Girl Genius

There is something pure, and sweet, and immutably innocent about a geek's view of the sexual dynamic.
An environment where a man can actually be rendered speechless by the presence of a beautiful woman, and true love is denied (communicated?) by comedic violence against him; Where physical embarassment leads to increased affection,instead of crippling emotional trauma.

It is in this vein that Foglio's Girl Genius travels, The story is complex, centering around a universe where techno-geniuses called sparks once ruled with the help of complex machines,biological experiments and willing accomplices (Clanks, constructs,and minions). After a bitter and destructive war with the evil Other and it's zombie-making slaver wasps, the primary house, Heterodyne, lies in ruins. The minor houses are united,mostly by force, under the Baron Wulfenbach, a Charleton Heston-like figure who rules with good intentions and an iron fist.

In this universe the travels of Agatha Clay, the last (unwitting) Heterodyne are chronicled. Her cluelessness and frustration are endearing, and her emotional growth is uncommonly realistic, although her knack for getting her clothes ripped/burned/left behind is a little overdone.
If the artist were a character in his own book he would be getting slapped and labeled a perv daily. He's obviously a big fan of the female form, which leads to a lot of gratuitous 'not-nudity' (wink-wink) in the Japanese tradition.
It's a repetitive plot device, but not a huge flaw.

The art is amazing. Incredibly detailed,this is by far the most visually satisfying web-comic I'veever read. The occasional panoramic pages are like the 'Where's Waldo' books in their glorious, minute completeness. The characters seem to grow and shrink according to their relative importance in the scene, which initially smacks of inexpertise but eventually becomes an important part of the atmosphere.

The plot, if not all the dialogue, is worthy of it's own novel. The writer has created a wide swath of characters, places and rich history that is a fascinating story in it's own right. If the relationships area little formulaic, the monsters and villainous good guys more than make up for it. Specifically the Jagermonsters;
Probably the best use of a bad german accent since Hogan's Heroes.


Anyway,if you're looking to kill afew hours catching up and don't mind a childish fascination with boobage given free reign, I highly reccomend
Girl Genius. It's a nice little escape from reality, and a treat for the eyes. I may not buy the Geek Philosophy of Love, but there's nothing wrong with a little test drive.

Extra points if you can read through the Zum-Zum chapter without giving in to the urge to talk like a jagermonster.