Panel 8 Archives – Warhammer Conference

Fulgrim vs Ferrus Manus (c) Games Workshop

(Whose) Flesh Is Weak? Analyzing Racialized/Gendered Socio-technical Imaginaries through the Adeptus Mechanicus

This paper examines the relationship between the Adeptus Mechanicus, a highly tech-zealous faction in the popular Games Workshop IP Warhammer 40K, and contemporary techonarratives concerning the development, operation, and utility of modern technological systems. Through the combined examination of both official Adeptus Mechanicus lore (e.g., Warhammer 40K codex) and community engagement (e.g., posts/memes on sites …

“This is not how biology is supposed to function”: The Philosophies of the Post-Necron in Nate Crowley’s Twice Dead King novels

The 41st Millenium is swarming with transhuman imaginings. It is littered with thought experiments pushing the recognisable bounds of The Human into fantastical images. From the cyborged Mechanicus priest to the specifically “transhuman physiology” of the Space Marine 40k is fascinated with methods of expanding human capacity to incredibly limits. But are these representations merely …

Remade, Reforged, Reborn: Stormcast Eternals as the simulacra of humanity in polycrisis

As the most contemporary of Games Workshop’s world-building efforts, the Mortal Realms of Age of Sigmar tend to echo themes and anxieties relevant to its own time. Much like Warhammer 40,000 reflected the politics of the 1980s, in the global world of the 2010s and 2020s, Age of Sigmar reflects the polycrisis (Morin, 1993, Lähde, …

Warhammer 40k as safe place for neurodiverse community

As neurodiverse person and anthropologist I observe that Warhammer became more and more common place for neurodiverse people to gather. Using both questionnaires and interviews with neurodiverse people we can see why grimdark became place for them to freely share ideas and thrive. What is so compelling that people, what usually have problems with social …

Occult Infrastructures: Venerate the Machine

Within the grimdark future of 41st millennium technology is a relatively occult force, often operating in ways that both pervert physics and subvert expectations. While the tech-priests of the Adeptus Mechanicus may have a relatively nuanced understanding of technology when compared to the Imperial laity, the praxis of the red-robed priests goes beyond the quotidian …

The Emperor’s man-children? Warhammer 40,000 as adult men’s toy play

Miniaturing, with its roots in other historically men-dominated spheres such as military history and tabletop role-playing, is largely a men’s pastime in terms of demographics (e.g. Körner & Schütz, 2021), making it an intriguing phenomenon to study from the perspective of men’s studies. This is doubly true with Warhammer 40,000: as a game it features …