Girl Genius
Encyclopedia
Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book
series turned webcomic
, written and drawn by Phil
and Kaja Foglio
and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic has won five WCCA
awards including 2008 Outstanding Comic
, and been nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist
, an Eagle Award
and twice for an Eisner Award
; in 2009, 2010, and 2011 it won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
.
Girl Genius has the tagline of "Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!". It features a female lead character in an alternate-history Victorian-style "steampunk
" setting, although elements veer from what is usually thought of as steampunk. Kaja Foglio, one of the co-creators, describes it as "gaslamp fantasy" instead to suggest its more fantastic style.
The Foglios have also released a novel titled Agatha H. and the Airship City.
The specific idea for the style of Girl Genius came about when Kaja Foglio went through some of Phil's loose drawings: "I was going through all of Phil's old files and I was filing all of the old sketches, and I was coming across weird airships and cats in tophats with walking canes, and all of this... wonderful... Victoriana sci-fi stuff... it was like 'Oh, this is everything I love!'" CBR News quoted Phil Foglio as saying, "We wanted to do something with a strong female lead character. We both like the tropes associated with mad science, and I really enjoy drawing fiddley Victorian style gizmos". After some intensive long-term plotting starting in 1993, the Foglios announced the publication of Girl Genius in 2000.
Girl Genius: The Secret Blueprints Vol. I was printed in January 2001, followed closely by the monochrome Issue 1 in February. Color was introduced in Issue 4 and subsequently, with occasional dips into sepiatone for flashbacks. In the collected editions, Volume One (comic Issues 1-3) was inked by Brian Snoddy and was reissued in 2010 colored by Cheyenne Wright. Volumes Two and Three (comic issues 4-10) were colored by Mark McNabb. Volume Four (comic Issues 11-unpublished 14) was colored by Laurie E. Smith. Cheyenne Wright is the current colorist; his work begins with Volume Five (what would have been Issue 15 onward).
On April 18, 2005, Girl Genius became a webcomic, and quarterly print publication of the comic ceased. The Foglios have since organized the new web-only story into plot-coherent volumes of 100-150 pages each, printed as limited-edition hardback and trade paperback books. The site had two streams, "101 Class" (for pages which had seen print publication) and "Advanced Class" (for new, web-only material) until the older section of the story caught up to the new material, and made the entire comic available to read at a sitting.
The Foglios have stated that the climax of Volume 8 is the rough equivalent of "the end of the first season", and provides a logical break in case of either author catastrophe or a fresh jumping-on point for new readers. However, they're only partway through the adventures originally plotted and have plenty of story yet to tell. However, a note posted with the November 21, 2008 strip indicates that Volume 8 ended with a cliff-hanger at the November 19, 2008 strip, suggesting either that the story is growing or that the actual conclusion will come in, effectively, the "second season" opener.
"where the Industrial Revolution
has escalated into an all-out war" due to the battles between "Sparks" – highly charismatic mad scientist
s with supernormal abilities in one or more sciences.
The main character, Agatha Heterodyne, at first seems to be nothing more than a struggling student at Transylvania Polygnostic University
, but when Baron Klaus Wulfenbach and his son come to investigate irregularities at the university, a seemingly unrelated sequence of events leads to Agatha awakening to her family's genetic inheritance and their secrets. The people she meets as she flees the Baron will either help her or try to use her, but in the Wastelands of devastated Europe, trust can be hard to win.
entry, Kaja Foglio explained how the term came to be coined:
It also differs from classic steampunk in that technology is not just limited to machines but also encompasses biology. Thus alongside the clanks (impossibly advanced steampunk robot
s), dirigibles and walking gunboats of the world there are constructs - biological creations which range from Frankenstein
-style creatures to talking cats and "mimmoths," or mouse-sized mammoths.
Most of the time, those who carry the Spark seem no different from anyone else, but they are capable of entering a state of hyperfocus
(sometimes called "the madness place") that greatly enhances their charisma
, comprehension
and intuition
– all too often at the cost of all their rationality
or common sense. In short, they can become fanatic
ally obsessive
savant
s at the drop of a hat (though stimulant
s can easily induce it) – and it is not at all uncommon for some to act as such almost constantly.
On top of that, the first time a Spark enters hyperfocus is, with few documented occurrences to the contrary, traumatic. Most are almost immediately killed by their breakthrough creations or by rioting townsfolk. A fair number become incurably insane. Though the average Spark is smart enough to make the impossible possible, their tunnel vision rarely permits understanding the consequences of their actions. It's noted on at least one occasion that many Sparks meet their doom because "they're smart enough to build death-rays and dumb enough to turn them on armies all by themselves".
Though a Spark requires tools and materials to work, there seems to be nothing beyond their capabilities if they desire it enough. Every stereotype accredited to mad scientists is possible for them, from resurrecting the dead to changing animals into people to creating life from scratch. Mechanisms of astounding complexity and capability are common, many beyond the reach of modern science. Foremost among these creations are weapons of unbelievable power. However, when these capabilities are paired with their lack of rational thought, the results are devastating.
There are some "minor" sparks, who are not as dangerous or as destructive as the stereotypical spark, but they are usually amongst those who are slain by mobs (for various reasons) or forced into servitude of other sparks. One exception to this was the traveling circus of "fake sparks" that took in Agatha. It turned out that a good portion of the circus folk were actual "minor" sparks (like the one who was trying to invent a "calming pie" to calm someone down after they are hit in the face with said pie).
Most of those who survive quickly gain minions through sheer charisma, and eventually gather tremendous support
unless killed by rival Sparks. Those that survive this process of attrition become the power players of their fictional world, and if they successfully reproduce they begin lineages that are nothing less than royalty
– right down to personal heraldic
sigils: the Heterodyne Trilobite, the Sturmvoraus Sword-and-Gear, and the Wulfenbach Winged Rook, for example. However, this does little to satisfy their obsessions, and they spend most of their time dueling rivals when not engaging in dangerous experiments — which is what makes the world of Girl Genius one of unending conflict and cataclysm.
They are thus almost always generally despised. Many dub them "madboys" or "madgirls" (but never when one is within earshot).
A bit over four years after Wulfenbach's disappearance, the peace is shattered by an attack on the mechanically sentient Castle Heterodyne; Bill and Barry return to find Lucrezia apparently kidnapped—and, though the details are kept secret from all but their closest associates, Bill and Lucrezia's son Klaus Barry had been killed. The Heterodyne's frantic search for Lucrezia was punctuated beginning about six months later with a series of attacks against the other major Spark houses of Europa. These attacks, instigated by a mysterious person called only The Other, involved a bio-engineered construct known as the slaver wasp. Victims of the slaver wasp, called revenants, usually became insane, but could be controlled by the Other through means not understood at the time. The Heterodynes turned their attention to the defense of Europa—while still searching for Lucrezia.
At some point, the attacks ceased. However, neither the Heterodynes nor Lucrezia Mongfish were to be found. Wulfenbach, traveling with a new son but without his new wife, returns to find Europa full of revenants; fifty "houses" of Sparks had all but been destroyed, and the remainder were in a mad scramble for power. Wulfenbach uses his own not inconsiderable charisma and skill to establish a "peace of the biggest guns", and polices Europa's sparks while trying to put together the fragmented pieces of the puzzle.
Meanwhile, the absent "Heterodyne Boys" have become increasingly popular folk heroes, with many of their known exploits (and not a few wholly imaginary ones) captured in a series of popular novels and plays. Traveling shows often present the Heterodyne plays to audiences in towns of all sizes.
The story opens about twelve years into "The Baron's Peace."
-sized clank named Dingbot Prime, capable of performing complex tasks without supervision; it can even build similar small clanks to assist it, making it a self-replicating machine
. Though each generation of these clanks is slightly less well-made than its predecessor (ensuring that they do not replicate endlessly
), together they are capable of truly amazing feats of engineering — such as secretly converting Master Payne's Circus of Adventure into a Battle Circus capable of repelling an entire division of Wulfenbach's troops. Tarvek and Gil have recently discovered that first-generation Dingbots apparently possess the Spark, the first mechanical creations with a manufactured Spark.
Agatha Heterodyne has an impressive heritage as the daughter of the heroic Bill Heterodyne and Lucrezia Mongfish, who is the Villain's Beautiful Daughter and evil Spark herself, but who was believed to have turned a new leaf and given up her wicked ways upon marrying Bill. Agatha has inherited both the legendary Heterodyne charismatic genius and the distinctive Mongfish voice. Due to this, she is pursued by many other Sparks. As a Spark of a major House currently without an empire of her own to protect her, she is a potential asset or enemy. Baron Klaus Wulfenbach wishes to imprison her or kill her if necessary, knowing her to be a source of potential discord. Othar Tryggvassen at first wished to kill her as part of his crusade against the Spark, but once he realized that she was the Heterodyne heir, he decides he would prefer to ally with her.
When Agatha was five years old, her uncle Barry Heterodyne gave her a locket containing pictures of her parents, instructing her to never remove it. The locket secretly contained a mechanism that prevented her from realizing she was a Spark by neutralizing her early attempts to hyperfocus with excruciatingly painful migraine
s. Punch and Judy — constructs
presumably made by her father and uncle (named for the famed medieval puppets
) who took care of her under the names Adam and Lilith Clay — watchfully ensured she always wore it. Punch and Judy settled with Agatha in Beetlesburg, where Agatha attended Transylvania Polygnostic University (T.P.U.) under the direct supervision of the Spark Professor Beetle, who had been briefed on her by her Uncle, but who had his own ulterior motives. Less than a day after the locket was stolen (by von Zinzer), and in the aftermath of Professor Beetle's accidental death at the hands of Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, Agatha seemingly "broke through" by building her first clank while sleepwalking ("sleep-Sparking"), a quirk she continued to display for some time. Unlike most Spark break throughs, Agatha's was relatively benign in nature (Baron Wulfenbach labelled her clank "amusing but harmless"). However, through an odd turn of events (the Baron at first believed the clank to be the work of soldier and locket-thief von Zinzer), Agatha still ends up on the Baron's massive fortress airship
, Castle Wulfenbach.
