Artist Ashley Wood has worked on everything from Judge Dredd to Spawn, has brought life back to Tank Girl, and is now working on World War Robot. Writer Jon Gibson (of I Am 8 Bit and Nerdcore fame) describes it as "Band of Brothers with gun-toting machines." Check out the details beyond the jump.
World War Robot will first hit the web as a comic, probably with two to four pages appearing weekly. Then you`ll be able to buy yourself a "Bertie" robot toy (designed by Wood himself and produced by Bigshot Toyworks & Threezero) at the New York Comic-Con in April. Gibson says it has "so many points of articulation, it`ll blow your mind." We caught up with Gibson recently, and he gave us a few details about this robotic dystopian war in the making.
So what`s the storyline of World War Robot? What`s it about?
A dwindling band of humans and robots battle it out in what`ll probably end humanity as we know it - on Earth, Mars, and the Moon. Badass battles, really intense human/robot drama, plus it gets kinda political. And we`re attempting a little experiment with a different kind of humor. This war is the tail end of the worst things imaginable - epic catastrophes. So the comic is also dosed with a bit of "desperation comedy". Like laughing while you`re crying.
What comes after that? Further plans for the World War Robot?
It`s all leading up to the release of the first WWR toy, a figure called Bertie that rocks. It`s 1/6th scale, stands 14 inches tall, and has an amazing 43 fucking points of articulation! That`s more moveable joints than grandma!
What`s it like working with Ashley?
Ash is so fucking talented. We`ve been trying to do something together for years on the comic front. He used to do a page-strip for me every month when I edited Play Magazine about 6 years ago - a spin-off of his incredible "Popbot" series. We`d met at E3 while he was working on art for Konami`s Contra: Shattered Soldier, and the rest is robot history.
Below you can check out an exclusive image of the variant version of the Bertie-bot, which will be super rare. Only here at io9!










Comments
Sounds like many Heavy Metal short stories I've read in the past. Good stuff.
I was late to the Ashley Wood game, but absolutely loved Zombies vs. Robots, and it's followup Zombies Vs. Robots Vs. Amazons is equally stunning. The concept might seem like a cash in on the zombies craze currently running rampant through comicdom, but I highly recommend it to anyone. Fantastic stuff.
Loved Ashley Wood ever since I came across Automatic Kafka, and Zombies vs Robots was just awesome. Can't wait to see World War Robot.
Bertie <3
I don't know why, but the phrase human/robot drama intrugues me in a Flaming Lips sort of way.
I knew that name looked familiar, I loved PopBot.
Sign me up for one of those bad boys! Anyone know if they are exclusive to comic con?
great artist, great writer and what could be better than robots and humans battling on the moon with WWII-era stylings?!
I needs me one of those toys, mmm shiny!
Start a discussion:
Login with your username and password below. Or comment on this post via email.
Forgot your username or password? New User?