Steampunks Assemble at Comic-Con!

Cosplay is a big part of Comic-Con in San Diego, and attendees have the privilege of seeing costumes ranging from superheroes to TV characters, to clever mash-ups and gender-bending. Every year more and more people dress up in different costumes, and every year a once-unheard-of genre gains more numbers. That's right, the number of Steampunks at Comic-Con is always… ahem… picking up steam, and for the last several years there has been a popular Steampunk meetup on Saturday afternoon.

For anyone unfamiliar with Steampunk, the short definition is “Victorian Science Fiction.” What that boils down to is a movement where people create their own characters and dress up in Victorian era garb, complete with accents: top hats, cravats, suspenders, hoop skirts, bustles, corsets, and fascinators. Then it's time to add cool technology that wasn't available at the time but is made with materials of that era. It's common to see leather gauntlets, modified weapons, and backpacks made with wood, brass, clock gears, copper pipes, and even lights.

Since steam was the most common form of power during the Industrial Age, Steampunks usually make items that look like they're steam-powered. Another common thing to do is incorporate basic forms of electricity because the genius inventor, Nikola Tesla, started dabbling with electricity near the end of the 1800s.

Gamers have seen Steampunk influence in many video games over the last decade. The most common series is BioShock, where the underwater city of Rapture has a Steampunk aesthetic, Big Daddy looks like the Steampunk King. and the floating city of Columbia is filled with Steampunk technology. Other games with a Steamy vibe include Dishonored, Thief, Valkyria Chronicles, Final Fantasy 6, Steamworld Dig, The Adventures of PB Winterbottom, and the upcoming Assassin's Creed Syndicate.

The Comic-Con Steampunk meetup is sponsored by the Starburner Galactic Courier Service, whose motto is “we deliver vital packages and sensitive documents anywhere in space and time.” Starburner agent #1 Lithobius Quick (aka Kim Hutsell) is a brilliant maker who wanted to recognize fellow Steampunks for their skill in various categories, so he started the Starburner Meetup and Awards Ceremony at Comic-Con. This skilled maker hand-crafts every single award that he hands out, which makes them even more special. Lithobius hands these medals out to Steampunks who excel in craftsmanship, literature, community, and many other categories.

During Comic-Con 2013, I had the pleasure of being inducted as Agent #14 (Jeremiah Goodfellow) of the Starburners, and it's a great honor to be part of the largest and most recognized Steampunk group in San Diego. This year, Ophelia Payne (aka Mercy Baron) was inducted into the Starburners   as Agent #35. After Lithobius handed out his awards this year, we had the chance to honor the man who started the meetup with a surprise award that literally brought tears to his eyes.​

Over 80 Steampunks assembled for the Starburner meetup at Comic-Con 2015, along the outdoor steps of the Mezzanine level at the San Diego Convention Center. It was great fun to mingle with other Steampunks and admire their outfits, and it's also an ideal opportunity to meet new people and gain inspiration for future projects. Since Star Wars has a huge presence at this year's Comic-Con, I wasn't surprised to see Steampunk versions of Boba Fett, Han Solo, and Princess Leia. Steampunk mashups of a huge variety of characters are being made all the time, and it's a great way to add new life to a character that has become over-saturated (like Deadpool).

Steampunk began as strictly Victorian, so most people dressed in British fashion of the 1800s. Now it has grown and expanded into virtually every culture, so it's not uncommon to see Steampunk versions of Japanese samurai, gunfighters of the old West, and even Eastern Indian characters. When you add time travel to the mix (thanks to H.G. Wells Victorian-era The Time Machine), Steampunk outfits expand to include Medieval Knights, post-apocalyptic civilizations, and more! All of these characters were present at the meetup, and this give me hope for even more variety in the future!

Unlike some costume guilds and Civil War re-enactors, Steampunks are a very inclusive group that welcome and encourage anyone who wants to participate. Do an Internet search for Steampunk and you'll find pages and pages of links for everything from costuming to technology to recreations. Most cities have active Steampunk groups, and anyone in the SoCal area who wants to join in should visit starburnercouriers.com. You can also find a list of San Diego Steampunk events at sdsteampunk.com.