Excuse me while I indulge you with a piece of local interest. Recently, the Colorado Steampunks were in attendance at the Railroad Museum in Golden, Colorado. On top of a great photo session, this was also a perfect opportunity to share steampunk with the masses, as the local news channel was there as well:
The Colorado Steampunks Facebook Group was started a year ago as a place to gather and unite various steampunk groups and individuals in Colorado. Also of interest is the Colorado Chrononauts’ League, where one can find current news of anachronistic happenings in Colorado.
Early in the year there was discussion throughout the community over whether or not steampunk was dead. This was apparently spawned by a lull in the popularity of the word “steampunk” as a search term on Google. However, a look at Google Trends right now shows that steampunk is certainly NOT dead, and is, in fact, more popular than ever. Just as we have done in 2008, here we will take a look back at the last year and see just exactly how we have kept the steampunk community alive.
As with many things in this list, there were far too many steampunk events to mention, but arguably this year’s biggest and best was Steamcon in Seattle. Although not the first con specifically dedicated to steampunk, Steamcon seemed to set a new precedent for all future steampunk conventions. Too much happened to write about here, but there are manyreportsavailableontheaethernet.
The steampunk community was delighted when the Museum of the History of Science at Oxford University adknowledged our form of alternate history by running an exhibition of steampunk art and inventions by creators from around the world.
The CGSociety concluded their Steampunk Myths & Legends contest in Februrary. We were treated to beautiful videos and images, and the winning entries can be seen here.
October was declared Steampunk Month on Tor.com. Authors and bloggers from the steampunk community joined up with Tor’s staff to discuss everything steampunk and share short stories.
Two of the most anticipated steampunk novels this year were Leviathan, and Boneshaker. Set in World War I Europe, Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeld tells of Alek, an Austro-Hungarian prince on the run as his path crosses with Deryn, a common girl disguised as a boy to join the British Air Service. Boneshaker, by Cherie Priest takes place in the ruins of Civil War-Era Seattle. Briar Wilkes must rescue her son from zombies and airship pirates after he enters the city to clear his father’s name.
This year brought us the addition of two new periodicals. Steampunk Tales is a short-story fiction magazine released specifically for iPhone. Alternatively, exploring the non-fiction side of steampunk, Exhibition Hall made its debut this year as well. On a sad note, due to the depressed economy, The Willows, a magazine devoted to speculative and dark Victorian fiction, went out of business early in the year.
Abney Park was quite busy this year. Dancer and backing vocalist Finn Von Claret left the band, and was replaced by Jody Ellen. After months of delay, the anticipated new album Aether Shanties was finally released on December 1st.
Previously a solo act, Vernian Process spent the last year reinventing itself. With the addition of Martin Irigoyen in late 2008, VP is now a full-sized band, and have released a reworked version of their album, “Behold The Machine“.
In the world of gaming Atlus online released it’s first title, a free steampunk MMORPG called Neo Steam: The Shattered Continent. The biggest flop of the year may have been Damnation, a steampunk shooter released on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. Our hopes for a great steampunk game were restored however with the announcement of the forthcoming game, Epic Mickey, along with some apocalyptic-looking concept art. Epic Mickey is expected to be released in September 2010.
A couple of web series made their debut. Riese, a production featuring top actors from the Sci-Fi genre, tells the story of a wandering traveler and her canine companion who are on the run from an evil religious order known as The Sect. Also, the League of S.T.E.A.M., steampunk ghostbusters, already famous for their con appearances, began documenting their comedic travails in “Adventures of the League of S.T.E.A.M.”
For new webcomics this year, check out The Continentals, about a group of special agents battling violent crimes, Sidewise, about a boy lost in time in an alternate Victorian London, and The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage, about Ada Lovelace and Charles Babbage teamed together as a crime-fighting duo.
There are scores of new steampunk websites out there, and three of them deserve mention here. Steampunk Empire is a social networking site just for steampunks where one can go to chat, post photos and video, and interact with other steampunks across the globe. Likewise, Dieselpunks.org has been created for the dieselpunks among us and on top of social networking, also features new and interviews in the worlds of both steampunk and dieselpunk. Finally, “Steampunk Events is a forum for advertising steampunk events anywhere in the world. Though currently a bit inactive, the site has much potential, as long as people start using it.
Now that you’re caught up on what’s been happening in steampunk, here’s a glimpse of what’s to come:
We’ve dusted off the wheel, inflated our balloon, fired up the boiler, and now we’re back off the ground with a fresh and steady supply of steampunk news!
Only one small hitch… While we were on our summer hiatus the annual renewal of our beloved aethernet site has come up as well. Owing his entire life’s fortune to his educational institution, the present and primary author of this blog does not have enough assets to pay this fee. This is where you come in, kind gentlefolk!
That’s right, by offering up a bit of old fashioned philanthropy, you can help ensure this blog will continue to provide you with steampunk news for years to come!
Any dollar amount donated is appreciated. If you wish to donate, please do so by following the link below.
We will now return you to your regular steampunk news.
It has come to my attention that time has slipped away from us, and there hasn’t been anything new or fascinating posted to entertain you in quite some time. May I be the first to extend my deepest apologies- I assure you, there are good reasons. For one, I am currently caught up in my studies, and have very little time to contribute. Captain Jules, on the other hand, happens to be in a place where the internet is denied to him, except during the times he makes a great journey to gain access. It’s a very sorry state to be in.
At any rate, I can promise that I do have a few articles in the works. A follow-up on my Steampunk Interior Design article, as well as something on Air Kraken Day, which occurred in the not-so-distant past. Also, the convention season will soon be upon us, so I hope you’re all keeping your wardrobes up-to-date. Har har.
Alright, I believe I’m done here, terrible puns and all. I shall post again soon, fates willing.
We welcome you to this, the inaugural article of the Wings of Steam Anachronistic Society’s Steampunk news and fashion blog. The Wings of Steam are a group of cosplayer airship pirates, founded on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at Nan Desu Kan, an anime convention in Denver. We are just a fledgling group, currently consisting of 14 members, but all the proper ingredients are there to turn the group into something big rather quickly. If you are a steamer in Colorado, membership in the group is currently open. Anyone may gladly mingle with the members in our forum.
As for this blog, we will be using it to report on anything and everything fashion or cosplay related that may be of interest to steampunks and neo-Victorians. Occasionally we might slip in a bit about our own group as well. Stay tuned for juicy morsels from all across the aethernet!
~Captain Julian Van de Kamp,
Founder of the Wings of Steam
