7.18.2013
Agatha H and the Airship City
by Phil & Kaja Foglio, 258 pgs, paperbackGirl Genius webcomic/website
Series: Girl Genius novel #1
Overall Grade: A-
Reading is my number one pastime. The Girl Genius comics happen to be one of my favorite series. So the combination of the two, Girl Genius in prose format, was an obvious winning formula for me :)
This first book in the series basically covers the first 3 volumes of the comics. From Agatha's mugging to her escape from Castle Wulfenbach. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read the comics (which you should - YOU SHOULD READ THEM!), but I think fans of the comics won't be disappointed either. Not a mere novelization, in this format the Foglios are allowed to flesh out all the connecting scenes that happen off-panel in the comics, as well as weave in some more of the backstory. We also get a more omniscient viewpoint for the characters and hear more of that they're thinking (and in more detail) than comic format allows.
Still, I don't think the novels could exist without the comics because I think without the background of the comics, it would be very difficult to visualize all the panopoly of clanks, constructs, jaegermonsters, and other creatures that populate this steampunky universe.
Also, I was a teeny bit upset that they changed one of my favorite lines from the comic in the novel.
"Herr Baron! You should get out of here! All of the experiments in the lowers labs have either been let loose or activated, and three of the compartments are on fire."doesn't have quite project quite the same insane chaos as
"Herr Baron! We need you! All the experiments in the labs have either been let loose or turned ON! And everything's on fire!"
Labels: genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: steampunk, media: book, series: Girl Genius
