Steam Wars: Strike Leader is the final title to showcase from the Steam Wars universe. These Star Wars inspired steampunk offerings were aspirational, but it was inevitable that the Steam Wars titles died due to the extremely low sales. To be honest, I'm surprised they released as many titles and issues as they did.
Steam Wars: Strike Leader #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (March 2016)Steam Wars: Strike Leader #2a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (October 2016)Steam Wars: Strike Leader #3a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (December 2017)Steam Wars: Strike Leader Free Comic Book Day 2017 a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (May 2017)
Antarctic Press released 2 issues of Steam Wars: First Empire Chronicles which collect issues from the Steam Wars: First Empire and Steam Wars: Strike Leader titles.
Steam Wars: First Empire Chronicles #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (September 2016) reprints Steam Wars: First Empire #1 and 2 Steam Wars: Strike Leader #1Steam Wars: First Empire Chronicles #2a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (April 2018) reprints Steam Wars: Strike Leader #2 and 3 Steam Wars: First Empire #3
Unfortunately, the sporadic publishing schedule and lack of a tight narrative for the various Steam Wars titles past the original 5-issue mini-series from Antarctic Press made it impossible for me immerse myself in the world. The number of characters and threads introduced became too much and I found myself buying the book strictly for the Star Wars imagery alone, not because I was following the stories. For this reason, I find it easier to talk about the borrowed imagery than about the content of these comics.
I did get a chance to re-read the 4 issues of the First Empire title and I found The Errant Knight in issue #3 the most accessible of the stories. It starts with Knight Sir Branton, racing across the desert in what looks like an old fashioned car when he comes across a body lying next to a broken down vehicle. He stops to bury the body and we discover he is being pursued by Count Mekk in an AT-AT inspired vehicle. The captain of the AT-AT is unsure of the wisdom in pursuing a single fallen knight across the wasteland but Mekk assures him the knight is a danger to the empire. The AT-AT fires on Sir Branton, destroying his vehicle and Sir Brandon draws his sword which glows with energy like a lightsaber as he faces off against the AT-AT. The AT-AT fires again and again, but Sir Brandon, utilizing his energy sword, is able to repel the attack and strikes at the AT-AT with lightning from his sword. The AT-AT explodes and falls to the ground as Count Mekk emerges from the wreckage.
Frustratingly, this story ends on a cliffhanger with Sir Brandon and Count Mekk about to face off. This confrontation is not shown in issue #4 and I can only guess when the Steam Wars titles ceased publication, the following chapter was never published.
The cover depicts Sir Brandon brandishing his sword as the AT-AT approaches.
Steam Wars: First Empire #3a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (June 2016)
The cover for First Empire #4 shows the same character on the cover of Steam Wars: Princess Legends #1 wearing the same Amidala inspired cold weather gear.
Steam Wars: First Empire #4a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (April 2017)
Previous covers of Steam Wars: Holiday Special had characters reminiscent of Wookiees. Holiday Special #3 shows a character that looks like an overgrown Ewok.
Steam Wars: Holiday Special #3a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (December 2017)
This is humorous cover and I find it even more funny because not one of the pistols in the foreground look like they will hit their target if fired.
Steam Wars: Gearjammer #1 collects the backup stories from Steam Wars: First Empire #1 and 2 starring the pilot Zora Gearjammer. In the story, Zora Gearjammer, flying a craft with features reminiscent of an X-Wing Fighter, is being chased by another ship commanded by Darq Maude who Zora refers to as the Night Hag. The ship Maude is commanding has solar panels not unlike those found on an Advanced TIE Fighter, although her spacecraft is considerably larger. The pursuit is low over a planet's surface and the two ships enter into a cave with imagery that reminds readers of the Death Star trench run at the end of a New Hope. When the ships emerge from the cave, Maude's spacecraft is grabbed by a Sand Kraken. Before the ship is completely destroyed, Maude gets off a final shot that hits Zora's starship, causing her to crash. Zora is awaken by a voice that tells her "You must fulfill your destiny." She sees a light from the wreckage of Darq Maude's ship and discovers a Star Ember which she plans on using to power her escape.