Agatha escapes both Castle Wulfenbach and Othar Tryggvassen with her new liege, Krosp I, a talking cat construct, and eventually crash-lands in the Wastelands. After rescuing a traveling circus from a rogue clank, they take her in in gratitude. Master Payne's Circus of Adventure gains a new fortune-teller as Agatha learns more about this new wider world outside of the quiet walls of Beetleburg and T.P.U. She becomes "zumil" (daughter-like student) to the Circus's resident swordswoman, Zeetha, Daughter of Chump — the Amazonian lost princess of a civilization about which Agatha's Uncle Barry had told her stories. In appreciation for Agatha's confirmation her family actually exists and were not fever-dream constructions, Zeetha swears a vow of training and protection to the young Spark, and becomes her best friend. Agatha gains her first sworn servitors: a trio of Jägerkin, who had been searching for the Heterodyne heir and are surprised to find she's a girl instead of a boy as expected. She also proves herself adept at playing the role of Lucrezia Mongfish in the popular Heterodyne plays performed by Master Payne's Circus, an irony which is not lost on her or Krosp, though she keeps her real identity secret from the other members of the Circus.
On the way to her ancestral home of Mechanicsburg with Master Payne's Circus, Agatha's route led through Prince Aaronev VI's province of Sturmhalten. While on stage, the Prince and his son, Tarvek, recognized her voice as a match for their "Mistress". Agatha was ordered to the castle by the prince, forced into a mysterious machine and imprinted with the mind of her mother, Lucrezia Mongfish, resurrecting Europe's deadliest enemy — the Other. However, Lucrezia's plan failed to take into account Agatha's own fury at being violated and her willpower. Through the use of her family trait of "heterodyning", she was able to suppress Lucrezia's consciousness for limited periods of time, during which she did all she could to foil her mother's plans. Eventually, with the help of her locket, which had been retrieved broken from von Zinzer and repaired by Baron Wulfenbach, Agatha had the strength to push Lucrezia down deep in her mind and block any further takeovers. Unfortunately, this came only after the Baron found himself facing the Lucrezia persona, and he is not yet aware that Agatha is in control of herself.
Agatha hates the locket, a symbol of how bad her life was before she discovered her Spark — the agonizing headaches every time she attempted to use her Spark, self-hatred because of the inventions that never worked, the humiliation of her peers — but she must wear it to keep the Other from possessing her again. Zeetha convinces her that it has become instead a symbol of her strength, and Agatha agrees: It's a symbol of everything she has and will overcome.
Finally, Agatha reaches Mechanicsburg and meets her greatest challenge yet: Convincing the mechanically sentient and mentally fragmented Castle Heterodyne, given human-like response by her ancestor Faustus, that she is a real Heterodyne. What's worse is that she has to do it while a pretender is trying to kill both the Castle and herself. As of the end of Volume XI (04 November 2011), Agatha has been acknowledged by Castle Heterodyne as the true heir, begun to learn both her mother's and the Castle's secrets, and is preparing to defend the city of Mechanicsburg from various factions seeking to assume control of Europa.
Both Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and Tarvek Sturmvoraus are potential love interests for Agatha, though earlier stories clearly suggested that Agatha would ultimately select Gilgamesh. The significance of her choice cannot be overstated; both her father and uncle's heroism, atypical of the Heterodynes, and the legend of the "Storm King" who last unified Europe by taking a Heterodyne bride (and who is allegedly an ancestor of Tarvek) suggest that the future of Europa might be in her capable but inexperienced hands.
His Spark is particularly powerful; he built his breakthrough creation (a knee-high insectoid construct named Zoing) at the age of eight. He has become increasingly infatuated with Agatha since discovering she was a fellow Spark, as he realized that she was the first woman he had ever met who could understand his love of science at the same level. She seemed somewhat taken with him as well, at least until she witnessed him brutally subduing Othar Tryggvassen (though when the self-proclaimed hero tried to kill her after she helped him escape, she decided she owed Gil an apology).
After being led to believe that Agatha died defending a traveling Heterodyne show from a rogue clank, he spent his time resuscitating Agatha's surrogate parents Adam and Lilith Clay (otherwise known as Punch and Judy, assistants to the Heterodyne Brothers), and taking out his frustrations upon captured rogue clanks, with a side effect of honing his already impressive sword-skills and reflexes. However, upon learning that Agatha's demise had been greatly exaggerated, he became energized to her defense. He sent his butler and friend Wooster (under threat of revealing him for the British spy that he is) to find Agatha and take her to London for protection. He pointedly demanded that she be kept free there as well as safe — or he would focus all his abilities upon destroying England.
The identity of Gil's mother has not been revealed. As the Baron has seen fit to warn his son that he may be targeted for assassination by the Skifandrian warrior Zeetha because, "I kept you alive" and as Gil and Zeetha both utilize a secret mental technique to keep working / fighting without sleep for several days, a good guess is that Klaus lived, studied and finally married in Skifander, although he must have left the city on less amiable terms. It has been revealed by the authors that Gil and Zeetha are siblings.
Recently, with his father severely injured and unable to actively rule, Gil has found himself having to impress upon others that he is not merely his father's shadow. From fending off assassins to singlehandedly facing down and defeating a military attack on Mechanicsburg, others are beginning to take decided notice of his actions. Baron Wulfenbach, witnessing his son's amazing one-man victory, is as proud a father as any in history. In the process, Gil himself has begun to see with what obstacles his father has had to deal in constructing and maintaining the empire.
As of the end of Volume XI, Gil is assisting Agatha in the defense of Mechanicsburg.
Thus he first met the figure that would haunt him for the rest of his life: Lucrezia Mongfish. After she was turned from conquest by the Heterodynes' ideals, a romantic triangle formed between Klaus, Lucrezia, and Bill. Lucrezia, being used to doing as she pleased, moved from one to the other as her whim suited her, until finally settling on Bill (though not before spending one last night with Klaus and drugging him to prevent any disturbances during the rest of her life).
He then disappeared. Three years later, The Other appeared, waging a war to annihilate Europe's Sparks that only ended with the disappearance of the Heterodynes. When Klaus finally returned with his son, Gilgamesh, the Boys had already been gone for several years — and what was left of Europe was in chaos. Without the Heterodynes' charismatic presence to keep the peace, rampaging conflicts between rival Sparks had reduced society to ruins. Disgusted with what he saw, and less suited to diplomacy than the more charismatic Heterodynes, he adopted a simpler plan.
He drew a circle on a map, claimed it as his territory and imposed one simple rule: no more fighting. He was not taken seriously at first; but as each outbreak of violence was met with the swift removal of the aggressors, and those who followed the rule were left to govern their lands as they saw fit, more and more began to grudgingly accept the "Baron's Peace". The circle grows with each passing year, and he is currently the uncontested ruler of much of Europe.
The Baron's numerous employees come from a wide array of backgrounds, as most were once the staff (or captives) of conquered Sparks. There are a number of minor Sparks who perform minor research for him, but his organization also consists of various types of "constructs" (artificial or augmented people), and "clanks" (steampunk-styled robots). He abandoned his destroyed ancestral home in favor of a headquarters with far more security, privacy and mobility: the city-sized airship
, the Castle Wulfenbach.
While he is publicly considered a ruthless tyrant, his motives are more complex. Unlike the more maniacal Sparks, he is not obsessed with power for its own sake. He states frankly that he despises politics, considering his job (which consists solely of enforcing a single rule) to be more like babysitting than anything else. He fondly remembers his days when he adventured with the Heterodynes, and had time to pursue his own research. However, he is completely convinced that, without someone to enforce the peace, Europe (or even the world) would once more descend into chaos — and though he has high hopes in his son, Gilgamesh, he can find no one more capable than himself to fill the role until his son is ready to take the metaphorical reins. Thus, he will brook no chance he or his heir will lose that position.
The common folk do not note the discrepancy between their perception of him and his actual actions — among other things, he does not do anything to prevent portrayals of him as cowardly comic relief in popular entertainment. In private, he is actually quite even-tempered (his obsession with brain surgery on particularly troublesome rival Sparks notwithstanding), and has a dry, sardonic sense of humor. Enemy soldiers who are defeated are offered compensation or a chance to join his army at excellent salary — though their leaders are likely to have a far less benign fate. Klaus states frankly that he can be a ruthless tyrant — but he tries to be fair and rational. Needless to say this doesn't always work, and being in a difficult situation, to protect the large empire under his rule, he will resort to military force when needed — overwhelming force, carefully applied to minimize casualties and destruction.
Originally, The Baron pursued Agatha after her escape because of the legendary charisma the Heterodyne name carries with it; even a false Heterodyne attracts devotion, until they are proven false. To keep the peace, he has to be ruthless, but is nonetheless sympathetic to her plight as well as his son's feelings for Agatha. However, he is now obsessed with the pursuit of Agatha, because he believes she is Lucrezia and therefore The Other, having recognized her mannerisms and speech patterns while she possessed her daughter. Because of this obsession, and after several vigorous conflicts with Dr. Sun, the physician in charge of the Mechanicsburg hospital, he has been subdued and isolated for further treatment of his wounds at Sturmhalten.
Lucrezia (in Agatha's body) successfully infected Klaus with a unique Slaver Wasp at Sturmhalten, specially modified to allow the control of a Spark. But whatever control she might have possessed, was broken as Lucrezia's personality was subdued by Agatha's locket. While Agatha has demonstrated some control over her mother's minions and creatures, it remains to be seen if she is willing or capable of controlling the Baron.
As of the end of Volume XI, Wulfenbach is missing and presumed dead in the destruction of the Great Hospital, but not before he was shown as being firmly under control of at least one of Lucrezia's personas.
Dupree functions as a quick and relentless weapon for the Wulfenbachs, and a threat hanging over Agatha.
They have become the stuff of legend in the manner of King Arthur, inspiring a series of books and stage plays of dubious accuracy chronicling their adventures.
After The Other's initial attack on Castle Heterodyne, Bill and Barry left Mechanicsburg, and spent the next several years searching for The Other. However, when The Other's attacks ceased, so did sightings of the Heterodyne Boys.
