Girl Genius. Agatha Heterodyne & the Beetleburg Clank by Brian Snoddy. Seattle: Studio Foglio, 2001 ISBN-10: 1435242106

Set in an alternate history this steampunk comic follows Agatha, an exceptional mechanic with "the spark" a gift for mechanical wondermaking. This richly drawn and cleverly laid out story is the first in a series.

    - Media: Pen and Ink, Coloring

    - Rating: 5Q/5P

    - Curricular Connections: Grades 6-12 Art, Language Arts (there is an active online community that helps create Agatha's alternate history that students may wish to become a part of)  http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Girl_Genius_Wiki

    - Special Category: one of my top ten books

    - Special Category: use of personification through the text and/or through the illustrations. Agatha's many creations, and the mechanical wonders of her era take on the human traits and personalities of their owners.

    - Special Category: Discussion of artwork

What makes the illustrations in Girl Genius. Agatha Heterodyne & the Beetleburg Clank so exceptional is the incredible detail. Since the comic is set in an alternate history, the visual elements on each page give clues to that history. In this richly imagined environment, the streets are filled with half animal machine hybrids, and even the vendors’ signs add flavor to the narrative. Every mechanical gizmo has dozens of gears and pulleys, each creature their own comic facial expression. This makes reading Girl Genius especially fun because each reading is an opportunity to find something new that will add to your understanding of the world Agatha inhabits. Those at Studio Foglio have been careful to incorporate ideas about Agatha’s alternate universe presented by their fans in the Wikia (http://girlgenius.wikia.com/wiki/Girl_Genius_Wiki ) of  Girl Genius.

CHA 8/1/09