Sunday Comics: Girl Genius

Welcome to the first-ever Sunday Comics, a feature I totally intend to lock in place. I'm a big comics geek, especially indie comics and graphic novels (sorry, you won't find standard superhero stuff here very often, I'm afraid...), so to do a comics feature is really exciting to me.
Here's how it works. Each Sunday I'll spotlight a different comic, be it a graphic novel, a completed series, an ongoing series, a webcomic, a single issue, whatever! And here's how it breaks down. For each featured comic, it'll go with the following format:
The name,
The URL (if it's a webcomic),
The author(s),
The type of comic it is (ongoing series, completed series, graphic novel, et al),
A content rating (for those with kids or for the sensitive/cautious),
A brief and spoiler-free basic plot synopsis, and
Some personal thoughts...what I might like about it, what I might not like about it, et cetera.

So without further ado, we'll kick this off with a bang, the way it should be kicked off--with one of my big faves.




The comic: Girl Genius

URL: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com

By: Phil and Kaja Foglio

Type: Webcomic/Ongoing series, updated MWF and regularly published in volumes available at conventions, their online shop, and some larger/more indie-specialized comic shops.

Content Rating: G. Some occasional violence and innuendo but usually little beyond that.

Plot: A young woman named Agatha Heterodyne (alias, for the first couple volumes, Agatha Clay) discovers that is the last remaining descendant of a legendary family of mad scientists (more politely known as "sparks") and is the rightful heir to a mighty castle owned by same. The comic follows Agatha through her journey from clueless but well-meaning college student to feared and respected science overlord as she attempts to unite a warring Industrial-Era Europe.

Personal thoughts: A friend introduced me to this comic back in high school and I'm so glad she did. I really have no complaints about GG: the art is solid, the writing is top-notch, and I'm pretty sure they've never missed an update. The various steampunk designs are lots of fun to look at and visualize in motion, and the sheer number of questions you'll find yourself asking about plot details and loose ends is incredible--this is a good comic to have discussions over with a friend who's a fellow fan. The amount of creative world-building in place is frankly astrounding. The level of characterization is such that even the tiny bit parts feel fully formed. Just be warned, you need to start from the beginning, and at this point it's pretty long...you'll have several hundred pages to go through, but once it gets with you, you'll be telling yourself "just one more page for tonight..." when it's already three in the morning. Girl Genius is one of the few comics I'll recommend to pretty much anyone. Go read it.

Holden Out.