Girl Genius

Girl Genius is an ongoing comic book series turned webcomic, written and drawn by Phil and Kaja Foglio and published by their company Studio Foglio LLC under the imprint Airship Entertainment. The comic has won five WCCA awards including 2008 Outstanding Comic, and been nominated for a Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, an Eagle Award and twice for an Eisner Award; in 2009, 2010, and 2011 it won the Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story.

Girl Genius
Agatha, main character of Girl Genius
Author(s)Phil & Kaja Foglio
Illustrator(s)Phil Foglio & Kaja Foglio
Websitewww.girlgeniusonline.com
Current status/scheduleUpdates on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays.
Launch dateJanuary 2001 (2001-01) (Secret Blueprints, Vol. I preview issue)
February 21, 2005 (web publication)
Genre(s)Fantasy, Humor, Science Fiction, Steampunk, Gaslamp Fantasy

Girl Genius has the tagline of "Adventure, Romance, MAD SCIENCE!". It features a female lead character in an alternate-history Victorian-style "steampunk" setting, although elements veer from what is usually thought of as steampunk. Kaja Foglio, one of the co-creators, describes it as "gaslamp fantasy" instead to suggest its more fantastic style.

The Foglios have also written four Girl Genius novels, Agatha H. and the Airship City. Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess, Agatha H. and the Voice of the Castle, and Agatha H. and the Siege of Mechanisburg, all published by Night Shade Books.

Publication history

Kaja and Phil Foglio in 2007.

The specific idea for the style of Girl Genius came about when Kaja Foglio went through some of Phil's loose drawings: "I was going through all of Phil's old files and I was filing all of the old sketches, and I was coming across weird airships and cats in tophats with walking canes, and all of this... wonderful... Victoriana sci-fi stuff... it was like 'Oh, this is everything I love!'"[1] CBR News quoted Phil Foglio as saying, "We wanted to do something with a strong female lead character. We both like the tropes associated with mad science, and I really enjoy drawing fiddley Victorian-style gizmos".[2] After some intensive long-term plotting starting in 1993,[3] the Foglios announced the publication of Girl Genius in 2000.

Girl Genius: The Secret Blueprints Vol. I was printed in January 2001, followed closely by the monochrome Issue 1 in February. Color was introduced in Issue 4 and subsequently, with occasional dips into sepiatone for flashbacks. In the collected editions, Volume One (comic Issues 1–3) was inked by Brian Snoddy[4] and was reissued in 2010 colored by Cheyenne Wright.[5] Volumes Two and Three (comic issues 4–10) were colored by Mark McNabb.[6] Volume Four (comic Issues 11-unpublished 14) was colored by Laurie E. Smith.[7] Cheyenne Wright is the current colorist; his work begins with Volume Five (what would have been Issue 15 onward).

On April 18, 2005, Girl Genius became a webcomic, and quarterly print publication of the comic ceased. The Foglios have since organized the new web-only story into plot-coherent volumes of 100–200 pages each, printed as limited-edition hardback and trade paperback books. The site had two streams, "101 Class" (for pages which had seen print publication) and "Advanced Class" (for new, web-only material) until the older section of the story caught up to the new material, and made the entire comic available to read at a sitting.

In an interview recorded in January 2008, shortly before they began releasing pages of volume 8 of Girl Genius on their web site,[Note 1] the Foglios stated that they expected the climax of Volume 8 to be the rough equivalent of "the end of the first season," and that it would provide a logical break in case of author catastrophe and a fresh jumping-on point for new readers.[8] However, this was an underestimate of the length of the remaining "first season": the end of Volume 13 turned out to be approximately halfway through the planned overall story arc.[9] The "second season" of the series began March 3, 2014, with "Act 2, Volume 1,"[10] after a two-month hiatus of the main story.

Gaslamp Fantasy

Kaja Foglio coined the term "Gaslamp Fantasy" to describe her work, as an alternative to steampunk. In her April 24, 2006 LiveJournal entry, Kaja Foglio explained how the term came to be coined:

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.[11]

Girl Genius also differs from classic steampunk in that technology is not just limited to machines but also encompasses biology. Thus alongside the clanks (impossibly advanced steampunk robots), dirigibles and walking gunboats of the world there are constructs biological creations which range from Frankenstein-style creatures to talking cats and mouse-sized mammoths.

