Apparently the creator of Pepe the Frog has just killed him off in a comic because he’s so upset by his use as a white supremacist symbol. Open casket and everything.
This is hilarious, yeah, but reading Matt Furie’s explanation is weirdly heartbreaking. He’s clearly emotionally invested in Pepe and finds him a meaningful expression of himself…
“The characters in ‘Boy’s Club’ will always be a part of me. Andy the wise guy, Landwolf the party animal, Brett the fashionable dancer, and Pepe the chill frog — they are all tweaked reflections of my own values and sensibilities. Their personalities unfolded and blossomed as time went on, but just like the person in your life that you love the most, one day they will die. And death can be as beautiful as life, because it’s what makes life important.”
damn dude I’m sorry the Internet turned your stoner frog son evil
sorry for the poor image quality – i’m standing in my bedroom photographing this strip from my phone!
even though it’s very tongue-in-cheek i have a hard time laughing at it… i guess because it’s every (decent) creator’s nightmare that something that represents a part of them will get turned into some kind of hate symbol
this is a compilation i picked up for free comics day – and i did it because furie was listed on the cover. he seems like a really nice guy. it’s worth noting before this, he tried his best to “reclaim” pepe, soliciting positive, non-nazi-affiliated drawings of him from anyone on the internet who wanted to submit one. but i think the symbolism has gotten away from him at this point, and he probably feels he can’t erase the baggage that has been attached to it. it’s a huge bummer and i feel bad for him
