Wings of Steam

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 many reports available on the aethernet.

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“.

Sepiachord released a compilation, “The Sepiachord Companion”, showcasing fifteen of today’s steampunk musical acts. Steampunk bigband Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society released their first album, “Infernal Machines”. Steam Powered Giraffe released their first album, “Album One”. The Clockwork Dolls played their first live show and released their first album, “Dramatis Personae“. Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society released their second album, “Accoutrements and Oddities”, as well as a Christmas EP, “Clockwork Carols”.

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:

• Perpetual Steam Punk, a web series set in San Francisco.
• Steampunk Quarterly, a new fiction e-zine.
• A steampunk version of Hamlet, performed by the Butterfield 8 Theater Company in May.
• A miniseries version of Neal Stephenson’s “The Diamond Age“.
• A movie version of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, starring Natalie Portman.

We here at Wings of Steam hope everyone had a great year and will have an even better next year!

Brute Force Leather had an expensive art piece monocle stolen from them two weeks ago at DragonCon. He will be offering a reward for its return. If you have any information (saw someone wearing it, find it in a picture from the con) please contact him right away through his website. The following is quoted from his blog:

Some of you may have heard, I had a piece stolen from me at Dragon Con. Not just some ordinary piece but a one of a kind Monacle that was to be in featured in a Steampunk Exhibit at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford this October.

I will pay $200.00 for it’s safe return on a “no questions asked” basis.
I will pay $500.00 if it leads to the arrest of the one who stole it.

Remember, it is a one of a kind piece. There will never be another. If you see someone wearing it they are definitely connected to the theft and a felony.

I will also produce a custom piece for anyone who gets the thief arrested. Have you been looking at one of those arms thinking $1499.00 is beyond your reach? You get me this person and I’ll make one just for you.

Sincerely,
Thomas Willeford

Merry midsummer to you, readers!

I certainly hope you have all been keeping yourselves in good health. I sadly confess that my planned articles have not exactly panned out- my excuses are numerous and satisfactory, but the truth of the matter is that newer and shinier things have caught my attention, and I have decided to share my findings. Consider this a hodge-podge post of several things steampunk, packed full of delicious and distracting topics.

Steam Con

First and foremost, there is the matter of the Steam-Con, to be hosted in Seattle on the weekend of October 23 thru 25^th of this year. A plethora of activities awaits the attendees, from the traditional con staples of a dealer room and art gallery to an exciting Uhallowed Metropolis LARP. (If you are unfamiliar with Unhallowed Metropolis, I highly recommend you go seek information as soon as you are able.) The important guests and speakers are numerous and quite prestigious- Tim Powers, one of the earliest writers in the steampunk genre, Paul Guinan, an artist with a thousand mediums whose History of Robots in the Victorian Era is both entertaining and educational. Then, of course, there is the esteemed Abney Park, who need no description.

Infernal Machines? More like Hellishly Good Music.

Now, I know we at Wings of Steam pay a rather large amount of lip service to Abney Park, so I thought that I would share with you another delightful musical group that I have been enjoying lately. My significant other-half introduced me to Secret Society by asking the question, “Do you like Jazz music?” They are described as “an 18-piece steampunk bigband that envisions an alternative musical history, one in which the dance orchestras that ruled the Swing Era never went extinct, but continued to evolve with the times, remaining a vital part of the musical landscape straight through the present day.” That elaborate description illuminates Secret Society’s style more than any words I might have used. It’s a mix of swing band, ambient music, and just general awesomeness. The best part being, these fine individuals (and I do mean fine- their website’s bio section is worth a look) stream their most recently released album on their website for free. Of course, I encourage you to buy their music so you can enjoy their wonderful tunes offline. Honestly, readers. Do yourself a favor and seek them out, give them a listen, and revel in their greatness.

Lex.

Remember my Steam-Powered Gaming article? I have an addition to add to it. No, I’m not talking about Damnation (though that is worth a glance, should you find yourself wanting more games in your life), I am talking about Edge of Twilight. Look at the picture above again. Now, tell me you don’t want to play that character. His name is Lex, a half-breed who has the ability to go between the realms of Night and Day, with two different forms for each realm. Any of you who have a passing interest in all things fae should be equally entertained- this game looks as though it mixes steampunk with just enough fantasy to create a rather unique experience. If you have not seen the trailer, I do not know why you are still reading this. The environments shown are beautiful and the camera angles dynamic. Those of you who like a little blood with their morning tea will find that there is a pleasing amount of hack and slash to the game to slake their bloodlust.

I daresay I’ve rambled enough. May the summer continue to treat you well, and not maim or disfigure you in any way. I hear the sun tries to do that, now and again.

Always Passing Strange,

Oddessa Gooding

While it will be impossible to mention everything that happened this year, I will do my best to cover the highlights. It seems the theme for 2008 among the steampunk community was growth. Anyone who had any doubt in 2007 over whether or not steampunk deserves the title of subculture will have had these doubts fully extinguished by the events of this year. Indeed, steampunks even have a couple of their very own holidays now, including Air Kraken Day on March 17th, and Pretend to be a Time Traveler Day on December 8th.