Overview

In an alternate-universe "Europa", mad scientists called Sparks turned the Age of Enlightenment into a full-scale war that ravaged the continent, until Baron Wulfenbach clamped down with an iron fist. Enter Agatha Clay, a hapless student who cannot do anything right – until she breaks free of an attempt to keep her simple and claims her "Spark" heritage. The long-lost daughter of descendant-of-barbarian-hordes-storied-hero Bill Heterodyne and villainess-turned-good Lucrezia Mongfish, Agatha Heterodyne learns to mix scientific genius, a streak of true heroism and an obsessive possessiveness for what she consider her own in order to claim her monstrous heritage and birthright, even as the eyes of all Europa watch her carefully in case she turns out to be one of the monsters herself.

Awards

The Foglios' acceptance speech at the Hugo Awards ceremony 2010.
Year Organization Award Recipient Outcome
2014 Hugo Awards Best Graphic Story Girl Genius, Volume 13: Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City.[12] Nominated
2011 Hugo Awards Best Graphic Story Girl Genius, Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse.[13] Won
2010 Hugo Awards Best Graphic Story Girl Genius, Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm.[14] Won
2009 Hugo Awards Best Graphic Story Girl Genius, Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones.[15] Won
2008 Hugo Awards Best Professional Artist[16] Phil Foglio Nominated
Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards Outstanding Comic Won
Outstanding Writer Won
Outstanding Environment Design Won
Outstanding Artist Nominated
Outstanding Character Writing Nominated
Outstanding Long Form Comic Nominated
Outstanding Use of Color Nominated
2007 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards Outstanding Science Fiction Comic Won
Outstanding Comic Nominated
Outstanding Long Form Comic Nominated
Eisner Awards Best Digital Comic [17] Nominated
2006 Web Cartoonists' Choice Awards Outstanding Story Concept Won
Outstanding Comic Nominated
Outstanding Science Fiction Comic Nominated
2005 Eisner Awards Best Writer/Artist—Humor Phil Foglio [18] Nominated

Published collections

Original Journey

  • Volume 1: Agatha Heterodyne and the Beetleburg Clank (96 pp) (reprints #1–3)
    • Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-19-3, full color Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-50-9
    • 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
  • Volume 6: Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite (150 pp) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 1-890856-42-8
    • Hardcover: ISBN 1-890856-41-X
  • Volume 7: Agatha Heterodyne and the Voice of the Castle (128 pp) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-45-8
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-46-5
  • Volume 8: Agatha Heterodyne and the Chapel of Bones (144 pp) (reprints webcomic) Winner of the 2009 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-47-2
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-48-9
  • Volume 9: Agatha Heterodyne and the Heirs of the Storm (144 pg) (reprints webcomic) Winner of the 2010 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story[14]
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-52-6
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-51-9
  • Volume 10: Agatha Heterodyne and the Guardian Muse (152 pg) (reprints webcomic) Winner of the 2011 Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-53-3
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-54-0
  • Volume 11: Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell (168 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-55-7
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-56-4
  • Volume 12: Agatha Heterodyne and the Siege of Mechanicsburg (192 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-57-1
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-58-8
  • Volume 13: Agatha Heterodyne and the Sleeping City (160 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-59-5
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-60-1
  • Girl Genius Omnibus Edition Vol 1 (2006) (reprints v.1–3 in smaller, black & white edition)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-40-3
  • Girl Genius Omnibus Vol 1: Agatha Awakens (2012) (reprints v.1–3 in color edition)
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-0-7653-3132-8

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

The Second Journey of Agatha Heterodyne

  • Volume 1: The Beast of the Rails (128 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-61-8
    • Hardcover: ISBN 978-1-890856-62-5
  • Volume 2: City of Lightning (128 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-63-2
  • Volume 3: The Incorruptible Library (122 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-65-6
  • Volume 4: Kings and Wizards (120 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1-890856-67-0
  • Volume 5: Pirates and Queens (128 pg) (reprints webcomic)
    • Paperback: ISBN 978-1890856-69-4

