Van Helsing (2004) Mixes Monsters for Movie Magic
Stephen Sommers, who brought us the special effects-laden reboot of The Mummy in 1999, also lent his imagination (as well as his pen) to create Van Helsing in 2004. Even though both films are almost a decade or more old they are some of my absolute favorites for their combination of action, visual effects and fun.
Gabriel Van Helsing (played by Hugh Jackman) is a monster hunter with a mysterious past. He is employed by the Catholic church to seek out and destroy evil, but remembers nothing before he was charged with his holy quest. As far as I can tell, the only thing this Van Helsing has in common with the Dutch doctor and do-gooder Abraham Van Helsing of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula is the name.
The film starts with an homage to classic black and white movies as an angry mob attacks castle Frankenstein in 1887. Sommers’ twist is that the good doctor’s financial backer is none other than Count Dracula. Van Helsing enters the movie with an epic confrontation between him and a truly monstrous Mr. Hyde (of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) on the rooftop of Notre Dame. Later, Van Helsing is charged with slaying Dracula in time to protect the souls of the Valerius family, who vowed they would never rest until the vampire met his demise. With the help of his techno-whiz sidekick, a friar named Carl, Van Helsing travels to Transylvania and to aid the last members of the tragic tribe before nine generations are shut out of heaven.
Sommers’ creates a plot that incorporates Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster, as well as the Wolfman. He also gives a much larger role to Dracula’s three ‘brides’ (which by the way, are not identified as such in the novel) and they provide some wonderful action sequences as they terrorize the nearby village as flying monsters in order to hunt down Anna Valerius (played by Kate Beckinsale). Though the roots of this movie clearly come from a love of classic horror films, the time, literary characters and gadgets (like a gas-powered repeating crossbow) land it squarely in the Steampunk canon.
There is an animated prequel called Van Helsing: The London Assignment which you can read more about and watch here.
I also recently found out that there is another Van Helsing movie planned, but it is going to be a “reboot” starring Tom Cruise. Check out that story here.
Click on the thumbnails for larger images.
Steampunk Scrapbook Paper by Graphic 45
I found these Steapunk Spells papers by Graphic 45 listed under Halloween while I was surfing the web. I like that the pallete has the warm gold and orange colors because I find many of the steamy papers and embellishments to be very dark or sepia toned and its always nice to add a spot of color.
Alphabet stickers to match Steampunk Spells
Cardstock to match Steampunk Spells
Are you looking for some projects you could try with scrap paper? Check out my Steampunk cage ornament tutorial and Steampunk-inspired Assemblage clocks I have done.
Beyond Bustles: Daisy Viktoria Designs
Daisy Viktoria thought she was going to be a scientist, but her passion for fashion pulled her away from chemical engineering and into the world of fantasy. Her whimsical designs flirt with fairy tales, Victorian England and the wild west, and she was kind enough to send me photos from her most recent Steampunk-inspired shoot. (Click on the thumbnails for larger images)
I love the gold and black motif in this set of designs, especially the black on black striped shorts. But if bustles and corsets are a little too steamy for your everyday wear, Daisy has many subtly Steampunk designs as well. If Santa leaves some money in my stocking I am definitely going to ‘stock up’ on some of her ready to wear items. (Click on the thumbnails for larger images). You can check out more of her designs and her online store here.
Cog Couture: The Jewelry Designs of Angela Venable
The first place I ran across Angela Venable’s work was on YouTube. She has posted a video tutorial about how she creates her Steampunk statement necklaces. I recognized many of the findings and paper from my own sojourns to Michael’s and I think we share a similar aesthetic. I’ll start posting some of my own art soon (the pesky camera is acting up on me) but until then I hope you enjoy this sampling of Angela’s jewelry and paper arts.
You can see more of Angela’s jewelry designs as well as the tutorial I mentioned here.
Mo Rocca Reported on Steampunk for CBS
“Once upon a time scientists and inventors dressed up in outlandishly old-fashioned clothes and employed outlandishly old-fashioned technology in their contraptions. Turns out, what’s old IS new again, as Mo Rocca is about to reveal:
Welcome to the annual Steampunk World’s Fair in Somerset, N.J. – only an hour’s drive from Manhattan, but in spirit over a century removed from the present day.
One attendee said her prominent corset was comfortable: “Oh yes, absolutely. It’s very supportive and it encourages good posture.” Like a sports bra, noted Rocca.
Corsets and goggles and gears, oh my! And weaponry of all shapes and calibers, like the steam-powered ray gun. If you came unarmed, or under-dressed, dozens of vendors fill the fair with suitable steampunk wear.
By now you’re probably wondering, what IS steampunk?…”
Check out the whole 2012 article as well as a great collection of links at :http://www.cbsnews.com/news/steampunk-yesterdays-tomorrow/
They also featured the Steampunk World Fair in the video below.
Steampunk hits the Paralympics: Festival of Flame (2012) Gallery
The 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony featured huge metal vehicles and steamy costumes. I created a gallery of images, plus you can watch the whole closing ceremony including appearances by Rihanna and Coldplay below.
Correfoc, Barcelona 2005
The performance was called The Festival of Flame and it certainly lived up to its name. It reminded me of being in Barcelona in the fall when they have their annual festival, La Merce. I got to experience the correfoc (fire run) with some friends in 2005 and I was the only one to actually brave the sparks and make a run for it. (pictured left) La Merce has been celebrated since 1902 and features fire breathing monster floats, drumming demons and human castles 6 people high.
Festival of Flame
Want to see more steamy vehicles? Check out my vehicle gallery here!
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.
For Whom the Gear Turns 