Girl Genius Vol 2: Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City

Girl Genius Vol 2: Agatha Heterodyne and the Airship City (2004) Phil & Kaja Foglio

After being taken prisoner by the Baron Wulfenbach, Agatha is now living on Castle Wulfenback, and despite her anger, is slowly becoming friends with Gil. She also meets the other kids who live on Castle Wulfenbach, some of who are friendly, and some of who are nasty twits.

Again, one I got into the story it was hard to stop reading. As with the first volume, I found it much easier to read the comic in book for than on-line. But that’s almost certainly just me.

Despite the fascinating story, and the ever increasing cast of characters, there were a couple of things that kind bugged me. First was Agatha’s underwear. Again. I mean, you’d think she’d learn to sleep in her clothes. The second were some of the names, because I’m still not sure why those names are being used. To me at least, Gilgamesh and Sleipnir (especially Sleipnir) bring to mind very different characters than the ones portrayed here, so I found the names a bit jarring.

However, those are really petty issues in comparison to the story being built here. We learn a bit more about Agatha’s past, and her blooming powers. We also begin to learn that the Baron is a very complex man, and that all may not be as expected on Castle Wulfenbach.

There is also a major change in volume two–the story is in color. And there are some very interesting uses of color in this volume that I really liked, especially in the storytelling and dream sequences.

If you’ve read Girl Genius volume 1, then you won’t need me to tell you to read volume 2. You’ll already be searching for it.
Rating: 7/10

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