'PHIL FOGLIO'S COMIC GIRL GENIUS'
Jun. 8th, 2009 01:24 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sff_corgi_ljIn November of 2002, Jennifer M. Contino interviewed Phil Foglio about Girl Genius for Comicon.con, just as Girl Genius #9 (the comic) came out. The article used to be easily accessible, and could be found by Googling for it, but for reasons I have not discovered, the site reorganised and the article was reproduced into a forum thread, not viewable without registration. As I find this rather silly as well as unfair to those trying to archive both the interview and what it discusses as completely as possible, I reproduce the text here with source URL and full credit to the prolific Ms Contino.
PHIL FOGLIO'S COMIC GIRL GENIUS
Phil Foglio is no stranger to the independent comics scene. His XXXenophile series is a cult classic. Recently he's gone from the XXX to all-ages fun with the series he co-created with his wife Kaja, Girl Genius. Girl Genius is a "gaslamp fantasy" set in a pseudo Victorian place where the Industrial Revolution wasn't just a small revolution but a full scale war. Society has rebuilt itself but the world is a very strange place. Trying to find her place in this world is young Agatha Clay. Her ties to the past and future of this alternative universe are just beginning to be discovered. Issue nine comes out soon and answers some of the questions Agatha's had since her earliest days. THE PULSE caught up with Phil Foglio to talk girls, geniuses, and everything else.
THE PULSE: What is Girl Genius?
PHIL FOGLIO: Girl Genius takes place in an alternate universe where the Industrial Revolution has escalated into an all-out war. Europe has been devastated by battles between mad scientists (who are called 'Sparks' to their faces and 'Madboys' behind their backs), and monstrosities both biological and mechanical have laid waste to the countryside. Sparks are resented and feared. Young people displaying signs of the Spark are frequently killed, often even by their own families.
Twenty years ago, the Heterodyne Boys--legendary Hero-type Sparks who specialized in defeating evil-- disappeared while on a quest to stop The Other, a mysterious entity bent on the mass extermination of any and all Sparks whatsoever, as well as anybody standing too close to them. The world, already in a state of turmoil, plummeted into a dark age marked by vicious fighting between the remaining Sparks.
It was to this desperate scene that Baron Klaus Wulfenbach, a powerful Spark in his own right, and a former traveling companion of the Heterodyne Boys, arrived after a prolonged absence. Determined to end the fighting, he conquered Europe with a terrifying array of machines and creatures. The remaining Sparks pulled back and except for the occasional outburst by someone (briefly) challenging the Pax Transylvania, Europe is at peace for the first time in decades.
...Here enters Agatha Clay, a frustrated student at Transylvania Polygnostic University. Agatha is very intelligent, but has trouble concentrating and can't seem to build anything that works. However, we soon discover that there is far more to Agatha than anyone expects...
And that sets the stage.
The first story arc of Girl Genius is about Agatha discovering who she is and why she's in danger because of it.
THE PULSE: What inspired this series?
FOGLIO: Mad scientists and the people who love them. Girl Genius co-creator Kaja Foglio, my wife, was poring through a bunch of my old sketchbooks and pointed to all the old Victorian-type machinery I had drawn and said "Let's do something that will let you draw all this cool stuff." This sounded good to me. Over the next six years we worked on the story and developed characters. As a result, we have a rough but coherent storyline that should keep us going for the next ten years.
We also wanted to do something with a strong female lead character who wasn't a detective, a ninja or an assassin.
THE PULSE: Who are the main characters?
FOGLIO: Agatha Heterodyne. She's just found out that she has the Spark, and that she's the long-lost daughter of one of the Heterodyne Boys. As a result, everybody wants to either control her or kill her. While that's going on, she has to come to grips with her abilities and obligations. Think of her as a female blend of King Arthur with Harry Potter.
Krosp, Emperor of Cats. A construct built to rule cats. The idea was to use them as spies, saboteurs and messengers. The problem is that while Krosp is intelligent, cats are still cats and will do everything he commands them to do until they fall asleep, or get hungry, or blink. He regards Agatha as his first intelligent subject, and acts as her advisor. Krosp is a tactical genius, but his thinking is that of a cat--he is completely ruthless. Imagine Napoleon Bonaparte as a cat.
Adam & Lilith Clay. The Clays are a pair of Frankenstein-type monsters created by the Heterodyne Boys. Several years after the Clays retired from adventuring (Adam is now a machinist and blacksmith, and Lilith teaches piano), Barry Heterodyne left Agatha in their care while he left for a short trip. That was eleven years ago. The Clays have raised Agatha as best they can, and love her as if she were their own. Think of them as the parents from Spy Kids.
