Fishboy (comics)

Fishboy is a surrealist and absurdist comic strip created by Matt Mccarthy. The comic primarily follows the titular character, Fishboy, a young boy with the head of a fish, and explores themes of friendship, identity, and the strangeness of the world through often nonsensical and dreamlike scenarios.

Publication History:

• The comic began as a self-published zine in the early 2000s.
• Fishboy gained a wider audience through online distribution.
• Several collected editions of the comics have been published, including volumes by Top Shelf Productions.

Characters and Setting:

• Fishboy: The protagonist; a boy with a fish head who navigates everyday life with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
• Other recurring characters include friends and acquaintances of Fishboy, often depicted as equally bizarre and surreal beings.
• The setting is typically a dreamlike and ambiguous landscape, frequently shifting and defying conventional logic.

Style and Themes:

• Mccarthy's art style is characterized by simple, often minimalist drawings and a distinct visual aesthetic.
• The humor in Fishboy is often dry, absurdist, and relies on unexpected juxtapositions and non-sequiturs.
• Recurring themes include alienation, the search for meaning in a nonsensical world, and the power of friendship.
• The comic often employs metafictional elements, breaking the fourth wall and commenting on the nature of storytelling itself.

Reception:

• Fishboy has been praised for its originality, humor, and thought-provoking exploration of existential themes.
• The comic has garnered a cult following and has been recognized within the independent comics scene.