Obituary

Pepe was drawn in 2005 by Matt Furie for a comic called Boy's Club, a friendly frog who said 'feels good man' and peed with his pants around his ankles. He spread through 4chan and became the internet's most expressive amphibian: sad Pepe, smug Pepe, rare Pepe, a whole emotional spectrum in green. Then, in 2016, the worst thing that can happen to a beloved character happened — he was claimed as a hate symbol. The meme didn't die of overuse or age. It died of being repurposed beyond recognition, until his own creator killed him in a 2017 comic strip to take the character back. Feels bad, man. Feels bad.

Born

2008

Died

2017

Cause of death

Died of being weaponized

Last sighting

His creator's final strip, 2017

Resting place

Section B, Row 8 — the complicated plot

Category

comic