Girl Genius

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Girl Genius
Agatha, main character of Girl Genius
Author(s)	Phil & Kaja Foglio
Website	http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/index.php
Current status / schedule	Updates on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays.
Launch date	November 4, 2002 [1]
Genre(s)	Fantasy, Humor, Science-Fiction, Steampunk

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.

On April 18, 2005, Girl Genius became a webcomic, and quarterly publication of the comic ceased. It is still organized into volumes and sold as such as print collections. Its site had two streams, "101" (for back issues) and "Advanced Class" (for new material) until the former caught up and made the entire comic available to read at a sitting.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Gaslamp Fantasy 3 The Spark 4 Characters 4.1 Agatha Clay/Heterodyne 4.2 The Heterodyne Boys 4.3 Baron Klaus Wulfenbach 4.4 Gilgamesh Wulfenbach 4.5 Othar Tryggvassen 4.6 Krosp I 4.7 Zeetha 4.8 Ardsley Wooster 4.9 The Jägermonsters/Jägerkin 4.10 Bangladesh Dupree 4.11 More Cast 5 Awards 6 Published collections 7 Connections to other works 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Plot

Girl Genius is a steampunk tale; “a gaslamp fantasy with adventure, romance and mad science”, set in an alternate history "where the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war" due to the appearance of "Sparks" – highly charismatic mad scientists with supernormal abilities in one or more sciences.

The main character, Agatha Heterodyne, is (as far as is known) the sole surviving descendant of the Heterodyne clan, a centuries-old Spark dynasty. Named for their unique family trait, a form of autosuggestion involving a hummed tune that enhances their already prodigious abilities they called "heterodyning"[2], they were among the world's most powerful Sparks – and the most villainous.

The only exception to the family's nefarious nature were Agatha's uncle Barry and her father William (or Bill). As the famous Heterodyne Boys, they established a Golden Age in Europe that lasted years and almost completely redeemed the family name. However, around the time of Agatha's birth, it came to an end with the appearance of the most dreaded Spark in recent history – a mysterious force known to most only as "the Other".

The Other possessed almost unimaginably powerful technologies, chief among them the terrifying Slaver Wasps, parasitic insects which transformed their victims into Revenants – servants who, despite retaining their intelligence and consciousness, become somehow dominated by the Other in a hitherto unknown manner.[3] Leading the fight against them and the Other were the Heterodyne Boys. After several years of war, the Other disappeared – and so did the Heterodyne Boys.[4]

Bill has not been seen since, but Barry raised Agatha in secret until she was seven, when he disappeared once more, leaving her in the care of Punch and Judy, two "constructs" (artificial people in the style of the pop-culture version of Frankenstein's monster) originally built by Bill and Barry. At the beginning of the series, Agatha is ignorant of her true heritage, and is being raised under the name of Agatha Clay, knowing her adoptive parents only as Adam and Lilith.

But when she loses her locket, her only keepsake of her parents which Barry told her to always wear, her life changes. She is expelled from the renowned Transylvania Polygnostic University and discovers that the locket held a secret – it suppressed her Spark. She quickly draws the attention of the ruthless ruler of much of Europe, Baron Klaus Wulfenbach – a former associate of her father and her uncle, and a former unsuccessful suitor for her mother's hand.

[edit] Gaslamp Fantasy

Kaja Foglio coined the term "Gaslamp Fantasy" (an alternative to steampunk) to describe the work. In her April 24, 2006 LiveJournal 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 Steampunk 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 cyberpunk (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 Haggard book, where the author was talking about Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Rider Haggard and that sort of pre-pulp adventure 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 robots), dirigibles and walking gunboats of the world there are constructs - biological creations which range from Frankenstein-style creatures to talking cats and mouse-sized mammoths.

[edit] 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.[5] It is a rare hereditary trait found mostly within a small number of families - most of the common population that "break through" are either relatively weak or unknowingly related to one or more of these families.

