Actually, this is old news, but Girl Genius started up yesterday. And the Foglios have decided on an interesting route! For the few people out there who don’t know, Girl Genius was/is a dead-paper comic done by Studio Foglio LLC. We got a goodly ways along (to issue 13), when the Foglios decided the best way to expand upon the popularity of this hilarious and beautifully-drawn comic was to switch to a MWF webcomic format.

One thing I was wondering though was… what do you do for those people who’ve not bought the originals? Won’t they be lost and wondering what’s going on? Yet if Studio Foglio (I swear, when I type “Studio Foglio” I half-think of Studio Ghibli and expect to see Mononoke show up on the back of giant wolves while trying to save the forests, aided by Kiki on her broom and Naussica with her little flying craft) put the entire series on-line, then they risk losing sales. Well, instead the Foglios went a different route, and every MWF they are putting out TWO comics. One is the update for those of us who’ve bought every little tidbit that Studio Foglio has printed on the comic. Second… is a reprint of the old comics, one page at a time, allowing people to read what has come before… and slowly catch up to those of us with money.

It’s an ingenious little idea. Anytime a fan gets the money, they can buy the compilation comics and can join the “Advanced” class (the story starting at the end of Issue #13). And at the end of every year, a new compilation comic can be printed of the year’s worth of comics, so that everyone can have hard copies of their favorite mad girl genius. Of course, in order to have matching sets, then fans who already own the comic books will want to buy the compilations as well… I’m just left to wonder when Helen Narbon and crew are going to build a Dimensional Hopper and travel to the Girl Genius universe to do a crossover. Because, dude. Steampunk mad science? Helen would have a field day!

Addendum Note: The archives are now complete, and the “Basic” and “Advanced” classes have been merged.