Joe Benitez’s sensational steam punk comic, Lady Mechanika, seemed to turn the comics world upside down with a huge influx of steam punk fans diving into the community to get their hands on the new series from Aspen MLT. The comic debuted in August of 2010, going through multiple printings that all sold out almost immediately after hitting store shelves. The brilliant art of Benitez, combined with the growing interest in steam punk culture made Lady Mechakica one of the most popular indie comics of 2010 and 2011. Unfortunately, due to various circumstances, only 4 issues of the comic have been published so far, the #0 issue and issues #1 through #3. In fact, it was roughly 1 year between the release of Lady Mechanika #1 and issue #3, which came out in late 2011. But the story of Mechanika is far from over and after 2 years of waiting we have hint that issue #4 is nearing completion.

Today, on Joe Benitez’s Facebook, the artist shared with fans the un-colored first page of Lady Mechanika #4. He also informed readers that issue #4′s first 22-pages have been submitted for coloring to Peter Steigerwald. The issue is intended to be 24 to 25 pages in length, and Joe is just finishing up the script for the last few pages. The comic is unlikely to still be published under Aspen MLT, after Benitez went his separate way last year to pursue self-publishing. Still, fans can look forward to the next issue of Mechanika coming up on the horizon, continuing The Mystery of the Mechanical Corpse. Check out the first page of Lady Mechanika #4 below:

Joe Benitez has been working on and off again on Lady Mechanika for sometime, with a new sketchbook in the form of a letter and a ashcan collection of Lady Mechanika stories released at San Diego Comic Con this summer. The artist was even featured on an episode of SyFy’s Naked Vegas last month, where he was the guest of a Las Vegas Steam Punk gathering that came right before Las Vegas Comic Expo. But that isn’t the only steam punk comic work on Benitez’s plate, as he is also doing covers to the upcoming Dynamite steam punk comic series, Legenderry. Legenderry is a 7-issue miniseries by Bill Willingham and Sergio Fernandez Davila, with covers by Benitez, that might entice Mechanika fans. It tells the story of several Dynamite licensed comic characters like Vampirella, Green Hornet, Flash Gordon, and the Phantom in a steam punk setting. While we’re all still waiting for the release date of Lady Mechanika #4, you can pick up Legenderry #1, with a cover by Benitez, in January 2014.