Their heavy Romanian-Germanic accents, violent natures and indestructibility allow them to serve both as ties to the Heterodyne history and broad comic relief. Augmented senses allow them to provide foreshadowing, running jokes, character revelations, and useful details otherwise undetectable to the main characters. For example, every Jäger that has met Agatha in person has commented on how good she smells (or more accurately, how 'goot she shmells'), as if they can detect the family line of their creators by scent.
Apparently one becomes a Jäger by choice, with the future Jägers considering the chance to drink the 'Jägersdraught' as a gift. This and the respect that the Heterodyne have historically shown the Jägers account for their fierce loyalty. It is unclear whether or not new Jägers can still be created or if the formula for Jägersdraught has been lost.
A trio of Jägers recognized Agatha shortly after she escaped Castle Wulfenbach and have been openly aiding her in her quest to reach Mechanicsburg, and Gil in his efforts to protect the city. Conversely, in Mechanicsburg, she is confronted by Vole, a rogue Jäger who is actively trying to kill her and subvert Gil; the extent to which Vole is working with the Baron, instead of following his own anti-Heterodyne agenda, has not yet been fully revealed. Gil has also encountered Mamma Gkika, the apparent leader of a large group of Jägers living (carousing might be a better description) in the tunnels underneath Mechanicsburg awaiting the return of a Heterodyne heir—many of them waiting for the Heterodyne heir to repair them from various violent mishaps.
designed to lead the felines of the world as an ever-present army of spies, messengers and saboteurs. The plan was partially successful, as Krosp is both extremely intelligent and capable of communicating with both cats and humans with equal proficiency. Unfortunately, the plan failed, as all other cats are not intelligent and are incapable of following complex orders.
Krosp is currently Agatha's most loyal associate, although he regards her as his vassal
and himself as her liege — making him not all that different from a normal cat.
. In practice however, it is more like "grindstone and knife": she regularly trains, drills and bludgeons Agatha to exhaustion for her own protection.
Zeetha was shocked to find out Agatha and her missing uncle are not the only two who know about Skifander when Baron Wulfenbach addressed her in her native tongue; Lucrezia during her possession of Agatha also recognized her as a Skifandrian. Zeetha has yet to find out how much either knows, and has unsuccessfully queried Gilgamesh on that regard. A drawing by the Foglio's of Zeetha's father "Chump", circulated on the Internet, bears a strong resemblance to Baron Klaus Wulfenbach.
Zeetha was part of the party who attempted to rescue Agatha from Sturmhalten, and accompanied her to Mechanicsburg. She was separated from Agatha for a while, but later joined with Gil and has entered the castle with him, where they have had several adventures with Agatha during her second possession by Lucrezia, with Zola, and with the Castle itself. She was last seen convalescing from injuries received due to underestimating Zola. She seems to have developed some special affinity for Airman Higgs, and he for her.
Othar has a Twitter account for his (mis)adventures which do not intersect with Agatha's. The most recent posts there (in July 2010) involve a possible time-travel connection to the ongoing main adventure.
Tarvek also claims descent from the legendary Storm King, who features in a prophecy that Europa will not know peace until the Storm King or his heir marries a Heterodyne girl, which may explain much of Tarvek's romantic interest in Agatha. A current plot to assume control of Mechanicsburg and Castle Heterodyne appears to involve a fake, female Heterodyne heir whom Tarvek was to marry. It is not completely clear whether Tarvek has genuine feelings for Agatha, or whether he intends to see his plot through with Agatha—or if those states are mutually exclusive. Agatha is as yet unaware of this possible ambivalence, but is aware that he was party to her manipulation in Sturmhalten and thus hesitant to fully trust him.
During the current storyline Tarvek, Gilgamesh, and Agatha are working together within Castle Heterodyne, where it is revealed that Tarvek and Gilgamesh were students together aboard Castle Wulfenbach and in Paris, Gilgamesh under an assumed name. Despite their long-time rivalry and the conflict implicit in the feelings both have for Agatha, Tarvek has clearly told Gil that he places Agatha's safety and well-being above his own.
His bodyguard was Violetta, one of the "Smoke Knights" serving the Sturmvoraus family and their allies, who is also one of his shirttail cousins. However, he has released her into Agatha's service, a much more feminine role which she relishes.
In reality, Lucrezia Mongfish is the Other, and proceeded to wage war across Europa for years before finally vanishing. Recently, through the work of a conspiracy of Sparks and the Geisterdamen, a race of pale amazons who worship Lucrezia as a goddess, she has managed to imprint her mind onto that of her daughter Agatha Heterodyne, as well as stealing the clank body of Anevka Sturmvoraus. Agatha has suppressed the Lucrezia imprint by use of her Heterodyne sigil locket, and Anevka/Lucrezia was last seen in the Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg taking control of the Baron prior to the destruction of the hospital. A Lucrezia persona has sufficiently integrated with Zola to convince Anevka/Lucrezia that she is in control.
As a well-trained intelligence agent, Wooster is able to fill in background and detail for Agatha (and the reader) which would otherwise be unavailable.
After encountering Gilgamesh and Zeetha as they passed through Mamma Gikka's into Mechanicsburg, Higgs entered Castle Heterodyne with them, where he has demonstrated both an unusual prowess and resourcefulness. His true nature and identity appears to have been recognized by at least one of the Castle's fragments (and also by Tarvek), and his actions suggest an insider's knowledge of the history of the Heterodyne family and of the workings of Castle Heterodyne. He is also a suspiciously strong fighter, with an almost supernatural ability to survive and quickly recover from very serious wounds, making it even more obvious that he is far from a normal soldier.
He and Zeetha have developed a mutual attraction, though Zeetha somewhat resents having to recognize that someone is a stronger fighter than she is, and has vowed to learn until she is able to beat Higgs, a challenge that Higgs has happily accepted.
Zola was last seen convalescing from injuries received in escaping Castle Heterodyne, possibly under the control of the Lucrezia persona she "audited" in the Castle. Her whereabouts following the apparent destruction of the Great Hospital are unknown.
Following a devastating attack by the Other, the castle was nearly destroyed and its artificial intelligence was fractured into multiple pieces that cannot communicate with each other. Many of these fragments are vicious, cruel, and whimsical. It has negotiated for its repair with Baron Wulfenbach, and is used as an ultimate punishment detail.
As of the end of Volume XI, Agatha has been publicly acknowledged by the Castle as the Heir and has completed extensive repairs to the Castle subsystems. However, the Castle has depleted its stores of energy and is overextended in the defense of itself and the City.
Carson von Mekkhan, former Seneschal, who provided Agatha the information she needed to be tested by -- and accepted by -- the Castle.
Vanamonde von Mekkhan, Carson's grandson and heir to the position of Seneschal, coffee connoisseur, and war leader in the defense of Mechanicsburg.
Herr Diamant, who supplies the Baron's prisoners in the Castle -- and the troops defending Mechanicsburg.
The Assistant, an unnamed lass who assists Agatha with the coffee engine -- and Vanamonde in the defense preparations.
Dr. Sun, director of the Great Hospital, and the only person who can keep the Baron sedated long enough to recuperate from his injuries. Even if it means knocking out the Baron and his Mecha
hospital bed bare-handed.
Volume 5 as well as all future collections reprint the website content from where the comic series was discontinued.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
series turned webcomic
Webcomic
Webcomics, online comics, or Internet comics are comics published on a website. While many are published exclusively on the web, others are also published in magazines, newspapers or often in self-published books....
, written and drawn by Phil
Phil Foglio
Philip "Phil" Foglio is an American cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work.-Early life and career:...
and Kaja Foglio
Kaja Foglio
Kaja Foglio is a Seattle-based writer, artist, and publisher. Foglio co-won the first Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story in 2009 for Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones, and has continued to co-win two Hugo Awards the following years.-Early life and education:Born in...
and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic has won five WCCA
Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards
The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards are annual awards in which online cartoonists nominate and select outstanding webcomics. The awards have been held since 2001, were featured in a The New York Times column on webcomics in 2005, and have been mentioned as a tool for librarians.The WCCA represent a...
awards including 2008 Outstanding Comic
2008 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards
The Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards is an annual award voted on by web cartoonists themselves. The nominations ballots for the 8th annual award cover webcomics active in 2007 and were emailed to pre-registered voters by 7 January 2008 and closed those submissions on 23 January 2008...
, and been nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist
Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, an Eagle Award
Eagle Awards
The Eagle Award is a series of awards for comic book titles and creators. They are awarded by UK fan voting for work produced during the previous year. Named after the UK's Eagle comic, the awards were set up by Mike Conroy, Nick Landau, Colin Campbell, Phil Clarke and Richard Burton, and launched...
and twice for an Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
; in 2009, 2010, and 2011 it won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
The Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
.
Girl Genius has the tagline of "Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!". It features a female lead character in an alternate-history Victorian-style "steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
" setting, although elements veer from what is usually thought of as steampunk. Kaja Foglio, one of the co-creators, describes it as "gaslamp fantasy" instead to suggest its more fantastic style.
The Foglios have also released a novel titled Agatha H. and the Airship City.
Publication history
Girl Genius: The Secret Blueprints Vol. I was printed in January 2001, followed closely by the monochrome Issue 1 in February. Color was introduced in Issue 4 and subsequently, with occasional dips into sepiatone for flashbacks. In the collected editions, Volume One (comic Issues 1-3) was inked by Brian Snoddy and was reissued in 2010 colored by Cheyenne Wright. Volumes Two and Three (comic issues 4-10) were colored by Mark McNabb. Volume Four (comic Issues 11-unpublished 14) was colored by Laurie E. Smith. Cheyenne Wright is the current colorist; his work begins with Volume Five (what would have been Issue 15 onward).
On April 18, 2005, Girl Genius became a webcomic, and quarterly print publication of the comic ceased. The Foglios have since organized the new web-only story into plot-coherent volumes of 100-150 pages each, printed as limited-edition hardback and trade paperback books. The site had two streams, "101 Class" (for pages which had seen print publication) and "Advanced Class" (for new, web-only material) until the older section of the story caught up to the new material, and made the entire comic available to read at a sitting.
