Apocalypse: 2012

Album Cover by Kyomu

Everyone has their calendars marked for December 21st, right? No, that’s not the last day you should get your Christmas shopping done – it’s the day the Mayan calendar stops – the purported Doomsday.
Whether life as we know it will end in nuclear war, a zombie pandemic, or a galactic alignment that causes severe solar flares and earthquakes (as the official 12/21/12 website suggests), people are preparing for it. I for one don’t believe anything significant will happen that day, but as the apocalypse has always been one of my favorite themes, I’m willing to play along.

Ghoul by Feriluc

The apocalypse and disaster survival have gained more popularity recently due to the upcoming date. There are shows like Doomsday Preppers and Doomsday Bunkers showcasing fanatical survivalists and $80,000 and up bomb shelters. The CDC even has a zombie preparedness blog with emergency kits and tips on how to react in case those brain-eating corpses invade your home.

Fallout by Corsare

My own love of post-apocalyptia began long ago and was heavily influenced by the Fallout series, particularly Fallout 2. My allure of the apocalypse I think is best summed up in this quote from “The Manhattan Phone Book (Abridged)” by John Varley: “There’s something attractive about all those people being gone, about wandering in a depopulated world, scrounging cans of Campbell’s pork and beans, defending one’s family from marauders. Sure it’s horrible, sure we weep for all those dead people. But some secret part of us thinks it would be good to survive, to start over.”

The artists on DeviantART and Etsy seem to feel the same. Check out the amazing art below.

I can’t get enough of the desolate, industrial photography/concept art by timlabart. The images are fantastical and realistic at the same time, and really feel like they were taken in an apocalyptic wasteland.

Empty Cart by timlabart

You’re going to need some armor and accessories after the bombs fall, and what better than a pocket knife rosary, or a Native American-syle breastplate made of rifle shells?

Warlord Bullet Breastplate by CryoDrome

Pocket Knife Rosary by Blastland

The Euclid's C-Finder by Hombreosocerdo

For more apocalyptic and Fallout-related art, be sure to check out these awesome DeviantART groups: #Post-Apocalyptic-Era,  #Post-Apocalyptic-Art, and #The-Fallout-Club.

And if you are looking for dark, grungy inspiration for your own wasteland art, I highly suggest Children of the Dust and The Road. Not a reader? Mad Max and The Road Warrior are classics. (Just stay away from Beyond Thunderdome. :\)

Civilization as we know it may not end on December 21st or even in our lifetimes, but if I had the money for a bomb  shelter and year’s worth of food, you better believe I’d get it, just in case. Those sorts of things are handy in many emergencies, not just for the end of the world. And as the Vault-Tec slogan goes: “Prepare for the future.”

To help you prep your own bunker and prepare you for the new outside world, check out the awesome Etsy finds below!

Lot of 7 NOS.Soviet… vadimusl $146.00	Night Mushroom Clou… michaeljehn $70.00	Basement ghosts – 7… smeretactics $25.00	Captain’s Cupbo… billfishart $24.95
Atomic Fallout Shel… RetroToRevolut… $145.00	Wasteland Dirt bike… Fallout6Bazaar $105.00	Mad Max I Shotgun H… MagnoliaLeathe… $95.00	Post-Apocalyptic Wa… ghostfire $20.00

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