By now, we’ve all heard of the “this is fine” meme. While some memes come and go from the collective’s memory, almost everyone can remember the image of a dog—surrounded by flames—reassuring himself that everything is going to be okay.
One reason this meme has withstood the test of time is because it seems to crop up every time something catastrophic happens in the world (like the COVID-19 pandemic or the 2020 election).
We’ve laid out everything you need to know about the meme, and why it remains popular today:
Where did the ‘this is fine’ meme originate?
The meme comes from artist KC Green’s 2013 six-panel comic, “On Fire.” In the first image, a dog sits at a table, surrounded by flames. Then, the dog smiles and says, “This is fine.” In the third image, the flames get closer, and the still-grinning dog takes a sip of coffee and says, “I’m okay with the events that are unfolding currently.” In the fourth image, he takes another swig as he begins to catch on fire.
Finally noticing his predicament, in the fifth frame, the dog says, “That’s okay, things are going to be okay.” (Spoiler: things were not at all okay.) The final panel, then, shows the dog consumed by fire and he melts away.
What inspired the meme?
In an interview with The Verge, Green said that he made the comic in 2013 as he was dealing with some personal issues. “I was still struggling with myself—with getting my anti-depressants and stuff right. You know, every now and then you have these off days where sh*t is worse, but you’re trying to ignore it. It’s just a feeling you have. I wrote this comic and that was all there was to it.”
How did the ‘this is fine’ meme go viral?
The image reached virality after internet users posted the comic’s first two panels to Reddit and Imgur in 2014, according to Know Your Meme. Since then, the two panels became a popular meme. In a 2023 interview with NPR, Green said that he thinks his comic went viral because of its simplicity. “I made it vague on purpose,” he said. “Like any good piece of art, people interpret it how they want to.”
And in his interview with The Verge, Green guessed that the reason why the first two panels of his comic went viral—instead of all six—was due to their brevity and the want for “quick memes.”
How has the meme been used in pop culture?
In 2015, Adult Swim contacted Green and asked whether an illustrator could create “This is Fine,” an animated commercial bumper that is based on the comic. (It aired in 2016.)
The short, animated feature shows the same dog from the comics, who is totally OK drinking coffee while his home quickly burns down around him. (In his interview with The Verge, Green said he was paid for his contributions and split his earnings with the animator, Shmorky.)
But there’s also a bunch of merchandise sold online to accompany the “this is fine” meme. One website sold stickers, sweaters with the dog’s face on it, stuffed versions of the animated dog, mug, t-shirts, and socks, for instance.
“It’s sold a lot. The prints went really well at Emerald City [Comic-Con]. We have mugs and stuff, too, with the image on there,” Green told The Verge. “Like if I wanted to, yeah, it probably could if I pushed it more, but I’m still making comics of my own … I’m more focused on that. And the money just comes from various places. I’m making a fine living off it. Not great. I’m not super rich, or anything, if that’s what it’s coming to.”
Given its success, does Green want the ‘this is fine’ meme around forever?
Not quite! It’s been nearly 10 years since the meme went viral and Green said that it has since taken on a life of its own. The original meaning of the meme, too, has strayed from Green talking about something very personal happening in his own life to people using the dog as a reaction image to every new social and political crisis. As such, Green has given interviews saying that he wants the dog put to rest.
“I might lay him to rest for a while,” he told NHPR. “I mean, people still post with or without me using the character or not in my own comics. So it’s for my own sanity, I suppose.”
Does that mean I can’t make my own ‘this is fine’ meme?
In the age of the internet, anything is possible—including making your own ‘this is fine’ meme. Though this might not be the wish of its creator, internet users can, of course, make their own meme using a generator such as this one.
