Trollface, anyone that has dwelled in the internet between 2008 and the early 2010s can remember seeing the face of meme legend. The Trollface is one the most iconic face in the era of rage comics. The Trollface was created by Carlos Ramirez, also known as Whynne, who uploaded his work on DeviantART as an MS Paint webcomic on the pointless of trolling on the turbulent and infamous social media site known as 4chan. The face quickly became the universal symbol of trolling for many years as part of Rage comics from 2008 up to its eventual decline in popularity between 2015-2016 in most of the Western world with Wojaks (also made its first appearance in 2010) taking their place. In some parts of the world, especially in some Asian communities, Rage comics have managed to persist though generally, not as much as they used to.
The Trollface, as it says in the name, has been commonly been used as a symbol to represent internet trolls and the act of trolling in general with its comically mischievous smile. In the case of the meme’s resurrection somewhere around late 2018, it has adopted a sinister undertone synonymous with the cliché of world ending events caused by the actions, downfall and/or mischief of one individual (mischief being the recurring theme that has persisted with the core of Trollface) usually leading to said individual transforming into a being of unimaginable horror, bringing about the end of times.
How and why did a legendary make such a frightening comeback? A possible answer can be attributed to our natural inclination as a species to focus on the negatives of something as opposed to the positives of something or rather the general appeal of dark humour. The world around us is cruel and so the use of dark humour to satirise the cruelty of it all is appealing to many people. As such, why bend down to the cruelty of the world when you can stand on your own two feet and laugh at it?
