Announcing Duel at Dusk 2019
Comic Con 2018
D&McT Survival Guide Step 1: Comfy Clothes, Waiting for the Floor to Open, and Steampunk Mexican Food!
#SDCC 2018 officially started off with the traditional Cosplay 101 shenanigans featuring our friend, Bob Mogg, the Iron Tailor. As PowerPoint rangers in real life, we found the graphics for the slides particularly amusing. Sadly, Sparky didn’t win the “costume contest” with her garden party outfit, but the competition was pretty stiff.
Cosplay 101
Remember that booth we helped set up? Well, on Friday afternoon we also had a book signing there. Yep, we did a book signing on the floor of #SDCC. We’ve hit the big time!
Book Signing at #SDCC
Of course, the Starburner Galactic Courier Service had their annual meet up and awards for all steampunk. It was hot and humid, so Sparky bailed on her western costume (Sparky del Pecos) and opted for the Dia de los Muertos swim suit by Wyng’d Lyon. Super cool and comfy, but you have to see it up close to appreciate how cute it is. Go see Colleen if you just have to have one for yourself.
Starburner Awards
It seemed like there weren’t quite as many costumes this year, but there were a few funny and lovely ones. And we got to show off our “garden party” outfits.
Cosplaying in the Heat
Is it just us, or does this look like one of the Stan Lee cameos in a Marvel movie?
Is That You Stan?
Panels? Why yes, we did get to quite a few panels. We have always loved Shannon Wheeler’s work, so we were thrilled to be in the room when Comic Con International presented him with their Inkpot Award.
Wheeler Wins an Inkpot
Sparky dropped in on the Badass Female Scientists panel. No doubt about it; they’re her people.
Badass Female Scientists
We popped over to see what our Whovian friends were doing on the Timey Wimey panel.
Wibbly Wobbly
Special thanks to Lindsay Rae Harold-Wagner for getting us tickets to the masquerade. We’d never been before. Sadly, live iPhone pictures didn’t come out very well, so you’ll have to check those out online. But the costumes and performances were amazing!
Masquerade
Just to bracket the whole thing, we stayed to help tear down as well. Sparky should probably stick to software because actually sticky things are clearly not her strong suit.
Tear Down
It’s only been a week, but we’re getting ready for next year. (Cowboy) Drake’s checking his calendar and Sparky’s trying to get through all the graphic novels she just bought.
Getting Ready for Next Year
Photo credits - thanks to the following folks for sharing pics of the event that we missed, especially pictures of ourselves: Veronique Chevalier, Catherine Fisher, Trip Hope, Colleen Rodriguez, Carol Silver, and Wanda Wease.
Gaslight Gathering 8
Commerce!
Drake reprised his cane defense class with his characteristic aplomb. No, of course it wasn’t a warm up for his upcoming national-level fencing competition. Thanks to Debra Brunner for snapping pics while Sparky engaged in the aforementioned commerce.
Defense!
And speaking of our friendly repeat shenanigator, Debra and Becky Albrecht lent a hand (literally) for Drake & McTrowell’s Theatre of the Historically Improbable™.
Sock Puppets!
Brace yourselves for a lot of pictures because the Starburner Galactic Courier Service returned to Gaslight Gathering in a big way with the Zeppelin Crash Site Investigation installation and the induction of worthy new agents!
ZCSI!
Nope, there’s no such thing as a Drake & McTrowell bloop about a convention without costumes. And, yes, that’s Sparky in her new Dia de los Muertos Victorian swimsuit, a brainstorm by Wyng’d Lyon. Okay, the last one is more an invention than a costume, but its human controller was in a mad scientist costume, naturally.
Costumes!
Stephen Marchesi offered a display of his pencil drawings. If you look closely in the lower left corner of the picture, you can see the original of the official Gaslight Gathering 8 art.
Art!
Dyno Staats was there to demonstrate the science of not choking on toxic chemicals. It’s a real crowd pleaser.
Magic! Oops, Science!
We saved the big surprise for last; Abney Park played the Saturday night concert!
Music!
We’re starting our plans now for next year, so stay tuned for new shenanigans.
Clockwork Alchemy 2018
T is for Trebuchet
Why yes, of course, in a convention full of authors we played Hot Potato School of Writing™.
H is for Hot Potato
Since we’re on a roll with the alphabet, how about those Bollmans in their perfectly coordinated outfits?
