TV - Movies
Is Graggle
Simpson A Real
Simpsons
Character?
By LEO NOBORU LIMA
“The Simpsons” is an American institution along with its myriad of compelling and hilarious characters. But over the past few months, the internet has been flooded with the mysterious Graggle Simpson, a strange bug-eyed character with a garbanzo-bean-shaped head and a strikingly tranquil countenance.
Straight, consistent information about Graggle Simpson and his presence on "The Simpsons" is hard to come by. Some say that he is a recently-added character who contributed to the further downfall of the show, others say he is an old character who got demoted, and a third version suggests he’s a self-insert character created by Matt Groening.
The mythology of Graggle, both in-universe and as an element of behind-the-scenes history, is dense enough at this point that you'd be excused for surrendering to the buzz yourself and doubting your lack of recollection of him. But the truth is that Graggle, like so many of the internet's most obsessive points of interest, is a hoax.
Before 4chan, there was 2channel, a Japanese text board community founded in 1999. Much like 4chan, 2channel has long been a go-to internet corner for trolls of all varieties and it was there, per Know Your Meme, that the character we now know as "Graggle" — originally a community mascot — first popped up.
There are various reasons why the Graggle Simpson hoax took on the life it did. The screencaps of Graggle's appearances on the show, for one thing, were highly convincing, even running the gamut from the glossier, shaded contemporary "Simpsons" style to the show's looser and more expressive classic '90s look.
As the longest-running scripted primetime series in American TV history, the Fox animated sitcom has seen its fair share of characters come and go over the years. Graggle Simpson may not be real, but “The Simpsons” does have a number of forgotten characters like Poochie from "The Itchy & Scratchy Show," Homer's estranged half-brother Herb Powell, and Dr. Marvin Monroe.