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Girl Genius --Volume Eight Cast
Warning: Contains Spoilers
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| The Setting for Volume Eight: | |
The Town of Mechanicsburg The Ancestral Hometown of the Heterodyne Family. One can say many, many, many derogatory things about the state of the Heterodyne family's sanity, but, first and foremost, they were cunning. The townspeople were, as they say, "In on the take." While the Heterodynes rampaged over the land, the folks back home were left reasonably unmolested. In return for their loyalty, they served as minions, guards, troops and fencers of stolen goods; as opposed to everyone else, who served as experimental subjects, victims, sources of wealth and decoration. Under the Heterodyne Boys, the town changed its modus operandi, but not its underlying purpose. Today Mechanicsburg is a magnificently-crafted machine designed to separate tourists and the gullible from their money. It is also the center of several thriving black markets and smuggling operations. Still, many of the older people fondly remember the Glory Days, when "Made in Mechanicsburg" brought terror to the world at large. |
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| Volume Eight Players: | |
| Scene: With Agatha in Castle Heterodyne | |
 Agatha Heterodyne(First Appearance: Vol. 1 ) The Girl Genius of the title. Agatha was recently revealed to the world as the last of the heroic Heterodyne family. Agatha is only now coming to realize her full potential as a Spark, and is finding that both her talent and her family make her a target in the eyes of the powerful. Because of some unfortunate events in a recent adventure, Agatha is currently sharing her mind with that of an evil mad scientist/goddess queen, (even more embarrassing, it's also her mom) and must wear an amulet to suppress the invader. She is now in Mechanicsburg, in the process of taking back the family castle. |
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Castle Heterodyne(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) The home of the Heterodynes. Several hundred years ago, Faustus Heterodyne modified it, turning it into a gigantic, self regulating A.I. It's been broken for years, but the stories say that when new it could repair itself, re-arrange itself, and defend itself and possibly even the town. It has the personality of old Faustus, who was an evil, bloodthirsty, megalomaniacal schemer. It is insanely loyal to the Heterodyne family, and it spends a great deal of time and effort making sure that there will be another generation of Heterodynes to carry on the trouble. Young Heterodynes learn very quickly not to bring home dates. Castle Heterodyne was damaged years ago, and is currently not functioning properly. Part of the Castle has acknowledged Agatha as the ruling Heterodyne, but many other areas are still dangerous territory for her. |
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Moloch VonZinzer (First Appearance: Vol. 1 ) Moloch and Agatha got off to a rocky start when Moloch's brother stole Agatha's locket; and died of it. Agatha and Moloch were captured and taken aboard Castle Wulfenbach, where Moloch was assumed to be the Spark who built the Beetleburg Clank. Actually, Agatha built the clank, a fact that the Baron's son and Moloch attempted to hide from the Baron. Moloch has just resurfaced as a prisoner in Castle Heterodyne, where he and Agatha have finally come to terms with each other. Moloch insists that he is "no-one's happy little helper," all the while carrying the luggage. Moloch appears to have a huge crush on Sanaa Wilhelm. |
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Tarvek Sturmvoraus(First Appearance: Vol. 5 ) Prince of Sturmhalten, and descendant of the Storm King. Agatha met Tarvek while she was a prisoner in Sturmhalten. She is not sure if Tarvek is a friend or threat, his motives are murky. He is one of the few people who might be able to help Agatha rid herself of the Lucrezia personality that remains in her mind. |
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Violetta(First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) An elite Smoke Knight who serves the Sturmvoraus family. She has just gone to a lot of trouble to rescue Tarvek, and isn't very pleased with him. |
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"Devil Dogs" (First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) "Devil Dogs" is what the prisoners in Castle Heterodyne call the Castle's Fun-sized Mobile Agony and Death Dispensers. These fierce tiger-like clanks are supposed to be hooked in to the Castle systems, but are currently disconnected. Because of this, they are extremely stupid, blindly attacking any movement. Fortunately, most of them are in areas where there is nothing to attack, and so have lain dormant for years. Many have run down, and no longer function at all. |
