I’m sure King Koopa built his army primarily on the “I’m a giant evil lizard who will stomp you” platform, but propaganda posters can further keep them in line to rise up against the likes of Mario.
These four designs by Fro Design Co. are available as prints, a great and retro way to decorate your place with Nintendo references. They’re done in the style of World War II propaganda posters, and at least two are based directly off of specific posters. It sounds difficult to combine the cartoony world of Mario with something like WWII, but the overall design turned out very well.
The first poster is a standard war recruitment poster, seeking to win over soldiers to fight for Bowser’s cause. He’s featured in the front riding in the floating Clown Car from Super Mario World, while Paratroopas and Piranha Plants are spurred into action in the background.
The second has Mario looming over the world of, well, Super Mario World. The map is projected onto a globe, with Mario meant to be the menacing enemy threatening Koopa kind. All the posters also feature the seal which is used prominently in this poster, reading “The Koopas are fighting. Why aren’t you?” Likely a reference to King Koopa and the Koopa Kids, it shows that they’re risking their own necks rather than fully expecting the Goombas and Bullet Bills to do the dirty work.
Similar to the “Stamp ’em out” posters, the third one shows a boot hovering over a Fire Flower, informing citizens not to let power-ups fall into enemy hands, and instead to “Stomp it out.” Naturally, none of Mario’s enemies want him to be able to hurl fireballs with reckless abandon, even the ones unaffected by the fiery onslaught.
Last up is probably the most creative of the bunch, showing Boos rising from the empty shells of Koopa Troopas, suggesting that the ghosts are the spirits of the turtle-beings. Urging them to “Fight on through pain, through death,” King Koopa isn’t going to let his dead troops give up the battle. The four posters were available for $80 as a set, but they’ve since sold out, although future prints are theoretically possible.
For more awesome art, check out a big list of 20 Mario Fan Art Works or, for more pop culture propaganda, these Star Wars Propaganda Posters.
