Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City

Girl Genius #2

by Phil Foglio, Kaja Foglio

In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success. At Transylvania Polygnostic University, Agatha Clay was a student with trouble concentrating and rotten luck. Dedicated to her studies but unable to build anything that actually "worked," she seemed destined for a lackluster career as a minor lab assistant. But then the University was overthrown and Agatha was taken aboard the giant airship "Castle Wulfenbach" -- where it begins to look like she might carry a spark of Mad Science after all.

Genres: Steampunk, Graphic Novels, Comics, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

A popular science fiction fan artist in the 1970s, Phil Foglio began writing and drawing cartoons and comics professionally in the 1980s. His work includes Magic: The Gathering, Buck Godot, and the popular series of comics and novels, Girl Genius, co-written with his wife, Kaja Foglio.

Awards:
Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist (1977 and 1978)
Hugo Award for Best Graphic Story (2009, 2010, 2011)

Reviews

[Mary ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agatha and the other older people in the dorm are supposed to be teenagers? Hmm.

There's something about the coloring in this volume that I don't like. Not a huge deal--it doesn't obscure the cute background details in the art, and that's what's important.

[Ronald · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has been a while since I read this story last. I found this copy in my local comic shop discount bin and I have no idea why. The story is great, it is unique with a great female lead character. The world is very high end steampunk - it is not really our world though they throw in names of people and places from our world. This is a wonderful read.

[Robu-sensei · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the second book in the Girl Genius series, we receive a closer look into the workings of Baron Wulfenstein's empire; Agatha and Gilgamesh, the Baron's only son, become better acquainted; and, at the end, we meet an unlikely character who yet is destined to play a central role in Agatha's life story. Book 2 also includes a classic Heterodyne Bros. tale, The Heterodyne Boys and the Dragon King of Mars.

The artwork changes remarkably with the transition to color. I think I like the new color art better, but it lacks the baroque steampunk flavor of Book 1. The story is still mostly in the development phase, and the Jägers have yet to differentiate into all colors, shapes and horn sizes.

[Andrea]

Agatha, free of the controls that protected her childhood, vacillates between being the butt of comedic set pieces and her reawakening spark. Given the name of the series, her real identity should be no surprise to any reader. It's fun, and sad, to see her frustration and delight in regard to being treated seriously as an inventor.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of intelligence, humor, mad science, characters you truly care about, and Girls Who Do Things. A must-read for graphic novel lovers.

[Harold Ogle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recommendation: Still just as wonderful a whimsical 19th-century mad scientist comic, only now in vivid color and with a lot more world and character development than in volume 1.

Critique: There's full color this time, but the artwork is still showing that it's an early web comic from 19 years ago: while it just keeps getting better and better, if you're going back to these early volumes from having read more recent volumes (or online) in recent years, it's a bit startling to see how rough the characters are. But this volume really builds and/or begins to deliver on the story promises of volume 1. There's a LOT of the recurring characters that are introduced here, and more of the power dynamics between the different great Spark families of the world are presented. For all that, though, it is still largely building the plot to the payoff of volume 3. Not a lot happens here, but you don't miss it, because the setting and the characters are developed so much. It's definitely rewarding to re-read after going much further into the story, too, as so much that happens later is hinted at and referenced in this volume.

Review: Agatha wakes up in Castle Heterodyne, where she had been sent to "assist" Moloch von Zinzer. von Zinzer tells her of his plan: play along and try to build some mad device while they use their free time to figure out a way to escape. Agatha meets her roommate, Sleipnir, who introduces her to the various other passenger-hostages, all children of various noble houses around the world who have been taken to study in Castle Wulfenbach. They explain that Gilgamesh Wulfenbach was raised with them without any of them knowing his true identity (they all just knew him as "Gil"), but none have seen him again since he "returned from Paris" with his identity publicly known. Ardley Wooster appears and escorts Agatha to Gil's lab.

Gil pumps Agatha for information, revealing his theory that Dr. Beetle was trying to kill HER to prevent some secret from being revealed. Then he pulls a lever and the flying machine they're on plummets through a hatch. Something awakens within Agatha, and the two of them sync in their mad science, tearing the engine apart and rebuilding it on the fly. They crash back into the Castle, right into the chambers of the Jaegermonster Generals, who are about to meet with the Baron. Panicked, Gil dismisses Agatha in a hurry before they can process the Jaegers' reaction to Agatha. Furious at being "dismissed" like a servant, Agatha returns to the hostage area, where she is threatened by a severe dominatrix/schoolmarm clank, von Pinn. But Agatha, tired of being mistreated by everyone, commands the clank to let go...and much to everyone's astonishment, von Pinn does let go. Vowing revenge, von Pinn leaves to start another class.

