Girl Genius Omnibus Volume One Agatha AwakensMidwest Book Review
Girl Genius Omnibus Volume One: Agatha Awakens
Phil & Kaja Foglio
Tor/Forge Books
175 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010
9780765331328 $34.99 www.tor-forge.com

Girl Genius Omnibus Volume One: Agatha Awakens gathers the first three chapters ("The Beetleburg Clank", "The Airship City", and "The Monster Engine") of Phil & Kaja Foglio's multiple Hugo-Award winning steampunk comic series, set in a world where those gifted with "The Spark" can warp the laws of physics with their inventions - and win the hearts and minds of rabid followers with their unearthly charisma, no matter how severe their mad scientist proclivities! The land is beset with endless strife from experiments gone amok, belligerent Spark rulers who see their subjects as little more than overgrown lab rats, a noble caste that condemns biophysical resurrection, and worse.

The Heterodyne family were once known as Sparks who championed heroism and justice, but they have vanished for twenty years, and in their place the ruthless authoritarian Baron Wulfenbach struggles to keep war and chaos at bay. Amid all this conflict, the young, kind-hearted scientist-in-training Agatha Clay has lived a mostly sheltered life in a university town, but her chance encounter with a thief kicks off a cascading escalation of disasters. Between her talents and her destiny, Agatha is about to cause endless trouble just by existing! Fully recolored and relettered, Agatha Awakens is the perfect gift for any comics fan who is new to Foglio's signature blend of caricature, action, drama and zesty humor! Highly recommended.

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