Matt Furie (American, b. 1979) is a cartoonist, illustrator and painter who created the character Pepe the Frog. Furie draws anthropomorphic characters in a style he has described as blending the influence of Hieronymus Bosch with the Muppets. He introduced Pepe in 2005 in his self-made zine Playtime, which grew into the comic Boy's Club, where the frog was one of four post-collegiate roommates.
After Furie posted the comics on Myspace, Pepe spread through bodybuilder and anime communities before becoming a widespread internet meme. During the 2016 US presidential campaign the image was appropriated by far-right groups, leading the Anti-Defamation League to designate Pepe a hate symbol that year and prompting Furie to launch a #SavePepe campaign. In 2017 he published the comic Rest in Peace, Pepe, depicting the character's funeral. He also pursued copyright claims against more than 100 far-right entities, including a 2018 settlement with InfoWars. In 2019 the character was reclaimed as a symbol of hope during pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong, appearing on banners, T-shirts and graffiti. The 2020 documentary Feels Good Man, directed by Arthur Jones and starring Furie, premiered at Sundance and traced Pepe's journey from webcomic character to reclaimed symbol.
