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nebroadwe"Now, this isn't a Heterodyne story like your mama tells you when she tucks you into bed at night ... well, not exactly.
"Oh, we all know they're out there somewhere, fighting the good fight, but right here and right now, the Heterodyne Boys are gone. Their lands are overrun, their machines destroyed, their servants scattered, and nothing remains but their name.
"At least, that's what everyone thinks ... "
Agatha Clay, Transylvania Polygnostic University's least promising student of higher mechanics, is having a terrible day. First she's mugged, then she's late for class, then her mentor is killed before her eyes, and then she wakes up half-dressed in her parents' workshop to face a strange robot and a man who wants to murder her. In a world of Madboys, Clanks, and Jägermonsters, how is one confused girl to survive -- unless she's a Spark?
*
I always come late to mass-cultural phenomena, even those inside my favorite subcultures. Studio Foglio's Girl Genius is no exception, but am I ever glad I found it at last! Calling it a webcomic does it a mild disservice -- this is a web graphic novel, with new installments published three times a week and previously dead-tree-edition-only pages archived on the same schedule. The authors call it a "gaslamp fantasy" -- "big, clanking Victorian-style tech, old-fashioned clothes, Frankenstein monsters and airships. Lots and lots of airships." Also lots and lots of buckled swash, snarky dialogue ("Look at that thing -- how do we kill that?" "Quickly!") and truly gorgeous full-color art (once you're past the first volume). This piece is just lovely to look at: the range of expressions on the characters, the background detail (don't miss any of the signs on the Wulfenbach airship, like "[17] days without a [major] explosion" or "Lab Tech in a Drum -- Expendable!"), the fluid storyboarding ... despite the complex back-and-forth among the various figures on any given page, I never had any trouble following along. The characters are pleasantly round -- no two-dimensional stereotypes here, unless they're being sent up as just that (Girl Genius even manages to skewer the fantasy of the talking cat sidekick, although in a complete different way than Charlie Stross does) -- their motivations complex and their histories full of surprises. The story does appear to be headed somewhere -- watch for falling clues amid the riotously inventive worldbuilding.
Rated T for YA-level plotting and mild fanservice or, as the authors put it, "lots of running around in Victorian underwear, occasional innuendo, a certain amount of violence and the occasional 'damn!'" Share and enjoy!
"Oh, we all know they're out there somewhere, fighting the good fight, but right here and right now, the Heterodyne Boys are gone. Their lands are overrun, their machines destroyed, their servants scattered, and nothing remains but their name.
"At least, that's what everyone thinks ... "
Agatha Clay, Transylvania Polygnostic University's least promising student of higher mechanics, is having a terrible day. First she's mugged, then she's late for class, then her mentor is killed before her eyes, and then she wakes up half-dressed in her parents' workshop to face a strange robot and a man who wants to murder her. In a world of Madboys, Clanks, and Jägermonsters, how is one confused girl to survive -- unless she's a Spark?
I always come late to mass-cultural phenomena, even those inside my favorite subcultures. Studio Foglio's Girl Genius is no exception, but am I ever glad I found it at last! Calling it a webcomic does it a mild disservice -- this is a web graphic novel, with new installments published three times a week and previously dead-tree-edition-only pages archived on the same schedule. The authors call it a "gaslamp fantasy" -- "big, clanking Victorian-style tech, old-fashioned clothes, Frankenstein monsters and airships. Lots and lots of airships." Also lots and lots of buckled swash, snarky dialogue ("Look at that thing -- how do we kill that?" "Quickly!") and truly gorgeous full-color art (once you're past the first volume). This piece is just lovely to look at: the range of expressions on the characters, the background detail (don't miss any of the signs on the Wulfenbach airship, like "[17] days without a [major] explosion" or "Lab Tech in a Drum -- Expendable!"), the fluid storyboarding ... despite the complex back-and-forth among the various figures on any given page, I never had any trouble following along. The characters are pleasantly round -- no two-dimensional stereotypes here, unless they're being sent up as just that (Girl Genius even manages to skewer the fantasy of the talking cat sidekick, although in a complete different way than Charlie Stross does) -- their motivations complex and their histories full of surprises. The story does appear to be headed somewhere -- watch for falling clues amid the riotously inventive worldbuilding.
Rated T for YA-level plotting and mild fanservice or, as the authors put it, "lots of running around in Victorian underwear, occasional innuendo, a certain amount of violence and the occasional 'damn!'" Share and enjoy!