DoomsdayLLC

On Madison’s eclectic Willy Street, a local shop has a few brightly colored posters in its window. One reads “Capitalism is Poison. Jesus Christ there has to be some fucking way out,” in the style of a vintage VHS cover. Next to it is another with an orange circle inside a white circle, and in large text, “Egg” with a registered trademark symbol. These are both part of a project called Doomsday LLC.

“The idea is that in the year 2099, a company called Doomsday LLC, in an effort to evade taxes, opens a wormhole. Every instance of Doomsday LLC in the multiverse does this at the same time, and they all flood to this space between their dimensions called Nowhere.”

The variation in style of these posters, from retro to cyberpunk, is attributed to the different versions of this company across the multiverse. Each graphic might be for a product they are selling, a message they are sharing, or even an advertisement to travel to their home of Nowhere.

KC Phillips started this project while living in a house that was scheduled to be demolished, which was referred to as “Doom House.” As a self-taught graphic artist, they got their start designing posters for comedy events. Eventually, “Doom House” hosted a stage show in its backyard, which gave birth to the name of this project. 

“Who's putting on the show at Doom House? Doomsday LLC.”

Doomsday LLC’s work is self-described as “absurd.” It draws inspiration from many sources of media, like the video game Portal, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and an internet phenomenon called “Scarfolk Council,” a fictional English town stuck in a time loop. This satirical British sense of humor can be seen across Doomsday LLC’s body of work. The nonspecific, cryptic nature of each piece allows for interesting interpretations. 

“People either think that it's very funny, or they are so confused by it.”

Obviously, lots of people connect with what Doomsday LLC is doing. You can find the work in several shops around the country, at occasional pop-up events, and on its very successful Etsy shop. This shop even led to a Doomsday LLC poster being included in the movie Weird: The Al Yankovic Story when the set designer sent a message over Etsy asking to use the artwork.

Aside from the incredible posters, Doomsday LLC has also launched products including a tarot card deck and conceptual “fake” products, like their pillows made to look like bags of chips. Their next goal is to put out a deck of playing cards, and maybe one day branch out into the world of animation.

Here in Madison, WI where Doomsday LLC got its start, there is growing support for independent artists. Willy Street Treasure Shop was an early promoter of Doomsday LLC. The owner, Jeanne Ross, truly believed in its potential and helped propel KC to be able to pursue this full-time. Now living near Seattle, KC describes the art scene as “crushed by capitalism,” and says “the art can’t thrive there because everything's too expensive.”

“There could be so much more art in the world if people could afford to do it. It's so tragic, but people are burnt out.”

KC is extremely grateful for the success of Doomsday LLC, and dreams of opening their own shop that doubles as a performance space, so they can pay it forward and show support for other artists.