Girl Genius

Oh, I like your idea Euo, another reason you can't have too many of them.

Perhaps it's just my desire to see them again, but the last time we saw Theo and Sleipnir they were in DK weren't they? Perhaps they've showed up again.

My other thought was that Klaus had sent Gil to fetch Agatha.

I'm also intrigued by the flying shark thing in the middle of the first panel. It reminds me of the mecha narwhals.

edited 10th Dec '12 8:21:07 AM by Lightningnettle

Of course, just at the point where we're totally sick of it, one of those off-pagers will turn out to be Barry.

I second the vote for Gil though there is a possibility that it's Wooster.

Oooh. Barry. Well the castle did say it needed a spark. They don't get much sparkier than Barry. You may be on to something there Greybeard. It does fit with the Foglios sense of mystery. And it would explain why Agatha is startled in a way that she wouldn't be by Gil or Tarvek. Hmmmm. "Agatha Heterodyne and the Missing Spark." would make a good chapter title and tie in to the castle's running almost joke.

I just noticed that Franz makes a reference to the Masters in the previous panel. Barry's cue?

edited 10th Dec '12 12:37:06 PM by Rejfan

Theo and Sleipnir were last at Mamma Gkika's, recovering from Theo's having been shot by Vole. Gil left them there on his way out.

I still think Gil won't escape/get loose without it being covered on-page rather than off stage. PLUS if I am seeing correctly Castle Wulfenbach is in the background being hit (without obvious effect) by lightning...and again, I just don't believe Gil gets away from his Klaus-observed imprisonment.

My bets would either be Tarvek in jet-pack armor, Othar in Gil's Falling Machine, or some assortment of the two in machines, perhaps with "helpers."

Actually, when last we saw Gil he was agreeing to work with his father, to Klaus' seeming secret disappointment. So it wouldn't be improbable for Gil to turn up with a, "Come with me, if you want Mechanicsburg to live." type statement.

Mmmm. I read that as a very limited "agreement" pertaining specifically to treatment Gil had been resisting. I didn't read any of that as "you get out of jail."

Upon reflection, I agree with Hippogrif, Gil needs to rescue himself and we need to see him do it. So perhaps Wooster (he seems to regularly not go where he is supposed to) or a recovered Theo and Sleipnir.

I wonder if Castle Wulfenbach is as revived by lightning as Heterodyne devices? Klaus did buddy around with Bill and Barry for quite a while; and with CW a skyflier, pulling in the energy of lightning would be only sensible.

Yeah, it had better not be Gil. Theo, zeetha, or Wooster are my guesses.

That look of shock could be for either Klaus or Zola of the many initials Malfeaziuiuuuum, who has already been flying. Of course, a live dragon is a thing to be reckoned with, and Franz is properly flamagenerative. He hasn't shown us that ability since he was recharged, though, so even he might get a surprise.

edited 10th Dec '12 3:13:37 PM by GreybeardFan

If the "Agatha!" word balloon is a clue, we have seen it before. The clue points to Tarvek.

I am still partial it turning out to be Barry, the missing spark.

You are probably correct. I like the 1000 to one shots. Still the Foglios have foreshadowed Barry's appearance at some point. The chapter is doing a running bit about a missing spark. Barry was mentioned by name on the previous page and by reference as one of the masters on this one. If the H-boys made a promise to show up at the towns direst time of need this point could very easily qualify. Also, Barry would know the lightning collectors need to be reset and how to do it. The masters have done this before. Last but not least his sudden appearence would definitely startle Agatha.

On the other hand I agree that an early appearance of Barry could resolve to many things too easily. So maybe we only have an airsick Tarvek on our hands. Well an airsick Tarvek, Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer, and Moloch Von Zinzer, heroic mechanic would-be non-adventurer.

edited 10th Dec '12 8:15:18 PM by Rejfan

Nah, Barry isn't going to show up until the end of the story, along with Bill and some resolution of the question of how Lucrezia was converted or subverted by The Other so there can be a happy family reunion . . . or at least happy by Heterodyne standards.

The vampire heterodyne?

