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Rating: 
Summary: Sci-Fantasy Humor
Review: Anyone who writes will tell you that writing comedy is hard. Foglio has a history of writing brilliantly whimsical sci-fi comedy (the Buck Godot stories), and erotic comedy (XXXenophile). He's done it again with this inventive steampunk comic. In the Heterodyne universe Mad Scientists (called "Sparks") use bizarre technology to whip up fish flensing robots of doom in a matter of minutes. (They're effectively wizards in a technology setting). The heroine, Agatha Clay, is a late blooming but incredibly powerful spark who may destabilze an already tottering Europe. Agatha is fun: she's plucky, smart, and just a bit insane at times. All Foglio women are gorgeous, and Agatha is no exception. But her beauty is incidental to her brains in the storyline. In general the characters are complex, with heroic despots and maniacal heroes. As with Foglio, the backgrounds are intricate, detailed and often very, very funny. The steampunk setting is beautifully rendered, in a world where everything, from microscopes to zepplins, is ornamented and elaborate. Its worth rereading just to look at the backgrounds. The storyline is also intricate, and is not resolved in this volume. However, Foglio has a knack for weaving complicated plotlines that resolve elegantly, and I am sure that this series will eventually do the same. This collection includes just the first few black and white stories. The subsequent ones are now in color. As of 7/1/04 we're up to issue 11, so there will probably be more collections to come.
Rating:
Summary: Sci-Fantasy Humor
Review: Anyone who writes will tell you that writing comedy is hard. Foglio has a history of writing brilliantly whimsical sci-fi comedy (the Buck Godot stories), and erotic comedy (XXXenophile). He's done it again with this inventive steampunk comic. In the Heterodyne universe Mad Scientists (called "Sparks") use bizarre technology to whip up fish flensing robots of doom in a matter of minutes. (They're effectively wizards in a technology setting). The heroine, Agatha Clay, is a late blooming but incredibly powerful spark who may destabilze an already tottering Europe. Agatha is fun: she's plucky, smart, and just a bit insane at times. All Foglio women are gorgeous, and Agatha is no exception. But her beauty is incidental to her brains in the storyline. In general the characters are complex, with heroic despots and maniacal heroes. As with Foglio, the backgrounds are intricate, detailed and often very, very funny. The steampunk setting is beautifully rendered, in a world where everything, from microscopes to zepplins, is ornamented and elaborate. Its worth rereading just to look at the backgrounds. The storyline is also intricate, and is not resolved in this volume. However, Foglio has a knack for weaving complicated plotlines that resolve elegantly, and I am sure that this series will eventually do the same. This collection includes just the first few black and white stories. The subsequent ones are now in color. As of 7/1/04 we're up to issue 11, so there will probably be more collections to come.
Rating:
Summary: Witty, Charming, Fun For All
Review: Mostly, when you see the phrase "fun for all" it really means "fun for nobody", but that does not apply here.
Foglio's illustrations and writing are vivid & joyous, and his sense of humor displays a mind born with the belief that "the world is mad, so why not enjoy it?"
Clever riffs on the old Universal Horror classics mix with wild sight gags & a great fondness for the spectacular in his work.
There's a plot, too. That's always nice.
Rating:
Summary: Adventure! Romance! Tea!
Review: OK, so tea only plays a small role in the whole scheme of things, but it spoke to me. :)
Steam-punk girl power! If you like stories about intelligent, attractive, personable, confident, go-getter, (perhaps just a little bit insane) women then this comic is for you.
Girl Genius is full of fun, expressive artwork, fabulous clothing designs, lovable characters, and can't-wait-for-the-next-issue story. What more could one want?
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