Lego Officially Goes Steampunk! (At Last!)

A strong element in the Steampunk aesthetic is the idea of doing things yourself. Handcrafted and one-off items feel more authentic than something churned out by the thousands by injection molding. It is hard to give something the feel of a custom built mad science creation when you can buy it off the shelf at WalMart.

Lego is also all about inventing your own creations, with the Master Builder Academy being the pinacle of that. Of course, Lego also has a lot of sets designed to build a specific starship or police station or ninja turtle scene, but I grew up with Lego long before the themed kits. Not to be the grumpy old man, but in my day, Lego mostly just made brick-shaped bricks and finding a way to turn these plastic chunks into pyramids or dinosaurs or haunted houses was where the fun was. Master Builder Academy is Lego’s high end line that emphasizes creation over following directions and the new releases coming this July are all about Steampunk.

Here’s a taste to whet your appetite:

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Steampunk Books Coming Out in May 2013

At the start of each calendar month, the Hugo award winner Fanzine SF Signal compiles a giant list of science fiction, fantasy, and horror (and thereabouts) books coming out in the next month. It’s a great resource. And from that I’ve sniffed out the Steampunk (and related) books from their list for May (alas only a few this month). And, of course, please visit SF Signal’s full list for some fine reading when you feel the need for an oh-so-brief break from Steampunk.

Steampunk Magazine #9 edited by Margaret Killjoy, Combustion Books, May 20

The Daedalus Incident by Michael J. Martinez, Night Shade Books, May 7

The The Havoc Machine: A Novel of the Clockwork Empire by Steven Harper, Roc, May 7

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Amazing Steampunk Style Watches from Kudoke

Steampunk style comes at many price points, from decorated Nerf pistols and goggles made from scraps to hand-tailored costumes and custom-built computers. Very close to the top of that price list is things like the Skeleton watches from Kudoke, a high end watchmaker from Germany.

Skeleton watches are not new, and we’ll be featuring some more in the future, but some watchmakers go the extra step to make the clockworks themselves decorative. The clearest case of this from Kudoke is the Kudoktopus, in which a jeweled cephalopod seems to have entangled itself in the gears. Quite a lovely timepiece. And while their other designs may lack the tentacly coolness of this one, they remain equally as hypnotic.

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Steampunk Books Coming Out in April 2013

At the start of each calendar month, the Hugo award winner Fanzine SF Signal compiles a giant list of science fiction, fantasy, and horror (and thereabouts) books coming out in the next month. It’s a great resource. And from that I’ve sniffed out the Steampunk (and related) books from their list for April. As ever, please visit SFSignal’s full list for some fine reading when you feel the need for an oh-so-brief break from Steampunk.

Bronze Gods (An Apparatus Infernum Novel) by A. A. Aquirre, Ace, April 30

The Invisible Man (SF Masterworks) by H. G. Wells, Gollancz, April 11

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, Harper, April 23

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Oz and Steampunk Colliding on Free Comic Book Day

Oz is hot right now, with Oz the Great and Powerful still in the top five at the box office. And Steampunk is supposed to be a big marketing trend right now. And now, thanks to Arcana, they are coming together in a great new comic called The Steam Engines of Oz. Initially planned as a special to be released on Free Comic Book Day (May 4th), Arcana has since announced that the story will be continuing with an open-ended series starting where the free issue leaves off.

Note for anyone thinking that Oz should never have anything to do with Steampunk: the original Oz books included Tik-Tok, a clockwork man who needed to be wound regularly to function (and who is regarded as one of the first robots in modern literature). If a clockwork man isn’t Steampunk, I don’t know what is.

Take an advanced peak below. And don’t forgot to head to your local comic book store on May 4th to see the whole thing.

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