Girl Genius XXVIII: Dancink! Ve is here for de dancink!

[keybounce]

Actually, now that the experiments are adults, I would not be surprised to see expys of them show up. Heck, I'm looking forward to it.

[Ellen]

Awwww.

Oggie really is sweet.

[Rogar Demonblud]

And he's smart.

[memnarch]

Looks like Stroppy or Bloodfang already made it to the party, so that excuse definitely wouldn't have worked. First panel

[Willie the Duck]

Honestly, I've never seen a 'thin' picture of him.

Maybe not, but there were Phil and Dixie comics in Dragon Magazine in, like, '87, so he's been using that thin guy in bowler hat author avatar for over 30 years. Not surprising that he's heavier now than then.

[DavidSh]

Phil is documented as having been more svelte back in 1979.
See this photo from Seacon. http://fanac.org/photohtm.php?worldcon/Seacon/w79h003

[Kantaki]

New comic

So his stories are really, really boring then?

Also, it's Mechanicsburg, of course the Jägermonsters are popular.

[Fyraltari]

So his stories are really, really boring then?

Yes. Yes, they are.

[Manga Shoggoth]

So his stories are really, really boring then?

Yes. Yes, they are.

There are so many hilarious things about that sequence, especially in retrospect: He is annoyed about having to put the children in the hospital to sleep - He seems a lot happier about telling stories to the family children. The exchange about Burgermeister Zuken... And the fact that the Baron is pulling a fast one in front of Lucrecia after being wasped.

[geoduck]

There are so many hilarious things about that sequence, especially in retrospect: He is annoyed about having to put the children in the hospital to sleep - He seems a lot happier about telling stories to the family children. The exchange about Burgermeister Zuken... And the fact that the Baron is pulling a fast one in front of Lucrecia after being wasped.

It's possible with the family kids that he didn't realize they were trying to put them to sleep rather than entertaining them.

[Landis963]

...Why do I get the feeling I know where this is going?

Spoiler: New comic

Show

Is it just me, or is this insistence on walking home alone so they can provide themselves as a target for muggers or malcontents who want to use the time to assassinate the Heterodyne? Only to be (probably violently) rebuffed? Either by the Heterodyne themselves or, far more likely, by the townsfolk or by the Castle. My money's on the Heterodyne unflinchingly walking through Castle-induced chaos as a group of assassins are dismantled. Or some similar sort of macho display.

[theangelJean]

Yanno, for all the speculation about who Agatha is going to end up with ...

This story, and other side-stories, are set much later, when it's implied that Mechanicsburg has been freed, and Agatha is busy off saving the world in her happily ever after ... and she's not with anyone. I had to dlouble-check the first strip of this interlude, but even there it says it's "her" first year back, and that "she" got there in time to save Zagreb - no "they". Granted, only the Heterodyne is going to be important to Mechanicsburgers ... but even in interludes like the Weasel Queen/the frogs, there's just her, Zeetha, Krosp and Othar.

I get that they want to avoid spoilers, but now I'm seriously wondering ... Before they fell for Agatha, Gil was set up as "okay, you want to call me evil, I don't care" in the beginning, Tarvek was not the most well-intentioned to start off with ... I wonder if she's going to have to actually defeat them both (as well as Martellus) before the story ends?

(Okay, this might be my least coherent post so far. Sorry!)

[PraetorDragoon]

...Why do I get the feeling I know where this is going?

Spoiler: New comic

Show

Is it just me, or is this insistence on walking home alone so they can provide themselves as a target for muggers or malcontents who want to use the time to assassinate the Heterodyne? Only to be (probably violently) rebuffed? Either by the Heterodyne themselves or, far more likely, by the townsfolk or by the Castle. My money's on the Heterodyne unflinchingly walking through Castle-induced chaos as a group of assassins are dismantled. Or some similar sort of macho display.

I think its more for some peace and quiet to walk home without a horde of Jeagermonsters on your trail.

[Traab]

I think its more for some peace and quiet to walk home without a horde of Jeagermonsters on your trail.

