Tough Like a Girl #49 – Girl Genius Omnibus Vol. 1

Lis and Nathaniel take a wild ride through the sci-fi fantasy world of the hit webcomic Girl Genius, the brainchild of Phil and Kaja Foglio.

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4 responses to “Tough Like a Girl #49 – Girl Genius Omnibus Vol. 1

  1. Sorry, this is going to be long. You’ve been warned.

    I’ve been a fan of Phil Foglio (I’ve usually heard it pronounced “folio”) for a long time. First with “Myth Adventures” from Warp Graphics (the publisher of Elfquest), then his work for DC on mini-series like “Angel and the Ape” and “Stanley and his Monster”, and even his “Plastic Man” mini-series although he didn’t draw that one. His work is usually heavy on humor, with surprising moves into drama.

    I discovered Girl Genius fairly late, but caught up from the beginning and was hooked ever since. It’s up to Volume 19 now! It is weird that the synopsis comes across so serious, when I read it as a mashup of humor, drama, intrigue, period piece, and of course, MAD SCIENCE! They don’t shine a spotlight on it within the stories. But the Foglios come right out and say it in their website commentary that “the Spark” produces the inventive genius associated with mad scientists, thus the insanity of the creations in this world, in a time period akin to Frankenstein and his ilk, taken to extreme measures.

    So if you read the characters as not to be taken seriously, you might enjoy the stories more. Othar Tryggvassen “Gentleman Adventurer!” is a great example. He sees himself as a hero and is a scientific genius and also not very bright without contradiction.

    Another way to get a taste of the humor, you can find recordings on YouTube of the Foglios doing old style radio show plays at conventions, with stories set in the world of Girl Genius. Kaja plays Agatha and Phil plays Krosp, with other friends reading the other parts, and they are a riot.

    So yeah, I guess I like Girl Genius. Great episode, my punchers, and here’s to a Happy New Year and EPISODE 50! WHOO!

  2. Impressive Podcast Most impressive. Ah Girl Genius I love this comic. My fav character Mamma Gkika of the Jag misters gets little screen times. Even though she put down the main love interest in a fight with one move. What’s his face. I don’t know the Jagamisters gave him a hat that said really Smart guy. But, in their dialect. Gilgamesh Wulfenbach that’s his name.
    Yeah Agatha Heterodyne looks like Kaja to a T. As for the build my Mom was built like that. Won’t say her name here. She was cheer Captain in high school and real smart. She retired as a store Manger.

    So yeah people look like that. I always liked this comic. Haven’t read it in yeatrs. I did a fan fic on Mamma Gkika once. Ware she beat a Mech with a big rock. I.E. threw the rock into the exhaust port of the mech. Had some Jägermonsters. Destract it as she threw the rock well bolder into the exhaust port, Hey steam is used in Steam Punk so why not? Wasn’t that good, but ah well. Sadly only Yegamister whom gets screen time is the dude with the hat. Gikika is also a Jägergeneral. so that’s something. So that’s more powerful Jägermonsters. And yeah I went to their Wiki page for this.

    Ah Magic the gathering Sorry never played it. Not a big Card game gal out side of Uno, Some Doctor who thing I played with my step brother. Spades and Gen. And I’m bad at GEm rumy. Hmm, I wonder if Shagg will talk about the RPG for this game well 2 of them. Any way The Foglio’s made a fun web comic. I don’t see Phil in either of the 2 male love interests, but I could be wrong. Just seen his image in photos. Don’t know either of them.

    Still was fun. Right now I’m playing a lot of Cyber Punk 2077. So the 80s switch up from Steam to Cyber is there. I like the video game ok it has glitches. So many games have em now. Don’t think it needed more time. It took em 8 years to make it and I beat it in 4 days. It’s fun. Ok onto the things people go Oy on. 1 the T-Gal in the add. Every body in adds is over sexulized. Cis Men. Sis Women. And yep Trans Women. One. And she looks good.

    Though it’s a cratic by the game on Sexulazation in media. And if we didn’t buy it they wouldn’t make it. There’s a Heavy set Cis Men topless in the game being sexulized as an add. A Dog food add has a human woman being sexulized. The adds are like the first Robo Cop. It’;s an look at how low we can go folks. This is what happens when people disconect from being human. The Trans Woman is not being over sexulized cause she’s Trans. It’s cause she’s markatable.

