So it's Robocop. Because what could go wrong with a well armed brain suffering PTSD that has it's own mecha?

Please tell me that armor at the top covers the brain.

love to see it fight ED-209.

Love the art!

@Gyrus:
That's what I was thinking:

+ Watch video

Looks kind of like Krag from TMNT..

Also I hope they shield the important part...

Cool art, but I don't think I'd put the brainbox right out in front like that in a clear plastic-y container that essentially says, "SHOOT HERE"...

@Log1c: Krang, mon ami, krang

This post is such a good example of why SF is rarely taken seriously by "critics" and "literary elites." So much of SF is "wouldn't it be cool if" without studying the human element or the symbolic impact of these inventions. The story is "gee wiz" driven instead of character based. The reason things like Blade Runner and Dune succeed is because they were written well first and then had the awesome stuff added in after.

Oh look, Capt. Jack found an even higher building to brood on top of.

@Illuminatus: Really there is an n? (I have the R, not the N)

Guess its been a while!

Hehe... phallus

Put my brain in a Tornado class war ship and watch me tear things up.

"Everyone's always in favour of saving Hitler's brain but when you put it in the body of a great white shark, ooh, suddenly you've gone too far."

The floating citadel is nifty and the art is nicely period specific.

The cyborg is a really blatant Shirow rip though, with added stupid shoot-me-here-point!

@Seth L: But what I like is that right below the exposed brain there is a giant gun (?) between the bot's legs. What IS that?

On his web page the character 'Scavenger' gets me thinking 'Le Dernier Combat'. Hmmhmm I love that movie.

[www.keiththompsonart.com]

The cyborg reminds me more of the Dreadnaughts from Warhammer 40K more than GITS. Except for that one experimental tank, most of the cyborgs looked like people.

"I have awoken."

"Even in death I still serve!"

"I am ready to serve... again!"

@Annalee Newitz:

I think the artist implies that the brain case is open in the art but that top part closes over it.. So that thing would be... it's nose?

His robots do seem to have a lot of cod-piece action going on...

This one seems to have a strap-on option...
[www.keiththompsonart.com]

Because, what we really need are angry dead war veterans, recanted in powered armor, guarding our VIPs.

Although, I have to say, if that casing above the brain isn't designed to lower, it's pretty well a perfect sort of war machine for the Evil Overlord on your block. Incredibly deadly; hard to hit yet somehow incredibly obvious weakness.

Yikes, that mech is a literal cut-and-paste job from Masamune Shirow. The head is straight off a Fuchikoma A.I. tank from the Ghost in the Shell manga, the spindly arms are from a robot that appeared in the Stand Alone Complex TV series, and from the waist down it's a Landmate from his Appleseed comics.

@metrophage:

Maybe it's a decoy brain, placed right on top of the heaviest armor?
-Kle.

my @DocGratis: i agree: i think we're seeing it with the hood open, so to speak. that way you get to see the brain.

others: i see your point about this being similar to Shirow Masamune, but i urge you to check out the rest of his gallery. there's some very cool stuff, and the back stories are fun (check out the copy on the "Sequester": [www.keiththompsonart.com]).

@Annalee Newitz:

There's an even more suggestive (and similar) Shirow design seen here, the Arm Suit in the bottom center:

[images.google.com]

Aside from the "brain", the next question should be "why does an armored commando robot need to carry a gun"? Wouldn't having the gun built into the arm "cylon style" or shoulder mounted "predator style" be better than having it just carry around a tommy gun?

Anyone else here think that a lot of his stuff would look just at home in Half Life?

That's a badass drawing, but I'm waiting for at least one artist that doesn't draw robots that are just meant to be 1)badass despite all of their pointless impracticalities or 2)steampunk/retro nostalgic.

Exposed brain dead center of a hulking mass that seems way too top-heavy for its own good? Let's hope it passes beta testing.

@darundal: A lot of Deus Ex style mechas too, but the smooth rounded stuff definitely has a covenant flavor to it.

Quake 4 much!?

He says the brain is 'laminated.' I think if the armor slid on down to protect it, I think he'd just say that. I get the impression the 'junk' on this one is spinal cord storage area. Dude loves himself some reactive armor, too.

The idea that we're going to stuff people who have lost limbs/bodies and who may be suffering from some kind of PTSD into hulking, bipedal tanks strikes me as stupid. Really stupid.

@shini: But still, it's not like the Military is afraid to 'go there'.

@darundal:
These two look uncannily reminiscent of the Combine's gunship and dropship synths respectively - I think they may be more homage than rip-off, as there's some fantastically different, weird and wonderful artwork surrounding them.

Also, the descriptions are great. I like the Apollonian Wight and the Polyp Steed...

@DSTRYA:
Yeah, the Sequester's probably my favourite. My only concern is that the feet on many of the robots are so terribly small - I'd hate to see how they'd fare versus some boggy ground...

But the brain has to be exposed. How else am I supposed to know where to shoot him to get past the dungeon level and save the princess.

While technically proficient, most of the stuff he's done is actually sort of silly looking. The commando thing is probably to coolest- from there, everything goes downhill.

@tyr540: If by "silly" you mean fucking awesome, I totally agree.

I think I'm in love. :)

I think this will explain things:
The brain seen here is actually thickly laminated and not exposed. The brain stem and spinal chord extend back into a deeper housing, and these organic components are well protected during normal use (though internal fires have proven to be a dangerous problem as the vestigial human controller tends to become violently berserk).

Masamune Shirow much?

Sort of derivative if you ask me....

@Illuminatus: I'm so glad someone else thought this. My first look at the first image was "whoa- Krang got some killer new body armor!"

Still, it's fantastic artwork. I dig the idea of the Cherubim though - the perfect assassin's weapon.

@Illuminatus: Did you take the time to read the gallery? Because I think you're very mistaken. Thompson's writing is wonderful.

@Annalee Newitz: Tough crowd, huh?

I spent hours on this site when I found it, not simply because the art is so much fun to look at but because of the evocative, haunting stories. I appreciate that many sci fi devotees are notoriously curmudgeonly and knee-jerk critical, so I shouldn't really be too surprised by all the snippy comments - but what I love about Thompson's work is that it reminds me so clearly of what I fell in love with about sci fi back when I was a little girl. Pure imagination, worlds within worlds, the intersection of the real and the uncanny...it's all there in spades. It gave me lots of spine-shivers and creepy dreams, which is a lot more than most modern sci-fi manages to accomplish. It kind of threw me back on my heels and made me all happily dazzled for a while.

Thanks for posting the gallery, Annalee!

@Illuminatus: Check this out, for example:

Viraemia

I've got a book by this guy at home on How To Draw Robots.

And he's got tons of examples of robots from the more Mecha looking ones, to the almost organic.

I quite like his work.

@♥ dosido ☮: It's like Wilde said: if you can't say something nice, start posting comments on the internet, because that'll show 'em.

I think Illuminatus has a point. Yes, it's pretty. Somewhat derivative, but what isn't? Stylistically, it leaves me looking to find the link to where someone tries to sell me a RPG based on it.

It's the text where my imagination really hits the wall. I'm all for getting spurned to flights of fancy, but then, you catch what's there and it's more of the tawdry same, even if dressed nicely. If you're going to go there, go all pulp, I say.