Before Pepe became the main character of Boy’s Club, before “Feels Good Man,” before memes and markets, Pepe first appeared in a small, obscure magazine-style zine called Play Time.

In November 2003, Matt Furie self-published Play Time using Microsoft Paint — a raw, low-resolution comic made for friends, not the internet. Pepe was not the focus. He wasn’t a mascot or a symbol yet. He simply existed in the panels, alongside other characters, as part of Furie’s earliest world-building.

Only later would Pepe evolve into a central figure in Boy’s Club. But Play Time came first.

Playtime Pepe represents that earliest form — before Pepe had narrative gravity, before he was recognizable, before he was chosen as the main character. His features were inconsistent, his eyes unstable, his design unfinished. There was no intention for virality, no plan for reuse, no awareness of an audience.

Everything that followed — Boy’s Club, Feels Good Man, internet adoption, meme mythology — traces back to this first appearance.

Playtime Pepe is the origin before prominence. The first appearance before the main character.

This isn’t Pepe at the top.

This is Pepe at the very beginning. The frog before the meme.