Back to the Start

So we have been through several different areas in our attempt to learn about and understand SteamPunk. We have looked at the beginnings of SteamPunk in literature thanks to the genius of H.G. Wells. We have looked at the underground phenomenon of the Con, and the way in which SteamPunk has become the post popular genre to Con goers lately. We looked at costuming and gadget making, as well as some very famous fashion designers that have taken some ideas from SteamPunky styles.

Today I want to go back to the start and take another look at literature. I want to suggest a book that everyone should check out if they are interested in SteamPunk and continuing to feed their interest on their own. It is call The Steampunk Anthology and it is edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. It contains literary essays on the genre and works written in the genre, as well as short stories and excerpts from novels. Some of the contributors are: James Paul Blaylock, Stephen Chapman, Mary Gentle, and Michael Moorcock, just to name a few. (Just as a side note: Michael Moorcock is the author of an amazing series called the The Elric Saga, that I would recommend to anyone who is into fantasy fiction.)

This is an excellent introduction to the genre because a few of the essays in it give a very through and detailed history of hoe the genre has come to be what it is now. One of the first essays in the book even traces the origins of the genre back farther than H.G. Wells who is thought of today as the forerunner of the genre. So, if this blog has piqued your interested and you want to learn more about SteamPunk, or want to just read more of this type of fiction I would definitely start with this book. Even if you are only interested in the fiction and not so much the history, you can sample several authors’ works in one place and decide who you like and who you don’t.

Steamboy

One area I have not yet touched on is Anime which, like just about everything else, has its own SteamPunk creations. The one I want to tell you about is by director Katsuhiro Otomo, who also directed Akira which is one of the most famous anime films ever made. Steamboy is a full length feature film that was co-written by Otomo as well.
Steamboy is set in the classic SteamPunk setting: 19th century London, and is centered around James Ray Steam. Ray is a 13-year-old boy living in Manchester, and is an inventor following the in the footsteps of his father and grandfather, Edward and Lloyd Steam. In 1863 after a long and dangerous expedition they have discovered a pure mineral water source which they believe will be the ultimate source for steam powered engines. A horrible accident occurs during an experiment in Alaska and Edward is killed.
In 1866, in Manchester, Edward’s son Ray, the main character, works in a textile mill, lives with his mother, and tinkers around with inventions of his own. The arrival of a package from Ray’s grandfather containing a strange metallic ball sets the action of the film into motion. People come and try to steal the ball, and Ray ends up being kidnapped and taken to London. The entire film revolves around a large corporation, called the O’Hara Foundation, attempt to get the ball from Ray. The ball is the key to the perfect power source for the steam engine, and the corporation wants to use it to create weapons. Ray fights to keep the corporation form getting the ball.
This film is a wild ride from beginning to end, and if you are at all interested in anime, or animation in general I am sure you will enjoy it.

You Can't Take The Sky From Me

Today I feel like talking about one of my all time favorite shows. It is called Firefly and you may or may not have heard of it. It was written and directed by Joss Whedon who is best known for the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. It aired on Fox in 2002 and for some ridiculous reason only lasted fro one season. The reason for this is beyond me because the show, and the movie Serenity, have acquired quite a large and devoted fan base. The movie Serenity was made in response to the very unhappy fans that wanted some sort of conclusion to the issues that presented themselves in the series but were never resolved. The show is set in the year 2517 and it has a futuristic western type style to the narrative. The show revolves around the rebel crew of the spaceship named Serenity. Serenity is a model ship that is called a Firefly, hence the name of the show. The crew is captained by Malcolm Reynolds, played by Nathan Fillion who some of you may know as Captain Hammer from the Dr. Evil’s Sing Along Blog web series. Malcolm, or Mal as he is usually referred to, fought on the losing side of a civil war against The Alliance. The Alliance is an oppressive government organization that a group of people calling themselves Browncoats or Independents resisted against in the Unification War. Mal was an Independent sergeant in the crucial battle of Serenity Valley in which the Browncoats officially lost the war. In one of my favorite quotes from the show, a character tells Mal that he fought on the wrong side of the war, to which Mal replies, “May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.”