The Foglios have stated that the climax of Volume 8 is the rough equivalent of "the end of the first season", and provides a logical break in case of either author catastrophe or a fresh jumping-on point for new readers. However, they're only partway through the adventures originally plotted and have plenty of story yet to tell. However, a note posted with the November 21, 2008 strip indicates that Volume 8 ended with a cliff-hanger at the November 19, 2008 strip, suggesting either that the story is growing or that the actual conclusion will come in, effectively, the "second season" opener.
Plot
Girl Genius presents an alternate historyAlternate history (fiction)
Alternate history or alternative history is a genre of fiction consisting of stories that are set in worlds in which history has diverged from the actual history of the world. It can be variously seen as a sub-genre of literary fiction, science fiction, and historical fiction; different alternate...
"where the Industrial Revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
has escalated into an all-out war" due to the battles between "Sparks" – highly charismatic mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
s with supernormal abilities in one or more sciences.
The main character, Agatha Heterodyne, at first seems to be nothing more than a struggling student at Transylvania Polygnostic University
Transylvania in fiction
Largely as a result of the success of Bram Stoker's Dracula, Transylvania has become a popular setting for gothic horror fiction, and most particularly vampire fiction...
, but when Baron Klaus Wulfenbach and his son come to investigate irregularities at the university, a seemingly unrelated sequence of events leads to Agatha awakening to her family's genetic inheritance and their secrets. The people she meets as she flees the Baron will either help her or try to use her, but in the Wastelands of devastated Europe, trust can be hard to win.
Gaslamp Fantasy
Kaja Foglio coined the term "Gaslamp Fantasy" (an alternative to steampunk) to describe the work. In her April 24, 2006 LiveJournalLiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
entry, Kaja Foglio explained how the term came to be coined:
- I called it Gaslamp Fantasy because, around the time we were bringing Girl Genius out, there was a comic called SteampunkSteampunk (comics)Steampunk was a steampunk/fantasypunk comic book series by artist Chris Bachalo and writer Joe Kelly, published by Wildstorm Comics' Cliffhanger imprint.-Publication history:...
on the shelves and I didn't want any confusion. Plus, I've never liked the term steampunk much for our work, it's derived from cyberpunkCyberpunkCyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
(a term which I think actually fits its genre well) but we have no punk, and we have more than just steam, and using a different name seemed appropriate. I mis-remembered a term that I had come across in the foreword to an H. Rider HaggardH. Rider HaggardSir Henry Rider Haggard, KBE was an English writer of adventure novels set in exotic locations, predominantly Africa, and a founder of the Lost World literary genre. He was also involved in agricultural reform around the British Empire...
book, where the author was talking about Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, H.G. Wells, Rider Haggard and that sort of pre-pulp adventurePulp magazinePulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
material, and came up with "Gaslamp Fantasy." I felt a bit foolish when I discovered that I had made up my own term, but it works and I like it.
It also differs from classic steampunk in that technology is not just limited to machines but also encompasses biology. Thus alongside the clanks (impossibly advanced steampunk robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
s), dirigibles and walking gunboats of the world there are constructs - biological creations which range from Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
-style creatures to talking cats and "mimmoths," or mouse-sized mammoths.
The Spark
The Spark is the center of the fictional Girl Genius universe. It is what makes the mad scientists of the story what they are; people say someone is a Spark if he or she has the Spark. It is a rare, often hereditary, trait found mostly within a small number of families — most of the common population that "break through" are either relatively weak or lack the education to make full use of their talents.Most of the time, those who carry the Spark seem no different from anyone else, but they are capable of entering a state of hyperfocus
Hyperfocus
Hyperfocus is an intense form of mental concentration or visualization that focuses consciousness on a narrow subject, separate from objective reality and onto subjective mental planes, daydreams, concepts, fiction, the imagination, and other objects of the mind...
(sometimes called "the madness place") that greatly enhances their charisma
Charisma
The term charisma has two senses: 1) compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others, 2) a divinely conferred power or talent. For some theological usages the term is rendered charism, with a meaning the same as sense 2...
, comprehension
Understanding
Understanding is a psychological process related to an abstract or physical object, such as a person, situation, or message whereby one is able to think about it and use concepts to deal adequately with that object....
and intuition
Intuition (knowledge)
Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. "The word 'intuition' comes from the Latin word 'intueri', which is often roughly translated as meaning 'to look inside'’ or 'to contemplate'." Intuition provides us with beliefs that we cannot necessarily justify...
– all too often at the cost of all their rationality
Rationality
In philosophy, rationality is the exercise of reason. It is the manner in which people derive conclusions when considering things deliberately. It also refers to the conformity of one's beliefs with one's reasons for belief, or with one's actions with one's reasons for action...
or common sense. In short, they can become fanatic
Fanaticism
Fanaticism is a belief or behavior involving uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause or in some cases sports, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby...
ally obsessive
Fixation (psychology)
Fixation: 'concept originated by Sigmund Freud to denote the persistence of anachronistic sexual traits'. Subsequently '"Fixation" acquired a broader connotation...
savant
Savant syndrome
Savant syndrome , sometimes referred to as savantism, is a rare condition in which people with developmental disorders have one or more areas of expertise, ability, or brilliance that are in contrast with the individual's overall limitations...
s at the drop of a hat (though stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
s can easily induce it) – and it is not at all uncommon for some to act as such almost constantly.
On top of that, the first time a Spark enters hyperfocus is, with few documented occurrences to the contrary, traumatic. Most are almost immediately killed by their breakthrough creations or by rioting townsfolk. A fair number become incurably insane. Though the average Spark is smart enough to make the impossible possible, their tunnel vision rarely permits understanding the consequences of their actions. It's noted on at least one occasion that many Sparks meet their doom because "they're smart enough to build death-rays and dumb enough to turn them on armies all by themselves".
Though a Spark requires tools and materials to work, there seems to be nothing beyond their capabilities if they desire it enough. Every stereotype accredited to mad scientists is possible for them, from resurrecting the dead to changing animals into people to creating life from scratch. Mechanisms of astounding complexity and capability are common, many beyond the reach of modern science. Foremost among these creations are weapons of unbelievable power. However, when these capabilities are paired with their lack of rational thought, the results are devastating.
There are some "minor" sparks, who are not as dangerous or as destructive as the stereotypical spark, but they are usually amongst those who are slain by mobs (for various reasons) or forced into servitude of other sparks. One exception to this was the traveling circus of "fake sparks" that took in Agatha. It turned out that a good portion of the circus folk were actual "minor" sparks (like the one who was trying to invent a "calming pie" to calm someone down after they are hit in the face with said pie).
Most of those who survive quickly gain minions through sheer charisma, and eventually gather tremendous support
Cult of personality
A cult of personality arises when an individual uses mass media, propaganda, or other methods, to create an idealized and heroic public image, often through unquestioning flattery and praise. Cults of personality are usually associated with dictatorships...
unless killed by rival Sparks. Those that survive this process of attrition become the power players of their fictional world, and if they successfully reproduce they begin lineages that are nothing less than royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
– right down to personal heraldic
Heraldry
Heraldry is the profession, study, or art of creating, granting, and blazoning arms and ruling on questions of rank or protocol, as exercised by an officer of arms. Heraldry comes from Anglo-Norman herald, from the Germanic compound harja-waldaz, "army commander"...
sigils: the Heterodyne Trilobite, the Sturmvoraus Sword-and-Gear, and the Wulfenbach Winged Rook, for example. However, this does little to satisfy their obsessions, and they spend most of their time dueling rivals when not engaging in dangerous experiments — which is what makes the world of Girl Genius one of unending conflict and cataclysm.
They are thus almost always generally despised. Many dub them "madboys" or "madgirls" (but never when one is within earshot).
Backstory
A little more than twenty years before the beginning of the current story, a fragile peace has been framed through the actions of brothers Bill and Barry Heterodyne and their allies, including their closest friend, Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. The peace was apparently cemented when Lucrezia Mongfish, daughter of one of the more villainous Sparks, consented to marry Bill Heterodyne; the concurrent disappearance of her other suitor, Klaus Wulfenbach, appears to have passed without comment.A bit over four years after Wulfenbach's disappearance, the peace is shattered by an attack on the mechanically sentient Castle Heterodyne; Bill and Barry return to find Lucrezia apparently kidnapped—and, though the details are kept secret from all but their closest associates, Bill and Lucrezia's son Klaus Barry had been killed. The Heterodyne's frantic search for Lucrezia was punctuated beginning about six months later with a series of attacks against the other major Spark houses of Europa. These attacks, instigated by a mysterious person called only The Other, involved a bio-engineered construct known as the slaver wasp. Victims of the slaver wasp, called revenants, usually became insane, but could be controlled by the Other through means not understood at the time. The Heterodynes turned their attention to the defense of Europa—while still searching for Lucrezia.
At some point, the attacks ceased. However, neither the Heterodynes nor Lucrezia Mongfish were to be found. Wulfenbach, traveling with a new son but without his new wife, returns to find Europa full of revenants; fifty "houses" of Sparks had all but been destroyed, and the remainder were in a mad scramble for power. Wulfenbach uses his own not inconsiderable charisma and skill to establish a "peace of the biggest guns", and polices Europa's sparks while trying to put together the fragmented pieces of the puzzle.
Meanwhile, the absent "Heterodyne Boys" have become increasingly popular folk heroes, with many of their known exploits (and not a few wholly imaginary ones) captured in a series of popular novels and plays. Traveling shows often present the Heterodyne plays to audiences in towns of all sizes.
The story opens about twelve years into "The Baron's Peace."
Agatha Clay / Heterodyne
Agatha Heterodyne, also known as Agatha Clay: the Girl Genius of the title. Agatha is a powerful Spark, especially talented at creating and repairing electrical and mechanical devices. Among her creations is an ever-present, highly versatile coasterCoaster
Coaster or Coasters may refer to:* A beverage coaster on which to rest glasses of beverage* A Furniture coaster Which stops wheeled furniture moving* Coaster , a regional rail service in San Diego County, California...