Novelizations

The Foglios have also written four Girl Genius prose novels, Agatha H. and the Airship City, which contains the volumes 1-3 of the webcomic, Agatha H. and the Clockwork Princess, covering volumes 4-6, Agatha H and the Voice of the Castle, covering volumes 7-9, and Agatha H. and the siege of Mechanisburg covering volumes 10-13 of the webcomic. The prose novels are published by Night Shade Books.

Connections to other works

  • Agatha is visible throughout the GURPS Illuminati University sourcebook, which was illustrated by the Foglios, and she is even identified by name on page 11. A GURPS Girl Genius Sourcebook[19] is also in development.
  • The comic has made references to other webcomics, such as Girls With Slingshots, Wapsi Square, Gunnerkrigg Court, Arcane Times, Freefall, Something Positive, Dominic Deegan: Oracle For Hire, Basic Instructions, Home on the Strange, The Devil's Panties, Schlock Mercenary and Studio Foglio's own Buck Godot.[20] and What's New[21]
  • Girl Genius has also referenced more classical comics. At one point a prisoner in a dungeon recognizes some Jägermonsters who have broken in and says "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop?"[22] This is the nonsense catchphrase from Gene Ahern's classic surrealist newspaper strip The Squirrel Cage, which ran from 1936 to 1953.

See also

Notes

  1. The first page of volume 8 is dated Monday, February 4, 2008.[‡ 1]

References

  1. "Interview with Phil and Kaja Foglio, Part 2 of 2, 7m:15s". The Biblio File. TalkShoe. 27 January 2008. Archived from the original (MP3) on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  2. Jordan, Justin (12 February 2007). "Getting Smarter: Phil Foglio Talks "Girl Genius"". CBR News. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  3. Scheff, Meredith (9 March 2008). "Meredith Scheff Interviews Phil Foglio". The Steampunk Workshop. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  4. Brian Snoddy Art Archived 23 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Welcome". ArcaneTimes.Com.
  6. "Home". www.mcnabbstudios.com.
  7. Laurie E. Smith at Prism Comics Archived 21 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  8. "Interview with Phil and Kaja Foglio, Part 1 of 2, 33m:45s". The Biblio File. TalkShoe. 27 January 2008. Archived from the original (MP3) on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  9. "We are Kaja and Phil Foglio creators of Girl Genius". AMA. Reddit. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
  10. "Girl Genius Comic for Monday, March 03, 2014". Livejournal. Girl Genius. 2 March 2014. Archived from the original on 10 March 2014.
  11. Foglio, Kaja (26 April 2006). "Dirt, Collection Vol. 5, Furniture and Gaslamp Fantasy". Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  12. "2014 Hugo Award Winners". 17 August 2014. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  13. "2011 Hugo Award Winners". 21 August 2011.
  14. Cavna, Michael (5 September 2010). "'GIRL GENIUS' wins Hugo Award for best graphic story". Comic Riffs. Washington Post. Retrieved 9 September 2010.
  15. "2009 Hugo Award Winners". thehugoawards.com. thehugoawards.com. 9 August 2009. Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  16. "2008 Hugo Award Nominees". World Science Fiction Society. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2008.
  17. "The 2007 Eisner Awards: 2007 Master Nominations List". Comic-Con. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  18. "The 2005 Eisner Awards: Nominees". Comic-Con. Archived from the original on 19 February 2009. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  19. "Girl Genius Sourcebook and Roleplaying Game". Retrieved 2 January 2017.
  20. Girl Genius Online 19 March 2007
  21. "GIRL GENIUS, Monday, September 08, 2008".
  22. Phil and Kaja Foglio, Girl Genius Volume 6: Agatha Heterodyne and the Golden Trilobite, page 62

Primary sources

In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger: ‡

  1. "Girl Genius web comic volume 8, page 001". Girl Genius. Airship Entertainment. 4 February 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
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