Steam Wars purposely uses familiar Star Wars elements in a Steam Punk setting. It is obvious that Zora Gearjammer is meant to remind us of Luke Skywalker, and the voice Zora hears is like Luke Skywalker hearing Ben Kenobi's voice. Additionally, Darq Maude's name and look is not unlike that of Darth Vader.
Steam Wars: Gearjammer #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (July 2016)
The cover for GearJammer #1 shows Zora Gearjammer holding a wrench. Behind her is the spacecraft which has similarities to an X-Wing Fighter with an elongated body and double wings located at the back.
In season two of Genndy Tartakovsky's Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series, Padme Amidala and Yoda undertake a mission to rescue Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and her Padawan Barris Offee on the planet Ilum. Ilum is an ice planet with caves that contain crystals the Jedi use to make their lightsabers. Amidala wears cold weather gear to operate in the frigid environment.
The cover for Antartic Press' Steam Wars: Princess Legends #1 shows a character who is wearing cold gear similar to the outfit worn by Amidala. The outfit for the character on this cover is more ornate however, and this character wears a head piece and goggles that Amidala's outfit did not have.
Steam Wars: Princess Legends #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (June 2016)
The cover for Steam Wars: Princess Legends #2 shows a female character in shackles, flanked by several heavily armored guards. Unlike many of the covers used for the Steam Wars comics, this cover has no direct Star Wars reference.
Steam Wars: Holiday Special #2 continues the tradition of the previous special by mixing original Kenner packaging dressing with other Star Wars-like imagery.
Steam Wars: Holiday Special #2a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (January 2017)
Like it's predecessor, the cover is laid out as a vintage Kenner Star Wars action figure package with the silver bands although the solid black background has been replaced by black and green. The character placard under the title says Holiday Special II and Fred Perry's "signature" is done in the style of the Kenner logo. The art inside the cover dressing are some Steam Wars toys near a Christmas tree. The spaceship is inspired by the Millennium Falcon. The spaceship is sitting on a Steam Wars version of the Star Wars early bird display stand.
Antarctic Press has continued to publish more comics for the Steam Wars universe albeit sporadically. Steam Wars creator Steve Perry has been joined by other writers and artists as the property enters its 5th year of existence. There is no doubt that the initial concept of Star Wars meets steampunk played a huge part in the initial success of this property, but the story quickly evolved beyond being a Star Wars pastiche into its own unique entity. Sure, it still plays homage to that galaxy far, far away, but what is inside the cover is really something else entirely.
The Steam Wars: Bounty Hunters - Hell for Hire one-shot is another anthology of short stories featuring bounty hunters like the 2-issue mini-series it follows.
Steam Wars: Bounty Hunters - Hell for Hire a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (January 2017)
The cover shows our Boba Fett lookalike who was also featured on both covers of the mini-series. The cover is very derivative of the previous Bounty Hunters covers; all show the same bounty hunter in the background and a female (who might also be the same character) in the foreground. The only colors used are shades of yellow, orange, and brown. I hope for the next cover they do something completely different. There are many different bounty hunters inside these comics and some are even colorful, so featuring one of them on the cover would be a nice change.
These next two Steam Wars issues continue to use imagery that is inspired by Star Wars.
Steam Wars: First Empire #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (September 2015)Steam Wars: First Empire #2a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (December 2015)
Steam Wars: First Empire #1 shows characters that I cannot relate back to specific Star Wars characters, but it is easy enough to see the inspiration. The female looks like a darksider, holding a red sword, aglow like a lightsaber. The soldiers behind the female have helmets that look like a cross between Mandalorian and Darth Vader's helmet. Steam Wars: First Empire #2 is more easily recognized for it's Star Wars root. It shows a steampunk version of an AT-AT bearing down on an individual brandishing a sword and dressed in desert garb.
The Steam Wars Holiday Special #1 comic cover is a unique pairing of Kenner Star Wars action figure packaging and the Star Wars Holiday Special imagery.
