Girl Genius Volume 1: Agatha Heterodyne & The Beetleburg Clank (Paperback)

by Phil Foglio (Author, Artist), Kaja Foglio (Author), Brian Snoddy (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-The Heterodyne family, who "travelled the globe negotiating peace, stopping monsters, and shutting down doomsday devices," are heroes among those with the Spark, the ability to play with the laws of physics, until their disappearance. Now, student lab assistant Agatha Clay works for Dr. Beetle at Transylvania Polygnostic University. After soldiers of fortune steal the locket her uncle gave her years before, she is cast out of the university and left alone while her anxious foster parents go to retrieve it. Agatha takes a nap and awakes, disheveled and greasy, to be confronted by one of the soldiers. He is looking for revenge because his companion died and he blames her and the locket, which contains a complicated mechanism. Meanwhile, back at the university, Baron Wulfenbach and his son Gilgamesh run into a clank, a mechanical robotlike device that seems to be searching for someone. They reprogram it to find its maker, whom the Baron suspects is a new Spark. The clank returns to the shop where Agatha and the soldier are arguing, and the Baron orders them both kidnapped. The sepia-and-white art is lively and appealing, with distinctive characters and a richly imagined environment. There are many humorous touches, such as the "big fish" sign on a, well, big fish in the marketplace, or the Jagermonsters, humanlike soldiers who have an odd joie de vivre. The book includes a bonus color story that gives a glimpse into Agatha's future, which apparently involves a talking cat and several constructs. Sly, witty, and great fun.
Susan Salpini, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Description
Adventure, Romance, Mad Science! Meet Agatha Clay—Transylvania Polygnostic University student with the drive to create and the worst luck in the world. This Black & White collection reprints issues 1-3 of Phil & Kaja Foglio’s gaslamp fantasy series and includes a brand-new 8-page Full-Color story from Agatha's future—all in a large art-book format for better appreciation of Brian Snoddy’s beautiful inks.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Studio Foglio (July 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1890856193
• ISBN-13: 978-1890856199
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #76,642 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Girl Genius Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Witty, Charming, Fun For All, January 13, 2005

By	D. P. Bostaph "Extreme Bibliophile" (Murfreesboro, TN United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love at first sight, October 25, 2006

By	William D. Bolden "book addict" (Huntsville, AL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My wife and I play the Girl Genius card game, though up until recently I have known little of the background story. One day, curious, I looked it up and found this volume and ordered it. Before I was finished, I was already in love with Agatha. This volume gives little of the flavor of the full story that folds over the next 5+ volumes, but it does give insight into a richly imagined world.

In some ways, it is a very common story. There is a student who seems not particularly good at anything, though the reader is made aware early own that there is more than meets the eye. There is a university where she learns, that seems to be taking part in caring for her and hiding something of a secret. There is a mysterious set of events in her past, and her family's past. She has an "item of power" that is taken and sets gears into motion. She meets a guy she both despises and admires at the same time.

Somehow, though, the Foglios have found an excellent way to balance the "steam-punk", the cliche story line, and the relatively small beginnings of a comic that are meant to hint at things to come in a way to come up with something that feels fresh and, more importantly, fun.

If you are thinking about ordering this volume, by the way, I recommend getting the next couple as well. It reads fast and I assure you that you are going to want more.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's just not enough of it . . ., October 27, 2005

By	MildCritter "the critter" (Rome, GA United States) - See all my reviews

Agatha Clay is a young woman with a mysterious past. She lives in a world complicated by Sparks (think mad scientists with the ability to create devices and living things that bend or break the known laws of science) and ruled by Baron Wulfenbach, a Spark who conquered Europe to stop the chaos. Agatha's doesn't know her origin or about her imminent Sparkhood. When a mugging and theft allows her talents to break loose without warning, all hell begins to break loose, too.

Girl Genius is beautifully drawn and wonderfully manic. Its characters are human, animal, robotic (called Clanks), and artificial biological constructs. The huge story includes Agatha, the Baron and his son Gilgamesh (himself a developing spark), the King of Cats, Jagermonsters, pirates, the most fearsome nanny in the known universe, a traveling circus, Translyvania Polygnostic University, various monsters, and Punch and Judy. The backstory underlying it is fascinating, imaginative, and enormously detailed. The villains are not totally evil, and the good have their dark sides, but don't take any of it too seriously. This is comedy that is both broad and pointed, and it works beautifully.

This comic is a whacko masterpiece of adventure, romance, and discovery. After fifty years of reading all sorts of comics, this is now my all-time favorite.