# >Shadman

">Shadman" is a greentext expression used on 4chan and other online communities to voice disgust for the fan art of controversial webcomic artist Shadman. First archived in October 2015, it grew into a copypasta and reaction-image format most often paired with a screenshot of Winslow T. Oddfellow slamming a door in the CatDog cartoon.

## Origin
The earliest archived use of ">Shadman" as a dismissive reply comes from a thread on 4chan's video game board /v/ posted on October 25, 2015, where an anonymous user answered a Shadman comic with the single greentext line[1]. Users have claimed the format goes back further into early 2015, but no earlier archived post has surfaced[3].

The Winslow image that later fused with the phrase is a still from the CatDog episode "Fishing for Trouble," which first aired on February 15, 1999[2]. In the scene, Winslow opens the door to find Cat crawling into Dog's mouth to retrieve a fish, then immediately turns and slams the door shut, a beat that posters found perfectly matched the ">Shadman" feeling[2].

- **Platform:** 4chan /v/ (origin) / broader imageboards (spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown
- **Date:** 2015

## Overview
">Shadman" is a dismissive greentext line typed in reply to any Shadbase artwork posted online. The leading ">" is the 4chan quote character, and dropping just the artist's name is enough to signal that no further comment is needed[1]. The joke works because Shaddai Prejean, the artist behind Shadbase, is polarizing for his rule 34 fan art of fictional and real characters, with fetish content and a coloring style that many posters openly hate[3].

Over time the one-word reply grew a visual companion. Posters started attaching a still of Winslow T. Oddfellow, the mouse from the Nickelodeon series CatDog, opening a door, seeing something horrifying, and slamming it shut again[2]. The pairing turned ">Shadman" into a two-part gag: the greentext names the offender, and the Winslow shot supplies the reaction[3].

The format is still recycled whenever a Shadbase piece resurfaces on imageboards or link aggregators, and the Winslow door-slam clip is also used on its own as a generic "nope" reaction detached from the artist entirely[3].

## How It Spread
After the October 2015 /v/ post, ">Shadman" spread across other 4chan boards and Reddit threads any time a Shadbase link was shared, functioning as a shorthand groan that saved posters from having to explain their objections[1]. Because Shadman's work kept surfacing around fandoms for cartoons, video games and celebrities, the reply had a steady supply of fresh threads to appear in[3].

The Winslow door-slam still, sourced from "Fishing for Trouble," pushed the joke onto more visual platforms like Tumblr and Twitter where a screenshot travels better than a greentext line[2]. The original 1999 clip on YouTube gave editors a stable source for GIFs and reaction videos built around the same slam[4]. Urban Dictionary entries from the same era show the artist's name being used generically to mean "someone who draws a lot of porn," a slang usage that grew out of the same discourse the meme fed on[5].

The format is still a live reply on imageboards whenever Shadbase content gets posted, and the Winslow shot is a common reaction on its own[3].

## How to Use
The typical use is to quote or link to a Shadman image on an imageboard and reply with nothing but ">Shadman" on its own line, optionally attaching the Winslow door-slam screenshot as a reaction[3]. The Winslow image is also commonly deployed on its own against any post the user finds gross, with the artist connection dropped entirely[2]. A rarer variant uses the full CatDog clip as a video reply, cut to the door slam[2].

## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is >Shadman?
A greentext expression used on 4chan and other imageboards to voice disgust for the fan art of webcomic artist Shadman, often paired with a Winslow door-slam screenshot from CatDog[1].

### Where did >Shadman come from?
The earliest archived example is an October 25, 2015 post on 4chan's video game board /v/, where an anonymous user replied to a Shadman comic with the single line[1].

### What does >Shadman mean?
Naming Shadman with a greentext arrow is a dismissal: it says the poster finds the linked Shadbase art gross without needing to explain further[3].

### How do you use >Shadman?
Reply to a Shadbase image with the greentext line, and optionally attach the Winslow T. Oddfellow door-slam still from the 1999 CatDog episode "Fishing for Trouble"[2].

### Is >Shadman still popular?
It is still a live reply on 4chan and related imageboards whenever Shadbase content is posted, and the Winslow reaction shot is used on its own for general disgust[3].

## References
1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20181012164931/https://boards.fireden.net/v/thread/314265583/](<https://web.archive.org/web/20181012164931/https://boards.fireden.net/v/thread/314265583/>)
2. [https://catdog.fandom.com/wiki/Fishing_for_Trouble](<https://catdog.fandom.com/wiki/Fishing_for_Trouble>)
3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shadman](<https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/shadman>)
4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ7WhIguGzo](<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ7WhIguGzo>)
5. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shadman](<https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shadman>)

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Source: https://meme.com/memes/shadman
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