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| Scene: Mamma Gkika's Beer Hall Underneath Mechanicsburg | |
Gilgamesh Wulfenbach (First Appearance: Vol. 1 ) The Baron's son and heir presumptive to the Wulfenbach Empire, Gil was raised in secret and only recently revealed to the World at large. Said World is less than thrilled. Gil would very much like to marry Agatha, and, as a top-notch Spark himself, has a reasonable chance of keeping up with her. Unfortunately, his father is dead set against it, what with the whole "possibly crazed person responsible for the last twenty years of war and assorted atrocities" thing. Gil wants nothing more than to find Agatha and sort all this out, and he might soon get his wish. |
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Krosp I--Emperor of all Cats(First Appearance: Vol. 2 ) A failed experiment designed to rule over all Catkind. Sadly, Cats are too ineffective to be good for much. Krosp escaped from Castle Wulfenbach with Agatha and considers her his first and only subject, even though she isn't technically a cat. Krosp is the cynical voice of reason and practicality, and thus is usually ignored. |
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Zeetha, Daughter of Chump (First Appearance: Vol. 4 ) A Princess of the Lost City of Skifander, Zeetha doesn't remember how she got to Europe, so she's lost as well. She met Agatha while performing martial-arts tricks with Master Payne's Circus. Agatha was the first person who'd even heard of Skifander, in a story told by her uncle, Barry Heterodyne. Zeetha has now joined Agatha, with the idea of helping find Barry. She has also taken Agatha on as 'Kolee-dok-zumil', and is teaching her self defense, martial arts, and how to act like a princess. (It apparently involves swords and rescuing princes and such.) Zeetha may or may not have been sent by an as-yet unspecified person to kill Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, for as-yet unspecified reasons. |
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The Unstoppable Higgs (First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) Machinist Mate third Class Higgs has quietly served aboard various Wulfenbach airships for ten years without distinction. Recently he survived a airship crash and succeeded in rescuing the Baron while he was at it. Everyone was very impressed. Recently, Higgs met Gil in Mamma Gkika's and has now been assigned to carrying Gil's Fabulous Hat. (A gaudy, but heartfelt, gift from the Jägers.) |
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Vanamonde von Mekkahn (alias: Vanamonde Heliotrope) (First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) Carson's grandson. Ostensibly the current seneschal, though he obviously has not been confirmed either by a Heterodyne or by the Castle. He has a different management style than his grandfather, preferring to let people come to him, rather than visa-versa. Old-timers might grouse about the touristy claptrap, but Mechanicsburg has never been more profitable. |
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Franz(First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) Franz guards the basements of Mamma Gkika's. When he isn't sleeping. |
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Big Green Hairy Guy (First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) Actually shows up with the Wulfenbach troops who try to stop Gil on the street outside of Mamma Gkika's. He appears to have the interests of the townspeople at heart, since he specifically "requests" that his soldiers do not hit the crowd. |
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Tourists!(First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) Tourists LOVE Mamma Gkika's! They also love a hero. Gil is making their stay in Mechanicsburg SO EXCITING! SQUEE! |
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   The Rumbletoys, the Ninth Aetheric Vapor Squad, and The Heliolux Air Fleet (First Appearance: Never! But they're first mentioned in Vol. 8 ) Some of the troops the Baron is getting into position around Mechanicsburg. Gil believes that his object is to destroy Castle Heterodyne. |
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| The Jägermonsters: | |
The Jägermonsters (First Appearance: Vol. 1 ) Enthusiastic construct soldiers created in the days when the Heterodyne ancestors were somewhat less than heroic. They are tough, crazed and possibly immortal. In the absence of their original masters, they have hired on as mercenaries to the Baron, but never gave up hope that the Heterodynes would return. |