Each of the nine main characters are fully developed and interesting; each possessing their own quirks, humor, and purpose for being on the ship. Mal is the captain, Zoe is the first mate, Wash is the pilot as well as Zoe’s husband, Kaylee is the ship’s mechanic, and Jayne is a hired gun. Inara is a companion, which is this time period’s version of a courtesan. To be a trained companion is actually considered a respectable profession and her being on the ship allows for the crew to gain access to certain places they would not be able to otherwise. Simon and River Tam are brother and sister and they along with Shepherd Book got on board originally as paid passengers, paying for a ride from one place to another but due to certain circumstances remained on the ship and thus becoming a permanent part of the cast.

I could just go on and on about the sheer awesomeness of this show, but you really just need to see it for yourselves. The actors have such an amazing chemistry together on screen it makes them a pleasure to watch. Each one of the characters are so interesting and funny in their own way that everyone has a different personal favorite. You should really check it out if you have not already. And please watch the show before the movie. The movie is the conclusion and gives everything away!!! Trust me. You will be happy you followed my advice.

If you are not the crafty type...

If you are not the creative type and making crafts and gadgets is just not your thing, I am going to share with you some places around the internet that you can shop for SteamPunk apparel and accessories. You can spend a lot of time sifting through websites that are simply displaying items that are not for sale. I have done some of the work for you and looked through tons of sites to find some of the better ones that you can actually purchase items through. You’re welcome.

http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/gentlemans.php

The first place I found is called Gentlemen’s Emporium: Authentic Products and Old-Fashioned Service. This website is full of the more traditional and authentic styles of the Victorian era. They have a pretty good selection of men’ and women’s clothing as well as shoes, accessories, even bathing suits! They also have a SteamPunk tab call the SteamPunk Emporium: Authentic Period Clothing for a Better Tomorrow. Catchy, huh?
This website actually has a pretty good selection, but unfortunately I cannot attest to the quality of the pieces because I have not personally purchased anything from this company.

http://www.cybersteampunk.com/

This is another good one that has a pretty large selection, but it is mostly accessories. This website has tabs for clothing but when you click on it nothing is posted yet. I am guessing this is because this website is used by people who make things and then post them on here for sale and no one had posted anything yet in certain categories. There are some pretty awesome hand bags on this site that are made out of clocks though. Check it out!

www.artfire.com

This is another website where you can actually purchase items. It is an artist marketplace website so there are tons of different things on the site, but if you type Steampunk in the search bar a lot of Steampunk items come up. It is mostly handmade jewelry but there are some clothing items as well.

These are just a few sited that I have dug up for you, but there are a lot more out there you just have to take the time to find them.

SteamPunk Gadget Crafts!!

One of the coolest aspects of SteamPunk, especially when it comes to costuming is the gadgets. This area allows a lot of room for creativity as well. You can make practically anything into a SteamPunk inspired gadget if you are creative enough and think outside the box. The couple of websites I am going to share with you today are prime examples of this.
Ever since I started this blog a few of my friends have been sending me links to different sites that they think I may find interesting (thanks guys!), and I am now going to share a few with you. The first is: http://oculoid.com/bizarre-stylish-steampunk-creations/ This is a post on oculoid.com which is some sort of blog space dedicated to all things art. The creator has devoted a whole page to different SteamPunk gadgets that people have made, and some of them are really neat so you should check it out (my favorite is the iPod cover where the dial is a gear). The only thing that I don’t like about this page is that there is no explanation on how these people made any of this stuff, so if anyone wants to try and make some pieces like these, you are pretty much on your own on trying to figure out how.
This next site was brought to my attention by my friend who also has a blog here called Green and Crafty. The site that she showed me is on the other hand is all about the “how-to.” People post their creations on here and most tell you how they got the idea and how they made it. So if you are so inclined you can post your own crafty creations on this site, or you can browse around for inspiration. Go to: www.craftster.org just type in SteamPunk and tons of results come up! So check these out and be inspired!!

