A Little Steam With My Comics This Weekend
I am traveling this month to such exotic locales as Michigan and Washington DC, and while I was reading the Washington Post this weekend I ran into two comics that I wanted to post. This first one gave me a nice little chuckle and is from the strip WuMo.
Before Electric Eels
The second had a little Steampunk thrown in. Check out the decked out doggie in the third panel of this Prickly City strip by Scott Stantis.
Prickly City
Steampunk Sourcebook: Captain Nemo
The enigmatic Captain Nemo made his first appearance in Jules Verne’s science fiction classic, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1870), which takes place in the late 1860s. Little is revealed about the mysterious figure besides his hunger for scientific knowledge and his rejection of imperialism and by extension, most of the world above the ocean. He and his dedicated crew exist “below the law” by rarely stepping foot on dry land and aiding those oppressed by imperialism. In the second novel featuring Nemo, The Mysterious Island (1874), he tells a group of castaways that he is the son of a raja named Prince Dakkar and that he lost his family in the First Indian War for Independence against the British (1857). After the death of his loved ones he goes into hiding and embarks on secret scientific research, culminating in an electric submarine called the Nautilus.
Fun Facts and Context:
۞ Nemo means “Nobody” in Latin
۞”20,000 Leagues under the sea” is often interpreted as the vertical distance down into the depth of the ocean, but it is a slight mistranslation of the french title “Vingt mille lieues sous les mers” where mers (meanings seas, plural) was translated as “sea.” It is meant to indicate the horizontal distance traveled under the water, not the depth of the water. 20,000 leagues is 6 times bigger than the diameter of the planet (each league is 4 kilometers).
۞ In the original manuscript, Nemo was a Polish noble whose family was killed in the January Uprising (1863-1865) by Russian oppressors. Fearing a blow to sales (as well as insulting France’s ally), Verne’s editor asked him to change the character and keep the details shadowy.
۞ Though he is an Indian prince in the final iteration of the novel, Nemo spent most of his formative years in Europe so he speaks with a British accent (he admits to speaking French, Latin and Gerrman as well).
۞ And though he hates the imperialist nature of European nations, the Nautilus is full of treasures from around Europe including an organ which Nemo plays masterfully. There is also a substantial library on board to feed his scientific pursuits.
۞ Nemo has a brief appearance in one more of Verne’s works, a play called Journey Through the Impossible. The play was not published until 1981 after a handwritten copy was discovered in 1978. The first English translation was completed in 2003.
۞ There was a real submarine called the Nautilus, which was designed by an American inventor living in France named Richard Fulton. It was developed in the late 1700s and was powered by a hand crank.
Captain Nemo has appeared in various adaptations of Verne’s novels, but few of these belong in the Steampunk canon. For instance, the 1954 film adaptation is heavily influenced by the style and politics of the era, and some important details are changed (for instance, the Nautilus runs on nuclear power rather than electricity). You can find a full list of Captain Nemo’s appearances here, but for the sake of this post I am focusing on the versions of Nemo that fit firmly into Steampunk.
For instance, Alan Moore’s graphic novels (and the film adaptation) featuring The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. In this series, Nemo is much more callous, even bloodthirsty, than the original character. Verne’s Nemo saved whales, Moore’s Nemo mows down people with machine guns (Volume 1).
Captain Nemo also appears in The Other Log of Phileas Fogg, a 1973 novel by Philip Jose Farmer. If you haven’t guessed it, this is a crossover novel that takes place in the world of Around the World in 80 Days but incorporates (or rather co-opts) characters from other novels like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series. In Farmer’s account, Captain Nemo is better known in some circles at Professor Moriarty.
Kevin J. Anderson rewrites Captain Nemo’s history (and brings a childhood spent with Jules Verne into the mix) in his novel, Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius (2002).
Check out my gallery below for various versions of this Victorian antihero and other steamy sea captains.