-sized clank named Dingbot Prime, capable of performing complex tasks without supervision; it can even build similar small clanks to assist it, making it a self-replicating machine
Self-replicating machine
A self-replicating machine is an artificial construct that is theoretically capable of autonomously manufacturing a copy of itself using raw materials taken from its environment, thus exhibiting self-replication in a way analogous to that found in nature. The concept of self-replicating machines...
. Though each generation of these clanks is slightly less well-made than its predecessor (ensuring that they do not replicate endlessly
Grey goo
Grey goo is a hypothetical end-of-the-world scenario involving molecular nanotechnology in which out-of-control self-replicating robots consume all matter on Earth while building more of themselves, a scenario known as ecophagy .Self-replicating machines of the macroscopic variety were originally...
), together they are capable of truly amazing feats of engineering — such as secretly converting Master Payne's Circus of Adventure into a Battle Circus capable of repelling an entire division of Wulfenbach's troops. Tarvek and Gil have recently discovered that first-generation Dingbots apparently possess the Spark, the first mechanical creations with a manufactured Spark.
Agatha Heterodyne has an impressive heritage as the daughter of the heroic Bill Heterodyne and Lucrezia Mongfish, who is the Villain's Beautiful Daughter and evil Spark herself, but who was believed to have turned a new leaf and given up her wicked ways upon marrying Bill. Agatha has inherited both the legendary Heterodyne charismatic genius and the distinctive Mongfish voice. Due to this, she is pursued by many other Sparks. As a Spark of a major House currently without an empire of her own to protect her, she is a potential asset or enemy. Baron Klaus Wulfenbach wishes to imprison her or kill her if necessary, knowing her to be a source of potential discord. Othar Tryggvassen at first wished to kill her as part of his crusade against the Spark, but once he realized that she was the Heterodyne heir, he decides he would prefer to ally with her.
When Agatha was five years old, her uncle Barry Heterodyne gave her a locket containing pictures of her parents, instructing her to never remove it. The locket secretly contained a mechanism that prevented her from realizing she was a Spark by neutralizing her early attempts to hyperfocus with excruciatingly painful migraine
Migraine
Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...
s. Punch and Judy — constructs
Frankenstein's monster
Frankenstein's monster is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's novel, Frankenstein, or The Modern Prometheus. The creature is often erroneously referred to as "Frankenstein", but in the novel the creature has no name...
presumably made by her father and uncle (named for the famed medieval puppets
Punch and Judy
Punch and Judy is a traditional, popular puppet show featuring the characters of Mr. Punch and his wife, Judy. The performance consists of a sequence of short scenes, each depicting an interaction between two characters, most typically the anarchic Punch and one other character...
) who took care of her under the names Adam and Lilith Clay — watchfully ensured she always wore it. Punch and Judy settled with Agatha in Beetlesburg, where Agatha attended Transylvania Polygnostic University (T.P.U.) under the direct supervision of the Spark Professor Beetle, who had been briefed on her by her Uncle, but who had his own ulterior motives. Less than a day after the locket was stolen (by von Zinzer), and in the aftermath of Professor Beetle's accidental death at the hands of Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, Agatha seemingly "broke through" by building her first clank while sleepwalking ("sleep-Sparking"), a quirk she continued to display for some time. Unlike most Spark break throughs, Agatha's was relatively benign in nature (Baron Wulfenbach labelled her clank "amusing but harmless"). However, through an odd turn of events (the Baron at first believed the clank to be the work of soldier and locket-thief von Zinzer), Agatha still ends up on the Baron's massive fortress airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
, Castle Wulfenbach.
Agatha escapes both Castle Wulfenbach and Othar Tryggvassen with her new liege, Krosp I, a talking cat construct, and eventually crash-lands in the Wastelands. After rescuing a traveling circus from a rogue clank, they take her in in gratitude. Master Payne's Circus of Adventure gains a new fortune-teller as Agatha learns more about this new wider world outside of the quiet walls of Beetleburg and T.P.U. She becomes "zumil" (daughter-like student) to the Circus's resident swordswoman, Zeetha, Daughter of Chump — the Amazonian lost princess of a civilization about which Agatha's Uncle Barry had told her stories. In appreciation for Agatha's confirmation her family actually exists and were not fever-dream constructions, Zeetha swears a vow of training and protection to the young Spark, and becomes her best friend. Agatha gains her first sworn servitors: a trio of Jägerkin, who had been searching for the Heterodyne heir and are surprised to find she's a girl instead of a boy as expected. She also proves herself adept at playing the role of Lucrezia Mongfish in the popular Heterodyne plays performed by Master Payne's Circus, an irony which is not lost on her or Krosp, though she keeps her real identity secret from the other members of the Circus.
On the way to her ancestral home of Mechanicsburg with Master Payne's Circus, Agatha's route led through Prince Aaronev VI's province of Sturmhalten. While on stage, the Prince and his son, Tarvek, recognized her voice as a match for their "Mistress". Agatha was ordered to the castle by the prince, forced into a mysterious machine and imprinted with the mind of her mother, Lucrezia Mongfish, resurrecting Europe's deadliest enemy — the Other. However, Lucrezia's plan failed to take into account Agatha's own fury at being violated and her willpower. Through the use of her family trait of "heterodyning", she was able to suppress Lucrezia's consciousness for limited periods of time, during which she did all she could to foil her mother's plans. Eventually, with the help of her locket, which had been retrieved broken from von Zinzer and repaired by Baron Wulfenbach, Agatha had the strength to push Lucrezia down deep in her mind and block any further takeovers. Unfortunately, this came only after the Baron found himself facing the Lucrezia persona, and he is not yet aware that Agatha is in control of herself.
Agatha hates the locket, a symbol of how bad her life was before she discovered her Spark — the agonizing headaches every time she attempted to use her Spark, self-hatred because of the inventions that never worked, the humiliation of her peers — but she must wear it to keep the Other from possessing her again. Zeetha convinces her that it has become instead a symbol of her strength, and Agatha agrees: It's a symbol of everything she has and will overcome.
Finally, Agatha reaches Mechanicsburg and meets her greatest challenge yet: Convincing the mechanically sentient and mentally fragmented Castle Heterodyne, given human-like response by her ancestor Faustus, that she is a real Heterodyne. What's worse is that she has to do it while a pretender is trying to kill both the Castle and herself. As of the end of Volume XI (04 November 2011), Agatha has been acknowledged by Castle Heterodyne as the true heir, begun to learn both her mother's and the Castle's secrets, and is preparing to defend the city of Mechanicsburg from various factions seeking to assume control of Europa.
Both Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and Tarvek Sturmvoraus are potential love interests for Agatha, though earlier stories clearly suggested that Agatha would ultimately select Gilgamesh. The significance of her choice cannot be overstated; both her father and uncle's heroism, atypical of the Heterodynes, and the legend of the "Storm King" who last unified Europe by taking a Heterodyne bride (and who is allegedly an ancestor of Tarvek) suggest that the future of Europa might be in her capable but inexperienced hands.
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach ("Gil" to his friends) is the only son and heir of Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. He is a rather likable fellow, more interested in building aircraft and constructs than designing weapons or defending his father's empire. Despite being somewhat unambitious, with a tendency to put his foot in his mouth when discussing non-technical subjects, his own father believes Gil has potential to be an even greater Spark than he; he bases his hopes for lasting peace on his son's generally unaggressive nature, and his friendships built with heirs of other countries in and outside of direct Wulfenbach influence.His Spark is particularly powerful; he built his breakthrough creation (a knee-high insectoid construct named Zoing) at the age of eight. He has become increasingly infatuated with Agatha since discovering she was a fellow Spark, as he realized that she was the first woman he had ever met who could understand his love of science at the same level. She seemed somewhat taken with him as well, at least until she witnessed him brutally subduing Othar Tryggvassen (though when the self-proclaimed hero tried to kill her after she helped him escape, she decided she owed Gil an apology).
After being led to believe that Agatha died defending a traveling Heterodyne show from a rogue clank, he spent his time resuscitating Agatha's surrogate parents Adam and Lilith Clay (otherwise known as Punch and Judy, assistants to the Heterodyne Brothers), and taking out his frustrations upon captured rogue clanks, with a side effect of honing his already impressive sword-skills and reflexes. However, upon learning that Agatha's demise had been greatly exaggerated, he became energized to her defense. He sent his butler and friend Wooster (under threat of revealing him for the British spy that he is) to find Agatha and take her to London for protection. He pointedly demanded that she be kept free there as well as safe — or he would focus all his abilities upon destroying England.
The identity of Gil's mother has not been revealed. As the Baron has seen fit to warn his son that he may be targeted for assassination by the Skifandrian warrior Zeetha because, "I kept you alive" and as Gil and Zeetha both utilize a secret mental technique to keep working / fighting without sleep for several days, a good guess is that Klaus lived, studied and finally married in Skifander, although he must have left the city on less amiable terms. It has been revealed by the authors that Gil and Zeetha are siblings.
Recently, with his father severely injured and unable to actively rule, Gil has found himself having to impress upon others that he is not merely his father's shadow. From fending off assassins to singlehandedly facing down and defeating a military attack on Mechanicsburg, others are beginning to take decided notice of his actions. Baron Wulfenbach, witnessing his son's amazing one-man victory, is as proud a father as any in history. In the process, Gil himself has begun to see with what obstacles his father has had to deal in constructing and maintaining the empire.
As of the end of Volume XI, Gil is assisting Agatha in the defense of Mechanicsburg.
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach is one of the greatest Sparks of his generation with a particular interest in the workings, origins and nature of the Spark. When the Heterodynes began their heroic crusades, he was among the first to ally with them, moved by their idealism and hoping to bring an end to the constant battles between Europe's Sparks. He eventually became close friends with Bill Heterodyne in particular.Thus he first met the figure that would haunt him for the rest of his life: Lucrezia Mongfish. After she was turned from conquest by the Heterodynes' ideals, a romantic triangle formed between Klaus, Lucrezia, and Bill. Lucrezia, being used to doing as she pleased, moved from one to the other as her whim suited her, until finally settling on Bill (though not before spending one last night with Klaus and drugging him to prevent any disturbances during the rest of her life).
