Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book series written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. An author is any person(s) or entity(s) that originates and assumes responsibility for an expression or communication. ... Phil Foglio (born 1956) is a cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work. ... Kaja Foglio (born 1970) is a Seattle-based writer, artist and publisher. ... A website (alternatively, Web site or web site) is a collection of Web pages, images, videos and other digital assets that is hosted on one or several Web server(s), usually accessible via the Internet, cell phone or a LAN. A Web page is a document, typically written in HTML... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Phil Foglio (born 1956) is a cartoonist and comic book artist best known for his humorous science fiction and fantasy work. ... Kaja Foglio (born 1970) is a Seattle-based writer, artist and publisher. ... Studio Foglio is a publishing house founded by Phil and Kaja Foglio, which publishes comic books, graphic novels, and various games based on its own in-house intellectual properties, including Girl Genius and Buck Godot. ...

As of 2005-03-18, Girl Genius has become a webcomic, and quarterly publication of the comic has ceased. The authors have opted to continue publishing collection books as before. The new Girl Genius website now contains all the published work. It used to have two streams, "Girl Genius 101" (for those who have never read the comic before, and where the back issues were being released over time) and "The Advanced Class" (where all new material is released). The site frequently suffers from bandwidth overages. Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 77th day of the year (78th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Webcomics, also known as online comics and internet comics, are comics that are available to read on the Internet. ...

Girl Genius updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

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, usually conjoined with serious lack of common sense or sense of proportion. The main character, Agatha Heterodyne, is the descendant of a family of Sparks, the Heterodyne clan, most of whom, except her father Bill and her uncle Barry, had been notorious for their villainy and ruthlessness. ('Heterodyne' comes from the music she hums when she uses her abilities.) Her father and uncle, the famous Heterodyne Boys, established a Golden Age in Europe for years (almost completely redeeming the family name), but disappeared mysteriously about the time of Agatha's birth. Her uncle Barry returned secretly to Europe with Agatha, but disappeared again when she was seven. It has been suggested that Clockpunk be merged into this article or section. ... Alternate history (fiction) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... The Industrial Revolution was a major shift of technological, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions that occurred in the late 18th century and early 19th century in some Western countries. ... Caucasian, male, aging, crooked teeth, messy hair, lab coat, spectacles/goggles, dramatic posing, beaker with strange colored liquid — one popular stereotype of a mad scientist. ... For other uses of the term, see Villain (disambiguation). ... In telecommunications, to heterodyne is to generate new frequencies by mixing two or more signals in a nonlinear device such as a vacuum tube, transistor, or diode mixer. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... World map showing the location of Europe. ...

At the beginning of the series, Agatha is ignorant of her true heritage, and is being raised under the name of Agatha Clay by two "constructs" (artificial people, Frankenstein-style) originally built by her father and uncle. Boris Karloff as Frankensteins Monster in Frankenstein (1931). ...

After her expulsion from the renowned Transylvania Polygnostic University, and her loss of a locket she had been told to always wear (which, unbeknownst to her, suppressed her own "Spark" abilities at the price of causing her blinding headaches), Agatha's Spark begins to show, drawing the attention of the ruthless ruler of much of Europe, Baron Klaus von Wulfenbach - a former associate of her father and her uncle, and a former unsuccessful suitor for her mother's hand.

"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: is the 114th day of the year (115th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

"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." Steampunk was a steampunk/fantasy comic book series by artist Chris Bachalo and writer Joe Kelly, published by Wildstorm Comics Cliffhanger imprint. ... It has been suggested that Clockpunk be merged into this article or section. ... Berlins Sony Center reflects the global reach of a Japanese corporation. ... H. Rider Haggard, author Sir Henry Rider Haggard (June 22, 1856 – May 14, 1925), born in Norfolk, England, was a Victorian writer of adventure novels set in locations considered exotic by readers in his native England. ... Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828–March 24, 1905) was a French author who pioneered the science-fiction genre. ... H. G. Wells at the door of his house at Sandgate Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 - August 13, 1946) was an English writer best known for his science fiction novels such as The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. ... Flynns Detective Fiction from 1941. ...

