Eagle-eyed New York City subway commuters would have noticed a touch of Middle Earth magic about the MTA service advisory posters that appeared in selected subway stations and trains.
Cleverly designed to resemble real notices, the ‘Plant & Protect’ posters inform commuters of reduced ‘Ent service’ due to ‘post-Isengard replanting of Fangorn forest’ after the devastation wrought by Saruman during the war of the One ring, hilariously adding that free shuttle horses will be provided for affected commuters.
The ingenious posters were the work of Puck Works, an artist who creates witty posters inspired by pop culture and movies.
Packed with awesome references, the fake posters take LOTR nerdiness to new levels and are sure to delight any fan.
However, the MTA is not amused. Spokesman Adam Lisberg said, “This sign, like others we’ve seen, clearly has the potential to confuse our customers and has no place in the subway system. I don’t care if it’s cute or funny to devotees of any particular genre – we serve more than 5 million customers a day on the subways, and plenty of them have very limited English skills... If one person misses a train because they’re trying to decipher a joke, it’s one too many. Enough already.”
It’s a view that’s up for debate as the signs have generated a buzz of excited comments online. In the meantime, view the ‘MainENTnance’ posters below.
[via io9, Brokelyn and Gothamist, images via Puck Works]