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''Gunshow'' is a 2008
webcomic Webcomics (also known as online comics or Internet comics) are comics published on the internet, such as on a website or a mobile app. While many webcomics are published exclusively online, others are also published in magazines, newspapers, or ...
created by KC Green. The webcomic is
gag-a-day A gag-a-day comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of ...
, having little overarching story and covering a large variation of topics with strong tonal shifts. ''Gunshow'' is well known for spawning the "This is fine"
internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
in 2013. The webcomic concluded in 2014, as Green moved on to other creative work.


Overview

''Gunshow'' is written by KC Green, known for other webcomics such as ''Back'', ''He Is A Good Boy'', and ''Pinocchio''. Green has also worked on the ''
Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn the Human, Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...
'' episode "The Thin Yellow Line" and published a
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
through
Oni Press Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as '' Scott Pilgrim'' and ''Rick and Morty''. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's ...
titled ''Graveyard Quest''. ''Gunshow'' features recurring characters, but very little ongoing plot. Alex Borkowski of ''Heave Media'' stated that ''Gunshow'' defies categorization, as Green covers topics ranging from the nature of
compromise To compromise is to make a deal between different parties where each party gives up part of their demand. In arguments, compromise means finding agreement through communication, through a mutual acceptance of terms—often involving variations fr ...
to pushing one's limits to an endearing story about a
crab Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura (meaning "short tailed" in Greek language, Greek), which typically have a very short projecting tail-like abdomen#Arthropoda, abdomen, usually hidden entirely under the Thorax (arthropo ...
falling in love with a lady. The webcomic has run for hundreds of pages and tends to use
self-referential Self-reference is a concept that involves referring to oneself or one's own attributes, characteristics, or actions. It can occur in language, logic, mathematics, philosophy, and other fields. In natural language, natural or formal languages, ...
humor from time to time. ''Gunshow'' frequently features some longer storylines, its most ambitious piece being "Anime Club", a story about four
anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
fans who get kicked out of their meeting spot for watching a
hentai Hentai () is a style of Pornography in Japan, Japanese pornographic anime and manga. In addition to anime and manga, hentai works exist in a variety of media, including artwork and video games (commonly known as ''eroge''). The developme ...
film. KC Green ended ''Gunshow'' in late 2014, as his other webcomics and his
Patreon Patreon (, ) is a monetization platform operated by Patreon, Inc., that provides business tools for content creators to run a subscription service and sell digital products. It helps artists and other creators earn a recurring income by provid ...
income allowed him to move on from it.


"This is fine"