It also differs from classic steampunk in that technology is not just limited to machines but also encompasses biology. Thus alongside the Clanks (robots), dirigibles and walking gunboats of the world there are constructs - biological creations which range from Frankenstein's creature types to talking cats. This article is about the 1818 novel. ...

Characters

Agatha Heterodyne

Agatha Heterodyne is the main character. Agatha is a "Spark", or mad scientist. She is especially good at creating and repairing electrical and mechanical devices like "clanks" (impossibly advanced steampunk robots) and engines. She tends to build things in her sleep, a quirk she developed when her Spark ability was awakened. Recently she was possessed by the dreaded force known only as "The Other", which was either her mother, Lucrezia Mongfish, or an earlier ancestor, which previously possessed her. ASIMO, a humanoid robot manufactured by Honda. ... Sleepwalking (also called somnambulism or noctambulism), under the larger category of parasomnias, is a sleep disorder where the sufferer engages in activities that are normally associated with wakefulness while they are asleep or in a sleeplike state. ... Demonic possession, in supernatural belief systems, is a form of spiritual possession whereby certain malevolent extra-dimensional entities, demons, gain control over a mortal persons body, which is then used for an evil or destructive purpose. ...

She has an impressive heritage as the daughter of the heroic Bill Heterodyne and the formerly evil Lucrezia, and has inherited both the legendary Heterodyne charismatic genius and Lucrezia's irrepressible attitude — not to mention temper!

Her spark abilities are impressively powerful. In addition to her current inventions, Bangladesh DuPree has encountered a series of images[1]that Baron Wulfenbach speculates are windows into the future.[2] If this is true, Agatha will one day invent a time viewer.

Due to her impressive lineage and equally impressive potential, 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 von Wulfenbach wishes to imprison her, believing her to be a source of potential discord. Othar Tryggvasen, once he realizes that she is the Heterodyne heir, decides he would prefer to ally with her rather than destroying her. The Baron's son, Gilgamesh, is in pursuit of her, apparently romantically; 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. She has also drawn the 'affections' of Prince Tarvek von Aaronev VII, another prominent Spark. This relationship would be considered far more amicable than the one she shares with the Wulfenbach heir — if not for the fact he is devious and manipulative and somewhat responsible for her possession. Girl Genius is a comic book series (ongoing) written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. ... Girl Genius is a comic book series (ongoing) written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company, Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. ...

Heterodyne Boys

"The Heterodyne Boys" are the previous heirs of the Heterodyne name and 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. They originally appeared in a light-hearted Munden's Bar story in the comic book Grimjack, where they were parodies of early-twentieth-century "Edisonades". GrimJack is the main character of a comic book published by First Comics. ... Edisonade is a now-archaic term for stories from the Victorian and Edwardian eras that would now be classified as science fiction. ...

There is little "canon" knowledge of the Heterodynes, other than that Bill Heterodyne romanced the evil Spark Lucrezia Mongfish into heroism[3], eventually stealing her from Baron Wulfenbach and marrying her[4], a union that produced the main character, Agatha Heterodyne. At the time of the series Bill and Barry have been missing since the war against The Other, mysteriously gone and their ancestral castle home in ruins. Barry Heterodyne did secretly return, caring for Agatha until he disappeared again, when she was seven.

Since their disappearance, they have became the stuff of legend, inspiring a series of books of dubious accuracy chronicling their adventures, including "The Heterodyne Boys and the Pneumatic Oyster", "The Heterodyne Boys and the Race to the West Pole", and "The Heterodyne Boys and the Turbines of Atlantis". During the course of her adventures, Agatha joins up with a "travelling Heterodyne show", a troupe of players who enact plays about the Heterodynes' adventures. The accuracy of these stories is dubious and many are entirely fictional and/or wildly exaggerated; one character told a Heterodyne Boys story titled "The Heterodyne Boys and the Dragon from Mars", but admitted to making it up on the spot, and another published story ("... The Turbines of Atlantis") was told as a parody of Mary Sue fanfiction [5]. Picture of Platos description of Atlantis Atlantis (Greek: , Island of Atlas) is the name of a legendary island first mentioned in Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias. ... Adjectives: Martian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... Mary Sue (or simply Sue) is a pejorative expression for a fictional character who is an idealized stand-in for the author, or for a story with such a character. ... Fan fiction (also spelled fanfiction and commonly abbreviated to fanfic) is fiction written by people who enjoy a film, novel, television show or other media work, using the characters and situations developed in it and developing new plots in which to use these characters. ...

