Last weekend, while gallivanting* around Columbus with some friends, I came across a book called World War Robot by Ashley Wood and T.P. Louise. It’s a collection of paintings and short stories from a fictional universe where humanity is divided into waring factions on Earth and Mars. The paintings drew me in immediately and made the book a must buy. One could easily confuse them with scenes from either World War I or World War II were it not for the inclusion of giant, trundling, similarly-styled robots.

And the stories are fun too:

The Moon looks down upon the Earth and is neutral in this conflict and yet the secrets she hides fuels this Great War that rages across the heavens. They say that he who has the gold also makes the rules, but now it is the rule-makers on both sides who are paying me gold to rewrite their inept rules.

You cannot have war without weapons, just as you cannot have love without pain. I am your friend and worst enemy combined, softs call me Rothchild, robots call me Papa.

(Excerpt from “Someone Had To Do It,” The Memoirs of Darwin Rothchild.)

How awesome.

I’d love to find a few poster-size prints of these paintings. And I’d really love to be able to paint like this. Maybe one day!

(* Note: One must gallivant on one’s birthday. It’s a rule or law, possibly related to Thermodynamics.)