    Again adds for every thibg in this get Cis peoplke over sexulized. Or over the top adds. Even way over the top gun selling adds. Again Robo Cop. And yeah V can be Trans Pre op. Male or female. And no one in game gives you heck. Your male or Female V. T-Girls are female V. T-Men are Male V. Why voice? Cause all the recording was already done. And it Synks to that voice. If ya rthink you got all Gens covered in Saints row… nope They just didn’t mention gender. You were just Boss. After RROW sMITH PLAYS dON’T WANNA MISS A THING AS YOU stop a missle you pick a time cover and get your create a character.

    And no way they were gonna get Mr. Reaves back to re record they them. As V. They put the gender thing in last minute. After they found out how much folks wanted it. They may have not known. Though truthfully Only game I can think of that realy has pick gender change. I.E. Male Body butr classed as Woman or Female Body but Classed as Man. In the clastic since. Is Dagger Falls. Er for Big time games. Ie triple A. So it’s a start for us. Maybe DLC will come back and They Them will be posable with V. With a Body sculpt mod. I.E. the Plastic surgery bit from Saints row.

    Also Claire the Bar tender in After Life is Trans. And she’s a main character. There is only one mention of her being Trans and that’s Dean bringing her flowers for her Transition surgery. In her raceing story line, but it’s there. And not a bonk on thre head like MEA. So here’s CD’s difference from Mass Effect. They tought a Trans actor in it and Trans charcter. The actor? Her chacter dies as the game starts in Mass Effect Andromeda. The Charcter… she said she had to leave earth to be trans….for some reason.

    While Claire. No one cares. She’s a charcter about Racing her job. Her love of her husband Dean. And we know Rouge would know. But, in the world of Cyber Punk people being but Hurt about Trans stuff is gone. Since we saw her since early game concepts. Gonna say she was always planed this way. At lest the line was set in early enough. No bonk on head with her about being Trans. She’s just there. So 2 posable Trans Characters. Clair and maybe V. And an Add. The add no worse than the rest of the adds.

    Again all adds are over the top. But, that was the point. Their are things in their to sale stuff that should make you shiver. One on something to getyou threw the day. Ware a guy is about to do something no one should, but it’s just to sale stuff. So Yeah Mike Pawn Smith just used the over the top stuff. The Animals are not racist. I killed a bunch of white members of them. Same with Hispanic ones. Their Leader Sasquatch is Afro American.

    But, their being Muscle Heads is why their called Animals not race. Only all Black characters group is the Vudoo Boys and their all Net runners. And Again Mike Pawn Smith was their every step. If people think Mike is racist against Afro American’s they should maybe do a google image search of him. Also to say he lesioned it and left. Nope he says he was in it all the way in writing. He voices Johnny’s Riper Doc in flash backs. And is on the Oldies station in your car Radio as Mike the DJ. So he’s involved.

    If Mike is ok with the Vudoo boys and Animals who am I to argue? He says his Hatan friend are cool with the Vudoo boys. So I don’t know. But, if people think he’s rasict against Afro Americans and that his game is that. Google image search him. Or look him up on U-Tube. So many Mike PawnSmith vids there. Ok yeah the gamre still crashes, but CD is fixing that. Along with other bugs. Heck thing has 7 endings 3 starts. That can effect stuff at different points.

    And no the stoy isn’t The Street Kid one. After the start act it’s a solo story. I.E. the job of the solo. Your back ground adds to it. Cyber Punk is a Detective pulp novel with Sci-Fi. So is this game. And no it’s not a GTA rip. Cars with run and gun will play the same. See Saints row. See Far Cry. This plays a bit like Far Cry. I only played one GTA that I hated, but I love this game. Can’t wait till it’s fixed, but no the wait thing isn’t the fix. See MEA taking 5 years and this taking 8. I thought Cyber Punk 2077 was a release date at one point.

    The charcter creater in this is at least as good as ME3. Only =you can be Trans now. As for whould some one only be into you on voice? Who knows people have many verations on who they will or won’t date. And again the voice was cause they hadn’t planed this. They were doing an Icarus here. So many Cosles with a new Engine. And you can do tons of stuff. And yeah bits in the story can change how things go. Heck one ending has a different set up.

    The main boss doesn’t change, but beating a Cyber Punk Legend is pretty cool. As for the Glitches hears what I would have done… we know PS 5 and X-Box S or what ever was coming so. I’d re rese the witcher 3 red enge… or Unreal, or Any frost bite. Would have been less money and man power. As I had this worked on to the side. The new Enge could sit till Cyber Punk 3. The great story is still there. The endings etc. And there they can work on the game play and fic the bugs. While the other eng is used.