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. One of the more powerful Sparks ever, Klaus took over Europe because nobody else could. He helped the Heterodyne Boys because he respected their philosophy of "Peace through reasoned discourse, with the occasional smack upside the head". Klaus disappeared during the attacks of the Other, and when he returned, he saw that everything that the Heterodyne Boys had done had been overturned. This did not help his bad mood, and he proceeded to systematically crush troublesome Sparks who broke the peace. At the moment, his empire stretches across most of Europe. Klaus would vastly prefer to go adventuring as he did in his youth, but being the ruler makes this impossible. The last thing he needs is a new Heterodyne heir running around loose and uncontrolled. Imagine Doc Savage as kindergarten teacher.
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. Klaus' son, only recently revealed to the world. Gil has the earmarks of being a powerful Spark in his own right, but has seen his future and does not like it. He is being groomed to take over the empire and is smart enough not to want it, even though he realizes that the empire is infinitely preferable to the chaos that preceded it. Gil is basically a good person, but is realizing that he might have to act evil if he wants to get anything done. Gil was the first person to suspect that Agatha was a Spark, and likes the idea of marrying a girl smart enough to understand what he's talking about. So he's very taken with Agatha. He's...I don't know... Tim Burton does Hamlet.
Jägermonsters. The Jägermonsters are a troop of Jeckyl & Hyde-type monsters brewed up by one of Agatha's evil ancestors. They are reckless, bloodthirsty cossacks, feared throughout the known world. The Heterodyne Boys tamed them a bit, and used them with great reluctance. After the Boys disappeared, they signed on with Klaus Wulfenbach and have served him enthusiastically ever since. They are, however, still loyal to the House of Heterodyne. Think of them as a Mongol Horde staffed entirely by clones of the Katzenjammer Kids.
Zeetha. Destined to be Agatha's best friend, Zeetha is the princess of a lost kingdom. By "lost", we mean that she can't find it. In the three years she has traveled through Europe and Asia, no one has even heard of her country, and she is beginning to suspect that she is insane. Agatha, however, remembers Zeetha's country from old stories her uncle told. Zeetha decides that her best bet of getting home is to stick with Agatha and help her find her missing uncle. Zeetha is an expert swordsmaster and martial artist, and begins to train Agatha in fighting as well as giving her lessons in ruling. We see her as a combination of Willie Garvin and Yoda, except she's totally hot.
Bangladesh DuPree. DuPree is a pirate queen and airship captain, who returned to her lair one day to find her entire crew wiped out and her fortress in flames. She has sworn eternal vengeance upon whomever did it, but until she finds the culprit, she has to eat. Thus, she signed on with Klaus. Klaus is well aware that she is a homicidal maniac, but he's usually able to keep her under control, and let's be honest--sometimes having a homicidal maniac on the payroll is really useful. Especially if people know it. I see her as totally insane.
THE PULSE: If someone is just jumping on right now with issue # 9, what does he/she need to know to understand the gist of what's going on?
FOGLIO: A new Spark appeared in the town of Beetleburg. Klaus Wulfenbach has captured the man (Moloch Von Zinzer) he believes to be that Spark, as well as Agatha, who he believes to be Moloch's lover. Agatha has just discovered that she herself is the Spark. Gilgamesh Wulfenbach also knows and is planning on revealing her to his father. Also discovered in Beetleburg is a device known as a Hive Engine, a terrible weapon built by The Other in the last war. An sleeper agent of the Other has activated the Hive Engine on board the Baron's dirigible. Things are not good.
THE PULSE: What is the world of Girl Genius like?
FOGLIO: We refer to the genre as gaslamp fantasy--a Victorian-inspired landscape with steam-powered robots, fantastic airships, clanks, constructs, and other bizarre creatures. Most people outside the main urban centers still live in a pre-industrial world made strange by the addition of cannibalized parts of discarded machines, and the danger of real monsters lurking in the wilderness that surrounds the small towns. Travel, although simple for those with airships or giant walking battle clanks, is a serious undertaking for the majority of ordinary people who must still use foot or animal transport on bad or non-existent roads. Life is uncertain.
THE PULSE: What's happening in issue 9?
