Friday, January 10, 2014

DC switches to steam(punk)power

In February, it appears DC's New 52 superhero comics will have a raft of alternate steampunk covers.

Aquaman 28

Batman/Superman 8

Batman and Two-Face 28

Earth 2 20

Flash 28

Green Lantern: New Guardians 28

Justice League 28

Justice League Dark 28

Nightwing 28

Superman 28

Superman/Wonder Woman 5

Batwoman 28

Action Comics 28
Batgirl 28

Batman 28

Detective Comics 28

Justice League of America 12

Teen Titans 28
Wonder Woman 28
Green Lantern Corps 28

Harley Quinn 3


I'm not in love with all of them, but I find several of them really push my pleasure button. Matteo Scalero's Batman and Robin for BM/TF looks great. Deadman on Tommy Lee Edwards' JLD cover I find really frightening. No coincidence, I guess, that both covers seem to evince some Mike Mignola influence.

I love the joyful exuberance J.G. Jones has captured in his Batgirl cover, although I find  it, like the Howard Chaykin Batman piece below it, more dieselpunk than steampunk. As someone who regularly mixes steampunk so thoroughly with Gothic Horror, I realize I am in no position to make any purity arguments for what is/is not steampunk.

My absolute favorite of all the above is Dan Panosian's Wonder Woman on the SM/WW cover. I LOVE IT! Oh my gods, I'm going to have to paint a mini version of her in this outfit for IHMN.

Perhaps Malifaux's Colette? It would be a nice change from all the versions we see of her as Mad Moxxi from Borderlands.


Or the steampunk Zara Craft from CMON? More conversion work, but the costume is similar ...


And I'm sure there are others out there I've missed. What would you suggest?

13 comments:

  1. I am painting that last mini at the moment. The connection between the base and the foot is so tiny that it snapped really easily (at least with my resin one - do they do it in metal now). Probably be a bit to fragile for gaming with...

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    1. Thanks for the heads-up, David. I don't know if they've brought out a metal Zara yet. That's kept me from buying a couple of the Guild of Harmony steampunk minis, although they are gorgeous.

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    2. It is a lovely figure and I am enjoying painting it, but I have my doubts I will be able to use it in my IHMN company! We shall see...

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    3. I'd love to see it once you've got it painted.

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    4. It broke for me as well - I had to pin her to the base. Not as tricky as the Mary Poppins & Bert figure though - had to do their hands and the base

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  2. There is some nice artwork there. In fact all of it is. Steampunk is a weird title as it suggests ever such a lot. Not to my taste's of steampunk though Its a bit stick a cog on it and call it version of steampunk..

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    1. They are a bit "stick a gear on it," (I love that song, BTW) but in this instance I find I'm oddly OK with it.

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  3. Man, lots of great ideas for conversions in there.

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    1. I know. I'm positively salivating. I especially like Nightwing with the mask that looks like a plague doctor's.

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  4. No doubt about it - you're right to say that Wonder Woman looks the best. I like her steampunk look a lot. Her other picture as a Wild West babe is also good.

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    1. That would be my second choice of these renditions of her as well.

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  5. I would say Collette is your best bet personally I'm a Harley Quinn man myself but she doesn't have the best cover pictured here.

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    1. I found the Harley cover a letdown, too. Of course, one of the Malifaux Ronin makes a great Harley.

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