Comic of the Month

[Róisín]

Jitter, I think it is probably needful to read from the start to get the full taste of the story. I was doubtful at first, but was curious to see what Star found interesting in it, persisted and decided that I liked it. The later interplay between Gil and the kids with whom he was educated says a lot more about him than is obvious in the first arc.

My guess for Gil and Zeetha is that Gil is the older sibling, and Klaus fled with him for Gil’s life when the next child (Zeetha) proved to be a girl, because the culture is a matriarchy and Zeetha’s mother is a Queen.  At one point Klaus complains to Othar that ‘he hasn't seen his wife in years’, so he may expect to see her again? Though in warning Gil against getting involved with Agatha Klaus does say that every woman with the Spark with whom he has ever been involved romantically has tried to kill him, and is taken aback when Gil suggests that Klaus himself may be the problem.

[Jitter]

Catbirds, I’ll sign you up for January then! In the beginning of January, write a post here about what it is and why you recommend it. There are some hints in the opening post, but you don’t have to follow that 100%. I posted Róisín’s recommendation because she asked me to, but mostly the idea is that the one who has the month makes the post. In addition please keep an eye on on this thread to keep discussion going, you don’t have to generate discussion all by yourself but it’s good to be ready to respond when someone comments because at the beginning the discussion may start slowly.

Róisín, I’m in Vol 5 now and it’s growing on me. I still don’t like the cartoony style of drawing people, but I have become interested in the story. I think I dreamt of it too last night

It’s considerably quicker for me to read than White Noise, despite the wealth of details on each page and especially in the backgrounds. I’ve already read about 500 pages, while White Noise probably isn’t much more than that in its entirety and it took me all of October to get through that. Interesting.

[thorny]

I came to the sudden realization a few days ago that I'm almost caught up on White Noise, and that it only updates once ... a... week. I seem to be saving the last few pages between me and Caught Up for a special treat.

Will have some comments on it after I've done that.

[Jitter]

Eah, we are totally spoiled for update schedule Understandably so, Adrien like many other authors do the comic as a hobby, on top of a full day job. That’s its own kind of amazing!

[thorny]

Oh, I didn't mean to criticize! One good page a week is much better than three or five poor pages, and massively better than no pages at all -- which is what we're soon going to be getting out of SSSS, after all; and whether that's got anything to do with how people behave when exhausted we'll never know for sure.

[Jitter]

I didn’t think you were complaining I was just making an observation. I feel the same with White Noise, how many days to next page again?

[Róisín]

SPOILERS: Just read yesterday’s (November 22, 2021) Girl Genius page and

spoiler tags added by Jitter, please carry on

Spoiler: show

suddenly several things are making a dreadful kind of sense. Agatha, Zeetha, the surviving bear construct and a few others are making their way through the tunnels under an island where their airship has been trapped, helped by the survivor of a previous wreck. Down there are what appear to be the remains of several old settlements, including one that has a lot of art and artifacts of Zeetha’s folk, one of which artifacts she has retrieved because it is the missing pair to the one that is mounted on her mother’s throne back in Skifander. Zeetha has lost her home and is trying to make her way back there, if she can only find out where the place is from where she is now!

 On this page they are inspecting a large frieze or mosaic depicting what appears to be some kind of ritual dance procession. Agatha realises that the dance depicted can be read as a schematic for building……something? Building what, I wonder? Zeetha tells her that such dances are a thing back home. Agatha also notices that some of the dancers are depicted with four arms. Four arms? Now where have we seen that in the comic? Boris, Klaus’s secretary, has four arms. I had just assumed that he was a construct, but possibly not? Zeetha says that there are other four-armed humans back home as well as standard humans.

But maybe, if I understand correctly that Skifander is a raging matriarchy and boy children are unwelcome, there may be a reason for Boris? Klaus comes back to Europa, after disappearing for some years, with the infant Gil, in a timeframe that would fit with Gil being Zeetha’s older brother, and Klaus fleeing to keep his male child alive when his sister was born and he was no longer necessary? Perhaps Boris was an unwanted male youth who came with him? Questions……

[thorny]

Spoiler tag, highlight what you want in it, click on the little box which says "Sp" in it, in the line of those little boxes that are above the reply box just above all those emojis: like so:

Spoiler: show

I'd forgotten all about Boris. That's an interesting idea -- wonder if there is a connection there.

[wavewright62]

OoOOOoo interesting theory!  I too had forgotten that character - although there may have been others over the last 20+ years.  Twent-oh years, holllleeee

Which bits do I like? *rubs hands together*

One of the most dependable update schedules I've ever seen!  3 pages a week sketched, inked, and (oh so) fully coloured.  This team is a machine, and not a wonky jury-rigged one, either!

Speaking of colours, Cheyenne Wright is a marvel.  Many of the colours are quite bright, but I feel this contributes to the comic's overall look.

I enjoy Phil Foglio's lively cartoony style.  His grasp of human anatomy often suffers (particularly noses and lower legs) when he tries to fit stuff in, but I can live with that.  Let's face it, 3 pages a week does not give you time to compare precisely where this character's elbow would fall in relation to that character's head with that angle.... On the contrary, half the time it gives an animated effect to a static drawing.  Look at any still of Tex Avery's work and you'll see what I mean. 