Steampunk Sourcebook: The Illusionist
The Illusionist poster
Eisenheim in his workshop
Illusions are all about making an audience believe the impossible. Magicians can accomplish this through sleight of hand, misdirection and clever technology. Innovative and deceptive designs makes the turn of the century magician a great trope of steampunkery. At left, Eisenheim (Edward Norton) is seen pondering in his workshop where this son of a cabinet-maker aspires to and achieves greatness.
Most of this romantic drama centers on the relationship of Eisenheim and his childhood love, Sophie, who is being made to marry the crown prince of Austria. The special effects are beautiful and based on magic tricks that were really performed during the 20th century.
Fun Facts and Context:
۞ The film was based on a story that appeared in a volume of short stories called The Barnum Museum (1990). This was in reference to Barnum’s American Museum, an American attraction of oddities popular in the 1840s-1860s.
۞ The tale is called Eisienheim the Illusionist by Steven Millhauser. You can read the full text here.
۞ The romantic intrigue with Jessica Biel‘s character that drives the film is completely absent from the original story. The police become interested in Eisenheim because of the disappearance of a rival magician.
۞ The film is told from the perspective of Walter Uhl (played by Paul Giamatti), a police inspector.
۞ Giamatti spends most of the film flashing back over his investigation for the benefit of Prince Leopold of Austria (played by Rufus Sewel). Leopold was not a real person, but is based on Rudolf, the crown prince of Austria who died at the age of 30 in 1889. Rudolf had a mistress who died under shadowy circumstances like the Sewel character.
۞ The filmmakers wanted to capture to beauty and awe of watching a master illusionist, so many of most impressive tricks are done with computer graphics to achieve what the Eisenheim of the original story had been able to do. But, you can see a video of a real mechanical orange tree illusion here.
۞ Edward Norton did perform many of his own sleight of hand tricks, but his hands were sometimes portrayed by his double, James Freedman.
Sophie (Biel) and Leopold (Sewel) watching Eisenheim
I’ve created a gallery below featuring images both from the turn of the century and contemporary portrayals of Steampunk magicians and illusions.
Of course, I can’t talk about The Illusionist without giving a shout out to The Prestige. I will do another sourcebook entry for The Prestige in particular, but I wanted to know from you, my readers, which movie you prefer. Weigh in below by commenting on this post and make sure to say why you picked the film you did.
I Can’t Describe How Excited I Am For Lantern City- Steampunk Inspired TV Series
I was puttering on Pinterest and I found some art by Justin Yun (pictured above). I was curious to find out more and it turns out it was a piece of concept art for a new TV series, Lantern City.
The project was announced in 2012 and is set to premier in 2014. One of the creators, Bruce Boxleitner,has made a short film describing the concept. The most exciting thing about the series to me is the call to Steampunk artists, designers, artisans and enthusiasts to send in submissions and contribute directly to the show.
As a prelude to the television series, the creators have released an illustrated novel called Rise. Check out this video from Chicago’s C2E2 for a concept film about Lantern City followed by the announcement of Rise.
The only downside I can find is that when they described the overall concept, basically an alternate universe where Steampunk is the way of life, was the basis of my own novel-in-progress, Soaring Heights.
Here’s a description of the plot/history from the Lantern City website:
History of Lantern City
“Lantern City is the southern-most city in Hetra, a world parallel to Earth, and is bordered on the south by the Silver Sea and has the largest river in Hetra, the Faudnice River, running through its heart. The city was always known for its commerce, agriculture, innovation, and trade; because of its isolated geography it never developed a real military power. Lantern City was difficult to travel to by land and it had the ability to control who came in and out of its ports.
Eventually, a band of warlords from the outlands of Hetra conquered the surrounding areas leaving Lantern City as their final target. The onslaught of refugees from the other cities gave the citizens of Lantern City ample warning to protect themselves, However almost no one in Lantern City had minds for military strategy or any real combat experience. This was the perfect opportunity for soldier and entrepreneur Isaac Foster Grey to rise to power and “save” the city from the invaders. To secure the city after the battles for Lantern City’s existence, Grey had a wall built around the city and enacted isolationist policies.
