Anonymous Asexual
Part of a series on Webcomics. [View Related Entries]
About
Anonymous Asexual is a webcomic series that explores various issues of the LGBTQ+ community created by artist Luna Tiny. Starting in mid-2018, several of Anonymous Asexual comics gained popularity as exploitables, with the dialogues said by the characters replaced by commercials, song lyrics and other copypastas. In ironic meme communities, the webcomic is often referred to as Toothpaste Hair.
Origin
On February 11th, 2015, Tumblr[1] artist Luna Tiny[11] posted the first webcomic[12] in the Anonymous Asexual series (shown below, left). In this and the following comics, a self-inseted version of the author addressed such topics as LGBTQ+, cyberbullying and artistic struggles, with the protagonist usually expressing their opinions through engaging with other characters, with the main antagonistic character referred to as Anon (examples shown below).
Starting in June 2018, Anonymous Asexual comics gained notoriety online and became a subject of criticisms and mockery, being shared by users on 4chan's /co/ board,[2] iFunny,[3] Twitter,[4] Reddit[5] and other platforms. For example, a June 3, 2018, /co/[2] thread received over 180 replies (shown below, left). A June 8th, 2018, tweet[4] by Count Dankula received over 730 retweets and 5,700 likes (shown below, center). Before June 7th, 2018, an unknown user posted the first known edit of the comic (Imgur[13] repost shown below, right).
Spread
Prior to September 13th, 2018, an unknown user posted OK So Basically I'm Monky meme based on an Anonymous Asexual's comic "It's a Boy!" (shown below, left). The meme received viral spread online, being reposted on Instagram,[6] Reddit[7] and other platforms in the following weeks. On September 17th, 2018, Instagram and iFunny[8] user StDabbers posted a voiced version of the meme, also posting a revamped version[9] of the edit on September 23rd (shown below, right). The video received over 89,100 views on Instagram, with a YouTube[10] reupload gaining over 230,400 views in one year.
In the following months, "It's a Boy!" and other comics by Anonymous Asexual gained popularity as exploitables, used in memes in /r/okbuddyretard subreddit, on iFunny and Instagram. For example, a September 15th, post by Redditor[14] EDiggityDupz received over 9,500 upvotes in six months (shown below, left). A November 26th, meme by Redditor[15] Cornycash received over 5,900 upvotes in six months (shown below, right).
Starting in September 2019, "You Must Really Hate Your Body" comic by Anonymous Asexual gained notable popularity in dubbed edits on Instagram, Twitter and iFunny. In the edits, the dialogues said by the characters were replaced by commercials. The earliest known version of the subformat ("New Crispy Pretzel Chicken Fries") was posted by YouTuber E Lopez in Discord[16] on September 16th. The video was later reuploaded by E Lopez on YouTube[17] (shown below, left). On January 2nd, Twitter[18] user @ifollowincels used a commercial for the Lego City Rescue Helicopter in their edit, spawning the viral A Man Has Fallen Into the River in Lego City meme (reupload shown below, right).
The edit prompted a surge in popularity of both video and image edits based on Anonymous Asexual comics in January 2020.
Various Examples
Templates
Search Interest
External References
[1] Tumblr – anonymous-asexual
[2] 4chan – /co/ Thread #100906270
[4] Twitter – @countdankulatv
[5] Reddit – toothpaste guy normal edition (banned community)
[6] Instagram – cringey.meme (private account)
[7] Reddit – funny monky
[10] YouTube – Ok so basically im monky
[11] Tumblr – lonely-gentle-giant
[12] Tumblr – anonymous-asexual
[13] Imgur – Toothpaste guy – Normal edition
[15] Reddit – BMW car mod
[16] Imgur – Trans_Meme_proof
[17] YouTube – You must really hate your burger king
[18] Twitter – @ifoIIowincels
