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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.

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'Pepe the Frog' Character Killed By Its Creator in Concession ...