Lady MechaniKa- NCCW

Steampunk is going strong in the cosplay world, but, in my opinion, there haven't been any very good fictitious representations of a steam punk world.  I have read a few novels set in the genre and a few comics as well, and haven't been impressed by either.  Don't get me wrong the genre is visually stunning, but there hasn't been any good writing to go along with it.  That is until I picked up issue zero of Lady Mechanika.  Lady Mechanika is also very visually stunning, both the comic and its namesake.  The world building is also good.  All steam punk takes place in a Victorian or  Neo Victorian setting where dirigibles and steam power coexist with amazing scientific breakthroughs and sometimes a touch of magic.  The worlds are more fantasy than science fiction.  Lady Mechanika seems to fit pretty squarely into the genre.  It sits there with somewhat of a fresh feeling to it.

The dialogue does not seem forced and the story seems layered and sets up a mystery and implied history right from the get go.  The character is an Enigma, even to herself.  I have read three issues and not very much has been revealed about her, but it works because the writer (also the artist, Joe Benitez) is fleshing out the world around her and giving the character and side characters texture.  Most comics will give you the origin story in the first issue, but Benitez is holding back and strengthening that mystery.
 It is a really good book and I would suggest picking it up.  It is an Aspen Comics title, so you may need to special order this through your comic shop, but most good shops should have an issue on hand.  I liked it and passed it on to my 10 year old to read and she also liked it.  Being with Aspen will give this comic some freedom to breath, but it might not get the distribution it would get with some other companies.  Hopefully people pick it up and a good buzz starts forming around the title.