I am a Girl Genius fan. I’ve been reading the comic since it started up (and Phil for much longer than that), have most of the volumes in hardcover, and think it is da bomb.
Which is, in part, why I am disappointed in the novelization.
Robbed of Phil’s imaginative and baroquely-detailed artwork, too much of the tale of Agatha Clay becomes … well, rather unpleasant, rather than zany and humorous. Sure, the Jaegermonsters are always a hoot, and Othar and Krosp can’t help but be amusing. But half the fun of GG are the myriad details that Phil sneaks into the background. Book case in the panel? Gotta read all the titles. Crazy steampunky contraption in someone’s hand? It will, of course, have a humorous label on its side, or a droll warning sign on the wall.
The book drops pretty much all of this. We don’t even get the name of the University, let alone its motto. In exchange, to be sure, we get some nice background exposition. For example, a prolog tells us a lot about the Hive Engines and Slaver Wasps, not to mention some of the things going on before the Heterodyne Twins vanished. And a number of the characters get some otherwise missing backgrounds — the murderous pirate Bangladesh Dupree comes to mind.
And, of course, with experience the Foglios have massaged the story a bit, setting up some later conflicts more clearly, altering some details here and there. It’s 98% the same, but after reading the book I went through the three graphic novels it’s made up of — Agatha H and the Beetleburg Clank, … and the Airship City, and … and the Monster Engine — and the differences are there, storyline-wise, and largely improvements.
Still, without the art (even on the cover!), or even an attempt to describe it, the tale loses the particular humorous pizazz it has. Which is a darned shame. I realize it wouldn’t be easy — telling rather than showing is rarely as good a way to convey humor. But without it, it’s a rather grim (especially toward the beginning) tale of tragedy and loss and monsters. Which is not what I think of Girl Genius (though, with this book as consideration, that’s sort of what it is).
Don’t get me wrong. I liked it. I enjoyed reading it. I’ll be loaning it to my wife, an even more hepped GG fan than I. And I’ll be rooting for a sequel.
But if someone asked me for a Girl Genius tale, I’d hand them the first graphic novel. It’s just that much better.
(Originally posted on GoodReads)