4 More Steampunk Graphic Novels For Fans to Read

My article 4 Steampunk Graphic Novels Every Fan Should Read proved itself to be extremely popular! So here I am, back at it, this time with 4 more steampunk graphic novels and comic series. Again, this is not an exhaustive list, but you may want to give these a look.

'Boston Metaphysical Society' story by Madeleine Holly-Rosing

Boston Metaphysical Society comes in both comic and novel forms. (The cover of Boston Metaphysical Society: A Storm of Secrets is stunning.) There is also an audiodrama in the works that the website says we should look for on Kickstarter in October, 2021.

The six-part online comic (which starts here) takes place in alternate-timeline Boston. The year is 1895. Dirigibles sail the skies, and ghosts and demons prowl the streets. Our heroes are Samuel Hunter, an ex-Pinkerton detective; Caitlin O’Sullivan, a medium and spirit photographer; and Granville Woods, a scientist and inventor. More familiar faces are Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, and Harry Houdini, all working together, but for what purpose?

Being into the paranormal myself, I love, love, love this series. The art is fantastic, the relationships between the characters are complicated, and the story had me intrigued from the beginning. And, unlike a lot of steampunk, it takes place in Boston (surprise!) and not Victorian London.

'Grandville' by Bryan Talbot

Grandville is a terrific adventure on an alternate Earth where the French won the Napoleonic War and Britain, for a time, became part of the French Empire. Also the world is populated by animal-people. (There are some humans, called "doughfaces," but they're considered second-class citizens.)

Our hero is Detective Inspector LeBrock of Scotland Yard, a badger. He is aided by Detective Ratzi, a rat who is often armed with a cane-gun.

LeBrock is like a cross between Sherlock Holmes and James Bond. In the beginning of Grandville, he successfully deduces that a man (err, otter) has not died by suicide but was, in fact, murdered by the French assailants. Thus LeBrock and Ratzi travel to France to discover the man's (otter's) killers.

There is espionage, political assassinations, some fancy detective work, several shootouts, and many, many explosions. As for the steampunk elements, you find semi-futuristic travel by rail and airship as well as automatons and a general Victorian air.

If you enjoy action and adventure, this book is for you! And there are 5 books total in the series.

'Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook' by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld

In the similar vein of Grandville, Mycroft Holmes and the Apocalypse Handbook follows Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's original (now public domain) character Mycroft Holmes, elder brother of the more iconic Sherlock Holmes.

Mycroft is even more insufferable than his little brother. He has the same penchant for sussing out a situation from point A, which, for all his hubris, he does not actually enjoy doing. He lives a hedonistic lifestyle because there are no surprises for him, nothing to delight him anymore. He doesn't enter in a steady relationship with a woman because he already knows how it will end.

Does this make him a bit of an ass? Yes, it sure does. But he isn't what makes this story. It's all of the characters together. The reader is fully allowed to be dazzled by Mycroft's inhuman deductions, but it's a trick we've all seen before, right? I found Mycroft to be more amusing than annoying because, in addition to being conceited, he is also a court jester. He sees the absurdity in everything and nothing ruffles him, even while his life is constantly being threatened. But when the reader is allowed insight into his mind, you see that his ego might be more fragile than it appears.

My favorite character (and probably everyone else's as well) was Lark Adler who stands just about toe-to-toe with Mycroft. She brings practicality to his nihilism. Other characters included are the James brothers and, of course, Moriarty, whom we meet in Mycroft's pursuit of a madman who has stolen the blueprints to mega weapons devised by the greatest futurists of the age.

There is quite a bit of graphic violence in this one. People get their faces melted off and mouths sewn shut. So if you are any bit squeamish, maybe just skim this one. Overall it's a fun action adventure with only a few surprises. That being said, I'd read a second volume if one were ever produced.

'Return of the Dapper Men' by Jim McCann and Janet Lee

And now for something completely different. Return of the Dapper Men is a gorgeous book. Every page is a true work of art. I would recommend it for that alone, but there is also the enigmatic story.

The plot is fairytale-like yet far from simple. It takes on some heavy ideas. What is time? Why must we keep moving forward, even when, more than anything, we wish to stay where we are?

We follow friends Ayden, a human child, and Zoe, a machine. They live in the land of Anorev, where time has stopped. Except its inhabitants, human and machine, have kept moving. The children (there are no adults) have moved underground, where they can allow their imaginations to run wild and play all the time. The machines stay aboveground and continue to work ceaselessly, as is their function. With time standing still, quitting time never arrives.

Then one day, time slowly begins to start up again, with the return of the Dapper Men. Each identical to the other, they float down from the sky bearing umbrellas, rather like Mary Poppins and just as sharply dressed.

Certain things are left for the reader to figure out on their own, inviting us to ponder for ourselves their true meaning. I could not put this book down, and I know I will be reflecting on it for some time!