MTV IGGY

It’s punk but it’s not a type of music (although some music has been inspired by this sub-culture). “Steampunk” started as a literary step-child of cyberpunk in the 80s, made popular by the novel The Difference Engine by top sci-fi authors William Gibson (who coined the phrase “cyberspace”) and Bruce Sterling.

The premise of the steampunk genre is a “what-if” Victorian age consisting of brass and copper computers, robots, weapons and other technological wonders that run on steam and coal. The steampunk genre has spread to other entertainment forms – one popular example being the major anime film “Steamboy.”

Naturally, it's also given rise to its own devotees who dress in costumes that look like “Sherlock Holmes Meets Frankenstein.” More and more steampunk otaku appear at sci-fi and anime conventions all the time, including Dragon*Con in Atlanta this past week.

In our ongoing, diligent research into otaku culture, we ran across some brass-loving steampunks in Baltimore at Otakon 2009 in July and they explained to us what the fashion consists of and why it’s really not “cosplay” but a lifestyle. One of the steampunks was injured – find out how!

And stay tuned to Iggy for more coverage of otaku culture and some of the sub-cultures and trends it’s spawned!