The team do outstanding diversity.  There are a wide array of skin tones, ethnic features and body modifications (including those which in any other universe would be disabilities but here are considered assets).  A squick: all of the women (and quite a few of the men) are very buxom, but I let it go.

The storyline:  Uh, meandering, byzantine, on steroids, difficult to keep straight - yeah, storyline is not the right word, more like storymiasma.  I just go along for the ride, really.

Characters and character design: GG is one of a few comics I follow where the 'main' characters are fine and all, but the vast array of secondary and marginal characters are the really fun bit.  Although (as illustrated by the above convo dredging up one who hasn't been seen in years from our POV), it's tough to remember their deal when they pop up again. 
On the other hand, for all the liberties Phil takes with their anatomy, he pays incredible attention to the details of their outifts and accessories, even when their page appearances are years apart. 

Details!  So many details! He really makes a rod for his own back sometimes, cramming multiple characters wearing detailed outfits into each panel.  He seldom draws a character alone, there's almost always interaction going on, and the backgrounds are stuffed with details and in-jokes.  No wonder the noses become just a suggestion, yeah yeah yeah Bang has a nose, we all know she has a nose lalalaa, but there's an Art Nouveau poster spoofing a hilarious perfume ad to draw in the shadows over there!  (I hear Cheyenne is bald - would have to be after colouring that lot.)

All-time favourites: Krosp, Emperor of Cats - c'mon, with a title like that?  A Napolean knock-off talking cat, what's not to like? 
Mamma Gkika - a rare female jaeger, with an epic beehive hairdo and a similarly epic brain under it!  (The other jaegers - meh, not my favourite but hey)
The Master of Paris' whole family.
I adore the interactions between Agatha, Zeetha and Violetta.

[thorny]

The storyline:  Uh, meandering, byzantine, on steroids, difficult to keep straight - yeah, storyline is not the right word, more like storymiasma.  I just go along for the ride, really.

Yes, indeed.

Somebody said somewhere -- I think on the no-longer-checkable snopes boards -- that they'd quit reading because the story never seemed to get where it was going (I think we were in the long stretch -- how many years was it? -- when they were heading for Paris and not getting there.) I said that I don't much care whether it gets anywhere in particular as long as it keeps going interestingly sideways.

(They do, eventually, get to Paris. Where things continue to go interestingly sideways.)

[Róisín]

I also rather liked that female jaeger who occasionally turns up helping the three detached jaegers, that one who rides a bear. And yeah, I like Krosp, and the way that he is willing to take responsibility for his creator’s other creations such as the bears. And I feel sorry for poor Vapnoodle, mindwiped and gone from mad scientist to janitor and still making little ragdoll bears. And of course Maxim and the story of why he needs to find a new hat (one of the circus people has got himself killed trying to defend Agatha, and Maxim donates his hat so the boy can be buried with it, since it is a mark of honour for a jaeger to have a fine hat). Even though the kid is standard human.

And of course I like Tarvek, trying to solve problems with his brains rather than force. He tends to get written off as another pretty boy, but he doesn’t abandon comrades, as the jaegers found out, and his efforts to save his sister were touching. Also his attempts to look after Violetta, who is his kid cousin as well as being a smoke knight (sort of Ninja equivalent in the Foglioverse). There are so many interesting minor characters.!

And thorny, the meandering story is a great part of the attraction for me too. Getting there is at least half the fun!

[thorny]

Spoiler: show

And yeah, I like Krosp, and the way that he is willing to take responsibility for his creator’s other creations such as the bears.

Krosp knows what it's actually supposed to mean to be a king/emperor. He's responsible for his subjects.

And I feel sorry for poor Vapnoodle, mindwiped and gone from mad scientist to janitor and still making little ragdoll bears.

So did I. Until I saw what he did when he got repaired.

And of course Maxim and the story of why he needs to find a new hat

I love that story.

And I do like Maxim. But I wonder, sometimes, what he (and the others) used to get up to under the old Heterodynes.

And of course I like Tarvek, trying to solve problems with his brains rather than force. He tends to get written off as another pretty boy, but he doesn’t abandon comrades, as the jaegers found out, and his efforts to save his sister were touching. Also his attempts to look after Violetta

And he really impresses Higgs.

Which is impressive.

-- maybe we should have a Girl Genius page, on which spoilers are OK, and then Róisín won't have to worry about them?

[Jitter]

Yes, please start a thread! Clearly there are already people interested in discussing it, and there will be more in the future when others catch up.

[thorny]

I know how to start a thread, but I don't know how to get the existing posts copied into it from this thread. Maybe somebody who does know how could do that?

[Jitter]

Thorny, you need moderator powers to do that (skalds may also have it) but I suggest just start a new one and leave these here. There can be some discussion about the comic of the month in the Comic of the Month thread

BTW as I sort of suspected already, it has grown to me or I have grown to it, I’m in vol 13 now and I love it I especially found the weasels (most so far seen in vol 11 I think) adorable. And I too like Tarvek. Similar to what Wave said, it bothers me a bit too that all the women have such prominent chests. Plaah.