    Un real maybe the oldest girl on the dance card, but she still can move. She still gets her Dance card used the most, cause she can still show up to play. Look at that eng. From Unreal tournament to Creed VR boxing. It’s a swiss army knife Engine. And could have used it and do all they =need to. Or use the eng Saints row did.

    As they kept a small team off making the new eng,. Cyber Punk was gonna still make the sales it did. And they could keep more in and make the DLC. Money with less head aches. While making this new enge even better. As the main team goes over using IUnreal or Frost bite. Or Red Eng 3. This one the re used Eng goes on all the platforms by the time of Cyber Punk 3 PS 4 and X-Box one are off the table. So the work needed is gone. While this one Cyber Punk 2077 is still on all these consles. Us on the 4 and those on the X-Box still get the game. So were all happy. And yeah getting a PS 5 right now is like Finding Elvis and a Sasquatch at a coffee shop in Eldorado.

    Making a road trip to Atlantis. So cuting out the 4 or X-Box one would be stupid. This game could have been on Ps 4, 5 and all the other sytwems it’s on. Just with a more posable engine. Less Dev breaking. So they can fix every thing else and make this one do every thing. In the same or less time frame. While a small group in the back wotk on the new Engine for Cyber Punk 3. I mean hey Spider Man’d game is mostly a re skin of Gothem Knights.

    So a re used eng wouldn’t hurt. People are already saying this is GTA like… though it’s not. Even Defiance the MMO played this way. Switch out the dev team on the new enge let em have a week or 2 VT. Then come back put em in on your Cyber Punk 2. Still useing Frost bite, Unreal or Red enge 2. Or what ever was used for Witcher 3. Any way. While the small team works on that new Eng. And 3rd game. Mike and CD’s team can creat a story for 1 and 2 and brain storm on 3. Then the DLC. As they fouther work on 3.

    While we have no idea it’s happening. We the Public get 1 and 2. Cyber Punk as a great RPG. Switch out team again after 2 is released. 2 week VT. or 1. Come back shuffle team. Keep same team lead but give him, her or them a week off 2. They stay on the enge. While every one else makes Cyber Punk one and 2 great. Then the make DLC as they finish the story. Or have it done right after 1 and 2 are done. So 3 has a fully mae story to work that game. Ofcourse it’s got to be an ll in house team. Out sorcing is what oppsed MEA. Maybe bring in some help on the out side hear and there. But, mostly in house.

    As 3 gets build up with V wHOM ever they are. May as well keep em or add a new main to the others. Depending on ware you went in ones 7 endings. Then 3 is made and they put every one on 3. Once 2 and 3 gets all their DLC. Mayb hits of what going on in 3. Like Dragon Age has done with the Dread Wolf. And they build to the crashindo at Cyber Punk 3. And boom. Less issues. Any way cool pod cast can’t wait to HEAR THE NEXT one.

  3. Hello again,

    It took me a while to get to this comment, but it’s always a joy to hear the two of you. This one’s completely in my wheelhouse, so I was happily surprised to see you finally got to it. My first exposure to Phil’s work was in the very early 80’s, when he was doing “What’s New With Phil & Dixie” and general illustration work for Dragon Magazine, and I’ve been a fan ever since. I also have a few issues of Phil and Kaja’s adult comic XXXenophile kicking around, but they’ve chosen to put a lid on their explicit material until their children are grown. I’m perpetually behind with Girl Genius on the website, but their Kickstarters are on our “must back” list, so I tend to catch up as we get the hard copies.

    Forgive me for being pedantic, but I need to make a minor correction to your pronunciation – it’s Kaya, without the hard j, and the g is silent in Foglio. Speaking of Kaja, Agatha’s indeed modeled on her, particularly in attitude and carriage.

    As Tim said, it’s basically meant to be pulpy fun, like the old serials, so it tends to get outlandish. And yes, Phil’s art has always tended to be of the cheesecake variety, so if that isn’t your cuppa, I can see where that would be an issue.

    As far as the Jagers go, I like them. I think their cheerful demeanor and obsession with hats are a nice counterpoint to their essentially vicious nature. I can understand having trouble with their dialect, though – I had the same sort of problems with the settlers’ speech patterns in Heinlein’s The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress.

    A detail I would’ve considered mentioning is that Agatha’s stolen necklace was an arguably necessary dampener due to her having sparked precociously. (But if you consider that a spoiler, feel free to skip over it when reading this comment.)

    I’m sure I’ll think of more I would’ve liked to say, but this has gone on quite long enough. Thanks again for covering Girl Genius, I enjoyed hearing your thoughts on it. Can’t wait to find out what’s up next month! Hope you’ve got something special planned for 50! See you then!

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