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In 2005, cartoonist Matt Furie published a comic on his Myspace that involved an anthropomorphic frog taking a pee with his pants around his ankles. When his friend asks why he urinates with his pants pulled all the way down, the frog answers: Feels good man. In 2017, the same frog lays dead in a casket, surrounded by his friends. Pepe the Frog is dead. Vale Pepe the Frog.

The decade between Pepes birth and death is complicated, to say the least. The panel of Pepe saying Feels good man became a reaction image on Gaia Online forums before being picked up by 4chan. From there, it evolved into various remixes of the original joke: Sad Frog, Smug Frog, Angry Pepe. It started as an in-joke, before bleeding into the mainstream, with pop-stars Nicky Minaj and Katy Perry posting Pepe memes on Instagram and Twitter.

RELATED: Pepe the Frog Is Dead: Creator Kills the White Supremacist-Hijacked Icon

At some point during Donald Trumps presidential campaign, something went very wrong. In a surreal turn of events that no one could have seen coming, Pepe was co-opted by members of the alt-right movement and white supremacists after Trump retweeted a smug Trump-Pepe. The frog that likes to pee with his pants at his ankles became a hate symbol.

So what do you do when something you made has become something that the Anti-Defamation League defines as a hate symbol? In an op-ed piece published in Time, Furie attempted to reclaim the character. I understand that its out of my control, he acknowledged, but in the end, Pepe is whatever you say he is, and I, the creator, say that Pepe is love.

Fantagraphics, the publisher that released Furies collected Boys Club comics, issued a statement regarding Pepes hate symbol status that sums it up pretty well.

Having your creation appropriated without consent is never something an artist wants to suffer, but having it done in the service of such repellent hatred and thereby dragging your name into the conversation, as well makes it considerably more troubling.

Its Furies legacy now, whether he wants it or not. Even the product page for Boys Club (the collected volume of Furies comic strips) on Fantagraphics web-store refers to the Pepe phenomenon as a selling point for the book.

RELATED: Pepe the Frog Creator Speaks Out on Character Becoming Hate Symbol

By killing Pepe, Furie has essentially washed his hands of his creation. Pepe is dead and buried, and thats that. But what could he do otherwise? Its not like Furie can sue the Internet for appropriating his character. Does he continue making comics that included Pepe, intentionally or unintentionally riding the frogs infamy? Does he craft a comic with Pepe punching neo-nazis in the face? Or does he do nothing, quietly watching as his creation continues to mutate further and further from its origin? Is killing Pepe even the right move to make? By killing the frog, is Furie admitting defeat and surrendering his creation to the alt-right hordes? What do you do when something you poured your heart into creating is hijacked to stand for something thats objectively terrible and reprehensible?

The problem with Furies gesture is that ultimately, it doesnt matter, because it wont change anything. Pepe the Frog is dead, but Pepe the Meme is not. The latter cannot be killed, because thats not how memes work. Pepe has transcended Furies authorship and belongs to the Internet, now. Its been chopped and changed and remixed to the point that it barely resembles the original. Its become a meme, and like any meme, it has been transformed through replication into something else. Its a frog named Pepe, sure but it isnt Pepe the Frog.

Before this election, Pepe the Frog spent years mutating online into the many-faced Mickey Mouse God of the Internet, Furie wrote for Time. The frog face has gone through thousands of user-made Internet incarnations, expressing rage, smugness, violence, happiness, coolness and, most notably, sadness. To zillions of people, mostly kids, teens and college-dwellers, it meant many things, but mostly it was a big joke.

Furie isnt the first artist to see their creation ripped from their hands and transformed into something out of their control (albeit in much less extreme circumstances). Youve no doubt encountered the ubiquitous Calvin of Bill Wattersons Calvin and Hobbes fame urinating on a logo of some sort, or cartoonist KC Greens Dickbutt and Question Hound (the dog that says This is fine! while everything burns around him) in some form, but youd be lucky to find a creator credit attached to any memes. Its unfortunate, but thats just how Internet memes work. Perhaps the worst part is that you dont know what will be the next thing people will latch onto and endlessly remix. Green didnt know a man with a dick growing out of his butt would be the thing people would take and run with, and no one couldve known this is where Pepe would end up.

