Gatehouse Gazette

[Ottens]

For many centuries, the interaction between East and West has been a fabulous dwell for art and storytelling. From the days of medieval merchantmen to the era of the great white hunters of imperialism, to our modern day fascination with Japanese cyberculture and the much debated rise of China, the East has lingered in Westerners’ minds as an irreplaceable image of otherness.

Unlike our present day of interconnectedness, globalization and what-not, up until the nineteenth century, the Orient was very much a place of mystery, inhabited by people alien to Europeans’ experience, an exotic, cruel, and barbaric refuge for Western imagination. Critics of Orientalism have done much to cast shame upon our often patronizing and bizarre representations of Eastern life and tradition, but fortunately for those incorrigible aficionados of Oriental romance, steampunk allows us to reject the chains of reality and all the racism and guilt associated with it, to explore anew this imagined world of sultans and saber-rattling Islamic conquerors; harems and white slavery; samurai, dragons and dark, bustling bazaars frequented by the strangest sort of folk. Isn’t this, after all, steampunk’s very premise? To delve into a past that never really was. The Orientalists’ world may never have existed but its history is so powerful that up to this very, Westerners are smitten with it. With this issue, the Gatehouse Gazette is no exception.

As the yet undiscovered realms of Asia are so vastly different, so Victoriental steampunk must differ depending on where it takes place. The deserts of Arabia and the forbidden mountain ranges of Afghanistan may evoke visions of ancient citadels and fata morgana and deserted monasteries atop barren peaks; the jungles of India and Indochina invite adventurers to search for booby trapped remnants of lost civilizations while temples and palaces of spectacular wealth loom beyond, in the lands of Cathay.

In this issue, we, too, travel throughout all of the Eastern World, from Meiji Era Japan to Colonial India to Chinese magic in nineteenth century London.

There is non-Victoriental content on offer as well however, including an interview with Hugh Ashton, author of Beneath Gray Skies, an alternate history novel that is reviewed in this issue. There are your regular columns and a contribution from Sir Arthur Weirdy-Beardy, our correspondent in London.

[pakled]

Dang, I used to have that poster, got it in Washington DC. however, mine was in color...

[Ottens]

In anticipation of the Great Steampunk Debate, the launch of which coincides with the release of this edition, issue #12 of the Gatehouse Gazette is dedicated to steampunk ideology.

This magazine has always devoted itself to casting a critical eye on the burgeoning steampunk subculture, or “movement” as some prefer. We are skeptical of attempts to define steampunk too narrowly, both in terms of aesthetics but even more so in terms of politics. Steampunk was not created in protest. It was never intended to have much of an ideological character. That is not to say that there is no place for ideology in steampunk whatsoever. But it is important to remember where we come from. The roots of steampunk are literary, not political.

If we nonetheless allow ourselves some leniency, it is possible to identify something of a shared mentality between steampunks. Jacqueline Christi writes an intelligent commentary on steampunk ideology in this issue and notes that, within the soul of every person involved in the steampunk community, there is found an “unbridled passion” to live one’s dreams unrestrained by the reigns of common convention. “This indomitable heart,” she believes, “lays the foundations of the core principles that steampunk stands for.”

Much has been said on the “punk” in “steampunk.” We are of the persuasion that regards the syllable as little more than an accidental leftover from more rebellious times though, if understood as referring to Christi’s “unbridled passion” and fierce devotion to self-expression, it turns into something that even we can wholeheartedly embrace.

Dr Damon Molinarius suggests that we might have something in common with utopianism in this regard. As steampunks, we like to create worlds of our own in which different rules apply. In this sense, we combine criticism with creativity, according to Molinarius, “disrupting familiar concepts and practices.” Like utopia, steampunk is critical in a constructive manner, “acting as a mirror to the contemporaneous world, and revealing the familiar to be strange.” Both steampunk and utopia suggest that commonplace, universally accepted “truths” might actually be little more than conventions which can readily be changed.

So, let us start changing things. Wear your top hat for a night’s out to the cinemas! Combine that fancy pair of goggles with your regular outfit! Grow a mustache; smoke a pipe; write to your local paper to complain about that peculiar new-fashioned invention called the “iPhone”; or delve into your workshop to make the machine a better one, of course. The future is ours!

[Madasasteamfish]

I'd just like to take this opportunity to publicly thank Mr. Ottens, as editor of the Gatehouse Gazette, for giving me, a relatively new entrant into the steampunk world a chance, and agreeing to feature my humble work in the magazine, along with such masterful illustrations in issue 12 (pages 21-4).

Sir I salute you.

[Ottens]

As summer is upon us again, issue #13 of the Gatehouse Gazette  celebrates the Joie de Vivre with articles about fashion appropriate to the season, the joy of creativity and a concise biography of Nellie Bly by the author of The Alchemy of Murder, Carol McCleary.

Click here or on the thumbnail to download this issue.

[Lazaras]

Many thanks for continuing this fine free publication.

[Madasasteamfish]

Many thanks for continuing this fine free publication.

I second that feeling.

[Ottens]

(Cover art by Myke Amend.)