Over one hundred years later, the citizens of Lantern City know little about the rest of Hetra.
Since so few citizens know anything about the history of Lantern City or anything about Hetra, a myth has replaced the actual history. Many of the working class citizens and the members of the Underground believe that a peasant named Nolvan inspired thousands to travel as far south as they could and establish a new and free place called Lantern City. It wasn’t until the Grey Empire tricked the populous and took over that the citizens weren’t free.
Many of the working class are waiting for the next Nolvan to arrive and save them from their fates.”
The cast also looks fantastic. I recognized Raphael Sbarge and Tony Amendola from Once Upon a Time, but of course John Rhys-Davies’ face was immediately familiar as well as Mira Furlan from Babylon 5.
Mira Furlan
Raphael Sbarge
John Rhys Davies
Tony Amendola
Steampunk Book Review: Clockwork Angel (Infernal Devices 1)
When I decided to start this blog one of the first things I did was head to my local library. The more I learned about Steampunk, the more I realized I had a lot of reading to do! I picked up a mix of classic sci-fi like H. G. Wells’ The Island of Dr. Moreau. but I had also heard good things about Cassandra Clare’s Infernal Devices trilogy so in I decided to read a mix of the old and the new at the same time.
I’ve only gotten as far as the first book in the series, Clockwork Angel, but I will definitely be reading the trilogy to the end. The Infernal Devices series takes place before Clare’s earlier trilogy (Mortal Instruments) about an angelically infused group of warriors fighting the forces of darkness to keep us “mundanes” out of the crossfire, but it is not meant as a prequel. (Clare stresses on her website that the books can be read in any order.) The story takes place in dreary streets of Victorian London and follows the misadventure of sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray.
The story starts with her imprisonment in the hands of the strange Dark Sisters, who help her unlock her previously unknown supernatural talent. With the help of a deliciously malicious (not to mention handsome) rising Shadowhunter Will, Tessa escapes and finds herself sucked into a race against time to stop a clockwork army in the hands of the mysterious and powerful Magister. You can read and excerpt here. Next on my reading list? The Strange Affair of Spring-heeled Jack (a Burton and Swiborne novel).
Steampunk Sourcebook- The Golden Compass
For die hard fans, His Dark Materials (known as the Golden Compass trilogy in the US), wouldn’t technically fit into the definition of Steampunk.
The series is set in the present/near future so steam power is a thing of the past and the story has nothing to do with Victorian England or an alternate history, but the parallel universe Lyra Belacqua inhabits has some decidedly Steampunk elements to it. The images in this post are all from the 2007 film release of The Golden Compass.
First, England gets “punked.” Lyra lives at Jordan College within Oxford University, which doesn’t exist in our universe. She later travels to an alternative London with dirigibles floating over head and horseless hansom cabs, apparently their answer to the automobile.
The spaces that she inhabits in while in the power of the evil Mrs. Coulter remind me a lot of the work of Alfonse Mucha (1860-1939).
There are also so some fun alternative technologies, for instance, a projector (which they call a spirit projector) that uses glassy orbs to create 3D, moving images of of the mysterious Dust (which is basically powdered sentience). The bad guys also employ “spy flies” which are clockwork insects “with a bad spirit pinned to it” and sent to locate Lyra and her band.
Fun Facts and Context
- The Golden Compass was originally released under the name Northern Lights.
- The trilogy explores contemporary concepts in science such as quantum entanglement (lodestone resonator), dark matter (dust is invisible without the amber spyglass even though in the Golden Compass film they depict it clearly as visible by the naked eye) and human evolution (how did we become “more” than animals? Where did sentience come from?)
- The Golden Compass film stops short of the plot of the first book. The real ending of the Golden Compass is darker and sadder, but I think they stopped where they did in hopes of continuing the trilogy and that needed a more hopeful note.