FOGLIO: Slaver wasps are loose on Castle Wulfenbach. Agatha discovers that she is the Heterodyne heir, her step-parents are killed and she has to escape from Baron Wulfenbach. People are thrown out of airships, there's a bunch of running and screaming--oh, and Gil proposes.
THE PULSE: Why should people check this series out?
FOGLIO: It's fun and it's different. It's got an intelligent female protagonist and a great supporting cast of oddball characters. We deal with themes like the nature of evil and the effect that storytelling has on the story, and yet we try to put in a lot of laughs.
We have an interesting world and a well thought-out storyline. We've had a great deal of positive feedback and I can't tell you how many people tell us that it's a great book for both adults and kids. Young girls, especially, really seem to like it. Kaja thinks it's because they of all people completely understand the "loser to princess" fantasy, which is the core of the first storyline .
THE PULSE: What's coming up from the comic next?
FOGLIO: An entire change of scene for Agatha. She manages to escape from Castle Wulfenbach-- she runs away and joins the circus. We get to meet a whole new set of characters, and Agatha finds out more about herself and the outside world.
THE PULSE: What other Girl Genius products are out there?
FOGLIO: Beyond comic issues #1-8 and the softcover and hardcover collections, we have Girl Genius: The Works strategy card game (108 full-color cards with subtle spoilers), Girl Genius Goggles & Lab Specs, cloisonné pins ("Krosp, Napoleon of Cats" is a new favorite), and Convention Badge Containment Units--okay, badge holders. (Can you tell that many of our products exist because we want to play with them ourselves?) We also sell extra comic book covers from the website for a pittance, so readers don't have to mangle their comic books to get at the Girl Genius decoder wheel or other cut-out features included in every issue.
There are also Girl Genius T-shirts, mugs, mousepads and additional weirdness on our Cafe Press website, which we link to from our homepage.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
FOGLIO: As far as Girl Genius goes? Girl Genius issue #8 and #9, a second trade paperback containing color issues #4-9, the Secret Blueprints for the next story arc, and untold surprises that we are not yet at liberty to reveal...
Once I get issue #9 off to the colorist, I have promised myself a new XXXenophile.
Anyone interested in checking out Girl Genius can feel free to browse our website.
We also invite everyone to read Girl Genius issue #1 and the bonus story from the first Collection, online for free:
http://www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/issue1/cover.html
http://www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/gg.ss1/p01.html
Our Cafe Press site, which has an excellent assortment of hard-to-explain Christmas gifts is at here.
PHIL FOGLIO'S COMIC GIRL GENIUS
Phil Foglio is no stranger to the independent comics scene. His XXXenophile series is a cult classic. Recently he's gone from the XXX to all-ages fun with the series he co-created with his wife Kaja, Girl Genius. Girl Genius is a "gaslamp fantasy" set in a pseudo Victorian place where the Industrial Revolution wasn't just a small revolution but a full scale war. Society has rebuilt itself but the world is a very strange place. Trying to find her place in this world is young Agatha Clay. Her ties to the past and future of this alternative universe are just beginning to be discovered. Issue nine comes out soon and answers some of the questions Agatha's had since her earliest days. THE PULSE caught up with Phil Foglio to talk girls, geniuses, and everything else.
THE PULSE: What is Girl Genius?
PHIL FOGLIO: Girl Genius takes place in an alternate universe where the Industrial Revolution has escalated into an all-out war. Europe has been devastated by battles between mad scientists (who are called 'Sparks' to their faces and 'Madboys' behind their backs), and monstrosities both biological and mechanical have laid waste to the countryside. Sparks are resented and feared. Young people displaying signs of the Spark are frequently killed, often even by their own families.
Twenty years ago, the Heterodyne Boys--legendary Hero-type Sparks who specialized in defeating evil-- disappeared while on a quest to stop The Other, a mysterious entity bent on the mass extermination of any and all Sparks whatsoever, as well as anybody standing too close to them. The world, already in a state of turmoil, plummeted into a dark age marked by vicious fighting between the remaining Sparks.
It was to this desperate scene that Baron Klaus Wulfenbach, a powerful Spark in his own right, and a former traveling companion of the Heterodyne Boys, arrived after a prolonged absence. Determined to end the fighting, he conquered Europe with a terrifying array of machines and creatures. The remaining Sparks pulled back and except for the occasional outburst by someone (briefly) challenging the Pax Transylvania, Europe is at peace for the first time in decades.
