Girl Genius: A beginner's review

[ambitious_wench]

I often find myself not sure how to relate to folks I know online. Some folks I just click with, like SCAScot; We may have some rather profound dichotomous disagreements, but we have a sort of common ground: We are both Pagans, and we demand respect for our chosen religious alignment. Even if I am, like Sunfell, an agnostic when it comes to the gods.

Then there are folks like Silverblue and Lederhosen: I find myself oddly attracted to them, even though the common ground I have with them has largely faded into internet history. I find it difficult to explain why I want to be in their good graces; I suppose it is because I view them as wildly gifted, Silverblue with artistic talent that I will never have, and Lederhosen with an analytical mind that I can only hope to someday aspire to.

Silverblue has an icon that for a long while baffled me; Rather than make you go off-page to view it, I am including it here:



Yes, it's baffling. But I recently discovered what it is from, and that is what I shall be talking about.

Lederhosen and Silverblue both enjoy an online comic named "Girl Genius".

In an effort to better understand them, I decided to read the entire archive of this incredible phenom.

The premise: As far as I can tell, the characters are set in an alternative time line, in a Germanic barony. It seems rather steampunk, and wildly imaginative at that. Of course it is rather improbable: no one can invent an electrical sword in the time it takes to hold off a slave wasp storm. But the author makes suspension of disbelief fun: He doesn't take himself or the plot too seriously. The artwork and the plots are at obvious odds at times; Interestingly (to me at least), there isn't one whiff of "you're a girl, you can't be a mechanical genius!". At the same time, Agatha is drawn in the most ridiculous manner, breasts that are impossibly perky in a simple cropped chemise, a ludicrously tiny waist, and hips that while are NOT the current fashion of non-existance, are impossibly huge for a real woman. Still, it's not the gawdawful mockery of the female form as those stupid elves Lederhosen once lured me into looking at. (Art, would you provide a link to them, please?)

The Plot? Well, it's complex. I will say this: even the villains are likable. Agatha seems more about trying to control her life than about trying to beat a recognizable evil foe. But don't get me wrong. She tries very hard to be Good. Injustice seems to set her off on another adventure.

So far, so good. And yes, I managed to find the context for "horse pie". It's not what I thought.

Over all? Recommended. Highly. And thanks to Lederhosen and Silverblue for turning me on to it. It is a delightful romp, and a fascinating view into your minds.

Comments

[silverblue.livejournal.com]

Agatha's design is absolutely inspired by the XXX fems Foglio drew for XXXenophile - an X-rated comic he used to produce.

So, oddly, is her attitude. XXXenophile is full of irate maidens who don't need rescuing by knights, amused witches who can't be bothered with the stress of dating a normal guy so they transform their tomcat, and so on. While, like almost all erotica, he concentrates more on F/F and F/M pairings, there are a few M/M pairings on in the background and they're not shown in any 'weak' or mocking light.

And aughhh art! One day I will get into it SERIOUSLY :)

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

I'm not going to go looking for it from here, but Googling on "melanie klegerman" (or maybe -mann) should find it, if it's still out there.

FWIW, Girl Genius is written by a husband-and-wife team (Phil and Kaja), and I second Silverblue's recommendation of XXXenophile.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

...and I forgot to use any of my GG icons. Well, here's one :-)

[mr-figgy.livejournal.com]

Too bad you can only look into their minds, and not exert any form of control; then we could make them say funny things, and make them hug themselves vigorously.

[remus-shepherd.livejournal.com]

You only now have discovered Girl Genius? Gah. I consider this a personal failing of mine, for not having pushed webcomics at you more strenuously. :)