The Art of War visualized

The classic Sun Tzu work The Art of War has been turned into a graphic novel by writer Kelly Roman and illustrator Michael DeWeese. According to GalleyCat, Roman and DeWeese have integrated the ancient military treatise into a story set 20 years in the future, in a dystopia where Wall Street is militarized and China is the dominant economic power.

The first three chapters are available to read online, and they are very striking — largely black & white, they’re punctuated by Sun Tzu’s text in red boxes. The effect of the occasional red splashes across the mostly stark pages evokes images of blood, something Roman and DeWeese are certainly not afraid to dabble in. Last year, to celebrate finishing writing the book, they had their own blood drawn and stamped onto sample chapters they sent to fans — all, Comics Alliance assures, under sanitary conditions.

The below video of their unique gimmick is NOT for the squeamish.