I was vaguely aware of cartoonist Matt Furie before the Internet turned his character Pepe the Frog into an alt-right symbol, for reasons I’ve never really understood. It really doesn’t make any sense, least of all to Furie. He’s made it clear that he’s not happy about the whole thing, and now he has officially killed off Pepe.
Free Comic Book Day was on Saturday, and Furie published the following strip in the Fantagraphics Books World’s Greatest Cartoonists anthology. Via Furie’s official Tumblr:
This won’t stop the autistic 4chan dorks from using Pepe, or any other cartoon character, for their own purposes. But there’s something to be said for authorial intent. Furie’s art isn’t really my thing, but I feel bad that his creation has been hijacked without his consent. He brought Pepe into this world, and he can take him out.
So the next time some idiot hits you with a spicy Pepe meme, don’t blame Matt Furie. It wasn’t his idea.