This page has always been one of my favorites, even though it is not part of the main story (and, in fact, is not really even part of a side story, but only part of the introduction to one, "Revenge of the Weasel Queen"). Nonetheless, it is a perfect showcase of the humor of Girl Genius, which has always been one of the aspects of this comic that most endears it to me.
Here we have a perfect synthesis of Phil and Kaja's writing, Phil's drawing, and Cheyenne's coloring producing a vignette that's delightful to look at, extremely funny, and an intensely satisfying skewering of a surprising number of clichés, both inside and outside of the "mad scientist" subgenre, as well a providing the entire premise of the comic in a nutshell.
I especially like the way this page highlights the expressiveness of Phil's art, not only in portraying actual facial expressions (especially maniacal ones), but body language as well. Ah, if only I could dance on the bones of my enemies with the grace and glee of that unnamed white-haired Spark in the final panel!
Cover of issue eight of the Girl Genius comic book. Story by Phil & Kaja Foglio. Pencils by Phil Foglio with Colors by Mark McNabb. Lettering & Book Design by Kaja Foglio.
This issue of the Girl Genius comic book was printed in November 2002 and includes pages 38 to 72 of volume 3 of the graphic novel series. (These page numbers are from the second hardcover edition of volume 8. In the first edition, the pages were numbered 42 to 76.) The pages in the comic book are numbered 2 to 35.
You may notice that the graphic novel page count is one greater than in the comic book. This is because an extra page had to be added to keep a double-page spread (the big wasp fight) aligned properly.
See the rest below the cut.
Inside front cover: For those who do not choose to cut up their books and who don't feel like monkeying with photocopiers or scanners, extra covers are available from the publisher at a small price from our Web site—airshipbooks.com, as are a selection of back issues and other works by Phil and Kaja.
Inside back cover: No text from the cover is reproduced here.
Back cover: Happy Holidays! Here are some tags for your presents and another sub for the fleet.
Permission is granted to make copies for personal non-profit use only.
Additional content before the comic: Our Story Thus Far. Additional content after the comic: Mimmoth sketches; Photograph of Agatha Heterodyne sculpture; Transylvania Polygnostic University #3: Ethics Exam; Ad for Tozer-Kiltz Robotics; the Girl Genius Secret Cypher Society.
Sample pages:
Our Story Thus Far: Note that the caption of Agatha’s picture is still “Agatha Clay”. I have no idea if the fact that she was a Heterodyne was still a big secret or an open secret among the fans at this point.
When a strange clank stalks the streets of Beetleburg near Transylvania Polygnostic University, Agatha Clay is mistaken for the assistant of its builder and taken aboard the airship city Castle Wulfenbach.
Clumsy, perpetually distracted and prone to headaches, Agatha has the drive to create but seems unable to build anything that actually works. Since boarding the Castle, her head has begun to clear, but she has now begun to wander in her sleep. To her embarrassment, she usually awakens at an empty workbench in her pajamas.
Castle Wulfenbach is ruled by Baron Klaus Wulfenbach, a particularly powerful Mad Scientist (or "Spark" to be polite) who has long enforced a kind of peace over the squabbling powers of Europe.
The Baron's son Gilgamesh has come to believe that Agatha herself is responsible for building of the Beetleburg Clank, and is hoping that just this once he has caught his brilliant father in a mistake. Gil has arranged for Agatha to be transferred to his lab as an assistant, and is keeping a close eye on her.
Meanwhile, Agatha has met Krosp, an experimental creature created to be the "Emperor of all Cats" and Othar Tryggvasson, a rather famous Hero being held captive by the Baron. Each of these meetings has reinforced Agatha's suspicion that she has not fallen amongst the "Good Guys" and that she herself may be in some danger. This is not a bad guess.
Mimmoth: One of Phil’s most charming mimmoth drawings is included as additional material.
