Girl Genius Comic for Friday, June 16, 2023

but.... it's a Book!

What if the book *is* the iram solis?!?!? [insert mind blown gif here]

Michael Bacon

Back to the Book. The back cover is scales... Golden scales. Like a dragon's scales? Dragon author or subject? Or neither. So we wait 'til Monday or later.

Okay, so just doing a little bit of predicting of what comes next. The appearance of the cat has made Franz realize something. The fact that the Heterodynes would give a failed invading dragon a dangerous artifact to take back to his lair combined with the fact that the iram solis is a spark-forged artifact that was given to the dragon, with which he subsequently turned on the town and destroyed it . . . Just what kind of spark would do that, and have the sense of overengineering that it turned a weak-fired dragon into one of the most feared firebreathers? A Heterodyne, of course. Combine that with Franz effectively having an insight into Hydrargyros' mind very recently, I think he put something together. And there's something that might or might not be a Heterodyne sigil on that chest in the entry hall.

Michael Bacon

Me, too! I don't believe for a moment that he just ran away, but it will be disappointing from a plotting closure standpoint if he ends up coming back too late to save his friend because the Fun-MADD has already been disposed of. It would be much, much worse if he comes back too late to save Humongulus because the big clank has been completely and irretrievably destroyed, of course, but I can't imagine that the Foglios are going to "go there". I still expect that what everyone else is up to will amount to buying time for Franz to come back and save the day, even if they don't realize that he is trying to do so. But I am wrong about where the Foglios are going to take their story far more often that I'm right, so the next few pages are going to be very interesting.

William Ansley

But who is going to report her to the appropriate Library officials? Oh, wait—I forgot; Blintzie is there.

William Ansley

Waiting to see what Franz comes up with.

I agree with Michael Bacon, but despite the book's invulnerability to fire, this is going to get her on the "never a librarian shall thou be" list if she's not already on it. She might even get on it a second time.

Some Ed

If it were me, I'd want the book way further away from me before yelling "now."

Brian Harvey

Ten bucks says that's the book Franz came all the way here for.

Nick Dickerson