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Oggie, Dimo & Maxim(First Appearance: Vol. 4 ) When the Jägermonsters signed on with the House of Wulfenbach, a small number of them were sent out into the world to search for the Heterodynes: forever, if need be. These Jägers do not work for Wulfenbach, and are considered "wild" Jägers. Oggie, Dimo & Maxim are some of these, and are the ones who actually found Agatha. They are very proud of themselves, and have been protecting her ever since. They are all amazing fighters, and unsettlingly smarter than they look; but then they'd have to be, wouldn't they? |
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Ognian "Oggie" One of a group of "wild" Jägermonsters who travel the wastelands searching for an heir to the Heterodyne family. Oggie is the most care-free of the group. He still keeps track of his Mechanicsburg descendants, and nags them about continuing the family line. |
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DimoOne of a group of "wild" Jägermonsters who travel the wastelands searching for an heir to the Heterodyne family. Dimo is the oldest, and arguably the smartest of the three. He is the one who usually comes up with "the plan." He is as world-weary as a Jäger can get, which isn't saying much. |
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MaximOne of a group of "wild" Jägermonsters who travel the wastelands searching for an heir to the Heterodyne family. An ex-cavalry officer, Maxim is the most resigned of the group. |
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Mamma Gkika (First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) Mamma Gkika's is well-known as the beer hall where the Jägers used to drink. Mamma herself is one of the Jäger Generals. When the Jägers were banned from the town, Mamma stayed behind in (technically UNDER) Mechanicsburg. Jägers who get too injured to fight find their way to the basements of the hall, where they continue to wait for one of the Heterodyne family to return and repair them. |
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| The Jägergirls: | |
  "Jäger" Girls (First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) Mamma Gkika's is well-known as the beer hall where the Jägers used to drink. Nowadays, it's a tourist trap with showgirls dressed as Jägermonsters. The Jägers love them, too! |
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| Scene: The Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg | |
Baron Klaus Wulfenbach(First Appearance: Vol. 1 ) Probably the most powerful Spark around. Rules a large part of Europe from his vast airship Castle Wulfenbach. Even though he traveled with the Heterodyne Boys in his younger days, and therefore has some claim to "hero" cred, he is now considered a despot. He's the first to admit that he is a despot, but he doesn't enjoy it. The Baron tried his best to capture Agatha because he believes her to be The Other, a malevolent Spark who almost destroyed Europe nineteen years ago. This idea was bolstered when Agatha, who was being possessed by The Other at the time, infected Klaus with a new form of slaver wasp, unleashed monsters upon the city of Sturmhalten, beat back his army, and dropped a chicken house on him. (Actually, Agatha wasn't possessed when she dropped the chicken house on the Baron, that was all her own doing. But he'd got her mad.) He is currently recuperating at the Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg. |
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Bangladesh DuPree(First Appearance: Vol. 3 ) Our favorite bloodthirsty maniac. A dethroned pirate queen currently working for Baron Wulfenbach. |
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Dr. Sun Jen-djieh(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) The Spark in charge of the Great Hospital of Mechanicsburg. A friend and traveling companion of Baron Wulfenbach in his youth, and one of the few people who feels free to contradict Klaus on a wide variety of subjects. He rules the Hospital with an iron hand, and aside from a tendency to indulge in unorthodox experiments (which usually yield surprisingly beneficial results), has made it a model of efficiency, hygiene and advanced medicine. Until recently, his grand-daughter was being educated on Castle Wulfenbach. |
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Captain Vole(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) A Jäger who is considered (by all the Jägers including himself) an Ex-Jägermonster. Most non-Jägers are puzzled by this assertion, but it works for them. So, Vole was thrown out of the club, for reasons that are as yet unclear. While the rest of the Jägers are forbidden to enter Mechanicsburg until a new Heterodyne returns, he has been confined there for the last fifteen years. He has a great deal of hate for the Heterodynes, and tried to kill Agatha. Vole is also developing a bit of a problem with Gil. |