A 2013 ''Gunshow'' strip titled "On Fire" features an
anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics to ...
dog (dubbed "Question Hound") drinking tea in a room that is burning down. Despite its own body catching fire and beginning to melt, the dog remains perfectly calm throughout the six-panel strip, saying lines such as "That's okay, things are going to be okay." The first two panels of the strip, featuring the dog simply sitting in the blazing room saying "this is fine", became a popular
internet meme An Internet meme, or meme (, Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''MEEM''), is a cultural item (such as an idea, behavior, or style) that spreads across the Internet, primarily through Social media, social media platforms. Internet memes manif ...
. The dog's demeanor, described as "somewhere between bemused acceptance and outright denial" by ''
Slate Magazine ''Slate'' is an online magazine that covers current affairs, politics, and culture in the United States. It was created in 1996 by former ''The New Republic, New Republic'' editor Michael Kinsley, initially under the ownership of Microsoft as ...
''s Jacob Brogan, proved popular with its full context removed. The sentence "this is fine" was described by ''
The Verge ''The Verge'' is an American Technology journalism, technology news website headquarters, headquartered in Lower Manhattan, New York City and operated by Vox Media. The website publishes news, feature stories, guidebooks, product reviews, cons ...
''s Chris Plante as a "shorthand for when a situation becomes so terrible our brains refuse to grapple with its severity". The spread of the two panels was traced back by the
Know Your Meme Know Your Meme (KYM) is a website and video series that uses wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki ...
community to September 2014, when the image appeared without attribution on
Reddit Reddit ( ) is an American Proprietary software, proprietary social news news aggregator, aggregation and Internet forum, forum Social media, social media platform. Registered users (commonly referred to as "redditors") submit content to the ...
and
Imgur Imgur ( , stylized as imgur) is an American online image sharing and image hosting service with a focus on social gossip that was founded by Alan Schaaf in 2009. The service has hosted viral images and memes, particularly those posted on ...
with the caption "Basically how I'm handling life right now". The meme has been used on
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
as a general comment on bad events or disasters, such as the ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill. Green described the meme's popularity in 2016 as "a barometer of current trends", indicating that it was an intense year. Brogan stated that the meme is unique because it is infrequently modified from its original version and because its popularity was still climbing . In an interview, KC Green stated that during the period in which he created "On Fire" he was struggling with himself and getting his
anti-depressant Antidepressants are a class of medications used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain, and addiction. Common side effects of antidepressants include dry mouth, weight gain, dizziness, headaches, akathisia, sexua ...
dosage right. As the image's popularity surged, Green started selling prints and shirts of the strip on his
TopatoCo The Topato Corporation (styled as TopatoCo) is a widely recognized online retailer of webcomics and related merchandise. It was established around 2004 by artist Jeffrey Rowland. History After Jeffrey Rowland lost his job in 2004, he started To ...
storefront. Green noted that "It's easier to sell the first two anelsthan the entire omicwhere the dog melts into nothingness." Purchase of Question Hound as a plushie, and later in 2020 as a
Funko Pop! Funko Inc. is an American company that manufactures licensed and limited pop culture collectibles, known for its licensed vinyl figurines and bobbleheads. In addition, the company produces licensed plush, action figures, apparel, accessories and ...
, was also made available on TopatoCo. The plushie received newfound attention on social media when one was seen at the
Mars 2020 Mars 2020 is a NASA mission that includes the rover ''Perseverance (rover), Perseverance'', the now-retired small robotic helicopter ''Ingenuity (helicopter), Ingenuity'', and associated delivery systems, as part of the Mars Exploration Progra ...
mission control for the landing of ''
Perseverance Perseverance most commonly refers to: * ''Perseverance'' (rover), a planetary rover landed on Mars by NASA * Psychological resilience Perseverance may also refer to: Geography * Perseverance, Queensland, a locality in Australia * Perseverance I ...
''. In 2016 Green followed up the "On Fire" comic with a "This is Not Fine" comic on ''
The Nib ''The Nib'' was an American online daily comics publication focused on political cartoons, Comics journalism, graphic journalism, essays and memoir about current affairs. Founded by cartoonist Matt Bors in September 2013, ''The Nib'' was an ind ...
'', in which the dog abruptly switches from denial of the fire to terror over it, putting it out in a panic while yelling at themselves for letting the fire go so far out of control, and makes mention of the recent killing of
Harambe Harambe ( ; May 27, 1999 – May 28, 2016) was a western lowland gorilla who lived at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, Cincinnati Zoo. On May 28, 2016, a three-year-old boy visiting the zoo climbed under a fence into an outdoor gorilla ...
, a gorilla in a Cincinnati zoo. In 2016, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' called "This is fine" "the meme this year deserves". In 2023, ''
the Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...
'' called it "The Meme That Defined a Decade", and called it "a work of near-endless ''interpretability''". In June 2023, the "This is Fine" emote cosmetic was added to
Epic Games Epic Games, Inc. is an American Video game developer, video game and software development, software developer and video game publisher, publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney (game developer), Tim Sween ...
' '' Fortnite: Battle Royale'' as part of the Chapter 4: Season 3
Battle Pass In the video game industry, a battle pass or rewards track is a type of monetization approach that provides additional content for a game usually through a tiered system, rewarding the player with in-game items for playing the game and complet ...
in collaboration with KC Green. In September 2024, KC Green and Numskull Games announced that they are working on a video game based on "On Fire" titled ''This is Fine: Maximum Cope'' which is planned as a "classic, old-school, platformer game" where Question Hound battles monsters from inside his subconscious. KC Green and Numskull Games also announced that a
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign to help fund the game's development will start of September 26.


