Written by: Mark Alan Miller & Joe R. Lansdale
Art by: Piotr Kowalski
Publisher: Dark Horse
Have you ever wished that one of the genre conventions of steampunk was that it took place in the “old west,” rather than in Victorian England? Well, then Steam Man #1 may be exactly what you’re looking for. The book follows the crew of the Steam Man navigating the wilderness of the western United States, hunting the Dark Rider – a character who is ostensibly a vampire. The premise is rad, there’s no doubt about that. It also sets the book apart from its contemporaries. This largely stems from the creative team being mad scientists when it comes to genre-mixing, but for the most part, it all comes together. That’s already a point in favor of the creative team, because the premise could easily fall apart completely.
That being said, this isn’t the strongest showing for a first issue. There’s a lot to enjoy, but Steam Man #1’s biggest problem is the amount of set up and exposition it has. This is obviously necessary, of course (at least at some point), but turning nearly an entire issue into an info dump is not necessarily the best way to hook new readers. It’s not even so much that the exposition is boring, more than anything it’s just an overwhelming amount of information to take in. The real reason that this is problematic, however, is that it prevents the first issue from really establishing the characters. Outside of the Captain, we get almost no insight into the characters, and even the plot isn’t super fleshed out at this point.
Fortunately, the amount of exposition lends itself quite well to solid world building. That actually might be this book’s strongest element. From the beginning, the world is an interesting place that I wanted to know more about. Miller and Lansdale delivered here, giving insight into both the past and the present. What is established in Steam Man closely mirrors our own world, but with some important differences – like an alien invasion and, you know, vampires. Kowalski’s art does as much for the world building as the writing does. There are strong visual cues that give the world of Steam Man a unique aesthetic, and that is quite powerful. Kowalski’s art, in addition to being a key component of the world building, just looks excellent.
At the end of the day, I would say that the first issue of Steam Man is worth checking out. It has issues, yes, but it also has a lot of promise. The world building alone is stellar, and the art is a joy just to look at. Sure, the set up and exposition are off putting, so perhaps revisiting this series when there are multiple issues out is the way to go, but this is definitely a book to keep your eye on.