B is for Bollman
Last year at Comic Con we met Armand Baltazar and bought a print from his upcoming book, Timeless. Imagine our delight to discover he was at Clockwork Alchemy as the artist guest of honor and his book is done! Yep, you guessed it, we bought a copy.
A is for Armand
Sage & Savant were there with audio awesomeness.
S is for Sage & Savant
We vended with vigor (see what I did there?). We even won second prize for our table decoration.
V is for Vending
We did get to see a few clever new costumes.
I is for Imagination
Not to bury the lead, but the big news was that we have a new book out with Dover, AJ Sikes, and Belinda Sikes, entitled The Clockwork Oracle. You can buy a copy from any one of us at an upcoming convention, or, if you’re really desperate, it’s available on Amazon.
C is for Clockwork (Oracle)
As always, we had a great time and enjoyed hanging out with our friends. See you all at Clockwork Alchemy next year!
Wild Wild West Steampunk Con 2018
Wildly West Costuming
Bethany debuted her new “cigarette girl” costume and lent a hand with vending. She did a booming (ar ar ar) business peddling our prop dynamite.
Sunshine Vending
Bethany’s also launching her prop building business. She made this “criminally good” cake with both kinds of files in it for L.O.S.E.R.
Cake with File…Two Ways
We know what you’re wondering. Weren’t you guys there “working?” You know, doing panels and vending (with David Lee Summers). Oh yeah, that. Of course there was Drake & McTrowell’s Hot Potato School of Writing™. We were aided and abetted by Diesel Jester and Bob Vardeman. We played the Dr. Seuss / Shakespeare plot point which resulted in epic hilarity.
Et Tu Thing 2, or I do Not Like Hamlet
And a little bit of Drake & McTrowell’s Theatre of the Historically Improbable™. Thanks to Zapp for this picture.
Our Reading of “The Polychrome Wishing Jar”
These Books Will Blow Your Mind
Is it just us, or is this Tyrannosaurus Rex security guard extra scary?
Dinosecurity
But maybe not as scary as one of the product demos we saw.
Whips!
But hands down the scariest thing we saw was this tea duel with a simultaneous splash and splodge.
Oh, the Horror!
Chief Inspector Drake says, “Adios, pardners. See y’all next year.”
Adios, Pardners
The Clockwork Oracle
The Oracles at Delphi have long predicted the future for those willing to make the journey and pay homage. This truth is told in Hellenic texts. But what is not told is that the Oracle is far more than a priestess caught in the visions of the gods.
The Clockwork Oracle was crafted by gods and lost by mortals millennia past. Join us in an adventure through the lost and found of ancient history, through the streets of Victorian London, the halls of Versailles, the battlefields of the War to End All Wars, the futuristic city of Nova Arete, the digital corridors of the Internet, and the exoplanets of Orion.
Do You Dare?
David L. Drake, Katherine L. Morse, AJ Sikes, BJ Sikes, and Dover Whitecliff have looked into the Clockwork Oracle. Will you?
The Clockwork Oracle will be available for sale and autograph by the authors at Clockwork Alchemy. Copies are also available on Amazon.
Duel at Dusk 2018
Setting Up
We’re Sure This is Just a Wardrobe Correction
Our foil fencers this year were Bryan Bishe and Ben Jagger with the win going to Ben!
Staba, Staba, Staba
One may always rely on Madame Askew for urbane hilarity, even in the most mundane of activities such as the explanation of the rules of the venerable art of tea duelling.
Madame Askew Explains it All
John Bollman acquitted himself with valor in the Nerf gun dueling to take the top prize, a very cool Nerf gun steampunked by Bob Mogg. We have a feeling John will be back next year to defend his title.
Take That! And That!
Of course the room was full of friends old and new.
What’s a Party Without Friends?
Vendors? Of course there were vendors: Rae Wolf Designs, Wyng’d Lyon, Gears & Roebuck, and Gear Oils. Because, what’s a steampunk event without shopping? Special thanks to our ever-capable vendor wrangler, Lindsay Rae Harold Wagner, who made sure we satisfied everyone’s shopping craving.
Shopping!
In addition to his skills with Nerf guns, carpet bags, parasols, bandoliers…oh bother, the list just goes on! More to the point, Bob Mogg has a wicked sense of humor that often manifests itself materially. Voilá!
Because it’s a Fencing Event. Get it?
What do y’all think? Do it again next year?