Baron Klaus von Wulfenbach

Baron Klaus Wulfenbach is a "Spark," or mad scientist, with a particular interest in the workings, origins and nature of the "Spark." He was once a "hero" alongside the Heterodynes. He disappeared for several years, returning after their disappearance to find Europe in chaos. Without the charismatic Heterodynes to keep the peace, rampaging conflicts between rival Sparks had reduced society to ruins. Disgusted with what he saw, and less prone to diplomacy than the more charismatic Heterodynes, he imposed order by force, battling down many quarreling Sparks and becoming the uncontested ruler of much of Europe.

He has many people in his employ, drawn from a wide array of backgrounds, including the staffs of conquered Sparks, as well as various types of "constructs" (artificial people), and "clanks" (steampunk-styled robots). His headquarters is a huge dirigible-like airship called the Castle Wulfenbach, which gives him the advantages of security, privacy and mobility. Prior to the events of the comic, it is possible the Baron has died and been revived as a construct. This is evident from the stitching that is on his torso. ASIMO, a humanoid robot manufactured by Honda. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship or dirigible is a buoyant lighter-than-air aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ...

While he is publicly considered a ruthless tyrant, his motives are more complex. He dislikes ruling and politics, much preferring adventure or research, but recognizes that he is needed in his current role. 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 himself being portrayed as a ruthless villain in popular entertainment. In private, he is actually quite even tempered(his obsession with brain surgery on minor Sparks notwithstanding), and enjoys newly-written Heterodyne stories. Lacking the charisma of the Heterodynes, he resorted to military force in a coldly rational manner.

Oddly, Wulfenbach does not seem obsessed with power for its own sake like his more maniacal fellow Sparks. He is not given to ostentation or reveling in power, and states frankly his job feels more like baysitting than anything else. He hates politics and has blatantly said so. He seems to feel he is the only thing standing between Europe (or even the world) and the chaos of the past - and he will brook no chance he or his heir will loose that position.

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, like her father in a way few, if any, Sparks can.

Another possible motivation for his desire to capture Agatha is his hatred of her mother, Lucrezia. They used to be lovers, before she drugged and disposed of him before she married Bill. He also believes, likely correctly, that she was The Other, who devestated much of Europe and is apparantly responsible for the disappearance of Bill and Barry. He appears to regard Agatha as more Lucrezia's heir than Bill's. The fact that she has attracted the romantic attentions of his son Gilgamesh, only fuels his distrust.

Gilgamesh Wulfenbach

Gilgamesh Wulfenbach ("Gil" to his friends) is the son of Baron Klaus von Wulfenbach. Perhaps unsurprisingly (as his father, considered by many to be a ruthless tyrant, actually prefers science and adventure to politics), he is a rather likable fellow, more interested in building aircraft and constructs to designing weapons or defending his father's empire. His Spark is particularly powerful - he built his "breakthrough" creation (a knee-high 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 discovering Agatha's (faked) demise while 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 oldest 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 is to be kept free as well as safe — or he would focus all his abilities upon destroying England. [6]

The identity of Gil's mother has not been revealed, but the Baron has seen fit to warn his son that he may be targetted for assassination by Agatha's exotic, green-haired weaponsmaster because: "I kept you alive."

Othar Tryggvassen

A Spark 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. This is often not innacurate, which has led to a well known reputaion as a hero. Concedes that the Great Wall of Norway was a mistake. Othar Tryggvassen is a character in the Girl Genius comic book written and drawn by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio. ...

Krosp

The king of the cats. A constuct in the form of a cat (except that he is more comfortable walking on his hind legs) with the brain of a millitary genius. Designed to leads the cats of the world as an army of spies, messengers and saboteurs. Unfortunately, cats are ordinary animals and not capable of following orders. Currently Agatha's most loyal follower, although he regards her as a subject.

