Steampunk (comics)
| Steampunk | |
|---|---|
Cover of Steampunk vol. 1.
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher |
Cliffhanger Wildstorm Comics |
| Publication date | April 2000 – August 2002 |
| No. of issues | 12 plus two special |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Joe Kelly |
| Penciller(s) | Chris Bachalo |
| Inker(s) | Richard Friend |
| Letterer(s) | Richard Starkings |
| Editor(s) | Scott Dunbier, John Layman |
| Collected editions | |
| Steampunk: Manimatron | ISBN |
| Steampunk: Drama Obscura | ISBN |
Steampunk was a steampunk/fantasypunk comic book series by artist Chris Bachalo and writer Joe Kelly, published by Wildstorm Comics' Cliffhanger imprint.
The series debuted in 2000 and ran for 12 issues, a prologue and a preview comic called Steampunk Catechism. Originally planned for 24 issues, lack of readership ended the series at the end of act II. Joe Kelly's non-linear storytelling and Bachalo's highly detailed, though possibly confusing, penciling style received little interest from the mainstream comic-reading public. The series did have its supporters, especially Bachalo himself, saying, “I really enjoyed Steampunk. That was probably my favorite book that I’ve worked on.”
Despite the early cancellation, Bachalo still has a desire to finish the series.
Steampunk tells the story of a young, poor fisherman, Cole Blaquesmith, who falls in love with a teacher, Miss Fiona in the mid-18th century. Fiona is an upper-class woman, who cares for the lower class and tries to educate them, which isn't well received by her peers. Fiona gives Cole an education, despite his lack of proper manners and his initial lack of interest for literature and arts. She also opens a school for the underprivileged. The school is burned down because Fiona was teaching the lower classes to think for themselves, an unpopular notion with the people in power.
Over time, Fiona starts coughing and finally falls ill. No rational doctor can help her and, in his desperation, Cole takes her to doctor Absinthe, a mad genius, who is shunned by everybody else for performing horrible experiments, including grafting pieces of animals onto other animals. Absinthe promises to save Fiona, but needs Cole to do something for him to save her. He reveals the Engine, a machine capable of traveling through time (note: it is possible that the Engine is but a part of the time machine, though a vital, irreplaceable part). He tells Cole to travel to the future and take back all books on science and any objects that he can find. Cole travels to the future and lands in London in 1954. He does as Absinthe asks him, but Absinthe betrays him and doesn't help Fiona, who succumbs to her disease. Cole feels like his heart is ripped out and decides to give Absinthe a little payback: he takes the Engine and buries it beneath Stonehenge, believing the Engine is as important to Absinthe as Fiona was to him. Absinthe is furious that Cole has hidden the Engine. He rips out Cole's actual heart and all goes dark for Cole.
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Wikipedia