Phil & Kaja Foglio, Girl Genius: Omnibus
Edition, Volume 1 (Airship Entertainment, 2006)
There are certain words one uses often when reading Girl Genius. These include, but are not limited to:
"Whee!"
"Wahoo!"
"Gasp!"
"Bwahahahaha!"And last, but not least, the occasional "Squee!" (punctuation at the reader's discretion, of course).
All of which, of course, is merely a way of saying that Girl Genius is one of the single most enjoyable reading experiences to be had. In these days of unrelentingly grim comics and post-modern ironic hipsterosity, it's a genuine pleasure to wander into a world that is simultaneously accessible and deep, full of monsters yet good-hearted, and most of all, all about storytelling.
(More on that in a minute. I promise.)
The central character of Girl Genius is one Miss Agatha Clay, a nice -- and in typical Foglio fashion, zaftig -- young lady living in the town of Beetleburg. Living with her aunt and uncle, plagued by odd headaches, and mistake-prone in her studies at the local University. Her world is what the Foglios describe as "gaslamp" -- an alternate history where occasional geniuses marked with the "Spark" can create mechanic marvels, where vast tracts of wasteland separate the enclaves of civilization overseen by the dreaded Baron Klaus Wulfenbach in his zeppelin castle, and where the stories of the legendary Heterodyne Boys -- heroes long since mysteriously vanished -- abound.
Of course, Agatha is more than she seems. For one thing, she's an incredibly powerful Spark -- something she's slow to realize. For another, she's of tremendous interest to the Baron's son, Gilgamesh. And for a third, she has an unfortunate habit of doing her best scientific work while sleepwalking and in her underwear. And when an accident at the lab where she works coincides with an unexpected visit from the Baron himself -- and the discovery of something dreadful in the University labs -- then Agatha is launched into a broader world of talking cats, spider-riding warrior women, hat-obsessed Jagermonster soldiers, and really, really good coffee.
If Girl Genius played it straight, that would be more than enough. After all, that's plenty of adventure, derring-do and skullduggery for any single title. But what gives the series its charm is that there is much more to it. Of course, it's funny -- it's got the name Foglio on it, after all. There are certainly laugh-out-loud moments, and not just the ones where you get a snarling, fanged Jagermonster talking about his courtship technique. It's not just funny, though -- there's real character depth here. Just as Agatha is revealed to be more than just a hapless apprentice, so to do the other characters -- from the opportunistic thief who gets mistaken for her boss, to the monstrous nanny Von Pinn, to the dread Wulfenbach himself -- reveal themselves as wonderfully, deeply human. Their motivations are real and understandable, shown to the reader through action instead of speechifying.
As for the art, it's perfectly suited for the material. There's a sense of fun to the lines, from the toy-like construction of many of the "clank" machines that roam through the pages to the over-toothy Jagermonster grins, to the tubby majesty of Krosp I, Emperor of all cats. There's a wealth of details in the panels as well, lithe touches that add to the sense that this world is a world, and not just a set of moving sets that the main characters can declaim in front of. As for Agatha, well, she's a welcome rebuttal to decades of top-heavy, waif-thin comic heroines. For one thing, she looks like she's had a sandwich at some point in her life; for another, she dresses like an actual human being engaged in dangerous mechanic work might. In short, she looks human, and therein lies a major chunk of her appeal.
Ultimately, Girl Genius is a giant, rollicking yarn, and it's a story about storytelling. It's the tales of the Heterodyne Boys that are the cultural currency of Agatha's world, told by characters to other characters in the world even as some of the principal players are running around onstage. It's all a tall tale and a hoot, and a loving nod to the sheer power of storytelling.
On a more prosaic note, the Omnibus Edition -- Volume 1 is published in manga-sized format, with black and white artwork only. It collects the first several compilations of the Girl Genius comic -- available as an online serial here as full-color, full-sized compilations. If you're looking for a portable introduction to the world of Girl Genius, it's superb, affordable, and an excellent value for the $14.95 cover price. Then, once you've fallen in love with the world, with the storytelling, and with Agatha and her motley band of companions, there's plenty more to seek out.
And trust me, you'll want to.
