Nemesis the Warlock: Eps 6-8

‘Incredible! The final triumph of the Victorian Empire. An Empire as it might have been on Earth – if two world wars hadn’t shattered the Imperial dream.’

I’m blown away by Nemesis the Warlock: the Definitive Edition. My compliments to the publishers, Rebellion, and especially their designer Gemma Sheldrake for the truly inspired front and back covers.

Such a Definitive Edition requires a Definitive Commentary, a companion piece for when you’re looking at the beautiful art by art-creator Kevin O’Neill and the other talented artists that followed him. So it’s time for The Secret History of Nemesis the Warlock, an episode by episode revelation of what really went on behind the scenes.

---

Episode Six – the Robot Emporium

I especially love the steampunk scenes in this episode. The bus being propelled by a robot for instance. This was based on The Steam Man invented in 1868 by ‘John Brainerd’ and written by Edward Ellis. Or possibly Frank Reade. This was an era of 2000AD where sf hardware was king and we were all of us looking for new and amazing machines to  wow the readers with. So much so that it often took priority over other aspects of stories and I think that was probably the case here.

Thomas Edison’s Robot Emporium featured a selection of Victorian steampunk classics, including automata that dated back to earlier centuries. I explored this further in my Defoe series with clockpunk, which also fascinated me. Not least because of  the clockpunk robots in Doctor Who’s The Girl in the Fireplace, one of my all-time favourite episodes.

Episode Seven – the return of Mek-Quake

It’s another great episode by Bryan, but Mek-Quake, inevitably, steals the show both here and in the next part where he slowly rips Hammerstein apart.