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"[6]) that greatly enhances their charisma, comprehension and intuition – all too often at the cost of all their rationality or common sense.[7] In short, they can become fanatically obsessive savants at the drop of a hat (though stimulants can easily induce it[8]) – 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 only one exception) always traumatic. Most are almost immediately killed by their breakthrough creations, or by rioting townsfolk. A fair number become incurably insane. This period is especially dangerous for females, which is one of the reasons why most adult sparks are male.[9]

Most of those who survive quickly gain followers (commonly known as minions) through sheer magnetism, 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[10], the Aaronev Sword-and-Gear[11], and the Wulfenbach Winged Rook[12], for example. (Those who accept the Baron's Peace wear winged versions of their sigils[13], though their underlings wear theirs). However, this does little to satisfy their obsessions, and they spend most of their time dueling rivals when not engaging in dangerous experiments. The world of Girl Genius is one of unending conflict and cataclysm.

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. Though the average Spark is smart enough to make the impossible possible, they are also dumb enough to rarely understand the consequences of their actions. It's noted on at least one occasion that many Sparks meet their doom owing to the fact that "they're smart enough to build death-rays and dumb enough to turn them on armies all by themselves."[14] This suggests a dichotomy in the brain of the spark, since many seem to be more than willing to conduct experiments of questionable morality whilst under hyperfocus[15]and yet still be willing to sacrifice themselves in a heartbeat to save others.

They are thus almost always generally despised. Many dub them "madboys" (but never when one is within earshot).

[edit] Characters

[edit] Agatha Clay/Heterodyne

Agatha Heterodyne, also known as Agatha Clay

The main character of Girl Genius. Agatha is a powerful Spark, especially talented at creating and repairing electrical and mechanical devices. Among her creations is an ever-present, highly versatile coaster-sized Clank named Dingbot Prime, [16] 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[17] (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 an army capable of repelling an entire division of Wulfenbach's troops.[18]

When she was five years old, Agatha's uncle Barry Heterodyne gave her a locket containing pictures of her parents, instructing her to never remove it.[19] The locket secretly contained a mechanism that prevented her from realizing she was a Spark, by neutralizing her attempts to hyperfocus with excruciatingly painful migraines[20]. Punch and Judy — who took care of her under the names Adam and Lilith Clay — continued to ensure she always wore it. Less than a day after the locket was stolen, Agatha "broke through" — by building her first Clank in her sleep, a quirk she continued to display for some time. (Incidentally, the breakthrough of every other Spark of record has been extremely destructive. Agatha has not so much broken through as eased through - the fairly benign nature of her first creation is unprecedented.[21] This may be due to the locket suppressing her earlier attempts to hyperfocus, which she began doing at the age of five.[22] In theory, as she has been hyperfocusing for some time, she has avoided the initial trauma.)

She has an impressive heritage as the daughter of the heroic Bill Heterodyne and Lucrezia Mongfish, whose shady past has been hinted at, but who was believed to have turned a new leaf and given up her wicked ways upon marrying Bill. She has inherited both the legendary Heterodyne charismatic genius and Lucrezia's irrepressible attitude (not to mention temper). Due to this, she is pursued by many other Sparks. Sparks are the power players of her world, and as one currently without an empire of her own to protect her, she is a potential asset — or enemy. Baron Klaus Wulfenbach wishes to imprison her, believing 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 realizes that she is the Heterodyne heir, he decides he would prefer to ally with her.