...Here enters Agatha Clay, a frustrated student at Transylvania Polygnostic University. Agatha is very intelligent, but has trouble concentrating and can't seem to build anything that works. However, we soon discover that there is far more to Agatha than anyone expects...
And that sets the stage.
The first story arc of Girl Genius is about Agatha discovering who she is and why she's in danger because of it.
THE PULSE: What inspired this series?
FOGLIO: Mad scientists and the people who love them. Girl Genius co-creator Kaja Foglio, my wife, was poring through a bunch of my old sketchbooks and pointed to all the old Victorian-type machinery I had drawn and said "Let's do something that will let you draw all this cool stuff." This sounded good to me. Over the next six years we worked on the story and developed characters. As a result, we have a rough but coherent storyline that should keep us going for the next ten years.
We also wanted to do something with a strong female lead character who wasn't a detective, a ninja or an assassin.
THE PULSE: Who are the main characters?
FOGLIO: Agatha Heterodyne. She's just found out that she has the Spark, and that she's the long-lost daughter of one of the Heterodyne Boys. As a result, everybody wants to either control her or kill her. While that's going on, she has to come to grips with her abilities and obligations. Think of her as a female blend of King Arthur with Harry Potter.
Krosp, Emperor of Cats. A construct built to rule cats. The idea was to use them as spies, saboteurs and messengers. The problem is that while Krosp is intelligent, cats are still cats and will do everything he commands them to do until they fall asleep, or get hungry, or blink. He regards Agatha as his first intelligent subject, and acts as her advisor. Krosp is a tactical genius, but his thinking is that of a cat--he is completely ruthless. Imagine Napoleon Bonaparte as a cat.
Adam & Lilith Clay. The Clays are a pair of Frankenstein-type monsters created by the Heterodyne Boys. Several years after the Clays retired from adventuring (Adam is now a machinist and blacksmith, and Lilith teaches piano), Barry Heterodyne left Agatha in their care while he left for a short trip. That was eleven years ago. The Clays have raised Agatha as best they can, and love her as if she were their own. Think of them as the parents from Spy Kids.
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach. One of the more powerful Sparks ever, Klaus took over Europe because nobody else could. He helped the Heterodyne Boys because he respected their philosophy of "Peace through reasoned discourse, with the occasional smack upside the head". Klaus disappeared during the attacks of the Other, and when he returned, he saw that everything that the Heterodyne Boys had done had been overturned. This did not help his bad mood, and he proceeded to systematically crush troublesome Sparks who broke the peace. At the moment, his empire stretches across most of Europe. Klaus would vastly prefer to go adventuring as he did in his youth, but being the ruler makes this impossible. The last thing he needs is a new Heterodyne heir running around loose and uncontrolled. Imagine Doc Savage as kindergarten teacher.
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach. Klaus' son, only recently revealed to the world. Gil has the earmarks of being a powerful Spark in his own right, but has seen his future and does not like it. He is being groomed to take over the empire and is smart enough not to want it, even though he realizes that the empire is infinitely preferable to the chaos that preceded it. Gil is basically a good person, but is realizing that he might have to act evil if he wants to get anything done. Gil was the first person to suspect that Agatha was a Spark, and likes the idea of marrying a girl smart enough to understand what he's talking about. So he's very taken with Agatha. He's...I don't know... Tim Burton does Hamlet.
Jägermonsters. The Jägermonsters are a troop of Jeckyl & Hyde-type monsters brewed up by one of Agatha's evil ancestors. They are reckless, bloodthirsty cossacks, feared throughout the known world. The Heterodyne Boys tamed them a bit, and used them with great reluctance. After the Boys disappeared, they signed on with Klaus Wulfenbach and have served him enthusiastically ever since. They are, however, still loyal to the House of Heterodyne. Think of them as a Mongol Horde staffed entirely by clones of the Katzenjammer Kids.
Zeetha. Destined to be Agatha's best friend, Zeetha is the princess of a lost kingdom. By "lost", we mean that she can't find it. In the three years she has traveled through Europe and Asia, no one has even heard of her country, and she is beginning to suspect that she is insane. Agatha, however, remembers Zeetha's country from old stories her uncle told. Zeetha decides that her best bet of getting home is to stick with Agatha and help her find her missing uncle. Zeetha is an expert swordsmaster and martial artist, and begins to train Agatha in fighting as well as giving her lessons in ruling. We see her as a combination of Willie Garvin and Yoda, except she's totally hot.
