MA-0010 · first seen 2008
Rage Comics
Crude, hand-drawn comics starring a roster of reusable faces, the visual grammar of early-2010s Internet humour.
- Status
- ClassicPeaked more than five years ago
- Trend score
- 10/100Estimated
- Change, 90 days
- 0%Estimated
- Peak
- 85Oct 2011
- Years active
- 6Index of 30 or more
- First seen
- 20082008
Popularity over time
Monthly attention from Jun 2008 to Oct 2026. Hover or tab through the chart for each month.
- First appearance
- Went viral
- Peak
- Decline
Attention index, 0 to 100 on one scale for the whole archive. Estimated from each meme’s key dates, not measured.
About
The format began in mid-2008 on 4chan’s /b/ board with a comic about a toilet splash that ended in a rage-filled “FFFFFFFUUUUUUUU”. The angry face, soon called Rage Guy, was joined by a repertoire of simple characters, each tied to a feeling: disbelief, joy, loneliness, smugness.
Anyone with a free comic maker could tell their own story in four panels, and millions did, on Reddit, Cheezburger and 9GAG. Searches peaked in February 2012; by the mid-2010s the style had been replaced by more polished formats, though its faces remain instantly recognisable.
Origin
The first Rage Guy comic appeared on 4chan’s /b/ board in mid-2008.
2008
Viralization
Spread through Reddit, Cheezburger and Facebook as comic-making tools made anyone a cartoonist.
2009
Peak
Searches for “rage comics” and related faces peaked in February 2012.
Oct 2011
Timeline
From the first post to where it stands today.
Origin
A toilet splash
The first Rage Guy comic appears on 4chan, ending in a scream of capital letters.
Early adoption
A cast of faces
Characters for disbelief, happiness and loneliness give the format a visual alphabet.
Viral
Everyone is a cartoonist
Free comic makers and Reddit communities turn the format into a mass pastime.
Peak
February 2012
Search interest in rage comics, Rage Guy and Trollface peaks together.
Decline
Replaced by new formats
Polished image macros and platform-native video overtake the hand-drawn comic.
Current
Nostalgia
The faces remain recognisable shorthand for the early-2010s Internet.
Related memes
Chosen by shared era, category, platform and cultural link.
Trollface
24/100+1%Classic2008Same conversation · Same era
LOLcats
9/1000%Classic2005Same conversation · Same era
Success Kid
12/1000%Classic2007Same conversation · Same kind of meme
Wojak
57/100+9%Rising2009Same conversation · Same kind of meme