Pepe the Frog’s Creator is Working to Bring Him Back to the Side of Peace – Nerdist

Frog and Toad. Kermit. Froggie da Gremlin. The protagonist of Frogger. The Bud! Weis! Er! trio. If green amphibians in pop culture have one thing in common, its that theyre generally pretty benevolent, and want to be your friend. But the past year or so might have put that to the test. Matt Furies Pepe the frog was intended to be just as benevolenta stoner frog with the catchphrase Feels good man, known primarily for putting his pants down around his ankles to urinate. But somewhere in Internet Message BoardLand, he became coopted. These many months later, Furie is Kickstarting an effort to bring Pepe back to the light side.

Its unclear exactly how and whyPepe became synonymous withsuchtoxicity. To web-savvy Republican voters, he became a symbol of Donald Trumps Make America Great Again campaign. To online trolls, he was used as a symbol of ironic bigotryto get a rise out of the supposed politically correct. In absolute worst cases, he was adopted by white supremacists and racists, inserted into memes that were deliberately hateful toward particular groups. The one thing all these uses had in common is that none of them represented the wishes or the spirit of Pepes creator.

Furies initial reaction was to try to ignore the misuse of his character; when that didnt work, he killed him off in a comic strip. But the memes continued regardless, so henow has decided to take back his creation, Kickstarting a new comic that will return the character to being a universal symbol for peace, love, and acceptance.

The campaign has already achieved its desiredfunding, but if youd like to get some official Pepe artwork, an enamel pin, signed drawings, or even a character in the book named after you, there are still 25 days left to do so as of this writing.

Can the fun-loving frog become a prince of a persona again? Croak out some comments below and tell us what you think.

Featured Image: Matt Furie

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Pepe the Frog's Creator is Working to Bring Him Back to the Side of Peace - Nerdist

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