Understandably so, it seems more happened in the later half of the year. A large number of people who were previously unaware of steampunk now consider themselves part of it. This is apparent from the founding of many small, locally-based steampunk groups such as TerminuSteam in Atlanta, Indiana Steampunk, CS-Steampunk in Colorado Springs, the First Viennese Anachronistic Society in Central Europe, the Denver-based Wings of Steam Anachronistic Society, DC Steampunk, the Nashville Steampunk Society, Michigan Steampunk, and the Honorable Society of Phoenix Anachronists, to name a few. Adding even more depth to the subculture, we’ve even seen the founding of several more specialized group such as the Plus-Sized Steampunk fashion group and SteamPoof, dedicated to steampunks in the LGBT community.

In part this rise in popularity could be related to exposure steampunk has received in a couple of mainstream media outlets. on May 8th, the New York Times published an article on steampunk fashion and subculture. On October 2nd, MTV posted an article on steampunk music and fashion along with a photo gallery, and the channel MTV2 featured several video segments. A couple of acts of public performance art also helped raise awareness. In June, artist Paul St George allowed people in London and New York to communicate with each other by waving and gesturing into his giant Telectroscope device. In September, a giant steel spider crawled through the streets of Liverpool, scaling a building in its path.

Besides these public displays, there were several gallery showings as well. In August was the Steampunk Art and Design Exhibition in Bridgehampton, NY. On the opposite coast in September, Seattle got to experience Anachrotechnofetishism, a similar art show. Both shows featured work from many prominent national and international artists. In November, Chicago steampunks attended a Steampunk Runway Show which featured the latest in steampunk fashion.

On top of several existing steampunk-friendly gatherings, such as Maker Faire, Dragon*Con, and Dickens Faire, 2008 saw the rise of two steampunk specific conventions. The Dances of Vice Steampunk Festival took place in New York on February 8th and 9th. California Steampunk Convention took place in San Fransisco from October 31st to November 2nd. Next year proves to be even better than the last, with the coming of Seattle’s Steam Con.

Quite a bit happened in steampunk’s musical scene, the heart of any self-sustaining subculture. There is quite a bit of music that steampunks listen to, but as far as this article is concerned, I’ll only mention artists who identify themselves steampunk. January brought us the first Clockwork Cabaret radio show and accompanying podcast, hosted by the Davenport Sisters. On March 1st, Abney Park released “Lost Horizons,” arguably the most important steampunk album of the year, which features their hit song “Airship Pirates.” Abney Park also played several important shows this year though their scheduled unplugged performance aboard a real airship was cancelled at the last minute due to weather concerns. In their final and biggest performance of the year, Abney Park will ring in the new year at the Edison Bar in Los Angeles, along with Lucent Dossier. We also saw the rise of several new steampunk bands this year. In September, Ghostfire released their first album, “Drunk Lullabies”. Joshua Pfeiffer of Vernian Process and Allison Curval of another new band, the Clockwork Dolls, have teamed up to form Clockwork Process, whose first project is the production of a musical score for a forthcoming video game, “Shades of Violet: The Incredible Adventures of Violet Vendetta.” And earlier this month, the Deadly Nightshade Botanical Society released their debut CD, “Clockwork Dreams”.

In the world of the aethernet we’ve seen the rise of several new steampunk websites. Steampunk Wallpaper offers a large selection of images for your computer’s desktop. Steampunk Pics features amazing sets of pictures collected from a variety of sources. And perhaps the most annoying thing to happen in steampunk this year was the creation of our very own meme, DRGBLZ. Oh, the huge manatee! Finally, to further attest to the growth of the culture this year, the Brass Goggles forum, the most widely visited forum in the world of steampunk, spent nearly two months down after exceeding it’s bandwidth. Fortunately us steampunks didn’t have to suffer through withdrawals for too long, as Spare Goggles popped up as a temporary replacement.

And last but not least, we must never forget that steampunk has its roots as a literary genre. Joining the ranks of SteamPunk Magazine and The Willows, this year we saw the founding of the Gatehouse Gazette. We’ve also been treated to regular doses of audio fiction through SteamPod. In printed literature, 2008 saw the publication of two anthologies of steampunk short stories, “Steampunk“, and “Extraordinary Engines“, both featuring work from many of the genre’s greatest authors.

Sure, with all this growth we’ll continue to see more articles talking about how steampunk is getting old and cliche, or how it’s no longer original because its gone mainstream, but at it’s heart, steampunk is just beginning to flourish. As long as we have new and original artists, musicians, events, and most importantly, literature, steampunk will always feel fresh and new. Have a happy New Year and go out and party like it’s 1899!

Further developments on the aforementioned October 31st airship ride that Abney Park is taking fans on:

The band put tickets on sale today at 12 pm, pst. Tickets will be on sale for two weeks or until all are sold. There are “very few” available, but ticket prices are $785 dollars each. Tickets can be found on the Abney Park’s website.

The band also reported that they will perform acoustic renditions of music from their albums in mid-flight, as well as vintage airship music from the early 1900s.

Other steampunk celebrities who will be aboard this historic flight will include Phil and Kaja Foglio, authors and artists of the Gaslamp Fantasy comic Girl Genius.

The following day on November first, and not coincidentally the second day of the California Steampunk Convention, Abney Park and Platform One will be playing an all-ages show at a stadium-sized venue. Admission is included with a ticket to the con, or can be bought separatley for$22.50.