Big Grin Never Ever is a rage comic face reaction, also called Grinface or Epic Lulz Guy, that depicts wide-mouthed joy and smugness after pulling off a prank. It first appeared in a deviantArt rage comic in April 2009 and became a staple face in the rage comic boom of the early 2010s.
Origin
The oldest documented comic using Big Grin was posted to deviantArt on April 14, 2009 by the user ActiveMobius[1]. The face joined the growing rage comic vocabulary that had spilled out of 4chan's /b/ board a year earlier, when Trollface and Rage Guy first got picked up by comic-strip artists across image boards[3].
- Platform: deviantArt (creation) / Memebase (viral spread)
- Creator: ActiveMobius
- Date: 2009
Overview
Big Grin Never Ever, better known simply as Big Grin, is a rage comic face reaction also filed under the aliases Grinface and Epic Lulz Guy[1]. It shows a wide, toothy mouth stretched across the whole face with small dot eyes, meant to express inevitable joy and smugness after a character pulls off a prank or watches a plan pay off[2].
Memebase's rage comic builder catalogued the face under its Trolls category, grouping it with other troll-oriented reactions[2]. In rage comic sequences the face is typically drawn in the final panel as the payoff shot, playing the emotional opposite of the classic Rage Guy who screams FFFFUUUU[3].
How It Spread
Through 2010 and 2011 the face got baked into the two most-used rage comic construction tools of the era. Memebase's builder listed Grin as a Trolls-section face, letting anyone drop it into a strip without drawing it themselves[2]. The Dan Awesome Ragemaker web tool also included Grin in its default face library, cementing it as a stock reaction[4].
Rage face catalogue sites picked it up next. All The Rage Faces! filed Grin alongside Trollface, Me Gusta, Cereal Guy, and dozens of other reactions that defined the format[5]. The face saw heavy use on Reddit's r/fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuu subreddit during the rage comic peak years around 2011 to 2012, usually as the final smug panel after a successful troll.
As rage comics faded from mainstream feeds around 2013 to 2014, Big Grin stayed in circulation as a nostalgic callback face, still popping up in ironic reposts of old rage strips[3].
How to Use
Big Grin is typically used as the punchline panel of a multi-frame rage comic. A common convention is to place the face in the final panel right after a prank lands, a rival gets owned, or a plan works out exactly as the character hoped. It often replaces a spoken reaction and works as pure facial expression, so no caption is needed underneath.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Big Grin Never Ever?
It is a rage comic face reaction, also called Grinface or Epic Lulz Guy, that shows a wide toothy grin expressing smug joy after a successful prank[3].
Where did Big Grin Never Ever come from?
The oldest documented rage comic using the face was posted to deviantArt on April 14, 2009 by user ActiveMobius[1].
What does Big Grin Never Ever mean?
The face conveys inevitable joy and smugness, playing the emotional opposite of the Rage Guy face[2].
How do you use Big Grin Never Ever?
It is typically dropped into the final panel of a rage comic as the payoff shot after a character pulls off a prank or trolls someone[4].
Is Big Grin Never Ever still popular?
The face is a classic from the 2010 to 2012 rage comic boom and now mostly appears in nostalgic reposts of old rage strips[5].