This pursuit is also often of a romantic nature, though Agatha has realized that as a Spark she has options for romance denied most women in her world. Though not averse to being romanced, she has formed no unbreakable attachments. She seems fated to follow in her mother's footsteps as a woman of power, enjoying the attentions of numerous equally willful and powerful men:

• The Baron's son Gilgamesh is particularly devout in his pursuit of her; she may share feelings for him, or she may simply enjoy arguing with a fellow Spark who does not wish to dominate or kill her. When he enters hyperfocus, she finds him quite disturbing; however, the misfit is still rarely far from her thoughts, as he was the first person she ever met who appreciated her as a scientist.
• A dashing young man by the name of Lars, a fellow actor in Payne's circus, also had his eye on her. She was appreciative of the attention and was deeply moved by his devotion, but tragically this relationship came to an end at Baron Wulfenbach's hand. When the Baron tried to kill Agatha, believing her to be the Other, Lars took a sword blow meant for her, and died just minutes later in her arms.
• Wilhelm Sturmvoraus' son Tarvek, the seventh Prince Aaronev[23] and another prominent Spark, is her most recent accidental conquest. Aaronev VII is the very picture of a storybook prince: polite, charming and refined. He and Agatha hit it off from the start, and their relationship might be considered far more amicable than the one she shares with the Wulfenbach heir if he did not happen to be a devious, manipulative opportunist somewhat responsible for her thorn in the flesh: her possession by the dreaded force known to most only as the Other, but which may be in fact be her own mother Lucrezia. He was shot by the possessed Agatha, but the gun may have been loaded with a non-lethal charge.

Lucrezia created a machine that would imprint her mind onto a suitable subject in the event of her demise, the protection and maintenance of which she entrusted to her most devout follower: Wilhelm Sturmvoraus, the sixth Prince Aaronev. Lucrezia also created a suitable subject — Agatha. Given Agatha's age, she must have been conceived almost immediately before the first attack[24] — in which Agatha's brother died at only a year old.[25] Thus, Lucrezia's betrayal seems to have been carefully planned in advance, the son abandoned in favor of Agatha. When Agatha was born, Lucrezia apparently entrusted what she intended to be her future body to her family servants, the Geisterdamen.

However, though Aaronev VI successfully protected the machine, her servants failed to do the same with their "holy child". Furious, Lucrezia ordered the Geisterdamen to scour the world for her. [26] Despite their efforts, Barry Heterodyne and later the constructs Punch and Judy were able to keep Agatha safely hidden — at least, until Agatha discovered she was a Spark.

On the way to her ancestral home of Mechanicsburg, Agatha visited Aaronev's province of Sturmhalten. There, she was ordered to the castle by the prince and imprinted, resurrecting Europe's deadliest enemy. However, Lucrezia's plan failed to take into account Agatha's Heterodyne blood. 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 she managed to fully suppress her mother — but only while once more wearing the locket that once painfully suppressed her Spark.

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, and the lies her adoptive parents told her — but she must wear it to keep the Other from possessing her again. The locket easily defeats the Other's efforts to manifest but Agatha, having used her Spark uninhibited for so long, has grown too strong for the locket's control. Therefore Agatha also considers the locket a symbol of all she has and will overcome.

There exist hints that Agatha will in the future outshine even her father and uncle. The series begins with her running from a terrifying image (which bears similarities to the figure that gave the Geisterdamen their quest)[27], which causes her to lose her locket to Moloch von Zinzer and sets the stage for her life as a Heterodyne heir. Later, Bangladesh DuPree encounters a series of similar images[28] that Baron Wulfenbach speculates are windows into the future.[29] If this is true, Agatha will one day have access to a time machine (not as some speculate, merely a viewer, as sound, and therefore air, can pass through the apertures it generates) — a technology far more advanced than the clockwork robots, patchwork humanoids and bizarre mutants created by her fellow Sparks. And as her already-impressive abilities are all but completely untrained, it is easy to assume that once she gains more experience, she may be capable of inventing such works. This would also mean that other events (her searching for Moloch's comrades, Moloch's wearing a Heterodyne trilobite marking him as her vassal) hinted in these windows may also come to pass [30]. The windows also suggest that she will in the future command Lucrezia's servants, the Geisterdamen. Finally, her own Heterodyne trilobite in these windows is winged, signifying an allegiance to the Baron's Peace, suggesting that she may one day gain Wulfenbach's acceptance and live in peace. And as Gilgamesh is also present wearing Geisterdamen clothing, she may gain it by marrying him.