I feel bad for Matt Furie. It sucks that a goofy joke he made in 2005 has be co-opted and transformed into a hate symbol over a decade later. It sucks that every interview ha conducts now revolves around the question, How do you feel about your cartoon being co-opted and transformed into a hate symbol? as his actual artistic output is regulated to an afterthought. It sucks that he will forever be known as The Guy Who Created Pepe, no matter how far he distances himself from the ill-fated frog.

In October 2016, Furie published a new comic strip featuring Pepe at The Nib. In it, the once happy frog is now morose, transforming into the face of Donald Trump before becoming an eldritch horror that triggers the apocalypse. Pepe awakes from this nightmare scenario in a cold sweat just before hes enveloped by his bed. Its hard not to assume this is how Furie feels about Pepe, a grotesque nightmare he just cant wake from, no matter how he tries.

Ending Pepe on his own terms is a powerful move on Furies behalf; hes finally purifying himself of the cartoon frog. Hes realized that he cant reclaim him anymore, and the best move is to move past it. At the very least, I hope he can sleep better at night knowing that his creation and his connection to it are dead and buried. But in the long run, it doesnt change anything. Pepe is synonymous with hate speech, and thats a stain that you cant easily wash out. Furie can kill Pepe the Frog a million times, but Pepe the Meme will never die.

Feels bad man.

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Pepe the Frog is Dead; Unfortunately, You Can't Kill a Meme

Matt Furie, the cartoonist whose Pepe the Frog character was hijacked as the symbol ofwhite supremacists and the alt-right during the election, has killed the character, conceding defeat in trying to reclaim it.

Matt Furie with a great single page send-off. #freecomicbookday #mattfurie https://t.co/lKGUL9lmyd pic.twitter.com/qhngOyoVPV

Brandon Kelly (@therealphaTT) May 6, 2017

Writes Buzzfeed:

In the 2010s, Pepe the frog became a symbol of internet trolls, moving up from Myspace where it was created and popularised in 2005 to the lofty, notoriously aggressive, and troll-filled 4chan. It was on 4chan, and with the burgeoning alt-right movement, that Pepe the frog was transformed from a reactionary meme to a coordinated white supremacist image. Hillary Clintons staff even wrote an explainer on Pepe in 2016 and the Anti-Defamation League called the cartoon a hate symbol.

Pepe creator Furie had hoped to reclaim his creation, denouncing the use of the cartoon as a hate symbol. A campaign was started to save Pepe the frog but failed to really put a dent in the alt-rights transformation of the image.

In late 2016, Furie described the situation in an article he wrote for Time as a nightmare.

White supremacist homocon journalists Jim Hoft and Lucian Wintrich displaying a hand signal associated with Pepe.

Real News Joins the White House Briefing Room https://t.co/Iv3QVHVhQI

Jim Hoft (@gatewaypundit) February 15, 2017

Adds the Guardian:

Furie had been attempting to wrench back his peaceful frog-dude whom he has often said he imagined as an extension of his personality for more than six months. Pepes passing has been interpreted of his ceding control of the character.

Shaun Manning wrote in Comic Book Resources that the rehabilitation of Pepe was always going to be a struggle, and its hard to imagine Furie taking much joy in creating new Pepe strips knowing that, whatever his own intentions, the character would be read through tinted lenses.

While its unlikely Pepes official death will stop extremists from co-opting his image, this was, perhaps, the most effective way for Furie to reclaim his character; Pepes soul has returned to his creator. Rest in Peace.

Read this article:
'Pepe the Frog' Character Killed By Its Creator in Concession ...

A Denton ISD assistant principal was removed from his post this week after a childrens book he wrote containing a popular internet character that has since become co-opted by the so-called alt-right an offshoot of conservatism mixing racism, white nationalism and populism caused controversy within the school district.

According to theDallas Morning News, The Adventures of Pepe and Pede author Eric Hauser was removed from his position as assistant principal of Rodriguez Middle School in Oak Point Monday.

Astatement released Monday by the school district said:

Mr. Hauser, who has strived to be an author on his own accord, recently released a childrens book that drew controversy to himself and the district. The book is the creative property of Mr. Hauser and is not tied with the district, its curriculum or instructional materials - yet the attention it brought him and the books implied message has been a distraction to his colleagues across Denton ISD.

Pepe the Frog started out as an internet comic book character in 2005, first appearing in Matt FuriesBoys Club comic. With a human body and a frog face, the punch line for thefirst issue of the series came when Pepe was caught urinating with his pants around his ankles. His rationale:Feels good, man.