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Sun Daiyu The grand-daughter of Dr. Sun. Her parents are noted adventurers whose current location is unknown. Daiyu is currently helping her Grandfather, who runs the Great Hospital in Mechanicsburg. |
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Lord Selnikov (First Appearance: Vol. 6 ) One of the Knights of Jove, supposedly dedicated to putting the Storm King back on the throne of a united Europa, but in recent years more dedicated to reviving the Other. Lord Selnikov just made a botched attempt to take the town of Mechanicsburg using an army of war clanks. He isn't doing too well at the moment. |
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| Scene: The Pink Airship Over Mechanicsburg | |
Duke Strinbeck(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) One of the people behind the false Heterodyne. Currently learning to fly after threatening to have the airship crew flayed alive. |
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Baron Oublenmach(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) One of the people behind the false Heterodyne. Current whereabouts are unclear, the last mention of him implied that he may not be on board the airship at this time. |
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Un-named Airship Captain (First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) Captain of the ship currently hovering over Mechanicsburg. Isn't too thrilled with his current employers, job, or ship. |
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Kraddok(First Appearance: Vol. 7) Wheelman of the ship currently hovering over Mechanicsburg. An old airshipman who knows enough to be nervous about flying over Mechanicsburg. |
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The Crew (First Appearance: Vol. 7) The airship has a crew. Names mentioned, but no faces given: Keller, Kraddok, Owlwick, Ajay. |
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Torchmen(First Appearance: Vol. 8 ) One of Castle Heterodyne's more spectacular defense systems. No wonder old airshipmen don't like this place. |
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| Scene: Elsewhere in Castle Heterodyne | |
Zola "Heterodyne"(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) A young woman who claims to be the Heterodyne girl who beat Baron Wulfenbach. (Of course, we all know she's not, that was Agatha...) She has backers who have yet to reveal their agenda. |
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Professor Hristo Tiktoffen(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) A senior prisoner within Castle Heterodyne. He is an "old timer," meaning he's been there for longer than three months. In charge of figuring out the layout of the defenses, wiring and such, and also one of the people who keep track of how many points prisoners earn. When someone is sentenced to work in Castle Heterodyne, they are sentenced not in years, but in points. They have to complete X number of points of service in order to be released. Go-getters, while they accumulate points quickly, also tend to take on more dangerous assignments and thus die. Some slackers have survived for years by doing nothing. Hristo is actually part of the conspiracy to install a false Heterodyne. |
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Sanaa Wilhelm(First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) A prisoner within Castle Heterodyne. Agatha met Wilhelm not long after she entered Castle Heterodyne, and they hit it off well. Wilhelm is currently part of a group of prisoners sent to kill Agatha. Unfortunately, their search has taken them (at the point of Zola's gun) into a dangerous part of Castle Heterodyne. Moloch is in love with Wilhelm, and acts like a fool in her presence. She thinks he's an idiot. |
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Dr. Silas Merlot (First Appearance: Vol. 1 ) Agatha's least favorite teacher. Merlot has issues of his own, and Agatha drives him crazy. Dr. Merlot is now a prisoner in Castle Heterodyne. What did he do to land himself there? |
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Zola's Minions (First Appearance: Vol. 7 ) A bunch of guys in funny hats who appear to be along to carry the equipment and get killed. |
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| Totally Minor Castle Prisoners Listed Only for the sake of Completeness | |
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Castle Heterodyne is populated by a group of convicts who, for various offences, have been put to work on exploring and repairing the Castle. There are a lot of them. Although a few are characters of note, most aren't actually major players in the story. |
The Bully Agatha Meets When She Enters the Castle A real jerk. If you're a cranky mad-scientist girl who's been taking fighting lessons from a warrior princess, he's pretty easily taken out. |