[edit] The Heterodyne Boys

Bill and Barry Heterodyne

"The Heterodyne Boys" are Agatha's father and uncle. Unlike their ancestors, they were heroic and fought evil to establish a brief golden age in Europe, predating the comic. An early version of the pair appeared in a light-hearted Munden's Bar story in the comic book Grimjack, where they were parodies of early-twentieth-century Edisonades.

There is little canon knowledge of the Heterodynes, other than that Bill Heterodyne romanced the evil Spark Lucrezia Mongfish into heroism[31], eventually stealing her from Baron Wulfenbach and marrying her[32], a union that produced Agatha. At the time of the series Bill and Barry have been missing since the war against The Other, their ancestral castle home in ruins; as it turns out, Barry did secretly return and helped care for Agatha until she was seven, at which point he disappeared again.

Since their disappearance, they have become the stuff of legend, inspiring a series of books of dubious accuracy chronicling their adventures, such as "The Heterodyne Boys and the Pneumatic Oyster". Soon after escaping Castle Wulfenbach, Agatha encounters and joins a travelling troupe of players who perform plays about the Heterodyne Boys' adventures.

Though some of these stories may be factual, the accuracy of most is quite dubious and many are wildly exaggerated if not entirely fictional; Agatha's personal favorite, "The Heterodyne Boys and the Race to the West Pole", details the beginning of her parents' relationship and is acknowledged as fact by many credible people. Another character tells a story called "The Heterodyne Boys and the Dragon from Mars" but admits to making it up on the spot, and another published story ("The Heterodyne Boys and the Turbines of Atlantis") was told as a parody of Mary Sue fanfiction [33].

[edit] Baron Klaus Wulfenbach

Baron Klaus Wulfenbach is a Spark 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, eventually becoming close friends with Bill Heterodyne.

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 Heterodyne. 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 wedding[34]).

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 he returned with his son, Gilgamesh, they had already been gone for several years — and Europe was in chaos. Without their 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.[35]

The Baron's numerous employees come from a wide array of backgrounds, as they were all once the staffs of conquered Sparks. Though there are a number of minor Sparks who perform minor research for him, his organization consists primarily of various types of "constructs" (artificial people), and "clanks" (steampunk-styled robots). He abandoned his ancestral home in favor of a headquarters with far more security, privacy and mobility: the city-sized airship, Castle Wulfenbach. During his adventures with the Heterodynes, the Baron may have died and been revived as a construct; this is suggested by the stitching on his torso and limbs, which was evident even before Lucrezia married Bill.[36]

While he is publicly considered a ruthless tyrant, his motives are more complex. Unlike the more maniacal Sparks, he does not seem obsessed with power for its own sake. He is not given to ostentation or reveling in power, and 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. Thus, he will brook no chance he or his heir will lose that position.

His subjects 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 a ruthless villain in popular entertainment. In private, he is actually quite even-tempered (his obsession with brain surgery on particularly troublesome rival Sparks notwithstanding), and loves Heterodyne stories, especially the more outrageous and comedic ones that have been made up in recent years. Enemy soldiers who are defeated are offered compensation or a chance to join his army - 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. Needless to say this doesn't always work, and being in a difficult situation, without the supernatural level of Charisma some sparks have, and a large empire beneath him, he will resort to military force when needed - and in most cases it is overwhelming force, even if carefully applied to minimize casualties and destruction.

