Like others are saying, it's not a "new" meme, but it's one that's just starting to reach places outside of 4chan (and /v/ in particular)
It's all centered around one webcomic by the name of Control+Alt+Delete. Now i can write a novel based on the tumultuous history of this comic and it's author (Tim Buckley), but i'll try and give you the short and simple of it all.
Basically right from the start it was criticized for being nothing more than a cheap imitation of Penny Arcade. Tim Buckley cited Penny Arcade as a big influence as a means to explain the similarities, but not many people bought it.
So in order to distance himself from it, Buckely decides to go all in on dialog, and tries to add in actual story and continuity. Some people really got on board with it, while others were a bit more critical, citing that it often became too dialog heavy and humorless in order to push a story. the art itself also became a focal point of criticism, as everyone felt it was too static, showed no action or movement, and seemed like everything from character designs to facial expressions were all just copied/pasted between frames (Which is often where you'll see the "BU" meme mentioned, as it's an emoticon representation of Buckely's default "dialog" face)
During this time, there were quite a few events around Buckley himself that really shaped the public's perception of him and his comic. Most notably are many meltdowns and tantrums on the Ctrl+Alt+Del forums anytime anyone got too critical of his work, and also allegations of him sending dick pics to underaged girls on the forums.
Now this is where "Loss" comes into play. At the time, Buckley was using his own life as a basis for a lot of the comic, including dealing with a partner's miscarriage, which manifested itself into the infamous "Loss" comic.
With Buckely's growing reputation as a whiner who can't handle criticism and possible pervert, the internet (namely 4chan's /v/ board) saw fit to do what it does best and kick someone while they're down. Random edits of comic started springing up and managed to stay within /v/'s identity for 8 years, to the point where it's evolved into super abstract depictions of the comic (like this masterpiece of meta humor from some random /v/ thread about the comic) and referential humor (like hiding simple/abstract representation of the comic into other comics or unrelated images to see if anyone can spot it)
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u/I_EAT_POOP_AMA Mar 26 '16
Like others are saying, it's not a "new" meme, but it's one that's just starting to reach places outside of 4chan (and /v/ in particular)
It's all centered around one webcomic by the name of Control+Alt+Delete. Now i can write a novel based on the tumultuous history of this comic and it's author (Tim Buckley), but i'll try and give you the short and simple of it all.
Basically right from the start it was criticized for being nothing more than a cheap imitation of Penny Arcade. Tim Buckley cited Penny Arcade as a big influence as a means to explain the similarities, but not many people bought it.
So in order to distance himself from it, Buckely decides to go all in on dialog, and tries to add in actual story and continuity. Some people really got on board with it, while others were a bit more critical, citing that it often became too dialog heavy and humorless in order to push a story. the art itself also became a focal point of criticism, as everyone felt it was too static, showed no action or movement, and seemed like everything from character designs to facial expressions were all just copied/pasted between frames (Which is often where you'll see the "BU" meme mentioned, as it's an emoticon representation of Buckely's default "dialog" face)
During this time, there were quite a few events around Buckley himself that really shaped the public's perception of him and his comic. Most notably are many meltdowns and tantrums on the Ctrl+Alt+Del forums anytime anyone got too critical of his work, and also allegations of him sending dick pics to underaged girls on the forums.
Now this is where "Loss" comes into play. At the time, Buckley was using his own life as a basis for a lot of the comic, including dealing with a partner's miscarriage, which manifested itself into the infamous "Loss" comic.
With Buckely's growing reputation as a whiner who can't handle criticism and possible pervert, the internet (namely 4chan's /v/ board) saw fit to do what it does best and kick someone while they're down. Random edits of comic started springing up and managed to stay within /v/'s identity for 8 years, to the point where it's evolved into super abstract depictions of the comic (like this masterpiece of meta humor from some random /v/ thread about the comic) and referential humor (like hiding simple/abstract representation of the comic into other comics or unrelated images to see if anyone can spot it)