With all the hoopla surrounding the rise of the current Steampunk fad, one would assume it would only be a matter of time until a comic book was published that capitalized on the trend…
…only you’d be wrong – truth be told, comics have been well-ahead of the curve when it comes to including Steampunk elements. As a matter of fact, there have been several comics, original graphic novels, and even some well known comic book movies that have delved into the retro-sci-fi genre.
Let’s start off with Mike Mignola, the creator of “Hellboy,” which is chock-fulla Steampunk imagery and elements. Take the character of Johann Strauss from “Hellboy 2: The Golden Army” -- with his retro-futuristic containment suit, covered with turn-of-the-century gadgets and puffs of steam shooting out from him sporadically, Strauss is clearly the more obvious of Mignola’s characters influenced by the subculture.
However, films aside, Mignola’s comic book works have tons of Steampunk elements in the various adventures involving Hellboy and the BPRD. Yet as Steampunk-heavy as “Hellboy” is, one of the best examples of Mignola’s love of genre has to be a little known, one-issue comic titled “The Adventures of Screw-On Head,” which follows a Civil-War era robot secret-agent who serves under then-President Abraham Lincoln. An animated short film was also recently released, starring the voice talents of Paul Giamatti, Molly Shannon and David Hyde Pierce (and is definitely worth checking out).
Another well-known comic creator who has utilized Steampunk elements to tell a tale is Alan Moore, whose “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” comic (let’s just forget about the film, shall we?) not only added touches of the subculture in both the looks of characters and settings, but also included heroes and villains from the literary works of the unofficial founders of Steampunk – Jules Verne and H.G. Wells – such as Captain Nemo, The Invisible Man, and the aliens from “The War of the Worlds.”
"The Victoria era is one of my all-time favorite eras, I loved the graphic novel [League of Extraordinary Gentlemen], it was amazing to me that you take all those pieces, and you make this empty space [for the movie]," said Mignola.
And the Steampunk-y goodness doesn’t stop there when it comes to the four-color world of comics. Even Batman has delved into the subculture in Brian Augustyn and (once again) Mignola’s “Gotham by Gaslight,” which told an out-of-continuity tale that followed Batman taking on Jack the Ripper in the 1880s.
"One of the first jobs I ever took on, when that project floated along, I thought that was going to be a lot of work, but that's the kind of work I'd like to be known for," recalled Mignola. "I never cared about Batman at all. Because of my drawing style, I can do a pretty good Batman. The more you throw him in the shadows, the better he looks. It was entirely this Victorian Batman that had never been seen before, so I got to recast that series in that time period."
Furthermore, DC Comics’ Wildstorm imprint also published a comic simply titled “Steampunk,” by writer Joe Kelly and artist Chris Bachalo, which infused time travel and a love story set in London’s Victorian Age.
“Girl Genius” by Phil and Kaja Foglio, “Freak Angels” by Warren Ellis, “The Five Fists of Science” by Matt Fraction – the list of Steampunk-inspired comics goes on and on. So if you’re a fan of the Steampunk subculture, your local comic shop or bookstore could hold some surprises for you.
So, Steampunks -- any of these comics sound cool to you? And comic fans, did we leave off any Steampunk-inspired comics or comic films from this list? Let us know in the comments.
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