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 VeilhatJust got shot by Zola, who doesn't put up with any backtalk. Now, the other prisoners are a little more inclined to obey Zola's orders. |
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| R-79, Mister Tattoos, Wrenchman, Green Hood, Devil Guy, Man with Glasses, Pince-nez, Two More Background Faces Other Castle Heterodyne prisoners who have been seen standing around in the background. |
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| Scene: With Gil, After the Amazing Escape | |
Sleipnir befriended Agatha on board the Castle. She, along with several of the other students, helped Agatha escape from Castle Wulfenbach. |
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Most of his life was spent as a student on board the giant airship Castle Wulfenbach. There, he was well-liked and respected for his abilities as a Spark and his glamorous family connection. He was also an inventive story teller, with a penchant for Heterodyne stories. As children, Theo and Gil were good friends, but Theo had no idea that Gil was the Baron's son. The two lost touch when Gil went away to Paris, each blamed the other for the lack of communication. They reconnected briefly while Agatha was on board the Castle, but had very little time to get to know each other again. Theo was last seen on board Castle Wulfenbach, helping Agatha escape from the Baron. He chose to remain behind on the Castle long enough to see if any of the other students wanted to run away with him, but promised to meet up with Agatha in Mechanicsburg. Agatha told him that Gil had "some kind of invisibility device" that might help him escape. While Agatha was with the Circus, she received a visit from Othar Tryggvassen, who had recently met Theo on the road. It is from Theo that Othar learned that Agatha was part of the Heterodyne family. |
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Agatha used this device to rig up a pair of electric swords to fight the slaver wasps that overran the labs on Castle Wulfenbach. During the fight, Agatha noticed that when the electric swords were activated, a small invisibility field also surrounded the device. She told Theo about it before she left Castle Wulfenbach, suggesting it might help him get off the airship safely. It appears to have done just that. |
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| The Storm King Opera | |
The Storm King (First Mentioned: Vol. 5 ) Andronicus Valois. Legendary King who was supposed to marry the daughter of the Heterodyne in order to unite Europe. It didn't work out. Immortalized by Portentius Reichenbach in the opera: The Storm King. |
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The Spirit of Europa Allegorical figure from Portentius Reichenbach's opera The Storm King. In the Prophecy Aria, the Spirit of Europa appears to Andronicus, the Storm King, foretelling that peace will only be found when the Storm King and the Heterodyne Princess are married. |
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Euphrosynia Heterodyne From Portentius Reichenbach's famous opera: The Storm King. Euphrosynia is the Heterodyne Princess beloved of the Storm King. The Spirit of Europa has prophesied that their marriage will bring Peace to the land. |
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Mad Prince Ogglespoon The evil sorcerer-prince that Euphrosynia Heterodyne's father wants her to marry in Portentius Reichenbach's famous opera: The Storm King. She would rather marry the Storm King. |
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The Muses(First Mention/Appearance: Vol. 5 ) Were a set of clanks built by the master Spark artificer, van Rijn for the Storm King. There were nine of them and each had a specialty. After the fall of the Storm King, they Muses were scattered and presumed lost. Today they are considered legends, and many Heterodyne Shows and other traveling mountebanks have a "Muse" as part of the show to awe the credulous. They also feature as characters in the second act of Portentius Reichenbach's opera The Storm King, echoing the Spirit of Europa's prophecy that peace will only come when the Heterodyne Princess and the Storm King are wed. |
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| Old Heterodynes | |
| Heterodyne Shows The Heterodynes aren't really around anymore, but they still have a big impact. Heterodyne Shows are popular commedia-style stage plays featuring well-known adventures of the Heterodyne Boys and other popular folk heroes. Shows of this type can be found all over Europe. Although some of them may have roots in actual historical events, most are simply entertainments created and added to by innumerable theatre troops for the entertainment of a public which has no interest in anything so boring as facts. |