He then disappeared. Three years later, The Other appeared, waging a war to annihilate Europe's Sparks that only ended with the disappearance of the Heterodynes. When Klaus finally returned with his son, Gilgamesh, the Boys had already been gone for several years — and what was left of Europe was in chaos. Without the Heterodynes' charismatic presence to keep the peace, rampaging conflicts between rival Sparks had reduced society to ruins. Disgusted with what he saw, and less suited to diplomacy than the more charismatic Heterodynes, he adopted a simpler plan.
He drew a circle on a map, claimed it as his territory and imposed one simple rule: no more fighting. He was not taken seriously at first; but as each outbreak of violence was met with the swift removal of the aggressors, and those who followed the rule were left to govern their lands as they saw fit, more and more began to grudgingly accept the "Baron's Peace". The circle grows with each passing year, and he is currently the uncontested ruler of much of Europe.
The Baron's numerous employees come from a wide array of backgrounds, as most were once the staff (or captives) of conquered Sparks. There are a number of minor Sparks who perform minor research for him, but his organization also consists of various types of "constructs" (artificial or augmented people), and "clanks" (steampunk-styled robots). He abandoned his destroyed ancestral home in favor of a headquarters with far more security, privacy and mobility: the city-sized airship
Airship
An airship or dirigible is a type of aerostat or "lighter-than-air aircraft" that can be steered and propelled through the air using rudders and propellers or other thrust mechanisms...
, the Castle Wulfenbach.
While he is publicly considered a ruthless tyrant, his motives are more complex. Unlike the more maniacal Sparks, he is not obsessed with power for its own sake. He states frankly that he despises politics, considering his job (which consists solely of enforcing a single rule) to be more like babysitting than anything else. He fondly remembers his days when he adventured with the Heterodynes, and had time to pursue his own research. However, he is completely convinced that, without someone to enforce the peace, Europe (or even the world) would once more descend into chaos — and though he has high hopes in his son, Gilgamesh, he can find no one more capable than himself to fill the role until his son is ready to take the metaphorical reins. Thus, he will brook no chance he or his heir will lose that position.
The common folk do not note the discrepancy between their perception of him and his actual actions — among other things, he does not do anything to prevent portrayals of him as cowardly comic relief in popular entertainment. In private, he is actually quite even-tempered (his obsession with brain surgery on particularly troublesome rival Sparks notwithstanding), and has a dry, sardonic sense of humor. Enemy soldiers who are defeated are offered compensation or a chance to join his army at excellent salary — though their leaders are likely to have a far less benign fate. Klaus states frankly that he can be a ruthless tyrant — but he tries to be fair and rational. Needless to say this doesn't always work, and being in a difficult situation, to protect the large empire under his rule, he will resort to military force when needed — overwhelming force, carefully applied to minimize casualties and destruction.
Originally, The Baron pursued Agatha after her escape because of the legendary charisma the Heterodyne name carries with it; even a false Heterodyne attracts devotion, until they are proven false. To keep the peace, he has to be ruthless, but is nonetheless sympathetic to her plight as well as his son's feelings for Agatha. However, he is now obsessed with the pursuit of Agatha, because he believes she is Lucrezia and therefore The Other, having recognized her mannerisms and speech patterns while she possessed her daughter. Because of this obsession, and after several vigorous conflicts with Dr. Sun, the physician in charge of the Mechanicsburg hospital, he has been subdued and isolated for further treatment of his wounds at Sturmhalten.
Lucrezia (in Agatha's body) successfully infected Klaus with a unique Slaver Wasp at Sturmhalten, specially modified to allow the control of a Spark. But whatever control she might have possessed, was broken as Lucrezia's personality was subdued by Agatha's locket. While Agatha has demonstrated some control over her mother's minions and creatures, it remains to be seen if she is willing or capable of controlling the Baron.
As of the end of Volume XI, Wulfenbach is missing and presumed dead in the destruction of the Great Hospital, but not before he was shown as being firmly under control of at least one of Lucrezia's personas.
Bangladesh Dupree
This friendly and cheerful commander of Wulfenbach's airship fleet also happens to be a bloodthirsty and sociopathic air-pirate queen. After her pirate fleet was mysteriously slaughtered in her absence (this may have been Zeetha as she had once destroyed an entire pirate air fleet and then destroyed their headquarters), Dupree joined Wulfenbach as his "left hand" woman in exchange for any information his vastly superior intelligence operations might find about her peoples' killer.Dupree functions as a quick and relentless weapon for the Wulfenbachs, and a threat hanging over Agatha.
The Heterodyne Boys
Bill and Barry Heterodyne are Agatha's father and uncle, respectively, seen only in flashbacks. Their established continental peace, carved out of decades of conflict, set the stage for the shocking devastation of "The Other," for Baron Wulfenbach's empire, and for Agatha's quest to find out the truth about herself.They have become the stuff of legend in the manner of King Arthur, inspiring a series of books and stage plays of dubious accuracy chronicling their adventures.
After The Other's initial attack on Castle Heterodyne, Bill and Barry left Mechanicsburg, and spent the next several years searching for The Other. However, when The Other's attacks ceased, so did sightings of the Heterodyne Boys.
Jägermonsters
This army of monsters, created centuries ago by a Heterodyne, is known for fanatic loyalty to House Heterodyne. With the disappearance of Bill and Barry Heterodyne, the bulk of the Jägermonster army has allied with Baron Wulfenbach, while the remaining, at general's orders, went into exile until a Heterodyne heir is found by one of them.Their heavy Romanian-Germanic accents, violent natures and indestructibility allow them to serve both as ties to the Heterodyne history and broad comic relief. Augmented senses allow them to provide foreshadowing, running jokes, character revelations, and useful details otherwise undetectable to the main characters. For example, every Jäger that has met Agatha in person has commented on how good she smells (or more accurately, how 'goot she shmells'), as if they can detect the family line of their creators by scent.
Apparently one becomes a Jäger by choice, with the future Jägers considering the chance to drink the 'Jägersdraught' as a gift. This and the respect that the Heterodyne have historically shown the Jägers account for their fierce loyalty. It is unclear whether or not new Jägers can still be created or if the formula for Jägersdraught has been lost.
A trio of Jägers recognized Agatha shortly after she escaped Castle Wulfenbach and have been openly aiding her in her quest to reach Mechanicsburg, and Gil in his efforts to protect the city. Conversely, in Mechanicsburg, she is confronted by Vole, a rogue Jäger who is actively trying to kill her and subvert Gil; the extent to which Vole is working with the Baron, instead of following his own anti-Heterodyne agenda, has not yet been fully revealed. Gil has also encountered Mamma Gkika, the apparent leader of a large group of Jägers living (carousing might be a better description) in the tunnels underneath Mechanicsburg awaiting the return of a Heterodyne heir—many of them waiting for the Heterodyne heir to repair them from various violent mishaps.
Krosp I
The Emperor of all cats. He is a construct, a bipedal and highly intelligent polydactyl catPolydactyl cat
A polydactyl cat is a cat with a congenital physical anomaly called polydactyly , a type of cat body type genetic mutation that causes the cat to be born with more than the usual number of toes on one or more of its paws...
designed to lead the felines of the world as an ever-present army of spies, messengers and saboteurs. The plan was partially successful, as Krosp is both extremely intelligent and capable of communicating with both cats and humans with equal proficiency. Unfortunately, the plan failed, as all other cats are not intelligent and are incapable of following complex orders.
Krosp is currently Agatha's most loyal associate, although he regards her as his vassal
Fealty
An oath of fealty, from the Latin fidelitas , is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Typically the oath is made upon a religious object such as a Bible or saint's relic, often contained within an altar, thus binding the oath-taker before God.In medieval Europe, fealty was sworn between...
and himself as her liege — making him not all that different from a normal cat.
Zeetha
A green-haired swordsmistress armed with a pair of Katara, who is a lost princess of the lost city of Skifander. She left the city as an envoy to the outer world. However, a complex chain of events left her stranded in Europe with no idea how to get home. Zeetha has declared she and Agatha are "kolee-dok-zumil"; a complex Skifandran term that might be compared to an apprenticeshipApprenticeship
Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
. In practice however, it is more like "grindstone and knife": she regularly trains, drills and bludgeons Agatha to exhaustion for her own protection.
Zeetha was shocked to find out Agatha and her missing uncle are not the only two who know about Skifander when Baron Wulfenbach addressed her in her native tongue; Lucrezia during her possession of Agatha also recognized her as a Skifandrian. Zeetha has yet to find out how much either knows, and has unsuccessfully queried Gilgamesh on that regard. A drawing by the Foglio's of Zeetha's father "Chump", circulated on the Internet, bears a strong resemblance to Baron Klaus Wulfenbach.
Zeetha was part of the party who attempted to rescue Agatha from Sturmhalten, and accompanied her to Mechanicsburg. She was separated from Agatha for a while, but later joined with Gil and has entered the castle with him, where they have had several adventures with Agatha during her second possession by Lucrezia, with Zola, and with the Castle itself. She was last seen convalescing from injuries received due to underestimating Zola. She seems to have developed some special affinity for Airman Higgs, and he for her.
Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer
A Spark, Gentleman Adventurer and self-proclaimed hero. The Wulfenbachs, however, see him as both dangerous and insane due to his secret mission to see to the destruction of all the world's Sparks, including, eventually, himself. Othar seems to be unusually resilient, surviving several incidents that would lead to certain death for anyone else (including falling from Castle Wulfenbach- twice!). A running joke in the comic is that the subtitle "Gentleman Adventurer" is often said after Othar's name, always by Othar when introducing himself, but occasionally by other characters, to their dismay. Sent to Castle Heterodyne by the Baron with the intent of removing Gil as a precursor to the Castle's destruction, Othar discovered his sister was a prisoner at Castle Heterodyne and has agreed to make her his "spunky girl sidekick". As of the end of Volume XI (4 November 2011), they had captured Tarvek by mistake and are assumed to be attempting to leave the Castle.Othar has a Twitter account for his (mis)adventures which do not intersect with Agatha's. The most recent posts there (in July 2010) involve a possible time-travel connection to the ongoing main adventure.
