Happy Halloween!

The Manticore Society would like to wish everybody a safe and happy Halloween!

- Captain Wong Wei -

LosCon 2009

Looks like we have here another convention in the horizon to hang our hats at. The 36th annual LosCon: the Los Angeles Regional Science Fantasy Convention which is held at the LAX Marriott on November 27-29. Personally LosCon has never really failed to disappoint me. More of a fan friendly social convention it's a place where everyone pretty much gathers together for one last big hurrah before the start of next year's con season (the late night room parties...mah! Just fantastic!). Events this year will include a Steampunk Science Competition and Steampunk Ice Cream Social. Hope to see you there!

Nov. 27-29
LAX Marriott
http://www.loscon.org/

5855 West Century Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Dark Void: Video Game

I'm sure I'm not the only gamer around here and I want to share with you all an up coming video game by the name of Dark Void using the Unreal Engine 3 on the X-Box 360 platform and Playstation 3 platform. From Capcom the same people that brought you such video game icons such as the Street Fighter series, Monster Hunter, the Resident Evil series, and the Mega Man series.

The score to Dark Void was composed by Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary, making this his video game score debut. He recorded the score with a 63-piece ensemble of the Hollywood Studio Symphony at the Eastwood Scoring Stage.

What is Dark Void you ask? Think a steampunk Rocketeer video game with Nikola Tesla, the Bermuda Triangle, and aliens. The game mixes on-foot and mid-air combat. Check it out, join up with the resistance, and strap on your rockets! It's going to be a hell of a ride!

http://www.darkvoidgame.com/



- Captain Wong Wei -

Nostalgia for the DS

In seven days Nostalgia for the Nintendo DS hand held system will be hitting the US shores. Originally released in Japan on November 2008 by Tecmo as Nostalgio no Kaze (Wind of Nostalgio) Nostalgia is a role playing video game developed by Red Entertainment and Matrix Software. Produced by Keisuke Kikuchi (Fatal Frame I, II, III) with programming and three-dimensional graphics by Matrix Software (Final Fantasy III and Final Fantasy IV). Featuring three-dimensional characters and environments, Nostalgia takes advantage of the Nintendo DS's dual screens, gameplay is featured on one screen while a map of the player's current location is present on the other, which fills as they travel through new areas. As a bonus the player's party is judged at the end of each battle with a letter grade based on what they did in combat as well as how quickly and flawlessly they have defeated their enemies. The higher the letter grade the better as they may give additional rewards. The music for Nostalgia was composed by Shinichiro Sato (FLCL) and Rei Kondo (Okami), who was credited alongside his musical unit "T's Music".

The game takes place in an alternate reality steampunk version of the 19th Century and follows main character Eddie, a native of London and son of a world famous adventurer. He and his companions travel the world in a customizable airship by the name of the Maverick in search of Eddie's father Gilbert Brown who has gone missing and uncover the truth about an ancient civilization. The game features both standard turn based combat as well as aerial battles against enemy airships. The player will have control of Eddie (the main character), Pad (a street urchin), Melody (a witch), and Feona (standard mysterious young girl). Settings include such real world places as New York City, Tokyo, Cairo, South America, and Northern Europe.

At the moment if you preorder the game from Amazon you will get exclusive access to the last volume of the webcomic series and if you join the Nostalgia Face book and send them a a screenshot of your pre-order receipt the Nostalgia Face book will mail you a free copy of the Nostalgia art book.

http://www.nostalgiads.com/

Tonite! Meetup w/ Lex Machina @ The Edison (Oct. 7th)

Here's your chance to meet a great photographer and all around interesting person by the name of Lex Machina. She travels around the country in her RV roaming around like the gypsies of old. She just arrived into our fair city last night and tonight she'll be heading out to the Edison. If you are able to I suggest dressing up in your steamy finest and coming out tonight!

- Captain Wong Wei -

Chrononaut Friday 11/06

On Friday November 6th Chrononaut will once again be opening their doors for an evening of steamy delights! This time around the musical guests will be Demonika & the Darklings from the City of Lost Angels. They feature the violinist from The Unextraordinary Gentlemen, Jennifer Palerez (J. Francis in UXG & Devlin in D&D). And as always vendors such as Obscure Discoveries will be on hand and Prof. Greyshade will be spinning the tunes.

So put on your steampunk finest and come on down to show your support! Remember, the club is all ages and the door time is now 8:00 pm to 12:00 am!

Queen Bee's
3925 Ohio Street
San Diego, CA 92104

http://www.chrononautclub.com
http://www.demonikaandthedarklings.com/

- Captain Wong Wei -

Steampunk Empire & Facebook

A new MySpace like website has spawned with a steampunk twist called the Steampunk Empire. If you get the chance check it out and also the Manticore Society has already made their mark on the empire.

http://steampunk.ning.com/
http://steampunk.ning.com/group/themanticoresociety

Also thanks to Ms. Merci we now have a group up on Facebook so if you're using this communication tool give us an add.

- Captain Wong Wei -

Long Beach Comic-Con Report

Surprisingly large for a first time convention comes to mind when one first makes their way down to the Long Beach Comic-Con dealers room. It was pretty much packed shoulder to shoulder on Saturday when yours truly made his way to the convention. A few of the members (Bri, Syrin, and myself) were able to do have a small meet up and a bite to eat at the Irish pub the Auld Dubliner across the street. As usual there is a few pictures and the rest could be grabbed at our myspace.




- Captain Wong Wei -

Pyrate Daze Report

What can I say about Pyrate Daze? Pirates, Steampunks, and the Queen Mary oh my! It was wonderful to see how many steamies turned out for this event and kudos to the League of S.T.E.A.M. for taking over pretty much the entire middle floor of the dealers room. The demonstrations and steamy programing...well as it's printed on the league's flag a big ol' thumbs up.

The highlight of the entire event would have to be the banquet dinner and concert on Saturday night. Well worth the eighty dollar price tag. Abney Park as always puts on a fantastic show. The belly dancers performing along side them was absolutely gold. Big thumbs up for the entire night. It's also wonderful to see how much this group is growing as more and more people are joining up. Spread the word and one day we just might take over. And that's a good thing. Now as usual are a few pictures of the event and if you wish for more just follow this link to our myspace for a massive two part report with even more pictures and a whole bunch of videos.


- Captain Wong Wei -

LA Opera Costume Sale

For the first time ever LA Opera is having a costume sale on Saturday October 10th at 10am to 6pm. Join us in hunting for bargains and outfits also perhaps even meet up afterward for a bite to eat and some hearty conversation.




330 South Alameda St.
Downtown LA, 90013
(Parking is across the street at the Little Tokyo Shopping Center Garage)
Website: LAOpera.com