Last month, a decent-sized stack of Osprey and Shire titles made their first-ever appearance at a steampunk convention - this year's Windy Con, in Chicago, IL. Windy Con is an annual comic convention and the theme for 2009 was steampunk.
Not sure what steampunk is, exactly? It took us some time to figure out too. The best resource I can recommend is an article on Tor.com's blog (yes, the sci-fi publishing house): What Is Steampunk?
The comic fans of the Windy City took to it without hesitation; check out pictures of attendees here.
Steampunk interest in Shire titles is not that hard to understand: The Victorian Policeman, The Victorian Cemetery, Toy Steam Engines, etc. But what I found really fascinating was the careful connection between certain aspects of military histoy and the steampunk world - zeppelins and airships!
Then again, maybe the interest in Osprey titles was generated by the enthusiasm of the Crimson Books staff attending the event -- Fred and Lynda went all out:
Fred was actually the one that introduced me to steampunk in the first place. And yes, that is a Scots Guard uniform - another military tie-in to the steampunk world.