Steam Wars Holiday Special #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (November 2015)
Fred Perry, the creator of the Steam Wars comics, clearly is a fan of Star Wars. The cover for Steam Wars Holiday Special #1 is laid out like a vintage Kenner Star Wars action figure package with the silver bands and black frame. Under the title is the placard where the character's name would go but here it says Holiday Special. Even Fred Perry's "signature" is done in the style and font of the Kenner name on the front of the vintage card backs.
Inside that nostalgic cover dressing is art that reminds readers of the Star Wars Holiday Special. Characters from inside the comic book are designed after Chewbacca and his family on Kashyyk. In the middle back is the Chewbacca stand-in, with his arms around stand-ins for his wife Malla and his dad Itchy. At Mala's feet is their son Lumpy's stand-in, playing with a toy spaceship that looks very much like an X-Wing Fighter. The humans in front of the family represent Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Princess Leia.
This comic was published in November, which is appropriate because the Star Wars Holiday Special was broadcast only once, on CBS on November 17, 1978.
Steam Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 and 2 continue to showcase characters that are based on character visuals from Star Wars while telling a unique story.
Steam Wars: Bounty Hunters #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (October 2015)
The main bounty hunter character shown on the cover to Steam Wars: Bounty Hunters #1 is clearly based on Boba Fett. The helmet, backpack, antenna, shoulder cape, and emblems all make it clear who this character is. The female chained in the foreground is meant to evoke images of Princess Leia as Jabba's captive. The droid has a striking resemblance to IG-88.
Steam Wars: Bounty Hunters #2a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (December 2015)
The cover for Steam Wars: Bounty Hunters #2 is very similar to the first cover. The colors are more washed out. The main bounty hunter character has raised his gun and the female is no longer chained.
Star Wars has proven to be a property that is adaptable to a variety of genres. There are examples of Star Wars stories that are action, adventure, fantasy, and science fiction, but several stories have been told in other genres too.
Perhaps the genre that Star Wars has had the most success with outside of the obvious genres is comedy. From the beginning, Mad, Cracked, and Crazy capitalized on the success of Star Wars by poking fun at it. Continuing in that tradition, both Robot Chicken and The Family Guy have made Star Wars jokes a staple for their television audiences. Star Wars Tales, Dark Horse's anthology title, has several issues devoted to humorous Star Wars stories. Additionally, Dark Horse published spoofs of Star Wars that starred Tag and Bink, two bumbling characters whose tale intertwine with the movie stories.
The next genre that comes to mind is horror. There is a Goosebumps inspired series titled Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear aimed at younger readers. For older readers, there is the Death Troopers book from Del Rey. Dark Horse also used one of horror's sub-genres, zombies, in their crossover event Vector which spans various titles they published in 2008.
Romance is represented in Bantam's The Courtship of Princess Leia. Dark Horse has both Star Wars: Union and Star Wars: A Valentine Story which are romance. Crime is front in center in stories that revolve around the seedy underground like Scoundrels from Del Rey and the Jabba one-shots from Dark Horse. Spy fiction, a sub-genre of action, is apparent in Dark Horse's Agent of the Empire mini-series.
While steampunk, a sub-genre of science fiction, has not been tackled directly in a Star Wars story, it is used in Fred Perry's Steam Wars published by Antarctic Press. Steam Wars is a homage to Star Wars and while the story is not the Star Wars story retold in a world ruled by steam technology, the look of the characters borrow heavily from Star Wars. The first 5-issue series has characters whose designs are clearly based on Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2. Not be be left out, the villain looks strikingly similar to Darth Vader.
Steam Wars #1a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (March 2013)Steam Wars #2a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (June 2013)Steam Wars #3a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (September 2013)Steam Wars #4a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (January 2014)Steam Wars #5a - Antarctic Press, U.S. (April 2014)Steam Wars #1a Free Comic Book Day 2014 - Antarctic Press, U.S. (May 2014)
New series in the Steam Wars universe introduce characters that resemble Boba Fett and IG-88 and there is even an AT-AT looking vehicle on the cover of a future issue.