The Gatehouse Gazette rallies up this issue and prepares for the inevitable catastrophe looming over nearly every steampunk and dieselpunk scenario. We answer the call to arms with a plethora of articles dedicated to war and its effects both upon society and our beloved genres.

Jacqueline Christi has an excellent series about "the benefits of war," describing what technologies and other advantages we still derive from past warfare.

Marcus Rauchfuß discusses the not so fine art of propaganda and we are honored to have CarolMcCleary, author of the recent book The Illusion of Murder, which Hilde Heyvaert reviews in this issue,
write about the adventures of nineteenth century ace reporter Nellie Bly in Mexico.

Also, there's a "Local Steampunk" feature by Lorenzo Davia about the Italian port city of Trieste and an interview with Christian Matzke about his War of the Worlds project.

Those not particularly interested in war will find plenty of other entries to their liking, among them a history of one Professor Thaddeus Lowe's private mountain city in California. And, we have another chapter from Andrew Bennett’s upcoming novel, Fearless.

Click here or on the thumbnail to download this issue!

[Madasasteamfish]

Whayhey special mention. Although I must admit Fearless is still being worked upon and I doubt it will be published anytime soon.

[Lazaras]

My pen is always at your service Mr. Ottens if you need more material. Sure it's somewhat selfish as requests go as I hope the added attention will draw a crowd to my own site, but you've managed to keep up a very professional looking 'zine and I'm always happy to contribute.

[Ottens]

In the wake of Halloween and anticipating a winter season filled with magic and wonder, the Gatehouse Gazette explores the stranger, sometimes inexplicable facets of steampunk in this issue.

Click here or on the thumbnail to download this issue!

[Ottens]

The next edition of the Gatehouse Gazette is due for release one week from now!

Issue #16 will be themed "Weird West" and contain, among other things, Western Steampunk fashion, Oscar Wilde in the Wild West, a review of Nickel Children, anarchocapitalism in the Old West and a short history of the American bison.

But -- there's more.

With issue #16 the Gatehouse Gazette will also present a brand new layout -- the magazine's first full color edition in fact. At our blog, The Gatehouse we have been posting teasers of the new layout, including the pictures below.

 

Be sure to note January 1, 2011 in your diaries to download the latest Gatehouse Gazette!

Also follow us on Facebook or on Twitter and never miss an issue!

[AE]

I might be up for a bit off illustration work for the magazine. I have a few images already that you could use for the next issue if the subjects are apt. WHo should I contact for that sort of thing?

[Ottens]

I might be up for a bit off illustration work for the magazine. I have a few images already that you could use for the next issue if the subjects are apt. WHo should I contact for that sort of thing?

Me. Please, drop me an email at n [dot] ottens [at] gmail [dot] com. 

[Ottens]

The latest edition of the Gatehouse Gazette is released today!

Themed "Weird West", this first full color issue of the magazine is a very American one indeed. We have reviews of Wild Wild West, Nickel Children and Italian Western comic Magico Vento. Ramon Fagan, contributing for the first time, reports from Texas on steampunk at the Dickens on the Strand festival. Hilde Heyvaert is back with her Steampunk Wardrobe column as is novelist Carol McCleary with a feature about Oscar Wilde's adventures in the Old West.

Click here to download the magazine -- for free!

[heavyporker]

Well, wow! I can see I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

[Ottens]

Gatehouse Gazette #18 is released! "Living steampunk" this issue, the magazine has fashion, lifestyle and home decor. If you ever wondered how to steampunk your life, this issue should be an excellent guide.

[Will Howard]

I'm a frequent reader of GG.  The inclusion of color (colour to some of you) is a great addition.

[Ottens]

The summer and third anniversary edition of the Gatehouse Gazette has fashion, reviews, Hispanic Steampunk and Victorian seaside resorts!

Andrew Bennett is back with what is the seventh chapter in his novel  Fearless. Hilde Heyvaert went to see a Dr Who exhibition in London and we present Araceli Rodríguez who is the chief editor of the Spanish language steampunk magazine El Investigador. He will tell you all about the state of steampunk
outside the Anglosphere, particularly in the Hispanic world.

Click here or on the image to download this issue. It's free!

[Ottens]

This 1930s edition of Gatehouse Gazette has a lot of dirt and grit in it, from crickey, secret Nazi stuff to Russian dieselpunk, but it also features the elegance of the interwar period with Art Deco, radio and fashion.

Click here to download it for free!

[Ottens]

The final print edition of the Gatehouse Gazette provides a guide to the many possibilities for steampunk adventure that the age of imperialism has on offer.

From short biographies of three Great White Hunters to steampunk fiction in Africa, this issue is designed to thoroughly entertain the nostalgic imperialists among us. We also have a review of two recent Space 1889 adventures which clearly demonstrate that empire hasn’t to be confined to this Earth. Of course, Hilde Heyvaert provides the necessary fashion advise for when you’re planning an expedition to uncover whatever lost civilization while Marcus Rauchfuß explores the capital of an empire that’s often overlooked.

We also have two interviews, one with Simon R. Green, author of the neo-noir Nightside novels that have been extensively reviewed in previous editions of the <i>Gazette</i>, and another with Allegra Hawksmoor, until recently the chief editor of SteamPunk Magazine.

Click here or on the thumbnail to download this last issue!