The Dog House on Fire Meme Continues

In a year that has seen the world grapple with terrorist attacks and the aftermath of an ugly election, the dog house on fire meme continues to be used in countless contexts. It’s also a reminder of just how far the Internet can go when it comes to sharing images and ideas. This week, The Frame spoke to Massachusetts-based illustrator KC Green about his original comic that inspired the meme, “This is Fine,” which he drew for his webcomic Gunshow in January of 2013. He also discussed how he’s been able to harness this meme’s popularity and make it part of his life through licensing deals and merch.

The two panels of the dog sitting calmly at a table with a coffee mug as his room is engulfed in flames have become one of the most recognizable memes in the history of the Internet. It’s an image that’s often used to express a sense of denial or acceptance in the face of a nightmare situation. The cartoon has been a fixture on social media since its release and was even used as a channel identification interstitial on Adult Swim.

The popularity of the image has led to a lot of derivative work, including a popular meme that replaces the dog’s words with a variety of different phrases, like “Dick Butt” or “WTF.” But the original cartoon still holds up — and it’s now got a new ending. As the world struggles with real-life horrors, Green released a new version of the comic on The Nib that shows the dog suddenly snap out of his stupor and realizes the truth: Things are not fine.