- Unfortunately, the films of The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass were never made. Many people, including actors in the film, blamed the Catholic church for killing the series. I admit that I watched the movie before I read the books and I couldn’t understand why they didn’t continue and why the church would protest so much. Then I read the books and I totally get it. (Spoiler alert) Even if the story wasn’t overtly about killing god (or at least the one posing as god), there are multiple scenes of a violence against children, like in Citegazze (a city in another alternative universe), that would have been hard to stomach on the silver screen.
The Time Machine
First, some fun facts and context
- H. G. Wells (1866-1946) and his sci-fi classic of course predate the word “steampunk.” It even predates the term “science fiction.” In his own time, works like the Time Machine were called “scientific romances.” I believe it should be considered steampunk because it is a look into a futuristic past that never was, which means it is rife with possibilities for reinterpretation (like K. W. Jeter’s Morlock Nights) and the description of the machine itself has a definite steampunk gestalt due to the time period in which it was written. I wasn’t able to find any images of the machine from the original 1949 teleplay, but it is easy to find images and models of the iteration used in the 1960 film (pictured below).
- The book was actually published first as a serial novella in a magazine in 1895, and Wells received $100 upon completion. In the original serial Wells’ editor insisted on an extra stop in time and different type of human. This section was dropped when the whole story was compiled into a book, but you can still read the missing text at http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Grey_Man
- This story was the first time the term “time machine” was ever used, but not the first story Wells wrote about time travel. He published a short story 7 years earlier entitled The Chronic Argonauts. (You can read the full text at a variety of places on the web because in the USA it is no longer under copyright. For instance, http://www.colemanzone.com/Time_Machine_Project/chronic.htm,)
- Novels too wordy? You have several visual adaptations to choose from. A faithful feature film was made in 1960, a reinterpretation starring Guy Pierce in 2002 and it has also been reproduced as a graphic novel by Terry Davis.
Synopsis: The main character, only ever referred to by the narrator as “the Time Traveler,” explains to a group containing enthusiasts and skeptics in equal measure that time is the fourth dimension and he has engineered a way to travel through it. After showing them a demonstration using a model of his machine, he invites his guests to return in one week at which time he promises proof of his claim. A week later the others have all assembled around the Time Traveler’s table but the host is nowhere to be seen. He soon stumbles in ragged and distressed, and tells them of his harrowing adventure into the year 802,701 A.D. (influenced in no small part part Wells’ own socialist leanings) where humans have split into two distinct species. He first meets the gentle and incurious Eloi, what he later comes to think of as the heirs to an artistocratic past that removed the challenges of survival and therefore the need for intelligence. Like cattle, they are simultaneously provided for and consumed by Morlocks, who live a subterranean existence and continue to work on mysterious machinery in total darkness deep under the earth.
The Time Traveler’s journey takes him across the future landscape of Surrey which includes huge decaying structures like a museum (a metaphorical time machine allowing a glimpse into the past while the scientific ingenuity of his present brought him forward) covered with writing that can no longer be understood by the inhabitants of this new world. He also makes a friend in the form of an Eloi female named Weena, whom the Time Traveler rescues from drowning early on in his trip, but later loses her life because of his exploits. After he escapes from 802,701, he heads further into the future and encounters the red giant the sun has become and a rapidly cooling landscape void of any animal life but elephant-sized crabs.
Upon his return he tells his tale to his assembled guests, none of whom seem to believe him. The narrator wakes the next morning and feels the need to discuss the journey further, and arrives to find the Time Traveler about to embark on another sojourn in search of proof. He asks the narrator to wait for half an hour and all will be illuminated, but three years later he has not returned. In the epilogue, the narrator speculates about where the Time Traveler has gone and if he will ever return. He revisits the Time Traveler’s interpretation of his first journey, namely that the human race will completely devolve and his lamentation over the loss of intellect, but himself is heartened by the descriptions of tenderness and friendship between the Time Traveler and Weena.
For Whom the Gear Turns 