Fast, funny, and full of swashbuckling action. If Agatha is truly the legitimate heir, someone needs to ring that bell in *Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell*. More delightful castle craziness and squabbles between Gil and Tarvek, with Agatha out-heroing everyone, as usual. There's a slightly odd interlude featuring the Baron and the storyteller. However, a fight scene between two women where they resorted to fat-shaming each other felt poorly executed. Plus, women 18 and older aren't "...

Seriously fun. If you're looking for a rollicking adventure with madcap inventors and a healthy dose of steampunk, Phil Foglio's "Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell" is an absolute blast. A delightful read, perfect for anyone searching for lighthearted fantasy book reviews!

So, how exactly *do* you hide the hammer for a bell the size of a small car? By sticking it somewhere simultaneously obvious and ridiculously hard to reach, like behind the bar at a Jägermeister distillery, obviously. And what exactly happens when you finally manage to ring the blasted thing? Well, that would be telling, wouldn't it? And it's kind of a major plot point in this increasingly insane, multi-army brawl that is *Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell* by Phil Foglio.This latest ite...

Castle Heterodyne is under attack, and it's basically just been patched up. I'm left wondering what's coming next! 😉
Looking for a great read? Phil Foglio's "Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell" is a fantastic adventure. Check out this book review if you enjoy steampunk fantasy!

Mechanicsburg is under siege, Baron Wulfenbach is presumed dead, and various political factions are all trying to capitalize on the chaos. Agatha Heterodyne is up to her elbows trying to repair Castle Heterodyne and defend her town. Luckily, she has Gilgamesh Wulfenbach and Tarvek of Sturmhalten, along with a whole host of allies and minions, at her side. Unluckily, she’s still got her mother stuck inside her head, and Agatha isn’t the only one Lucrezia Mongfish has been using as a host. This v...

I absolutely adore this series, but these more recent installments lean a little too heavily into the action. Every now and then, we crave a breather, a moment for both the readers and the characters to catch their breath—think of it like the fourth act of a play, where there's some witty back-and-forth, or the characters simply pause for a cup of tea, strategizing before all hell breaks loose in the grand finale. Volumes 9 through 13 are practically *all* grand finale, and honestly, it's a bit ...

Volume 11: Gil and Tarvek finally see each other for who they really are, Agatha repairs the Castle's defenses, the Jagers are obviously plotting something, and the Castle rings the Doom Bell, acknowledging Agatha as a true Heterodyne and proper Spark Queen of Mechanicsburg!(This volume was seriously intense!)The pace of the Girl Genius stories has definitely picked up. When the story started, and Agatha was just learning who she is, things moved much slower. Looking back, I'm shocked at how muc...

Invasion. Fun, that is, until someone actually fixes the castle. If you're looking for a fun read that blends steampunk adventure with laugh-out-loud humor, Phil Foglio's "Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell" delivers in spades. This isn't your typical fantasy novel; it's a wild ride filled with madcap inventions and even madder scientists. Highly recommended for fans of inventive storytelling and unforgettable characters. Definitely one of the best book releases this year! A must-read if ...

I recently gave Phil and Kaja Foglio a blurb for their comic, because I love it with a powerful love. "Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell is everything I want in a comic: It's clever without being pretentious, sexy without being smutty, dramatic without being overblown, funny without being foolish, and complex without being complicated. Over the last ten years, I don't think I've re-read any comic as often as I've read Agatha Heterodyne and the Hammerless Bell." If you're looking for e...

I wish there was some collective version of the comic that I could rate as a whole, BUT NEVER FEAR, I SHALL MAKE DO WITH THIS.I first checked out Girl Genius on the (then-halfway-dismissed) advice of my friend. I got somewhere up to the middle of Volume 2, where Gil and Agatha fall out of Castle Wulfenbach for the first time (yeah, eventually we get used to our heroes falling out of castles), and then got distracted somehow and never went back. Then, just recently, someone asked me if I read Gir...