He is obsessed with the pursuit of Agatha, because he knows she possesses in great quantity the critical factors that made Heterodynes formidable — not her intelligence (although it is among the greatest known), but her charisma. She wins allies easily, and the loyalty she shows them is almost always returned — though she currently has little support, what she has is devoted and growing quickly — exactly like her father, but like few or any other Sparks the world has ever seen. Wulfenbach has proven to be ruthless in his pursuit of her, but is sympathetic to her plight as well as his son's feelings for her.[37]

Another motivation for his desire to capture Agatha is his hatred – and fear – of her mother, Lucrezia, due to his (seemingly correct) belief that she was The Other, the force that devastated much of Europe and apparently responsible for the disappearance of Bill and Barry. His son Gilgamesh's romantic attachment to her fuels his distrust and, on the other hand, some hope that she may be trustworthy. However, he appears to regard Agatha as more Lucrezia's heir than Bill's, and believes that she — not Lucrezia — may somehow actually be the Other — especially since she apparently attempted to enslave him![38]

[edit] Gilgamesh Wulfenbach

Gilgamesh Wulfenbach ("Gil" to his friends) is the son 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, he is in some ways superior to his father; for example, having acquired a Heterodyne artifact whose purpose stymies him, he's reluctant to "break it just to find out what it could have done".[39] His father's research into the Spark, in comparison, consists mainly of surgery upon captured rivals in which he "destroy(s) parts of your brain until you no longer are a Spark".[40]

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. 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.

However, upon learning that Agatha's demise had been greatly exaggerated, he seems to have undergone an impressive transformation. He sent his butler and friend, Wooster (in truth a spy for the British Empire), to find Agatha and bring her to London for protection. He pointedly demanded that she be kept free as well as safe — or he would focus all his abilities upon destroying England. [41]

The identity of Gil's mother has not been revealed, but the Baron has seen fit to warn his son that he may be targeted for assassination by Zeetha because: "I kept you alive."[42]

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 [43] to singlehandedly facing down and defeating a military attack on Mechanicsburg [44], others are beginning to take strong notice of his actions, something his father has been greatly pleased to see.[45] In the process, Gil himself has begun to see what his father has had to deal with. [46]

[edit] Othar Tryggvassen

A Spark, Gentleman Adventurer and self-proclaimed hero whose sworn mission is the destruction of all the world's Sparks, including, eventually, himself. He regards them as a dangerous menace to society (a point of view shared by many, giving him a reputation as a hero; but rejected by others, to whom he has the opposite reputation). The general populace has a positive feeling for him due to his defeating many dangerous sparks that had been menacing them. In addition, many non-sparks would agree with his general goal. Besides being a Spark, Othar seems to be unusually resilient, surviving several incidents that would lead to certain death for anyone else (including a fall from the airship Castle Wulfenbach). The Foglios have created a Twitter account for his (mis)adventures.

[edit] Krosp I

The Emperor of all cats. He is a construct, a bipedal cat with the brain of a military genius (who is apparently no longer using it). He was designed to lead the cats of the world as an ever-present army of spies, messengers and saboteurs.[47] The plan worked, as Krosp is both extremely intelligent and capable of communicating with both cats and humans with equal proficiency. Unfortunately the plan was a deranged one, as all other cats are animals and incapable of grasping complex orders.[48]

Krosp is currently Agatha's most loyal follower, although he affects regarding her as his vassal – making him not all that different from a normal cat.

[edit] Zeetha

A green-haired swordsmistress and the 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 (involving her slaughtering an entire fleet of sky pirates that kidnapped her) leaves her 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 apprenticeship. In practice however, it is more like "grindstone and knife": she regularly trains, drills and bludgeons Agatha to exhaustion. ^[1]

Most people, with the exception of Agatha and, it appears, Klaus, have never even heard of Skifander. Agatha knew of it from stories told by her Uncle Barry. Klaus's contact with Skifander has not been revealed, but he advised his son that Zeetha may have been sent to kill him. When Gilgamesh asks what he did, Klaus only stated that he "kept [Gilgamesh] alive."

[edit] Ardsley Wooster

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.

When Gilgamesh discovers that his father is pursuing Agatha at a time when he himself is unable to rescue her, he sends Wooster to aid her. Gilgamesh reveals that he knows Wooster's role as a double agent and that he wants Wooster to take Agatha to England. He also warns Wooster that if she is not free and alive when he comes for her, he will destroy England.