Bangladesh DuPree. DuPree is a pirate queen and airship captain, who returned to her lair one day to find her entire crew wiped out and her fortress in flames. She has sworn eternal vengeance upon whomever did it, but until she finds the culprit, she has to eat. Thus, she signed on with Klaus. Klaus is well aware that she is a homicidal maniac, but he's usually able to keep her under control, and let's be honest--sometimes having a homicidal maniac on the payroll is really useful. Especially if people know it. I see her as totally insane.
THE PULSE: If someone is just jumping on right now with issue # 9, what does he/she need to know to understand the gist of what's going on?
FOGLIO: A new Spark appeared in the town of Beetleburg. Klaus Wulfenbach has captured the man (Moloch Von Zinzer) he believes to be that Spark, as well as Agatha, who he believes to be Moloch's lover. Agatha has just discovered that she herself is the Spark. Gilgamesh Wulfenbach also knows and is planning on revealing her to his father. Also discovered in Beetleburg is a device known as a Hive Engine, a terrible weapon built by The Other in the last war. An sleeper agent of the Other has activated the Hive Engine on board the Baron's dirigible. Things are not good.
THE PULSE: What is the world of Girl Genius like?
FOGLIO: We refer to the genre as gaslamp fantasy--a Victorian-inspired landscape with steam-powered robots, fantastic airships, clanks, constructs, and other bizarre creatures. Most people outside the main urban centers still live in a pre-industrial world made strange by the addition of cannibalized parts of discarded machines, and the danger of real monsters lurking in the wilderness that surrounds the small towns. Travel, although simple for those with airships or giant walking battle clanks, is a serious undertaking for the majority of ordinary people who must still use foot or animal transport on bad or non-existent roads. Life is uncertain.
THE PULSE: What's happening in issue 9?
FOGLIO: Slaver wasps are loose on Castle Wulfenbach. Agatha discovers that she is the Heterodyne heir, her step-parents are killed and she has to escape from Baron Wulfenbach. People are thrown out of airships, there's a bunch of running and screaming--oh, and Gil proposes.
THE PULSE: Why should people check this series out?
FOGLIO: It's fun and it's different. It's got an intelligent female protagonist and a great supporting cast of oddball characters. We deal with themes like the nature of evil and the effect that storytelling has on the story, and yet we try to put in a lot of laughs.
We have an interesting world and a well thought-out storyline. We've had a great deal of positive feedback and I can't tell you how many people tell us that it's a great book for both adults and kids. Young girls, especially, really seem to like it. Kaja thinks it's because they of all people completely understand the "loser to princess" fantasy, which is the core of the first storyline .
THE PULSE: What's coming up from the comic next?
FOGLIO: An entire change of scene for Agatha. She manages to escape from Castle Wulfenbach-- she runs away and joins the circus. We get to meet a whole new set of characters, and Agatha finds out more about herself and the outside world.
THE PULSE: What other Girl Genius products are out there?
FOGLIO: Beyond comic issues #1-8 and the softcover and hardcover collections, we have Girl Genius: The Works strategy card game (108 full-color cards with subtle spoilers), Girl Genius Goggles & Lab Specs, cloisonné pins ("Krosp, Napoleon of Cats" is a new favorite), and Convention Badge Containment Units--okay, badge holders. (Can you tell that many of our products exist because we want to play with them ourselves?) We also sell extra comic book covers from the website for a pittance, so readers don't have to mangle their comic books to get at the Girl Genius decoder wheel or other cut-out features included in every issue.
There are also Girl Genius T-shirts, mugs, mousepads and additional weirdness on our Cafe Press website, which we link to from our homepage.
THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?
FOGLIO: As far as Girl Genius goes? Girl Genius issue #8 and #9, a second trade paperback containing color issues #4-9, the Secret Blueprints for the next story arc, and untold surprises that we are not yet at liberty to reveal...
Once I get issue #9 off to the colorist, I have promised myself a new XXXenophile.
Anyone interested in checking out Girl Genius can feel free to browse our website.
We also invite everyone to read Girl Genius issue #1 and the bonus story from the first Collection, online for free:
http://www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/issue1/cover.html
http://www.studiofoglio.com/girlgenius/gg.ss1/p01.html
Our Cafe Press site, which has an excellent assortment of hard-to-explain Christmas gifts is at here.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 09:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 03:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 03:35 pm (UTC)"We see her as a combination of Willie Garvin and Yoda, except she's totally hot."
LMAO
no subject
Date: 2009-06-08 09:07 pm (UTC)