Tarvek Sturmvoraus
Tarvek is the Prince of Sturmhalten and the only surviving member of his immediate family, who have all died as a result of internal dissent related to their allegiance to "the Other." He's shown interest in Agatha, both political and romantic, and the fact that he survived his family (in both senses of the phrase) means that he has a deft touch when it comes to the machinations of the elite. He's one of the few who know that Agatha is possessed by Lucrezia, but while he remains wary of Lucrezia, his reaction to learning that was apparently to play both sides and see who won in the end.Tarvek also claims descent from the legendary Storm King, who features in a prophecy that Europa will not know peace until the Storm King or his heir marries a Heterodyne girl, which may explain much of Tarvek's romantic interest in Agatha. A current plot to assume control of Mechanicsburg and Castle Heterodyne appears to involve a fake, female Heterodyne heir whom Tarvek was to marry. It is not completely clear whether Tarvek has genuine feelings for Agatha, or whether he intends to see his plot through with Agatha—or if those states are mutually exclusive. Agatha is as yet unaware of this possible ambivalence, but is aware that he was party to her manipulation in Sturmhalten and thus hesitant to fully trust him.
During the current storyline Tarvek, Gilgamesh, and Agatha are working together within Castle Heterodyne, where it is revealed that Tarvek and Gilgamesh were students together aboard Castle Wulfenbach and in Paris, Gilgamesh under an assumed name. Despite their long-time rivalry and the conflict implicit in the feelings both have for Agatha, Tarvek has clearly told Gil that he places Agatha's safety and well-being above his own.
His bodyguard was Violetta, one of the "Smoke Knights" serving the Sturmvoraus family and their allies, who is also one of his shirttail cousins. However, he has released her into Agatha's service, a much more feminine role which she relishes.
Lucrezia Mongfish
Lucrezia Mongfish is the daughter of Lucifer Mongfish, an old foe of the Heterodyne Boys. After several clashes with the Heterodynes, she eventually married Bill Heterodyne, and had a son named Klaus Barry Heterodyne (notably, 2 years and 3 months after Baron Wulfenbach had vanished). She was present at Castle Heterodyne for the first attack by the Other, and her subsequent disappearance led most to assume that she had been kidnapped.In reality, Lucrezia Mongfish is the Other, and proceeded to wage war across Europa for years before finally vanishing. Recently, through the work of a conspiracy of Sparks and the Geisterdamen, a race of pale amazons who worship Lucrezia as a goddess, she has managed to imprint her mind onto that of her daughter Agatha Heterodyne, as well as stealing the clank body of Anevka Sturmvoraus. Agatha has suppressed the Lucrezia imprint by use of her Heterodyne sigil locket, and Anevka/Lucrezia was last seen in the Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg taking control of the Baron prior to the destruction of the hospital. A Lucrezia persona has sufficiently integrated with Zola to convince Anevka/Lucrezia that she is in control.
Moloch von Zinzer
The surviving member of the pair of soldiers who stole Agatha's locket in Beetleburg; his brother Omar was killed by the mechanism in the locket which suppressed her Spark. He eventually ended up a prisoner in Castle Heterodyne, where he has become one of Agatha's lackeys, much to his dismay, as he dislikes being around "madboys" (sparks). Developing a romantic interest in Sanaa, another lackey.Wooster
Ardsley Wooster is an agent of the British Queen (Albia), sent to spy on Gilgamesh Wulfenbach by posing as his manservant. Gilgamesh is aware of Wooster's true allegiance but says nothing until he needs Wooster to fill in for him and whisk Agatha out of his father's path. After Ardsley attempted to threaten Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh reminded Wooster about whose son Gilgamesh is, and Wooster is now very, very loyal. Or so it appeared--if he's loyal to anyone other than the British Queen, it would seem to be Agatha, as he counts 'destabilizing England's greatest rival" (the Baron) as high on his priority lists, and counts "aiding an innocent girl" (Agatha) as part of that good day's work. His priority where Gil is concerned appears to be staying out of his way.As a well-trained intelligence agent, Wooster is able to fill in background and detail for Agatha (and the reader) which would otherwise be unavailable.
The Unstoppable Airman Higgs
A mysterious and extremely tenacious Wulfenbach soldier who first appeared rescuing the Baron from an airship accident (breaking almost every limb in his body in a series of more and more hilarious accidents, mishaps and enemy attacks whilst doing so).After encountering Gilgamesh and Zeetha as they passed through Mamma Gikka's into Mechanicsburg, Higgs entered Castle Heterodyne with them, where he has demonstrated both an unusual prowess and resourcefulness. His true nature and identity appears to have been recognized by at least one of the Castle's fragments (and also by Tarvek), and his actions suggest an insider's knowledge of the history of the Heterodyne family and of the workings of Castle Heterodyne. He is also a suspiciously strong fighter, with an almost supernatural ability to survive and quickly recover from very serious wounds, making it even more obvious that he is far from a normal soldier.
He and Zeetha have developed a mutual attraction, though Zeetha somewhat resents having to recognize that someone is a stronger fighter than she is, and has vowed to learn until she is able to beat Higgs, a challenge that Higgs has happily accepted.
Zola la Sirène Dorée
Zola (a.k.a. Pinkie) is the pretender to the Heterodyne family name currently attempting to take over Castle Heterodyne. She knew Tarvek and Gil (under his assumed name) during their student days in Paris, where she appeared to be an ineffectual minion to others whom they frequently had to rescue. However, while she has suffered several mishaps within the Castle, requiring rescue, since she encountered Gil there, she has also demonstrated an absolute ruthlessness despite the unraveling of their plan to take the castle. Upon her reemergence in the castle, it is revealed that she is of the Mongfish lineage, specifically the daughter of Lucrezia's sister. Her subsequent extraordinary success as an opponent in recent confrontations, and the revelation that she is a well-prepared Mongfish agent, strongly suggest that her mishaps and subsequent rescues were deliberate, likely to cover her much deeper involvement in the plans from which she was routinely 'rescued' and to manipulate Gil.Zola was last seen convalescing from injuries received in escaping Castle Heterodyne, possibly under the control of the Lucrezia persona she "audited" in the Castle. Her whereabouts following the apparent destruction of the Great Hospital are unknown.
Von Pinn
A construct first encountered by Agatha in the Nursery / School on Castle Wulfenbach, Von Pinn is revealed as the construct manufactured by the Heterodynes to care for their children, and was thought to have gone insane after "The Other" attacked Castle Heterodyne and killed the son of Bill and Lucrezia, Klaus Barry Heterodyne. She killed Punch and Judy while Agatha was escaping from Castle Wulfenbach. She returned to Castle Heterodyne after Agatha entered the Castle, with the aid of Castle systems, where it was revealed that her consciousness was taken from Otilia, one of the nine Muses of the Storm King. She, as Otilia, is now inside the body of an "improved" "Devil Dog".Punch and Judy
A construct couple that worked for (and with) the Heterodyne Boys on several of their fabulous adventures, they are best known in recent years as caregivers to Agatha under the names Adam and Lilith Clay. Punch is massively muscled (it is also a little known fact that he is supposedly mute, although Adam apparently talks with Lilith in Volume 1); consequently, Punch and Judy are usually portrayed as comic relief in Heterodyne plays, which is surely why they disliked them. Their origin is never stated, but they appear to have been with the Heterodyne boys for some time before Lucrezia married Bill. They died at the hands of Von Pinn covering Agatha's escape from Castle Wulfenbach; however, Gil recovered their bodies and is in the process of resurrecting them. Punch also hiccups after encountering electricity.Castle Heterodyne
Castle Heterodyne is the ancient ancestral home of the Heterodyne family. Originally simply a large fortress, the Castle was brought to life by Faustus Heterodyne who imbued it with an artificial intelligence. The castle's obedience to an individual is seen as proof of that individual's claim to being the Heterodyne heir, which it can verify by a blood test and other means.Following a devastating attack by the Other, the castle was nearly destroyed and its artificial intelligence was fractured into multiple pieces that cannot communicate with each other. Many of these fragments are vicious, cruel, and whimsical. It has negotiated for its repair with Baron Wulfenbach, and is used as an ultimate punishment detail.
As of the end of Volume XI, Agatha has been publicly acknowledged by the Castle as the Heir and has completed extensive repairs to the Castle subsystems. However, the Castle has depleted its stores of energy and is overextended in the defense of itself and the City.
People of Mechanicsburg
Significant people of Mechanicsburg include:Carson von Mekkhan, former Seneschal, who provided Agatha the information she needed to be tested by -- and accepted by -- the Castle.
Vanamonde von Mekkhan, Carson's grandson and heir to the position of Seneschal, coffee connoisseur, and war leader in the defense of Mechanicsburg.
Herr Diamant, who supplies the Baron's prisoners in the Castle -- and the troops defending Mechanicsburg.
The Assistant, an unnamed lass who assists Agatha with the coffee engine -- and Vanamonde in the defense preparations.
Dr. Sun, director of the Great Hospital, and the only person who can keep the Baron sedated long enough to recuperate from his injuries. Even if it means knocking out the Baron and his Mecha
Mecha
A mech , is a science fiction term for a large walking bipedal tank or robot, including ones on treads and animal shapes.-Characteristics:...
hospital bed bare-handed.
Awards
Girl Genius has won or been nominated for the following awards:- Hugo AwardHugo AwardThe Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
s:- 2011: Best Graphic StoryHugo Award for Best Graphic StoryThe Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, for Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse. - 2010: Best Graphic StoryHugo Award for Best Graphic StoryThe Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, for Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm. - 2009: Best Graphic StoryHugo Award for Best Graphic StoryThe Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
, for Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones. - 2008: Phil Foglio for Best Professional ArtistHugo Award for Best Professional ArtistThe Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
(nominated).
- 2011: Best Graphic Story
- Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s:- 2007: Best Digital Comic (nominated).
- 2005: Phil Foglio for Best Writer/Artist—Humor (nominated).
- Web Cartoonists' Choice AwardsWeb Cartoonists' Choice AwardsThe Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards are annual awards in which online cartoonists nominate and select outstanding webcomics. The awards have been held since 2001, were featured in a The New York Times column on webcomics in 2005, and have been mentioned as a tool for librarians.The WCCA represent a...