The younger kids are traumatized to see someone provoke von Pinn, so the head boy, Theo, tells them a Heterodyne Boys story in which Barry and Bill Heterodyne rescue Klaus and Bill's father-in-law Dr. Mongfish (who admits that the crisis with the Other is all his fault) from slaver wasps, defeat a slaver dragon, and leave Klaus in charge of Bill's wife, Lucrezia Mongfish, while they disappear with her father through a portal to Mars. This story raises the question of Hive Engines, and the little kids reveal that they have seen one...that was brought in from Beetleburg with Agatha and von Zinzer.

A group of the older students and one little kid sneak into a lab to see it and eavesdrop on a conversation between Klaus and some of his Spark doctors ("Is the Hive Engine 18 years old, or brand new?") but a furtive small figure startles the little kid, who shrieks, alerting the Baron to their presence, and they all scatter. Running from the Baron, the students find Gil in a lab. Gil and the other students are hurt because each feels they've been ignoring each other, so it's clear that they've been kept apart. Still upset at being dismissed, Agatha doesn't want to be "rescued" by Gil, so she runs off on her own, and stumbles across a torture cell containing Othar Tryggvassen, an idiotic but talented "Hero" that Klaus has captured.

Othar speaks condescendingly to Agatha, trying to convince her to help him escape and destroy the airship, but then some jaegermonsters ("Und any plan vere hyu lose your hat iz...?" "A bad plan?") enter and take Agatha to a tea party with the Jaeger Generals. We find out that they are from Mechanicsburg, were engineered to serve, and that Klaus took control of them when their master(s) disappeared. The Jaeger generals can tell something about Agatha's identity, but they don't agree what it is, exactly. They float the idea of having "the Castle" assess her, but then dismiss the idea because the castle is broken, useless. As they start to fight to "discuss" the issue, they send Agatha back with a jaeger escort.

Her jaeger escort, Andre, gets distracted by his "sveethot" von Pinn who starts fight with him, and Agatha slips away. Back in the student area, Agatha declines an invitation to listen with the group of students now reunited with Gil listen to Gil's stories about Paris. In her room, she finds a white cat, and shares her food with it. Then she falls asleep and dreams of her childhood, when someone she called "Uncle Barry" gave her the trilobyte locket and made her swear to never take it off.

Agatha wakes up in her underwear in a lab as one of the Baron's officials enters with von Zinzer. von Zinzer covers for them again, and once the official is gone, he reveals a bit more of his backstory: he was a soldier, but soldiers are all mechanics as well. He and his brother crewed a walking tank for a noble whose reign was destroyed by the Baron. They became ronin, raiding the countryside for parts to keep their tank operable. They kept to abandoned, desolate areas of Europe as best they could, but then their tank was blown up by one of the Baron's dirigible patrols, led by a "crazy woman." Omar and Moloch were the only ones to escape. Days pass, and Agatha clashes with Zulenna (a noble daughter who doesn't have the Spark and so leans on her status as a princess) and gets in several disagreements with von Zinzer. When von Zinzer starts to get physical with Agatha, the white cat bites him and she throws him out just as Gil arrives to invite her to work with him. She's delighted that somebody likes her ideas, but then the cat reveals that he can talk and warns her to be "very, very careful."

[Kristin Boldon · Rating 4 out of 5]

More good silly fun from this series. Can't wait to dive into #3. I notice that both the men and women are sexualized, which makes sense given the Foglios wrote a sex comic for years. I didnt care for Agatha's "yech" about the baron's only having kids in jars--sounds homophobic and hope it's referring to the adorable yet probably pesky mimmoth. Some reviewers complain about the color in volumes 1 and 2. Take another look. The color changes depending on how "blocked" Agatha is.

[James Bowman · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good second volume, with most of the same pluses and minuses as the first. Once again, the art is terrific, even beter than the first volume for being full-color. The plot developments continue to interest as well. However, each graphic novel so far seems like the equivalent of a single hour-long episode of a TV show. It's satisfying... but it just doesn't feel like enough. (I suppose, perhaps, that this was a deliberate sales strategy, but I've only got one more collection left to read!)

Some random thoughts:

- I'm really hoping we get some more in-depth history of this alternate universe soon- there are lots of questions I'd like answered, most significantly about the war and Baron Wulfenbach's involvement in it.

- Nice touch that the Jagermonsters think Agatha smells good because she's a Heterodyne (rather than just thinking she's hot). (Not that you know she's a Heterodyne from the story, but each volume is subtitled "Agatha Heterodyne and...", not "Agatha Clay and...")

- I wonder, considering that the Baron seems like the harsh but fair type, why does he keep a famous hero prisoner in his airship? For that matter, why did the Heterodynes hide their daughter (I assume) from him, to the extent of having her uncle put that locket on her to stifle her "spark"?

- It's kind of sad to think that Agatha's potential for genius was crushed for over a decade of her life.

- I suspect Moloch is going to meet a bad end now that he's been revealed as a non-"spark."

