In the digital playground of the internet, a set of six-panel comics has been causing quite the ruckus. You might have seen them too – the kind that goes viral, where each panel seems to yell out, "We are who? Client! We want what? We don’t know! When do we want it? Now!" This set of comics, with its infectious rage and humor, has been making the rounds on the web, much like "The little shrimp follows me" or "The friendship boat capsizes" memes did before it.
These comics have transcended from the advertising circle to encompass all sorts of fields, professions, and regional groups. From clients, copywriters, and bosses to NBA fans, media personalities, Sichuan locals, soldiers, and programmers, netizens from all walks of life have embraced these to express their emotions and.
The story behind these rage actually hails from the pen (or should I say, the stylus?) of American cartoonist Allie Brosh. Back in 2010, she introduced the world to these comically exaggerated panels that quickly gained popularity for their simple yet expressive art style.
Now, the star of this meme is a character from Brosh’s creation called "Hyperbole and a Half," which also happens to be the title of her book that Bill Gates himself recommended. The character, affectionately known as, along with her stories, has touched a nerve with readers.
But here’s a bit of a somber twist. By August 2017, Brosh’s Twitter account had stalled in 2014, and it turned out that she had been battling depression, which led to her stepping back from the public eye. She shared her experience with the condition on her website, talking about how it made her feel numb to everything she once loved, trapping her in a void of boredom and loneliness. Fortunately, after seeking treatment, Brosh started to care about things again, hating them for making her care, but at least it meant she was feeling something.
Now, let’s rewind a bit. In September 2015, the Sichuan People’s Publishing House brought out the Chinese translation of her book, titled "When I Was Little and Full of Style." The book features not just but also her family, friends, and pets, offering a rich tapestry of characters and stories.
I had a chat with Zhao Jing, the editor responsible for the Chinese edition. She told me that they initially printed 10,000 copies, but after the comics went viral, they quickly checked their stock and found only a couple of hundred left. Thanks to the meme, bookstores were clamoring to order more, and they were discussing a reprint. The sales department at the publishing house mentioned that the book had sold 10,000 copies and that the decision to reprint would depend on market demand and their publishing schedule. They also mentioned that the sequel, initially titled "When I Was Little and Full of Style Part 2," would now be called "When I Was Little and Full of Style 2: Who Are We?"
The story of these comics on the web dates back even further. A quick search on Chinese search engines and image search platforms like Tineye reveals that these comics have been floating around since 2013, with various themes like "fat people," "gaming geeks," and so on. Internationally, they can be traced back to 2012, with over 21 billion similar images found on platforms like rage comics and Pinterest, spreading in various languages.
The latest viral wave started on August 13, when a Weibo user posted the "I am the client" comic that had everyone in stitches. From there, a WeChat account took the comic and ran with it, creating nine different "Who are we" panels that really set the internet on fire.
I spoke with Liu Lin, a 25-year-old from Zhengzhou who designed the text for the nine-panel comic. She says the "client" panel wasn’t her original idea; it was sent to her by a fan. She thought it was funny and decided to create an advertising industry version, which she then posted. Liu Lin didn’t expect the massive reaction it got. "I just thought it was a regular daily post, not expecting it to go viral," she said. The post ended up with over 2.9 million views in 48 hours, and the account gained its first viral hit since it started a year earlier.
The internet was abuzz with the comics, and netizens started creating their own versions, including regional, zodiac, professional, gaming, and academic themes. Some even made live-action versions or replaced the comic characters with other funny anime figures.
As the comics swept through Weibo and WeChat, major accounts like @, @, and @ started sharing them, and soon, the whole social media landscape was dominated by these rage.
Professor Zhang Hongzhong from Beijing Normal University’s School of Journalism and Communication thinks this is a form of entertainment that reflects people’s psychological helplessness, anxiety, and stress, as well as a way to laugh at themselves. "This kind of spread is spontaneous, and it quickly resonates with society without needing promotion. It reflects the social mindset and mood, giving voice to what most people want to say but can’t," he commented.
So, there you have it – a set of comics that started as a simple expression of frustration and turned into a cultural phenomenon, touching hearts and minds across the globe. And who knows, maybe the next time you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, you’ll find yourself thinking, "We are who? We want what? We don’t know. When do we want it? Now!"