SteamPunk Meets High Fashion

Today I am going to talk about one of my favorite things in relation to SteamPunk: Fashion. I love everything fashion! Clothes, shoes, accessories… I unfortunately do not have the funds to indulge in these things as often as I like but I cant still admire form afar. Looking doesn’t cost anything.

So, in my wanderings around the internet during the past few months, was watching some videos of fashion shows from LA’s fashion week and ran across some very interesting items. So many fashion designers are borrowing from classic Victorian styles and some are even delving into some explicitly SteamPunky styles! It is so exciting! Did I tell you that SteamPunk is making its way into everything pop culture or did I tell you? Here are some of the way cool fashion shows I found. The first one is by a designer named Alexander McQueen, and this is his show for Fall/Winter 2009. His fashions are inspired by very classic styles like the tailored jackets and high waisted skirts, but with an obvious modern flair:

This next show is from a pair of designers that call themselves Skingraft. This is their spring 2010 show. They have taken a more gothic type of SteamPunk and and incorporated some of the elements into their fashion creations. Some of the elements I am talking about are the leather corsets, the leather pilot type head gear, and especially the goggles! This Steampunk with a gothic twist is the type of SteamPunk that my friend was going for with his "evil dictator" costume I posted a picture of in my last post.

I find this one of the most fun and interesting examples that SteamPunk is just everywhere because this is something other than art or literature that has been influenced by it. The genre has a huge fan base that is continuing to grow. I can't help but to wonder, What will they come up with next?

The Wonderful World of the Con

The Steampunk genre has been around for awhile, but it has definitely been picking up steam (No pun intended. Okay, maybe a little bit…) lately. This is could not be more evident than at the Cons. For those of you who don’t know what a Con is, the word is short for convention and that is exactly what it is. They happen all over the country at all times of the year and they have all sorts of different themes. Two of the biggest science fiction and fantasy conventions are Comic-Con, which happens in San Diego every summer, and DragonCon which is held every Labor Day weekend right here in Atlanta. Comic-Con is huge! About 125,000 people attended in 2009, and DragonCon is not far behind with over 50,000 freaks and geeks in attendance last year.
Science fiction and fantasy Cons are basically like giant four day costume parties. The two that I have attended for several years now are DragonCon and ChattaCon, which takes place in Chattanooga, Tennessee. They are held in hotels, (in the case of DragonCon, several hotels) and there are a list of scheduled events, and a multitude of things to see and do. Things like costume contests, concerts, workshops, gaming events, autograph signing, art shows, dealer rooms (where vendors set up booths and people can buy all sorts of stuff), and of course room parties.
The reason I am giving you the run down on the convention world is so that you will understand when I say that in the way of costuming, Steampunk has taken over. Everyone has been wearing Steampunk costumes for the past couple of years. The new thing is to make a bigger, better, more creative, or more elaborate Steampunk costume. Here are a few examples of some of my friends costumes form DragonCon ’09 and ChattaCon '10

These are a couple of my friends in their winter Steampunk outfits. They did not buy these pieces, they handmade their entire outfits!!


This is my friend Derrick. He decided to go a different route with his costume. He calls this his "Evil Dictator Costume".



I don't know this guy, but his costume was one of the most creative that I have seen. He actually made his electric wheelchair part of his outfit. All of the tubes and pieces on the back either light up, make noise, or wind like gears. It was really awesome! You can see that his friend standing beside him is dressed in Steampunk as well.

These are just a few examples of some costumes that I have seen. Now you have a bit of an idea of the style of dress associated with the genre, as well as an idea of the wide range of creative liberty there is when it comes to Steampunk. The possibilities are endless!!