Another vote for Gil here:

• Tarvek was with Agatha just moments ago, so there's no reason for him to come bursting in on her like that. Besides, if it were him, she wouldn't look so surprised - it would be more 'Uh, Tarvek? Is something wrong on the ground?'
• Zeetha is also doing some useful business of her own IIRC, and has no reason to go to such lengths to speak to Agatha either.
• Barry showing up now would throw the story entirely off track, requiring vast amounts of exposition about where he'd been all those years. The Foglios are good storytellers, and they wouldn't dump such a long interlude on our heads in the middle of an epic battle.
• Theo and Sleipnir would be my second guess, but I think it's a slim chance; there are many more sensible directions the narrative could go with Gil than with them, unless, as with Barry, you want to dump a whole batch of new information on our heads.
• Most of the other candidates mentioned - Moloch, Othar, Klaus, Zola, Wooster - wouldn't call her 'Agatha'.

By the way, I just watched the promo video for this game-app-thingy they're making, and I heard Phil and Kaja pronounce Agatha's name as Agatha. This came as a bit of a shock; I've always mentally pronounced it as Agatha. And I won't let Word of God change that, either!

You did? How strange. A-gatha is the usual pronunciation. Haven't you ever heard some use the name out loud? Admittedly, it's an unusual name and one could go decades without meeting anyone it belonged to . . .

The 'usual pronunciation' is language-dependent, honey. In my native language, Dutch (and I'd say in German as well, but I'm not 100% sure on that count) the name Agatha is always parsed as Agatha. And hey, maybe the French say it as Agatha!

Come to think of it, the characters are all supposed to be speaking German In-Universe...

edited 11th Dec '12 2:03:11 PM by MidnightRambler

I'll place a long-odds bet on Higgs and Zeetha.

This voice has to belong to someone who doesn't know where Agatha is but where Agatha needs to be.

Someone with an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of Castle Heterodyne. Someone who is a damn good flyer.

Someone who understands the importance and the urgency of reuniting Team Agatha before the decisive battle for Mechanicsburg.

Higgs qualifies on all three counts.

Thing is Agatha's face looks almost fearful so I'm thinking it's not a friend.

That's why I'm gambling on Wooster.

If we don't get an early update I guess I would discover tomorrow after waking up. Since the RE Monitor is either on Old Bear or myself and possibly on both at a time.

I'm not in the strength of will or mood to fight over the phonetics but I'm just wondering on something I've to do tomorrow: The monologue of the mad scientist when introducing Frankenstein at a theater festival I've been helping as a host but here is the detail: Classic cheesy Mad Scientist or Sparky Genre Savvy one such as Tarvek and Gil?

What are the ideas on that one? Classic flavor (which can be extremely hammy ) but on the other hand the references or the genre savvy would be lost on the audience (but on the other hand I might be wrong).

Edit: Just asking since I've had enough of bringing Hitchcock into it and needing a fresh perspective to avoid falling into a classic.

edited 11th Dec '12 7:11:27 PM by Mauri

Mauri: "What are the ideas on that one? Classic flavor (which can be extremely hammy but on the other hand the references or the genre savvy would be lost on the audience."

I'd go with genre savvy.

Think Frankenweenie. Corpse Bride. Coraline. Despicable Me. The Incredibles. Betelgeuse. Young Frankenstein...

Bugs Bunny. Abbot and Costello.

The problem when I bring the genre savvy I tend to bring a lot of Jay Sherman with certain creators, which considering the fan factor towards some creators it spells disaster (like bringing more details on the zombie work than in the night of the living dead for example, not that I dislike Romero in this case). And bringing a proper deconstruction and savvy factor can mean riot considering bringing the proper devices properly.

I do like the idea of the savvy option but threading as lightly as to not hurt their heroes... might as well crank a penguin generator while I'm at it since it is going to make me walk funny for days.

Postern's up!

It was Gil!

Being all disrespectful of Agatha's abilities again too. That is, if it's not an imposter. Not recognizing his lightning rod either, tchah. Perhaps we'll see his escape in a retrospective? I still want to see it.

edited 11th Dec '12 9:03:32 PM by Lightningnettle

postern.

I don't think that is quite Gil. Either he has been gotten to or this is another one of the Baron's tricks

Ninja'ed. Should have wrote a quicker spoiler.

edited 11th Dec '12 9:01:30 PM by Rejfan