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 Bill and Barry: The Heterodyne Boys (First Mention: Vol. 1 )(First "Appearance": Vol. 2 ) A generation ago, Bill and Barry Heterodyne renounced their family's tradition of evil, and traveled the World righting wrongs, helping the helpless, and having fantastic adventures. They gathered together a group of like-minded individuals and changed the face of Europe. But after Bill's wife Lucrezia was kidnapped and his son killed in a mysterious attack on Castle Heterodyne, they began a long war with the mysterious Other, which culminated in their disappearance. The peace they worked for fell into ruin, paving the way for the far less patient Baron Wulfenbach. Today, close to twenty years later, they are still great favorites in song and story. Many say that they will someday return, bringing about the fall of Wulfenbach and free beer for all. |
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 Lucrezia Mongfish (First "Appearance": Vol. 2 ) The Beautiful Daughter of one of the Heterodyne Boys most persistent foes, Lucifer Mongfish. She is/was worshipped as a Goddess (for reasons that her family always found a bit confusing) by a lost civilization of ghost-white amazons living near her father's secret base/summer home. After a series of futile clashes with the Heterodynes, she eventually married Bill and joined the Forces of Good. This lasted until Castle Heterodyne was attacked while the Heterodyne Boys were off on a mission. That was the last anyone in Europe ever heard of Lucrezia, and she was presumed to have been kidnapped by the mysterious person who came to be known as "the Other." In reality, as Agatha has recently discovered, Lucrezia herself is the Other. Her purposes are, as yet, unexplained. |
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 The Other Big Nasty Mysterious Spark of unknown origin. Made a real mess of Europe before the Heterodynes went off to put a stop the whole business. They must have succeeded, because the Other's attacks stopped right around the time they disappeared. That's all most people know. Recently, Agatha has discovered that the Other was actually her own Mother, (Lucrezia Mongfish) backed by Geisterdamen priestesses and an as-yet unnamed order of knights that she apparently subverted for her own purposes. |
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Faustus Heterodyne(First "Appearance": Vol. 7 ) One of the old Heterodynes, which means a dangerous madman of the first water. Faustus was responsible for "awakening" Castle Heterodyne, endowing it with his own charming personality. HISTORICAL |
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 Dagon Heterodyne and the Skull Queen of Skral(First "Appearance": Vol. 8 ) One of the great love stories of the ages! These two are a couple of Agatha's ancestors. The Castle uses them as an example of why it's sure Gil actually likes her, even though he sent Wulfenbach troops to capture her. |
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| The Faculty | |
 
Professors Foglio and Foglio |
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Professora Foglio at the Opera House Professora Foglio is seen early in Volume Eight, giving a commentary on the Storm King Opera in Vienna. |
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Professor Cheyenne Wright Professor Wright teaches Advanced Experimental Color Theory at Transylvania Polygnostic University. He also provides the beautiful colors for Professors Foglio and Foglio's popular graphic textbooks on the life of Agatha Heterodyne, and performs the voice of: "Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer!" for the University's controversial radio plays. |
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Winslow HI! He's everywhere. All hail. |
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Sleipnir O'Hara
Theopholous DuMedd
Some Kind of Invisibility DeviceGirl Genius is written by Professors Phil & Kaja Foglio of TPU, with drawings by Prof. P. Foglio.
Volume One was inked by Brian Snoddy. Volumes Two and Three were colored by Mark McNabb. Volume Four was colored by Laurie E. Smith. Cheyenne Wright is our current colorist. His work begins with Volume Five. Our email and social media assistant is Chris Sorensen.
Girl Genius is a registered trademark of Studio Foglio, LLC. Agatha Heterodyne, Transylvania Polygnostic and all Girl Genius art, characters, design elements and logos™ & ©2000-2022 Studio Foglio, LLC., All rights reserved. Airship Entertainment™ is an imprint of Studio Foglio LLC, and publishes Girl Genius Graphic Novels on a yearly basis. Look for them in your favorite bookstore!
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Special thanks to RB "Sparks" who took it apart and made it work.