Zeeatha

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) means that she has no idea how to get home. Most people, with the exception of Agatha and, it appears, Klaus, have never even heard of Skifander. One of Agatha's closest friends.

The Jaegermonsters/Jaegerkin

The product of one of the earlier Heterodyne family members, this army of monsters are known for their loyalty to house Heterodyne and their taste for bloody combat. The majority are currently serving Baron Wulfenbach.

Bangladesh Dupree

A cheerful and friendly bloodthirsty psychopath and former (skyship) pirate queen. After her entire fleet was mysteriously slaughtered while she was away, she signed up with Baron Wulfenbach.

More Cast

Absolutely Everybody

Awards

Girl Genius has won the following awards:

• Webcartoonist Choice Awards 2007 for Outstanding Science Fiction Comic.
• Webcartoonist Choice Awards 2006 for Outstanding Story Concept.

The character of Agatha Clay was nominated for the Squiddy Award for Best Comics Character in 2002. The Squiddy Awards, also known as The Squiddies are the annual awards given by the participants in the Usenet newsgroup rec. ...

In 2005, Phil Foglio was nominated for an Eisner Award in the Best Writer/Artist—Humor category for his work on Girl Genius. The Eisner Award logo‎ The Will Eisner Comic Industry Award is given for creative achievement in comic books. ...

In 2007, Girl Genius was nominated for an Eisner Award in the Best Digital Comic category.^[1]

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

• Girl Genius Omnibus Edition Vol 1 (reprints v.1–3 in smaller, black & white edition)
  • ISBN 1-890856-40-1

Volume 6 will be called Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite.

Volume 5 as well as all future collections reprint the website content from where the comic series was discontinued.

Connections to other works

• Agatha is visible throughout the GURPS Illuminati University sourcebook, which was illustrated by the Foglios, and she is even identified as being her 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 [7]; 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, ostensibly a blog by Othar Tryggvasen: http://twitter.com/Othar

The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, commonly known as GURPS, is a role-playing game system designed to adapt to any imaginary gaming environment. ... GURPS Illuminati University (1995) (ISBN 1556342063), also called GURPS IOU, is a 128-page softbound campaign setting sourcebook for the GURPS role-playing game. ... Wapsi Square is a webcomic by Paul Pablo Taylor, about the eccentric lives and relationships of a group of neighbors from the fictional square of the title, in Taylors home town of Minneapolis. ... Introduction Gunnerkrigg Court is the name of a webcomic written by Tom Siddell. ... Something Positive or S*P is a webcomic by R. K. Milholland, which debuted on December 19, 2001. ... Dominic Deegan: Oracle for Hire is a daily fantasy web comic by Michael Mookie Terracciano that begun in 2002. ... The Devils Panties is a webcomic created by Jennie Breeden. ... Buck Godot is a science fiction/comedy comic book series, collected in two graphic novels (Buck Godot: Zap Gun for Hire and Buck Godot: PSmIth) and assorted comic books, including the eight-issue Gallimaufry series, all drawn and written by their creator, Phil Foglio. ... The Order of the Stick, nicknamed OotS, is a comedic fantasy webcomic based on pencil and paper roleplaying games, particularly Dungeons and Dragons, and its accompanying system, D20 . ... The Luggage appears in some of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. ... Digger is a webcomic drawn and written by Ursula Vernon. ... First impressions: Florence (left) meets Sam and Helix for the first time. ... Questionable Content (abbreviated QC or Q.C.) is a slice-of-life webcomic written and drawn by Jeph Jacques. ... Lackadaisy (also known as Lackadaisy Cats) is a webcomic created by artist Tracy J. Butler, set in a Prohibition-era 1927 St. ... Bob the Angry Flower is a comic strip that tells the story of an easily angered anthropomorphic flower named Bob and his interactions with the world, often in search of either global domination or love. ...

See also

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

In telecommunications, to heterodyne is to generate new frequencies by mixing two or more signals in a nonlinear device such as a vacuum tube, transistor, or diode mixer. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Girl Genius

• Girl Genius website
• Comic Book Awards Almanac
• Trans Poly U fight song, written by Tom Smith at Phil Foglio's request
• Studio Foglio
• Fan-created forum for fans of Girl Genius
• Othar's blog