- The group of nobles' children are an interesting set of characters. I hope we get some more development with them. Von Pinn is scary- but I'm doubting she's Lucrezia Mongfish, because it seems to be the popular theory.

- The talking cat character, FYI, made his first appearance in the run of Foglio's What's New with Phil and Dixie from The Duelist.

- Gilgamesh's suggestion that Dr. Beetle was trying to kill Agatha was kind of a shock.

[Pdoe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take
A base-stock of Steam Punk
1 scoop of Drama
2 handfuls of Romance
1 dash of mystery
Add silliness to taste

Blend.

And enjoy!

[Keith Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful. Imaginative. Very funny.

[Username · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's getting better. Color is a big plus from the first volume.
Too many characters are introduced, I look forward to see them interact.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

A potentially interesting strong female character once again ruined by a perceived need to be cartoonishly well endowed and inexplicably running around in underwear.

[Coyora Dokusho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read at least (2) times

I was amused! Very amused! It's really fun reading this already knowing where it's going...

[Little Timmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly funny and entertaining comic. The Foglios never fail to make me laugh till I hurt with their writing and art. Highly recommended

[Erika · Rating 1 out of 5]

The way women's bodies are exploited in this book is disgusting.

[Kevin Hull · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's hard to find words for how stupid and boring this is. Apparently steampunks think it's all that. Maybe I'm missing something, but I just don't get it.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[K.S. Trenten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything entertained in the second volume of this series, right down the fantastical author blurbs. (Speaking as a speculative fiction writer, I’m envious. :)) Once more, Agatha Heterodyne reminded me of Harry Potter in how she was catapulted into character interaction by crisis after crisis, which showcased the unique world she lived in.

This time, Agatha was on Baron Wulfenbach’s mobile airship. The Baron himself revealed a sense of humour mixed with stern authority and temper, along with some intriguing hints about his past. Readers got to know Von Zinzer and the Jagermonsters, err, Jagerkin a little better, plus we were introduced to a host of new characters. Agatha and the mystery around her deepened, while she coped with crisis after change, each being hurdled at her. She dealt (or ducked) them all with spark like speed, leaving this reader wondering what she’d do next.

For a fast moving plot peppered with plenty of character development and mystery, this book gets four stars.

[Esme · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually started out reading the novelization of this--you know, the version without pictures. When I went back to look at the comics, I hated the art. I thought it was cartoony and silly and busy and hard to understand what's going on. But I'd enjoyed the novelization, so I skimmed the first and second volume of the comics, then skipped to volume four. This series had won three Hugo Awards so I figured there had to be something to it. By volume 8 I was sold. I've now read the first thirteen volumes and am officially a die-hard fan. I think the art did get a little better as the volumes progressed, but mostly I think I just got used to it. I can't say I like how much Agatha ran around in her underwear in the first volumes, or that all the women have perfectly globular gravity-defying breasts, but after a while we get a lot of shirtless princes which sort of evens the playing field.

[Laura Floyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started reading this with plenty of time to finish before we left on our trip, but I just couldn't get engaged. Wound up finishing it in a rush on the drive to the airport, so I don't suppose I gave the visual aspects of the story as much consideration as they deserve. As before, the artistic style is a ton of fun (even if facial expressions occasionally seem so overdone as to be absurd - that's what style is, no?) with amusing details sprinkled throughout. I want to know more about the story and the characters, I'm just not sure that graphic novel is a style that really suits me.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book randomly in the mail and now I love gaslamp fantasy (not steampunk). Although I didn’t understand much of it because I didn’t read the first one, I still liked this printed webcomic thing a lot. I like the whole alternate 19th century world and the crazy gadgets Sparks create, especially the titular airship city. I fell in love with Agatha as she was slowly discovering her real past, and the side characters are good too, like Gilgamesh and Sleipnir. All in all, I’m glad I discovered the world of Girl Genius through a random copy of this book.

[Emily M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was still on board at this point. It was interesting, and there was enough going on that I was interested in continuing the series, but I wasn't so super excited about it that I couldn't wait to get my hands on the next volume, either. TBH this series is better consumed as the web comic it started out as.

[Jeffrey Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novel version of cliff hanger serials. Each issue needs to be read several times, important action sometimes takes place in the background. Not as dark as the little steampunk I've read, probably due to the Young Adult target audience.

[Taylor Whitfield · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is where the series really starts rolling. Sparks will fly! And the world will know the name of Agatha!

[Anthony Faber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Girl Genius Graphic Novel #2. Takes up where "A.H. and the Beetleburg Clank" leaves off and you should probably read that first

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

More adventures of the woman who saves the world with her wits and inventions, while everyone ignores her. I hope that last part will change by the end of these adventures.

[Damian Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great steam punk book, funny adventure what more do you need

[Foxglow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super fun read

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. The art style is not for me at all, but there's an intriguing story found here.