Thats my outlook on it. Possibly its officially described as "This party is about you guys, I will take care of myself for the next few days." But in reality its, "OH THANK GOD! Some peace to work on my experiments for the next few days!"

[TaRix]

Quick interruption from the solstice fun--- tinfoil hat time!

The eyes in the mist in the harmonic chamber will turn out to be

Spoiler

Show

Moloch von Zinzer's.

Turns out that Mechanicsburg's big ol' visitors assimilated the place and scrambled them up.
Agatha's experiments simply 'unscrambled' him so Mechanicsburg can still remain frozen while he can gallivant with her again.

[Scarlet Knight]

I think it will set up some "Heavy is the head that wears the crown" story...

[HandofShadows]

This story, and other side-stories, are set much later, when it's implied that Mechanicsburg has been freed, and Agatha is busy off saving the world in her happily ever after ... and she's not with anyone. I had to dlouble-check the first strip of this interlude, but even there it says it's "her" first year back, and that "she" got there in time to save Zagreb - no "they". Granted, only the Heterodyne is going to be important to Mechanicsburgers ... but even in interludes like the Weasel Queen/the frogs, there's just her, Zeetha, Krosp and Othar.

Gil is specifically mentioned in "Personal Trainer". 3rd page, with a smile.

I think it will set up some "Heavy is the head that wears the crown" story...

Not sure. I think it's more that they don't have any friends or close family because of the way they act, not because they are rulers. Higgs mentions that at one point when he's taking Zeetha to Mama's after she got stabbed.

[Manga Shoggoth]

I think its more for some peace and quiet to walk home without a horde of Jeagermonsters on your trail.

Actually, I think it's more likley that the Heterodynes were planning on sneaking into someone else's bedroom. Which, admittedly, is harder with a bunch of Jagers with you. But much easier when they are being highly visible somewhere else...

[Kantaki]

Might be something slightly silly/embarrassing.
Like the Heterodyne has that collection of plushies he doesn't want them to see or he goes to the (normal) petting zoo.
You know, because even a brutal mad scientist-warlord that spends his days pillaging and burning Europa needs at least one day he spends with something cute and cuddly.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Or they're just making sure the help are getting a holiday party without the boss hanging over their shoulders. As has been noted, the Heterodynes are fairly good bosses for Sparks.

[Rockphed]

Or they're just making sure the help are getting a holiday party without the boss hanging over their shoulders. As has been noted, the Heterodynes are fairly good bosses for Sparks.

Just remember that the "for sparks" caveat is there for a reason.

[Rodin]

Just remember that the "for sparks" caveat is there for a reason.

The impression I get of Girl Genius history is that the Sparks are always in charge. Even the noble families we've seen have had Sparks either at their head or wielding power behind the throne - Sturmvoraus, Blitzengaard, Mongfish, etc.

The Heterodynes just happened to be the strongest Sparks around. They might have been a little bit better than their contemporaries, but the main advantage is that they can beat up all the other nutters. Mechanicsburg's love of them is down to natural SCIENCTIFIC! selection as much as anything else.

[Rogar Demonblud]

And the Heterodynes actually view Mechanicsburg as a place to take care of instead of just run into the ground. Witness Agatha, who had never been there in her life, deciding to defend the place by every means possible, improbable or even impossible.

[Rockphed]

And the Heterodynes actually view Mechanicsburg as a place to take care of instead of just run into the ground. Witness Agatha, who had never been there in her life, deciding to defend the place by every means possible, improbable or even impossible.

That is partly because she has a hero streak. Not as wise as her fathers, but it is there.

[Narkis]

Just remember that the "for sparks" caveat is there for a reason.

This page makes me wonder who did Bill and Barry kill in less than two minutes.

[Mechalich]

This page makes me wonder who did Bill and Barry kill in less than two minutes.

Assassins probably.

They had a functional Castle, so a general attack would have been unlikely to succeed, but they took power young, so the possibility of assassination would certainly have appealed to someone thinking they were unready for the position. I can easily see Bill and Barry 'freestyling' someone into a long terminal fall off the battlements in under two minutes.

