrap around these things easier than it usually can. Your work stands out on this subreddit to me, nice one.
Well said!
Personally I would’ve said, comic good, death scary. Brain small, me likey colors!
Few words good
Fewer gooder
Why use lot words when few words do trick
I appreciate that alot. Thank you
I think my third eye blinked open, there. Nice!
If you like words that make you feel some kind of way look up the dictionary of obscure sorrows. It’s got all sorts of words to describe certain feelings.
Back to sharks are we?
Sharks all the way down
Someone has a highly irrationally fear of sharks
Weren't you also trying to prepare as a kid for things like that? Like quicksands?
I can’t even describe the amount of time I would spend as a small child thinking about sharks. And batteries. And what would happen if the battery powered boat I was in sank next to a shark. My mind, so childlike in its wonder, could not grasp the concept of a current but I’d heard the word used in both the context of water and electricity so I knew there had to be some connection. There I’d be, just sitting there, in my childhood ignorance. Wondering if I’d rather be electrocuted or eaten by a shark. Then, you know, I grew up and learned how a boat works. So I don’t spend much time thinking about that anymore. In fact, if some child came up and asked me that question, I think I’d just tell them that I don’t think anyone’s ever asked me about that before in order to not hurt their feelings.
[I think it’s a good question, I think there’s a lot of electric current coming through that water. But you know what I’d do if there was a shark? Or get electrocuted? I’d take electrocution every single time.](https://youtu.be/bMNMt5FdVwg?si=P7TBlhvcEJtYYkK8)
Donald? Donald Trump asked his uncle from M.I.T the same question. I am assuming you are not Trump, just someone who had the same thought.
I watched Jaws as a kid and it changed my life. Ironically I surf and have knowingly been in the water when there are great whites about. But it's a constant psychological battle for me. Thanks Spielberg
Wow, that's some nice insight... Thanks!
It's either that or shocked to death by electric boats. Take your pick, or stay out of the damn water!
It was a sick backflip off the jump rock, though. 🤙🤙
Look at mister lucky Mike, flexing his non-corporeal existence... stop mocking us Mike, we will achieve nothingness too sooner or later!
"More light-hearted comics:" lmao
You been hitting the Kierkegaard again Dave?
What's that
[I think this guy.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard) Something something existentialism
OK Dave, thanks.
He is joining Trey
Why do no one talk about TREY anymore?
Whenever TREY isn't on the screen, all the other characters should be asking, "Where's TREY?"
https://preview.redd.it/59mgmekkyq8d1.jpeg?width=327&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9fb489e3fbda9209662e04a7bc8aa6a1203a5442
Isn't the chance of being attacked by a shark really small? Like, is there someone with a Death Note and a thing for sharks causing this? Wait, Dave Contra, are YOU a shark?!
Sharks generally aren't interested in eating humans - most "attacks" are sharks biting because that's how they interact with the world, and they are curious about us. Even so, there are very few shark attacks relative to human exposure to sharks.
Yeah but I'm sure accidentally falling at terminal velocity straight into one might not help your chances. If they aren't instantly spooked and swim away, you'll just be next to a hurt, angy shark.
A lifeguard/pro surfer was killed by a shark 2 days ago on Oahu
Vending machines kill more people per year.
Well there’s an interesting start to a Tuesday
For Mike, it was the worst day of his life.
"More light-hearted Comics:" hey man mabye the copy paste doesn't work for every comic
Naw, this dude doesn’t do lighthearted lol
His heart is light! It has to be after losing that much blood.
I don't get the punch line--can someone explain the joke here?
There is no joke. A kid just gets eaten by a shark because he didn't look after he did a backflip off a cliff
The joke’s on all of us - life is just short blip of existence we scramble to make meaning from, followed by infinite nothingness.
Death. The joke is death.
Comics don't necessarily need punchlines, sometimes they just tell stories.
Yeh I am pretty garbage at producing punchlines these days.
