Steamcon 2010

Steamcon is a Seattle based Steampunk convention. I could have sworn that they did this a few years ago, but according to their website, this years con was the "Inaugural Year". It took place for 3 days in October and consisted of, according to their website:

* A Vendor’s Bazaar packed with exotic wares
* An Art Exhibition
* The Perpetual Teatime and Hospitality suite
* The Magic Lantern Theater
* Talks and discussions on all matters Steampunk
* Gun modification demonstrations
* Lessons in etiquette
* Steam technology exhibitions
* Games and diversions of a role playing nature
* Cabaret acts presented by the esteemed Mr. Bodewell

This actually sounded like a lot of fun, that Magic Lantern Theater would have been amazing! Unfortunately, I only just found out about the convention so I wasn't able to go. Who knows, maybe next year, because next year the Weird West invades Steamcon!

That's right, the theme for next years Steamcon 2010 is The Weird, Weird West. It should be pretty amazing to see what people come up with costume-wise. Maybe they could even try to get Ghoultown as one of the musical guests. Right now the specifics are all speculative because even they don't the logistics quite yet (or if they do they aren't talkin'), but if you are interested in keeping updated their Website is a good place to start. Also their Facebook page should be a good source of info past and present.

I was going to post a video overview of the convention, but all that came up on Youtube were TONS of Abney Park performance videos....which are definitely worth checking out...but weren't really what I was looking for, so since I couldn't pick just any one, here are the lot of them!

New Official Jonah Hex Picture!

I was thinking of taking the week off for the Thanksgiving holiday, but this just came out today and its too good not to report on! Warner Brothers has released the first official photo for Jonah Hex and its perty dern cool.

Its just a front portrait type-shot, no action, but I like it!

Being a big fan of Jonah, I was kind of hoping they would do a little more with his wonky eye. In the comics they always show his right eye as being wide open and, more or less, dead. I understand that that would be difficult to do, but I kind of wish that they had, at least, given him a contact lens or something. Maybe they are planning to do something digitally.

Of course you can't see his eyes in this picture so it seems a little pointless too bring it up....but you can see them (and other pictures) here. I also like the tease of his scar...which, in the world he lives in, is legendary; everyone knows about the scarred bounty hunter Jonah Hex.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving (or just a great Thursday for my non-American readers) and are ready for the long weekend. The Weird West Emporium will reopen on Monday.

'til then...Adios, Pards!

The Deadeye Kid rides into the Weird West!

Being a fan of Radio Drama, Ive always wanted to find some good Weird West radio plays to both post about here at the Weird West Emporium, and to simply geek out about in my own time...however there just hasn't been any to find, until now that is. Julie Hoverson and her 19 Nocturne Blvd radio troupe have been putting together the weird adventures of Lemuel Roberts, aka The Deadeye Kid.

The official word for episode 1 is this:

Lemuel Roberts, once the infamous "Deadeye Kid," travels the west
trying to make up for his checkered past.
But sorting out a feud in Ozark hill country might be more than
he and chum Clarence Fanshaw can handle.

Lem has a secret, you see, but I shouldn't say too much lest I reveal it...but its quite clever and you may need to listen to the first episode a couple times to get all the subtleties Ms. Hoverson has written into the script. Even the title has an ironic twist.....and no The Deadeye Kid isn't an undead Zombie Gunslinger (That's what I thought). Also, it may seem like Weird West lite on first listen but by the end you'll realize that the whole thing has been deeply anchored into the genre from the first moments.

So far there are two episodes, which you should have time to listen to before Episode 3 becomes available tomorrow at the official 19 Nocturne Blvd website with new episodes coming out about every 6 months (March and November).

Episodes 1 and 2 (and 3, when it becomes available) can be heard and/or downloaded here......And if you get a chance check out 19 Nocturne's other, non Western offerings, they are always good for a spooky time!

Enjoy!

Not Nick Cave's Grinderman!

I saw this video a while ago on Youtube and was quite impressed by it's professional look on such a tight budget.....however, every time I've tried to look it up since, Nick Cave's band Grinderman comes up instead...even on Google Images nothing BUT Nick Cave's Grinderman comes up...and while Mr Cave has some definite street cred and has written a couple of excellent soundtracks to two great Westerns, this is not his Grinderman.

This was made by Syndic8Productions, whom Ive posted about before. It seems to be the film they were going to do before The Curse of Dr. Ogoun and, in my opinion is waay more stylish and cool looking.

Of course this is really just a fake trailer that was shot in front of a green screen, as seen in this making-of short but I have to say, I'm a little disappointed that they were going for a PG-13....heehee....a Zombie western just ain't a Zombie Western if it isn't rated R!

...Grinderman!

Wizards and Cowboys!

In a Weird West where Zombies and Ghosts and Steam Powered Machines can exist either together or in separate realities, one concept I can truly say never really thought of before now was Cowboys and Wizards. Well, fortunately someone else thought of it for me....Gemma Files has written a book called A Book of Tongues and it can be pre-ordered at the Horror Mall here

Two years after the Civil War, Pinkerton agent Ed Morrow has gone undercover with one of the weird West's most dangerous outlaw gangs—the troop led by "Reverend" Asher Rook, ex-Confederate chaplain turned "hexslinger," and his notorious lieutenant (and lover) Chess Pargeter. Morrow's task: get close enough to map the extent of Rook's power, then bring that knowledge back to help Professor Joachim Asbury unlock the secrets of magic itself.

Caught between a passle of dead gods and monsters, hexes galore, Rook's witchery, and the ruthless calculations of his own masters, Morrow's only real hope of survival lies with the man without whom Rook cannot succeed: Chess Pargeter himself. But Morrow and Chess will have to literally ride through Hell before the truth of Chess's fate comes clear—the doom written for him, and the entire world, in A Book of Tongues.

Sounds like it could be interesting! Pre-Orders must be placed by JANUARY 31st, 2010

Look out! The Corpse.....Its Got A Gun!!

For your weekend reading pleasure, The Corpse Carries A Gun! As you may remember from an earlier post of mine, Zuda.com is a great online comic book website. Currently they are presenting the superior werewolf western High Moon among other non-Weird West type stories such as Bayou and Road.

I recently found out that the way Zuda comics gets their content is by submissions. Someone comes up with a story, does an 8 page treatment which is then published, and the Zuda readers vote for which one is the best.....The Corpse Carries A Gun is one of those submissions....but it didn't win, which is too bad because its a fun quirky little Zombie Western. The story is simple, a murdered man rises from the grave to exact revenge on those who wronged him. Typical beginning for some good (and bad) horror films...the difference being, however, was where the story looked to be going....and it seemed like it was going to be a crazy ride.

If you like bears, hangings, walking dead, decapitation, violence, autonomous T-Rex skeletons, and Zombies in Space....then The Corpse Carries a Gun would have been your cup of tea....alas all we will get is Here.

Enjoy!