[Traab]

The impression I get of Girl Genius history is that the Sparks are always in charge. Even the noble families we've seen have had Sparks either at their head or wielding power behind the throne - Sturmvoraus, Blitzengaard, Mongfish, etc.

The Heterodynes just happened to be the strongest Sparks around. They might have been a little bit better than their contemporaries, but the main advantage is that they can beat up all the other nutters. Mechanicsburg's love of them is down to natural SCIENCTIFIC! selection as much as anything else.

The noble families dont seem to be sparks, iirc the snobby fencer noble chick on castle wulfenbach who got killed wasnt a spark and she was of the noble ruling families. It seems to me that there is a combination of ruling sparks and noble lines.

[HandofShadows]

The noble families dont seem to be sparks, iirc the snobby fencer noble chick on castle wulfenbach who got killed wasnt a spark and she was of the noble ruling families. It seems to me that there is a combination of ruling sparks and noble lines.

No, Zulenna's family had sparks in it, she wasn't one though. We found out that she was Tarvek's cousin and that he actually liked her.

[Manga Shoggoth]

And the Heterodynes actually view Mechanicsburg as a place to take care of instead of just run into the ground. Witness Agatha, who had never been there in her life, deciding to defend the place by every means possible, improbable or even impossible.

That is partly because she has a hero streak. Not as wise as her fathers, but it is there.

It's also because, while Mechanicsburg is pretty high on the Invincible Fortress scale, the Heterodynes know it is the last place they can fall back to.

[BRC]

No, Zulenna's family had sparks in it, she wasn't one though. We found out that she was Tarvek's cousin and that he actually liked her.

I think it's just that the Sturmvarious/ Valois conspiracy is pretty intermarried within the noble families of europe, as was not uncommon. (Remember, by the time of WWI, the monarchs of England, Germany, and Russia were all first cousins). The noble families seem to exist as non-sparky power structures.

Besides, it seems that "Grandmama" is the de-facto head of the Sturmvarious Network, and we've seen no indication that she's a spark.

Similarily, The Storm King Himself didn't seem to be a Spark.

It seems that there's four main modes of political organization.

1) Immortal God-Kings, like Albia or The Master of Paris

2) Sparky Nobility, like the Heterodynes, Sturmvarious or Wulfenbach families. A noble family that is ALSO a family with a high instance of Sparks (The genetics of the spark are unclear, but certain families seem to have a higher incidence of being Sparks. Plenty of the Valois line women appear to be sparkless, but it seems that every Heterodyne is. Klaus was looking into the origins of the Spark, so I doubt it's as simple as a recessive gene)

3) What I'll call "Free Sparks", warlords, Professor Beatle, ect. Sparks who just kind of rise to power on their own right. It's possible that this is only common due to the instability of the Long War, which allowed a spark to set up their own petty barony without a starting power base.

4) Non-Sparky nobles, although usually with sparky allies, or lesser sparks in their employ. They seem to be the oldest power structure (Exempting things like Albia and the Heterodynes), who still hold a lot of power and influence just by equipping troops with commonly available tech, even if they don't have Sparks building monsters and doomsday clanks for them.

With the exception of the Heterodynes, it doesn't' surprise me that the noble families, Sparky and otherwise, are commonly intermarried in the usual political marriage game.


We also don't really get much of a sense that houses like Sturmvarious are always led by a Spark. Tarvek and his father were both Sparks, but we know nothing about any uncles or prior generations. It's possible that Nobility is Nobility, and Sometimes You're A Spark, and noble sparks are far more likely to receive support and education and survive their breakthroughs compared to poor sparks, so they have a higher incidence of survival/power.

While any noble family that wants to compete probably wants ACCESS to useful sparks, it's not clear that it's important to actually be LED by them. A handy relative, or even hired servant making monsters in the basement may even be preferable to having your leader occasionally consumed with a desire to build dancing spiderfrogs. Sure, Sparky Charisma can be useful, but the noble families are probably able to train up loyal minions the old fashioned way.