I love it when comics I enjoy just keep getting better. A pair of third volumes of favorite titles just made my day.
Girl Genius is pure pleasure with its combination of screwball comedy, off-kilter fantasy, and wonderful characters. In the third volume that came out this week, protagonist Agatha proves herself even more resourceful than I’d suspected in a series of exciting and hilarious sequences. Kaja and Phil Foglio have given her a winning combination of independence, compassion, and smarts. I don’t normally think in terms of “who’d be in the movie?”, but I’d love to see a good adaptation of this starring Kate Winslet or Rachel Weisz.
I’m dangerously close to giving up my curmudgeon status, as I got a little misty more than once during the third volume of Imadoki! This title is as touching as it is funny, which is saying something. Yu Watase introduces an intriguing new character and adds new dimensions to an existing one that further complicate the romantic angst. Now that Koki’s betrothed, Erika, has shaken off her stupor, she’s turning out to be a real spoiler. She’s strangely sympathetic, too, which puts determined optimist Tanpopo in an achingly uncomfortable position. All cliffhangers should be as good as the one that concludes this digest.