:- 20082008 Web Cartoonists' Choice AwardsThe Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards is an annual award voted on by web cartoonists themselves. The nominations ballots for the 8th annual award cover webcomics active in 2007 and were emailed to pre-registered voters by 7 January 2008 and closed those submissions on 23 January 2008...
: Outstanding Comic; Outstanding Writer; Outstanding Environment Design; Outstanding Artist (nominated); Outstanding Character Writing (nominated); Outstanding Long Form Comic (nominated); Outstanding Use of Color (nominated). - 20072007 Web Cartoonists' Choice AwardsThe Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards is an award voted on by webcartoonists. The nominations were announced in January 2007 and the results in February 2007...
: Outstanding Science Fiction Comic; Outstanding Comic (nominated); Outstanding Long Form Comic (nominated). - 20062006 Web Cartoonists' Choice AwardsThe Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards is an award voted on by web cartoonists. The results of the 2006 WCCA were announced on 17 July 2006. The ceremony was introduced by the characters of Kristofer Straub....
: Outstanding Story Concept; Outstanding Comic (nominated); Outstanding Science Fiction Comic (nominated).
- 2008
- Squiddy Awards:
- 2004: Best Comic Series (nominated); Agatha Clay Heterodyne for Best Character (nominated); Foglio, Foglio, and Smith for Best Creative Team (nominated); Phil Foglio for Best Cartoonist (nominated).
- 2003: Best Comic Series (nominated); Best Character Team (nominated); Baron Klaus Wulfenbach for Best Comic Character (nominated); Phil Foglio for Best Penciller (nominated); Phil Foglio for Cartoonist (nominated).
- 2002: Best Comic Series (nominated); Best Multi-Part Story (nominated); Best Comic Character Team (nominated); Agatha Clay for Best Comic Character (nominated); Baron Klaus Wulfenbach for Best Comic Character (nominated); Foglio, Foglio, and McNabb for Best Comics Creative Team (nominated); Phil Foglio for Best Comics Penciller (nominated).
- 2001: Best Comic Series (nominated); Best New Comic Series (nominated); Best Comic Character Team (nominated); Girl Genius Sketchbook for Best Comics-Related Story (Print) (nominated); Foglio, Foglio, and Snoddy for Best Comics Creative Team (nominated); Phil Foglio for Best Comics Cover Artist (nominated); Phil Foglio for Best Comics Penciller (nominated).
Published collections
- Volume 1: Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank (96 pp) (reprints #1–3)
- Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-19-3, full color Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-50-9
- Hardcover: ISBN 1-890856-20-7
- Volume 2: Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City (112 pp) (reprints #4–6)
- Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-30-4
- Hardcover: ISBN 1-890856-31-2
- Volume 3: Agatha Heterodyne and the Monster Engine (128 pp) (reprints #7–9)
- Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-32-0
- Hardcover: ISBN 1-890856-33-9
- Volume 4: Agatha Heterodyne and the Circus Of Dreams (128 pp) (reprints #10–13 + April–June 2005 webcomic)
- Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-36-3
- Hardcover: ISBN 1-890856-37-1
- Volume 5: Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess (112 pp) (reprints webcomic)
- Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-39-8
- Hardcover: ISBN 1-890856-38-X
- Volume 6: Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite (150 pp) (reprints webcomic)
- Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-42-8
- Hardcover: ISBN 1-890856-41-X
- Volume 7: Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle (128 pp) (reprints webcomic)
- Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-45-8
- Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-46-5
- Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones (144 pp) (reprints webcomic) Winner of the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Graphic StoryHugo Award for Best Graphic StoryThe Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
- Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-47-2
- Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-48-9
- Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm (144 pg) (reprints webcomic) Winner of the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Graphic StoryHugo Award for Best Graphic StoryThe Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
- Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-52-6
- Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-51-9
- Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse (152 pg) (reprints webcomic) Winner of the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Graphic StoryHugo Award for Best Graphic StoryThe Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
- Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-53-3
- Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-54-0
- Girl Genius Omnibus Edition Vol 1 (reprints v.1–3 in smaller, black & white edition)
- ISBN 1-890856-40-1
Volume 5 as well as all future collections reprint the website content from where the comic series was discontinued.
Novel
The Foglios have also released a novel, Agatha H. and the Airship City telling the story of Agatha Heterodyne. It primarily contains the story of the first three volumes of the comic.Connections to other works
- Agatha is visible throughout the GURPSGURPSThe Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
Illuminati UniversityGURPS Illuminati UniversityGURPS Illuminati University , also called GURPS IOU, is a 128-page softbound campaign setting sourcebook for the GURPS role-playing game. The authors are Elizabeth McCoy and Walter Milliken; the illustrations are by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio...
sourcebook, which was illustrated by the Foglios, and she is even identified by name on page 11. A GURPS Girl Genius Sourcebook is also in development. - The comic has made references to other webcomics, such as Girls with Slingshots, Wapsi SquareWapsi SquareWapsi Square is a slice of life/fantasy webcomic set in modern Minneapolis, "a world almost exactly like the one you want to believe you live in." It also includes multiple supernatural elements, including a psychic and a god, which contrasts with its soap opera nature...
, Gunnerkrigg CourtGunnerkrigg CourtGunnerkrigg Court is a science-fantasy webcomic created by Tom Siddell and launched in April 2005. It is updated online three days a week, and the first volume of the comic was published in print format by Archaia Studios Press and Titan Books...
, Arcane Times, Something PositiveSomething PositiveSomething Positive or S*P is a webcomic by R. K. Milholland, which debuted on December 19, 2001. The comic is characterized by a cynical tone and off-beat humor, including its portrayals of geeks, gamers, and goths....
, Dominic Deegan: Oracle For HireDominic Deegan: Oracle For HireDominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire is a daily fantasy webcomic by Michael "Mookie" Terracciano that began in May 2002. The comic follows the adventures of Dominic Deegan, a freelance seer who finds himself often at the center of conflicts that threaten his whole world. The story is organized in...
,Basic InstructionsBasic Instructions (comic)Basic Instructions is a webcomic by artist, comedian and writer Scott Meyer.The theme of the comic is the 'basic instructions for life' in a twisted and humorous manner. The comic follows a four-panel layout in a 'window' format, with 2 panels on the top and two on the bottom. Occasional he has...
, Home on the StrangeHome on the Strange (disambiguation)-Comics:* The series title for a set of Wynonna Earp comics* A webcomic by Ferrett Steinmetz and Veronica Pare that ran from January 2006 to December 2007-Music:* A song written by Geddy Lee and Ben Mink. It appears on Lee's solo album My Favorite Headache...
, The Devil's PantiesThe Devil's PantiesThe Devil's Panties is a webcomic created by Jennie Breeden.-Overview:It is based widely on her own life experiences and interactions with other people...
, Schlock MercenarySchlock MercenarySchlock Mercenary is a comedic webcomic written and drawn by Howard Tayler. It follows the tribulations of a star-travelling mercenary company in a satiric, mildly dystopian 31st-century space opera setting...
and Studio Foglio's own Buck GodotBuck GodotBuck Godot is the title character in a science fiction/comedy comic book series collected in two volumes and assorted comic books, including the eight-issue "Gallimaufry" series, all written and drawn by their creator, Phil Foglio.-Overview:Buck's adventures take place in a future where a...
; and What's NewWhat's NewWhat's New can refer to:*a release note in software development*What's New , 1983*"What's New?", a song composed by Bob Haggart in 1939, the title track of the above album*What's New , 1969...
as well as The Order of the StickThe Order of the StickThe Order of the Stick is a comedic webcomic that celebrates and satirizes tabletop role-playing games and medieval fantasy through the ongoing tale of the eponymous fellowship of adventuring heroes...
, Terry Pratchett's Luggage, Namir Deiter, Digger, Freefall, Questionable ContentQuestionable ContentQuestionable Content is a slice-of-life webcomic written and drawn by Jeph Jacques. It was launched on August 1, 2003. Jacques currently makes his living exclusively from QC merchandising and advertising, making him one of the few professional webcomic artists...
, LackadaisyLackadaisyLackadaisy is a webcomic created by artist Tracy J. Butler. Set in a Prohibition-era 1927 St. Louis with a population of anthropomorphic cats, the plot chronicles the fortunes of the Lackadaisy speakeasy after its founder is murdered...
and Bob the Angry FlowerBob the Angry FlowerBob the Angry Flower is a black-and-white comic strip that tells the exploits of an easily angered anthropomorphic flower named Bob and his interactions with the world, often in search of either global domination or love...
. - Girl Genius has also referenced more classical comics. At one point a prisoner in a dungeon recognizes some Jagermonsters who have broken in and says "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop?" This is the nonsense catchphrase from Gene Ahern'sGene AhernEugene Leslie Ahern was a cartoonist best known for his bombastic Major Hoople, a pompous character who appeared in the long-run syndicated gag panel Our Boarding House...
classic surrealist newspaper strip The Squirrel Cage, which ran from 1936 to 1953. - Othar's Twitter is ostensibly a blog by Othar Tryggvassen.
See also
- Girl Genius: The WorksGirl Genius: The WorksGirl Genius: The Works is a card game played with a specially designed deck of 108 cards. The game, designed by Phil Foglio and James Ernest, takes its theme from the "gaslamp fantasy" of the Girl Genius comic book series...
, a card game based on the comic. - HeterodyneHeterodyneHeterodyning is a radio signal processing technique invented in 1901 by Canadian inventor-engineer Reginald Fessenden where high frequency signals are converted to lower frequencies by combining two frequencies. Heterodyning is useful for frequency shifting information of interest into a useful...
, the concept on which Agatha's family name is based.
External links
- Girl Genius official website.
- Studio Foglio News on Live Journal.
- Girl Genius Wikia.
- The Biblio File Podcast home page on TalkShoeTalkShoeTalkShoe is a Web 2.0 Internet radio/podcasting site that uses a Java chat client in conjunction with a conference call bridge to allow users to host or participate in live on-line talk radio shows called "community calls" or simply a "call" for short. A call can be syndicated and downloaded after...
, with the two-part interview with the Foglios.