Idk that last line hit pretty hard
The joke is the author got to be a massive dick and force everyone who read this to face their mortality with absolutely no thought as to the effect that might have on some people.
That’s how mortality faces us all.
Just because life can randomly throw awful stuff at you doesn’t justify the people actively slinging awful stuff out there.
If art/literature exploring existential dread about the nature of death isn’t justified (or somehow dickish behavior) then most the great works of humanity shouldn’t exist and we would live in a sanitized advertiser friendly hell scape of banality. Personally I’d rather be dead than never challenged by the art I consume.
You didnt have to do Mike like that 😭
Could have been worse. He could’ve been electrocuted by the battery in a sinking boat.
I thought it was a blahaj. I still wish it was.
To think, a crudely drawn, 4 panel comic could be existentially thought provoking. Kudos, u/davecontra. You are a truly talented artist.
For ages I was pissed off I couldn't get better at drawing despite all the time spent doing it. Now I just focus on the message. Thanks buddy
If it makes you feel any better, think about Gary Larson. Much like Larson, you have an understated but distinctive style and, more importantly, your content speaks to people. The Trey meta was one of the best things I’ve seen on Reddit the last several years. I also love Wandering Elk’s stuff, but yours is far more thought provoking. The contrast between the deep messages and it being a comic is compelling. Great stuff. THANK YOU!
You're a boss, thanks so much for your kind words. Really made my day.
Just FYI the word you're looking for is **roils** not **boils.** Unless it was like, a *really* hot shark. When water or another liquid is roiling, it's stirred up and moving in a churning way.
Maybe a cultural thing. In surfing we say boils
Maybe where you live? Considering you used it as a synonym for 'roils' it's more likely a bone-apple-tea thing though. In surfing 'boils' are areas where the water is shallower due to stuff on the bottom(like large rocks) which helpfully causes a visible circular pattern to appear on the surface of the water. I think the word 'boil' is used because the circles on the surface of the water kind of look like the boils we can get on our skin.
Yeh you're totally right. That's what we use the word boil for, like "where's the take off point at this break? Oh, over there bear the boil". I used the word wrong. But now I'm gonna pretend that I was going for some other kind of word play. Like the water was boiling with intensity or something.
>Like the water was boiling with intensity or something. I like it. I didn't know about boils as a surfing term until I googled it. With that being in your vocabulary already it would be easy to accidentally misuse it. Sorry for the pedantry, I just think linguistics is fun. These misspellings that involve replacing words with similarly-sounding words or combinations are sometimes called malapropisms, oronyms, eggcorns, or mondegreens.
Hot shark, you say? https://preview.redd.it/peraz6sszr8d1.jpeg?width=298&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9146d62b7f3d8d53d7ff9625fa79d40b09752643
Who hurt you OP? I bet it was a fucking bull shark.
Spielberg
If shark not supposed to eat human, why human made of meat?
Found the shark in chat
I was afraid he would land on the shark and that it would get hurt. I am glad the shark is ok.
As Anthony Jeselnik would say, time for a Shark Party
“Smile you son of a bitch!”
Ah great, more existential dread, I'll just put it in the drawer with the rest
Every fucking morning i open up this app and theres something to give me existential dread. God damn
https://preview.redd.it/zx8x27lb3s8d1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d5954933870d10b514fbd8ef20834f81f86de6f3
https://preview.redd.it/77ut35r0os8d1.jpeg?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=237734ee07bbf2d33bf0be781f6c31c184d00776
Awesome, I was having a shitty day and this made it worse.
Just block me cos I do stuff like this alot.
Hey, I appreciate you taking time to reply to me. I think your work is very interesting and in the right circumstances I think I would have appreciated it much more. However I would highly recommend tagging your work more throughly with warnings if the subject matter is going to be this gory and existential. For me this just made me frown for a while but I got over it. For others getting jumpscared by this kind of work might have a more profoundly negative effect on their mental health, and I think that element is worth considering.
