Customer Reviews

Girl Genius Volume 5: Agatha Heterodyne & The Clockwork Princess (v. 5)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great series, especially if you're sharp-eyed.

Is Baron Wolfenbach a hero or a villian? Well, yes. What about Othar T.? Well, about the same, only ... not. There's a lot for the reader to sort out, which means a lot of possibilities in the storyline, and the Foglio's seem to have gotten the hang of it.

The characters are extravagant but well within the bounds of high adventure. Countess Marie wields a mean frying pan. The Jagermonsters are the biggest, baddest boys on the block since Moe, Larry, and Curly--and they have a sense of humor, just like the authors.

The "steampunk" is delightful: airship castles complete with emergency escape paragliders, mechanical orchestras, pocket-sized robots and the true Napoleon of cats.

The artwork is first-rate, not only in the execution of the images, but in the way the images and the dialog reveal the story together. There are Easter Eggs: a character loses his composure--and his bag of candied fish. Agatha dismantles a clank (robot) and removes a giant 3-pronged plug marked with the letters "UL" and the red slash-over-circle (think NO LEFT TURN). The name and dates of The Greatest Spark of All Time should remind you of a -very- famous person from real history (don't think of toothpaste).

And best of all, there's a real plot. A backstory complete with The Villian's Beautiful Daughter. Also Mimmoths. (Gotta have Mimmoths.) A worked-out milieu (doctors wear forked beards. Why? We don't know yet.) A plotted plot, as bits of the story we've forgotten about take their places in the jigsaw puzzle. And that means that sometime, somewhen in the future, all the threads will resolve in a massive, ten-fingered chord with thunder from the pedals. At least they will if people keep buying the books, which I heartily recommend. (Did I mention that Agatha plays the Silverodeon?)

The Girl Genius webcomic from which these books are derived was awarded the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story of 2008.

Ordered to provide a performance to the local tyrant/mad scientist, & wanting to avoid a long stay near the tyrant, our Heroine (Agatha Heterodyne, Girl Genius) & the troupe of actors & circus performers she is traveling with puts on "The Socket Wench (NOT a typo) of Prague", a play so naughty they are certain to get bounced out of town ASAP.
(Tee-Hee!)
{No actual vulgar material is portrayed in this quite teen-safe book. Lots of Hee, not so much Tee.}

The tyrant likes it.
(uh-oh.)

And wants Agatha, who was the female lead in this spicy play, to come to dinner at his castle
(OH DEAR!).

There, Agatha is taken prisoner by the Tyrant & his daughter, a clockwork Cyborg.
(HORRORS!)

What plot do they have in mind?
(Gasp!)

What nefarious scheme is in motion gainst our poor heroine?
(Gasp-Gasp!)

Who are the mysterious "Geister Daemon"?
(GAAAASSSSP!)

And, can I stop laughing before I do meself an injury? Probably not, this is too darn funny!

The drama is heating up, the humor is outrageous & the art is better than ever! The use of lighting to suggest mood is very well-done, & as always, character design is outstanding.

Way to go, Phil & Kaja! This series is the best thing you have ever put in print!

The Hipster gives it a Big Thumbs UP!

The Foglio's beautiful Heterodyne series continues with what must be the biggest cliffhanger yet.
Agatha's secret becomes known to more and more people, Lucretia is revealed as the Other, and then takes over Agatha's body.
It's impossible to imagine how Agatha can get out of this one, but we know she does. After all there is a 6th volume.
A peek at the GeniusGirl website is also recommended.

'Genius' describes this comic. It is some of the best writing I have seen in comic books in a while. The humor is fast, smart, and compelling. There is not a single cut-out or flat character to be seen. There is mystery, drama, science, action, explosions and more. A MUST read!

As the compiled "Girl Genius" volumes move entirely to being drawn from the website (here June 2005 to March 2006), there's an interesting change in the feel of the series. While the Foglios have always primarily played for the long run, a certain short-term rhythm was enforced by the format. With an online comic, that's gone and they're free to pace the story as they like.

"Agatha Heterodyne and the Clockwork Princess" starts showing the result of that; it's mostly positive, but has some minor downsides. For something with the sweeping scope of "Girl Genius", being free to delay payoff for greater development is excellent; the cast is perpetually growing and it helps to not be limited by the format. The only downside is the varied pacing throws of the trade editions somewhat; this volume has a clear enough stopping point, but it doesn't really fit with the flow of the story.

Beyond that, the Foglios are well into the swing of things in this volume - which leads into the extremely complicated jumble around Sturmhalten. But complicated works here - both in the sense of the world (there's more players than just the Wulfenbachs and the Heterodynes) and in terms of story. Keeping the action wild and messy fits the work and the Foglios better than showing restraint.

So while this perhaps doesn't fit together on its own as well as it could, the change in pacing is for the best overall - and, anyway, if you're buying Volume 5, you're probably buying 6 as well.

****1/2

I love the art. My 50 year old husband, and 10 and 21 year old sons walk around the house quoting it constantly.

Phil Foglio's 'Girl Genius' lives in a world where mad scientists create armies of steam-powered robots and scientific monsters. Our heroine is Agatha Heterodine, a budding mad scientist (called 'sparks'), daughter of great hero and all-around charming heroine.

In volume 5 the seemingly random events of the last 4 volumes are finally brought back together into something resembling a plot. Still with the circus Agatha is enmeshed in a plot that ties into her own mysterious past and ends on a cliff hanger.

Many of my earlier complaints are resolved in this volume. The coloring is better and the story is more coherent.

Although Agatha remains flawless, and becomes even more special as we learn about her mother, it works. The name of the book is Girl Genius after all so we can expect a certain amount of over-the-top perfection from our heroine.

This series remains a solid, all-ages, adventure that I recommend for anyone.

These books just keep getting better and better. If anything, this book is more interesting, with more action, than the previous four. Can't wait for the sixth book.