Wooster is currently traveling with Agatha, Zeetha, and Krosp.

[edit] The Jägermonsters/Jägerkin

This army of monsters, created by one of the earlier Heterodyne family members, is known for loyalty to House Heterodyne and a taste for bloody combat. The majority currently serve Baron Wulfenbach. They are nearly impossible to kill, talk in heavy German/Russian-like accents, have superhuman physical abilities, and make flippant remarks in even the direst of circumstances. Jägermonster is German for "Hunter Monsters" and may be a play on the Jägermeister alcoholic drink brand name. Alternatively it could refer to German or Austrian soldiers. Jägermonsters appear to attach special significance to hats [49][50], and are rarely seen with their heads uncovered; a Jägermonster maxim holds, "Any plan vere you lose you hat iz a bad plan."[51]

Jägers are evidently long-lived: they remember events of more than a century ago.[52]

It has been speculated that Jägers are altered humans created by drinking a broth known as "Jägerbrau" or "Jäger-draught"[53], though if so, it is likely that all Jägerkin still share a common origin as they speak with a common accent and share many common cultural tendencies. Jägers have innate loyalty to Heterodynes, apparently based on the same mechanism that compels minions to obey sparks. Jägers also have a keen sense of smell which allows them to sense fear[54] in the manner of animals, as well as the presence of members of the Heterodyne family. Jägers are able to tell Agatha is a Heterodyne on immediate contact and are even able to determine that a burnt corpse could not have been a Heterodyne due to the smell.

Jägers resemble humans with the addition of monstrous characteristics. The most common type of Jäger is humanoid with long sharp teeth, claws, pointed ears and strange-colored skin, though horns, tusks, pupilless eyes, enlarged mouths and other characteristics have also been seen.

It is possible (although extremely unlikely) for Jägers to overcome their innate loyalty to the Heterodynes; Captain Vole [55] has renounced the Jagertroth (though supposedly against his will) for reasons that are as yet unclear, and he hates the Heterodynes.

[edit] Bangladesh Dupree

This friendly and cheerful commander of Wulfenbach's airship fleet also happens to be a bloodthirsty and sociopathic former air pirate queen. After her pirate fleet was mysteriously slaughtered in her absence, Dupree joined Wulfenbach to satisfy her love of violence. Her mouth is currently wired shut after she broke her jaw.

[edit] More Cast

Absolutely Everybody

[edit] Awards

Girl Genius has won the following awards:

• 2007 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards^[2] for Outstanding Science Fiction Comic].^[3]
• 2006 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards^[4] for Outstanding Story Concept.^[5]

The character of Agatha Clay was nominated for the Squiddy Award for Best Comics Character in 2002.

In 2005, Phil Foglio was nominated for an Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist—Humor category for his work on Girl Genius.

In 2007, Girl Genius was nominated for an Eisner Award in the Best Digital Comic category.^[6]

[edit] Published collections

• Volume 1: Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank (96 pp) (reprints #1–3)
  • Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-19-3
  • 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 (forthcoming): Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle (128 pp) (reprints webcomic)
  • Paperback: ISBN 978-1890856458
  • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1890856465

• 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.

[edit] Connections to other works

• Agatha is visible throughout the GURPS Illuminati University 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 Square, Gunnerkrigg Court, Arcane Times, Something Positive, Dominic Deegan: Oracle For Hire, Home on the Strange, The Devil's Panties and Studio Foglio's own Buck Godot [56]; as well as The Order of the Stick, Terry Pratchett's Luggage, Namir Deiter, Digger, Freefall, Questionable Content, Lackadaisy and Bob the Angry Flower the next day.
• Othar's Twitter is ostensibly a blog by Othar Tryggvasen.

[edit] See also

• Girl Genius: The Works, a card game based on the comic
• Heterodyning, the concept on which Agatha's family name is based

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Girl Genius website
• Studio Foglio News (Live Journal)
• Girl Genius Wikia