Illustrator and animator Robert Shaw made this neat infographic showing 10 of the most iconic swords in pop culture fiction of the past few decades! I would add Excalibur to the list, but you could argue that it’s non-fictional. Also the lightsabers from Star Wars are missing, but this seems to have focused on more traditional swords. What other swords would you add to the list? Here’s what the artist had to say:

“This infographic presents illustrations of some of the most iconic swords seen on screen, it was one of my favourite projects and for a time became a viral hit. Although not always for right reasons.

As can be expected; a lot of discussion was generated as a result of the infographic, mostly based around what was, wasn’t, and should have been included. Common suggestions included Excalibur, and the lightsaber from Star Wars. I had my own reasons for not including these here, and I noticed that some people had understood this, but ultimately I was pleased that my piece had ignited conversations and got more people talking about popular culture.

I think that one of the reasons that this infographic did so well is due to the design of it. Whilst sketching some ideas for the layout at the time, I came up with the look of a tatami mat style design. These are the flooring mats that are traditionally found in Japanese homes, and somehow it seemed to fit the mood of the piece.”

Source: Robert Shaw