21CTO

Jul 17, 2026 · Industry Insights

Microsoft Just Open‑sourced the Comic‑Chat App That Made Comic Sans Infamous

Microsoft has open‑sourced the 1996 IRC client Comic Chat—an app that turned typed conversations into comic panels and inadvertently popularized the Comic Sans font—providing the original code plus AI‑driven updates for modern Visual Studio, IRC servers, and high‑DPI displays, while reflecting on its historical significance.