Usage in politics

In July 2016, the
United States Republican Party The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a Right-wing politics, right-wing political parties in the United States, political party in the United States. One of the Two-party system, two major parties, it emerged as t ...
(or GOP, short for "Grand Old Party") used the "This is fine" meme in a
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
message, in reference to the Democratic Party selecting
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
as their presidential candidate during the
2016 Democratic National Convention The 2016 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention, held at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from July 25 to 28, 2016. The convention gathered delegates of the Democratic Party, the maj ...
. The usage of the meme suggested that Democratic voters were in denial about damage being done by selecting Clinton as candidate, though it may also be that the GOP was simply celebrating what they saw as a "Democratic meltdown". Usage of the meme by the GOP drew backlash from some Democratic voters, webcomic creators, and also from KC Green himself, who said "everyone is in their right to use this is fine icon social media posts, but man o man I personally would like @GOP to delete their stupid post." ''
Vox Media Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''S ...
'' compared Green's experience with that of various musicians that had their works appropriated for political purposes, and ''
The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...
'' used the event as an example of how the works of webcomic artists are frequently reposted without proper attribution. Green had already anticipated the usage of his webcomic strip for political purposes.
First Look Media First Look Media is an American nonprofit media organization founded by Pierre Omidyar in October 2013 as a venue for "original, independent journalism". The project was started as a collaboration with Glenn Greenwald, Jeremy Scahill, and La ...
's webcomic ''
The Nib ''The Nib'' was an American online daily comics publication focused on political cartoons, Comics journalism, graphic journalism, essays and memoir about current affairs. Founded by cartoonist Matt Bors in September 2013, ''The Nib'' was an ind ...
'' commissioned Green before the Democratic National Convention to draw a version of the "This is fine" meme featuring the GOP elephant mascot similarly sitting in a flaming room. The artwork was commissioned to be placed in the Philadelphia Art Gallery in Old City. Once the GOP posted the Twitter message, ''The Nib'' responded with "We actually paid the artist who made this. Here's what he came up with" and a
hyperlink In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference providing direct access to Data (computing), data by a user (computing), user's point and click, clicking or touchscreen, tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to ...
to the cartoon. The Ukrainian authorities behind the @Ukraine
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
account used an animated version of the "This is fine" meme to illustrate in a self-deprecating sardonic tone the fight against the 2017 Ukraine ransomware attacks. This invited comments that they used the meme wrongly, since it came to signify disastrous government inaction; but it attracted attention to the tweet and contributed to an increase in the number of followers. In earlyJanuary 2025, Fridays for Future Germany used the first frame, redrawn to flat colors, to publicize their upcoming nationwide rally scheduled for 14February 2025. Their caption reads instead: "Cuz this is not fine!".


Media

In January 2016, Jason DeMarco, vice president and creative director of
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (CN) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the Cartoon Network, Inc., a sub-division of the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks division of Warner Bros. Discovery. It launched on ...
's
Adult Swim Adult Swim (stylized as
dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representativ ...
and s is an American adult-oriented television programming block that airs on Cartoon Network which broadcasts during the evening, prime time, and Late-night television, late-night Dayparting, dayparts. T ...
block, announced that there would be an animated series based on Green's webcomic. The series, animated by Shmorky, was teased by an animated version of the "On Fire" strip voiced by
Dana Snyder Dana Snyder (born ) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his voice roles of Master Shake in ''Aqua Teen Hunger Force'', Granny Cuyler in '' Squidbillies'', Baby Ball on '' Ballmastrz: 9009'', and other roles in various Adult Swim ...
.


References

{{reflist 2000s webcomics 2010s webcomics 2008 webcomic debuts 2014 webcomic endings American webcomics Internet memes introduced in 2013