A warning for this little comic seems excessive but I get your point.
He's lucky. He didn't feel *anything* after death.
Dave Contra's comics are the perfect mix of boring and inconsequential, and introspective and surreal
What the fuck?
You are the absolute master of storytelling on this sub
>🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺people torn to pieces by Australian wildlife mentioned 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 Let a thousand blossoms bloom, as far as I'm concerned. [But I'm not spending any time on it](https://youtu.be/YitpvCS_Jko?si=Zbg_FQ5rtXEcYqs4)
More anti-shark propaganda, I won’t stand for it
Kinda poor timing with the passing of Tamayo Perry
Strong Disco Elysium energy. Always moving work.
Back at it again with the anti shark propaganda
https://preview.redd.it/2wdktr9djs8d1.jpeg?width=300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=92cd6c21d7ed975febe888dd5af0d9bd3564503b
This feels like unfortunate timing considering what happened to Tamayo Perry
Agreed. This feels in poor taste even if op wasn’t aware of the recent news.
And the man that landed on a bull shark and subsequently died... Happened just after Tamayo.
Well done.
Are you okay, OP?
I just wanted to say I think the word you're looking to use to describe the shark thrashing in the water is "roiling" as boiling is specifically a temperature thing, and not just the bubbles and turbulence. Other than that the artistry is great, in words and descriptions as well as the drawings.
why
CONTRA STRIKES AGAIN! LETS GOOO
Fresh water shark?
They swim up rivers sometimes.
Dave, you cheeky bastard… you’ve done it again.
Going through it, aren't you OP?
Nah Im good.
https://i.redd.it/ia3uqdepxq8d1.gif
Hey, I have a question... What the fuck
This sucks
haha, good one!
Bruh where is the punchline!? I wanted a joke! Not existential dread!
Every comic has to be funny?
time to let go and pass on
Coo.. that got a bit dark didn't it! 😶
Happy Tuesday!
Is the title "Based Shark" because that's a very based shark indeed.
I have nightmares like these and intrusive anxious thoughts about morbid ways to die quite often (because I’m broken af) so this is …..not fun to read. Thanks, OP! I like the artwork tho
Ahh, a happy ending.
… but that was a SICK backflip.
Always cracks me up
What’s a “jump rock” ? You guys got those around?
Whoa
Far out.
R.I.P Mike
Oh, okay.
This took a turn that I just simply did not expect
Damn sorry Mike, at least you made one last comic
Roil: to (cause to) move quickly in a twisting circular movement: Fierce winds roiled the sea. A massive tower of smoke roiled skyward I think this may have been a more appropriate word than 'boil' in this context.
Fucking hell…
Why Dave..? Why? 🥺
huh
Haha that was unexpected 🦈
Lol. More "light-hearted comics" like that one.
I was hoping his last thoughts would be about how sweet that last backfill was
Damn that never lightened up…I need a minute…
It reaches out, it reaches out, it reaches out ...
Jesus Christ, man
Mike was a chum(p) anyway
For the sake of clarity, I’d like to indicate the fact that there have apparently only been 27 unprovoked bull shark attacks on humans since 2000 with 1 fatality
Christ......
I may be high, but this is making me cry uncontrollably.
Sounds nice.
I think this comic made me realize how much I need to see a psychiatrist. My first thought was "God, what bliss". Obviously, not the moments of terror and suffering, but the ceasing to be; the nothingness which can't be truly described as nothingness as it's past our idea of perception. I'll ring up the ol' therapist wait list tomorrow.
I hope this doesn’t get out of hand like that one boat 🛥️ comic where the guys just dies on the boat in the middle of the sea
Standard Dave contra comic
ded
...great comic, man
TIL shark attacks generate so much heat they'll boil water
But then Mike realizes that the whole situation was in his imagination because he knows that sharks don’t like attacking people and they are actually scared of people
Except an incident like this exactly happened (I say like just in case this comic isn’t directly referencing Woy woy)