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It\u2019s been a weird few\u00a0years for Pepe the Frog. A wild ride that ought to be reserved for the likes of Mr. Toad \u2013 or maybe if anyone tries to deep fry Kermit\u2019s legs again.<\/p>\n
Anyone who knows Pepe and his creator Matt Furie knows that the pair are candidates for two of the least likely people\/amphibians to show of up on a list of hate symbols<\/a>. But here we are. Last last month, the creation the cartoonist refers to as \u201cjust a chilled out frog\u201d\u00a0was presented that dubious diction, with Furie\u2019s name coming along for the ride.<\/p>\n When I spoke to the cartoonist the other week in the wake of that revelation, he didn\u2019t know what the make of the whole thing. I remember being excited for him a few years back when one of the characters featured in his small run mini-comic Boys Club<\/em><\/a> was suddenly gaining traction in the strangest places, from bodybuilder message boards to Katy Perry\u2019s Twitter feed.<\/p>\n Australian jet lag got me like pic.twitter.com\/kriAAd6mZe<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 KATY PERRY (@katyperry) November 8, 2014<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Sure there\u2019s no direct correlation between meme life and money (unless you\u2019re Ken Bone, of course<\/a>), but it was, at the very least, a peculiar sort of recognition for an artist whose work might not have otherwise had a chance to extend too far beyond the insular world of independent comics.<\/p>\n A friend sent me this. Apparently I made the cut as one of the Deplorables??? All kidding aside I am honored to be grouped with the hard working men and women of this great nation that have supported @realdonaldtrump and know that he can fix the mess created by politicians in Washington. He’s fighting for you and won’t ever quit. Thanks for your trust! #trump2016 #maga #makeamericagreatagain #basketofdeplorables<\/a><\/p>\n A photo posted by Donald Trump Jr. (@donaldjtrumpjr) on Sep 10, 2016 at 7:18pm PDT<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n For Furie, as with most of us, the turn seemed sudden. Within the space of weeks, Donald Trump tweeted our\u00a0an image\u00a0featuring Pepe and the Clinton campaign<\/a> and Rachel Maddow both dspent time name-checking him as a hate symbol. The last time I spoke with the artist, he expressed interest in taking his creation back, but seemed at a loss for ways to accomplish this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Earlier this week, the ADL announced<\/a> that it\u00a0would be working with Furie to \u201ctake back\u201d the chilled out cartoon, in order to \u201cuse the frog\u2019s likeness as a force for good.\u201d Furie, for his part, seems to have taken a momentary reprieve from the maelstrom of interviews, but Eric Reynolds, Furie\u2019s long-time editor at Seattle-based comics publisher Fantagraphics<\/a> responded to our request.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was disturbing to me that Matt\u2019s name was innocently yielding search returns in the ADL database despite having absolutely nothing to do with the co-opting of Pepe by racist assholes,\u201d Reynolds said. \u201cMatt is as peaceful and chill a dude as Pepe is a frog, so I\u2019m tremendously relieved that the ADL is stepping up and working with Matt to clear Pepe\u2019s good name. I look forward to this news cycle passing when President Clinton is elected. \u201c<\/p>\n\n
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