SHOW REPORT - ASYLUM STEAMPUNK FESTIVAL - 27 - 29 AUGUST

To Lincoln, one of the oldest towns in England, for the annual steampunk gathering. Kindly invited by the Asylum organising team when we were at the MCM London event back in May, this was a very different event to the comics-centric shows we can usually be found at.  We weren't even sure there was a place for comics here, but received a "Don't worry! Our lot will like what you lot are doing!" assurance - although it was great to have our friends at Accent UK there with us as well.  We were a feature of the Steampunk Embassy which was right next to the eye-popping Lincoln Cathedral, but the Festival itself takes over the entire historical quarter for the weekend.
Steampunks are an erudite and finely attired lot, which made for a thoroughly engaging weekend - and the quality and imagination of the outfits worn by the attendees was constantly jaw-dropping. Thankfully, Flintlock creator Steve Tanner rose to the occasion and pitched up with a fine hat and coat ensemble (although the golden shoes seemed to be attracting more of the attention!).
Comics are new to Asylum, and at times it seemed not many of the 28,000 in attendance were aware of us - however those that d
id find their way into the Embassy seemed very intrigued by Flintlock, with the Clockwork Cavalier even bagging a spot in the official festival programme.
This was a well-organised, friendly and unique event; wide-ranging too, with a staggering amount of Steampunk themed events and features running in multiple venues all day and well into the late hours.  The downside of this meant we came away feeling we saw very little of what Asylum was about - the upside being that we'll ensure we do better to remedy that next year!