I am a huge Phil Foglio fan.

I have a collection of his Magic art set aside in a binder and a copy of SPANC on my bookshelf. Of course, everybody should have a copy of SPANC on their bookshelf. But that isn't the point.

When I discovered a while back that he was writing a comic book named Girl Genius, I eagerly sought out every issue that I could find. I was not disappointed. Quite simply put, it was a masterpiece.

I awaited every issue with my mouth watering. I couldn't wait to find out what zaney adventures Agatha Heterodyne would find herself having next. The releases tended to be sporadic, but between it being a small independant title and a few mishaps with publishing companies that the Foglio's discussed on their website, it was to be expected. All the same, it was worth the wait each time that a new issue came out.

Then, they stopped. At first, I thought it was just a really delayed release. Then, life got in the way and I was distracted. A short time agoe, however, I went to their website on a whim to see if I could find out anything, when much to my surprise, I discovered that they had moved it to an online publication!

Altough they are not printing any more paper copies of their issues, the collections of old issues are still in print and available at local comic stores *cough*Merlyn's*cough* and they have what they term "Girl Genius 101" online... a collection of the old issues that they are slowly transfering to the web for new readers. The "Advanced Class" picks up where Issue 13 (the last one) left off.

It is well worth the time to check it out, so support Phil and Kaja and visit:

www.girlgeniusonline.com

P.S. Jagermonsters Rule!

Speaking of Girl Genius, we have a nice copy of volume 8 on our shelves right now.

From the back: "In a time when the Industrial Revolution has become an all-out war, Mad Science rules the World...with mixed success. Until recently, Agatha Clay was an unlucky student at Transylvania Polygnostic University...but that was before she discovered that she was the lost heir to the famous Heterodyne family. Now she's deep within the labyrinthine halls of the broken mechanical fortress that is her family's castle, where she must find a way to repair the castle's defenses before the hometown she's just returned to is wiped off the map!"

And also, according to the back, this particular volume "has been nominated for the World Science Fiction Society's 2009 Hugo Award in the category of Best Graphic Story!"

That seems to back up Irongaze's long-ago admiration for this title. Come on in and pick it up if you are interested. Also be aware that we can order in any other volumes that are still in print. We'd love to help out a Phil Foglio fan!