If we were to travel back to the pixelated days of 1981 and explain to the fans of Donkey Kong that, in 2012, millions of gamers would still be toying around with the same, and as yet unnamed fat plumber, his captured girlfriend and the insane gorilla, I wonder what their reaction would be. Quite frankly, with the Cold War still in full flow and the likes of Reagan, Thatcher and their shady ilk looming on the horizon, would they even care?
However, what if we were to travel back further still? Perhaps five centuries or more to the good old feudal days of Japan. Back when the common farmer could barely scrub up enough rice to eat, before his lord and his feudal lord and the lord above him took their fat cuts. Ignore the complete impracticalities of time travel, paradoxes and the obvious dangers inherent in setting foot in Japan at that time, if you can. How could we even begin to describe the digital Japanese heroes of our time; The Super Mario Brothers, Samus, Kirby, The Star Fox Team or any of the others that make up the Nintendo posse ? How could be explain the importance of the Big N on Japanese culture today? I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t know where to start.
We should count ourselves lucky then that someone out there has. That someone would be Jed Henry, the creative genius behind Ukiyo-e Heroes; the awesome pictures that sit below. I find it difficult to put into words just how amazing Jed Henry’s Ukiyo-e paintings are. So I shall shut up now, and let the art do the talking.
Bogey on your six!
So there you are. Told you they were awesome, didn’t I! If you’d like to get your hands on some original/traditional woodblock prints of these images, then look out for the Kickstarter campaign going live on August 1st. I’ll certainly be getting on board… “Shut up and take my money!”