Since Pepes first appearance, the character has been co-opted by the so-called alt-right movement. In 2015, then-presidential nominee Donald Trumptweeted a caricature of his body with Pepes face standing at the presidential podium. Later, after Hillary Clintons basket of deplorables comment about Trump and his supporters, Pepe appeared in anonline illustration of The Deplorables, meant as a send-up of Sylvester StallonesThe Expendables action movie series.

According to the DMN, Hausers Pepe and Pedefollows Pepe and a centipede named Pede living on Wishington Farm that has a new farmer. The pair save a pond that was taken over by a bearded alligator named Alkah and his minions by using truth blossoms from the honesty tree.

Hauser said he doesn't align with the alt-right at all and said chose Pepe because he's a funny, lovable character. The same goes for Pede, he said, which is short for centipede.

Hauser said in a statement to the DMN that he was aware the Pepe was a conservative meme, but not that it was a part of a racist movement. He said he was unaware of the implications of the character until afterThe Adventures of Pepe and Pede was published on Aug. 1.

"Due to the controversy surrounding the book I have published, I think it's best that I not serve as assistant principal at Rodriguez," he said inthe statement released by Denton ISD.

Read more:
Denton ISD administrator removed after authoring children's book featuring Pepe the Frog - Austin American-Statesman

BTW

A Texas man has been removed from his position as an assistant middle school principal after he wrote and published a childrens book starring popular meme and white supremacist iconPepe the Frog.

Eric Hausers The Adventures ofPepe and Pede stars the frog and his friend, a centipede (centipede is a common nickname shared by President Trump supporters onReddits controversial r/the_donald forum). The two buddies team up to save their home, Wishington Farm, from an evil, swamp-dwelling alligator named Alkah. They defeat him using the blossoms of the honesty tree, which never grew under the previous farmer.The parallels to the Trump administration are only barely disguised.

Pepe and his centipede sidekick Pede start the book ecstatic that the old farmer hasleft after eight years of oppression, the Washington Postreported.

Denton school district took away Hausers position as a Rodriguez Middle School assistant principal because the books implied message has been a distraction to his colleagues across Denton ISD, according to a statement.

Pepe and Pedewas initially self-published, but it was quickly picked up by a conservative publishing house called Post Hill Press, whose other pro-Trump books include a kids book where a Trumpian rabbit called Thump becomes president;Go the F**k to Jail: An Adult Coloring Book of the Clinton Scandals(Tagline: Lock Her Up!); and The Trump Book of Insults: An Adult Coloring Book.

The publisher denied there were any hidden messages in the book, and told thePost it was simply a story about law and order and good vs. evil.

But thats not the impression the illustrator of the book, Nina Khalova, got. Vices Motherboard contacted her about the book, and she shared Hausers notes on the art with them. Among other things, he wanted the evil alligators minions to look more like a cartoon meme of Muslim women in burkas.

The book also references 4chan memes like the god Kek, and includes a dedication to my fellow centipedes. If youre familiar with the meme culture of white supremacists, its not particularly subtle.

Hauser denies any affiliation with white supremacists. This book has a lot of conservative overtones, but I will tell you this: I wrote the book as attempt to break down the barriers of political correctness and embrace truth, honesty, and teamwork, he told the Dallas Observer.

H/TWashington Post

See the rest here:
Assistant principal loses job over his kids' book starring Pepe the Frog - The Daily Dot

"The book is the creative property of Mr. Hauser and is not tied with the district, its curriculum or instructional materials -- yet the attention it brought him and the book's implied message has been a distraction to his colleagues across Denton ISD," the statement said.

He will be reassigned to a yet-to-be-determined role that will not involve beinga campus administrator or educator, the district said.

"Due to the controversy surrounding the book I have published, I think it's best that I not serve as assistant principal at Rodriguez," Hauser said in the statement. "The students, the community and the teachers are too important to me to subject them to all the negativity and disapproval resulting from this book. To my colleagues, I offer my deepest apologies if this has affected them or their families in any negative way."

The district did not learn about the book until last week, when Hauser contacted adminstrators about it, Denton ISD spokesman Mario Zavala said.

Pepe the Frog has been used in recent years by the "alt-right," a racist movement whose name was coined by Dallas native Richard Spencer.

Read the original:
Denton ISD assistant principal removed for conservative children's book featuring Pepe the Frog - Dallas News (blog)