If your response to that sentence was "Big flippin’ deal", I suggest an upgrade in taste. Girl Genius is not the best comic I have ever read, but it’s certainly one of the most consistently funny and entertaining series I’ve ever read. And it’s recently returned from a long hiatus (I believe the last issue was early to mid autumn last year) due to some distributor problems. Issue 6 picks up right at the end of issue five, though there is a handy- dandy "Our story so far" recap at the beginning in case the many months between issues left gaps in your memory as to who was who and what they were doing. This issue offers several good laughs, especially the memorable fencing scene. Ah, Agatha is a girl after my own heart. My one complaint with this issue (ok, other than the lack of the usual amusing essay) is that the art seems very awkward, with people posed not quite right and proportion a bit off. Also, after the wonderfully detailed black and white art of the first few issues, I am still having some trouble adjusting to some of the garishly bright colors used. Ahhh, I remember with fondness my snobbish youth when I thought any comic not printed in full color on glossy paper was a waste of time. I look forward to watching the story in Girl Genius unfold on a regular basis now, especially after playing the "The Works" card game (yes, now two reviews in one!). While I am not much of a card game person, my brother gave us "The Works" for the holidays this past year, and we found that it’s a good way to kill an hour, if you can keep the cats from jumping up and "helping" (in which case, it becomes more like a couple of hours...). The two big plusses to "The Works" is that 1: it is not a collectable card game. All the cards you need and will ever need come in one box, the deck is enough for several people to play with, so there is no need for everyone to have their own deck. And 2: The cards are illustrated with lots of characters that haven’t shown their faces in the comic yet, but who look positively entertaining. It’s fun to just go through the deck and wonder who everyone is. So, my advice to you is to go pick up a copy of Girl Genius 6, and "The Works". Then get your friends hooked on both. They’ll thank you later. Girl Genius published by Airship Entertainment, a division (offshoot? whatever) of Studio Foglio (www.studiofoglio.com) A group effort by Phil and Kaja Foglio and Mark McNabb.

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