Never underestimate the power of the willingness to learn! I follow a lot of webcomics (don't let the potential negative connotation fool you, many webcomics are more professional that 'official' syndicated comics, and are unfettered by editorial shortsightedness) and Girl Genius is in a handful I would consider the best. It mixes a great deal of humor, seriousness and progressively brilliant art with grand and theatrical storytelling.
Steampunk is difficult to summarize, so I too recommend a wiki search if you are interested. suffice to say, it is a broad mix of genres. Essentially a futuristic Steam-driven technological Victorian era. Think Jules Verne and HG Wells, set in the Late 1800's.