Page One
Full page panel: Agatha's underwear is pink, not white as I assumed in the black and white comic, and there's no sign of the telltale grease and oil from the end of the last issue.
Page Two
No commentary.
Page Three
Panel Two: First use of "madboy", a slang term for someone with "The Spark".
Page Four
Full page panel: First appearance of (from left to right): Nickodeamus Yurkofsky, Princess Zulenna Luzhakna, Sleipnir O'Hara and Zami Yahya Ahmad ibn Suliman al-Sinhaji (back of head at bottom of page). Nick is reading a book titled: "Advanced Mechanics for the Mad". The bulletin board has a large leaf and a "Clean Up" list. The wallpaper runner is blimps on the upper level and flowers on the lower level. The blimps are a foreshadowing of where she is.
Page Five
No commentary.
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Page Eighty Four
: Dead Tree Edition: Page Eighty Three
: Online Edition: Page Eighty Four
: Online Edition: Page Eighty Five Page Eighty Six Page Eighty Seven Page Eighty Eight Page Eighty Nine Page Ninety Page Ninety One Page Ninety Two Page Ninety Three Page Ninety Four Page Ninety Five Page Ninety Six Page Ninety Seven Page Ninety Eight Page Ninety Nine Page One Hundred
Panel Three: Agatha has a porthole in her room, too bad she never looks out.
Panel Four: Molach has Agatha's brooch. But, it's been smashed against the floor. Will it still work?
Panel Five: More foreshadowing, there's a poster of the Airship on the wall.
Panel Six: Moloch mentions The Waxworks. Since he wasn't at Dr. Beetle's lab, it's a well-known punishment, but we still dont know what it is.
Meeting the Wulfenbach Students
Panel One: Moloch is talking for the benefit of the eavesdroppers. Sleipner and Zulenna are getting an earful.
Panel Three: Look out the porthole, Agatha! Sigh!, but of course, she doesn't.
Panels Seven and Eight: Sleipner introduces herself to Agatha. According to Norse mythology, Sleipner is the eight-legged horse of Odin, King of the Gods.
Panel Two: Note the eyes under the bed. Technically, this is the first appearance of Krosp. The airship poster is in the background again.
Panel Four: First mention of Von Pinn.
Panel One: The Flying Castle design is over the corridor archway. First appearance of Itto Wheelwright (striped shirt and blue goggles). Rigger rats is a slang term for sailors who worked in the rigging on sailing ships. Highly dangerous duty.
Panel Two: The shower device is marked: "Hot Rain Engine #106".
Panel Three: Agatha wears pants for the first time.
Panel One: Agatha meets Nick, Z, and Princess Zule for the first time.
Panel Three: Sleipner makes faces behind Zules back, apparently she doesn't like her.
Panel One: The door is marked: "Galley In". Z mentions that Gil has been pretending to be just another of the Baron's students until returning from Paris. This will be significant later.
Panel Two: It's the kitchen. Fire bucket in the corner by the door. The bins are marked; "Rhizones", [blocked by Agathas legs], "Fungus" and "Tubers". Rhizones are the portion of certain plant stems that grow under ground, fungus are mushrooms, and tubers are potato-like plants. Watch the next three pages carefully, and you'll see that the gang is apparently making octopus soup. Yum! First mimmoth sighting: lower right hand corner, on top of the stove.
Panel Three: Jars are labeled: "Lemon Oil", "Oil of Olay" (a skin care product), "Anchovy Oil" (a fish oil) and "Green Oil".
Panel Two: Jars are labeled: "Turnip Paste", "Gater Sauce", "Eel Juice" and "Ant Gravy".
Panel Six: Urn is labeled: "Coffee".
Meeting with Gil
Panel Five: First appearance of Ardsley Wooster.
Panel Three: First appearance of Zoing.
Panel One: Mimmoth sighting.
Panel Six: Fuel tank is labeled: "Hot Glug".
Panel Seven: Gil thinks Dr. Beetle may have thrown the bomb at Agatha, not Gil.
Panel Six: Agatha doesnt know Moloch von Zinzer by name.
The Infamous Falling Machine
Panels One thru Five: Agatha is trying to cover up that she isn't close with von Zinzer, but Gil isnt buying it.
Panel Six: Gil's spark is showing again, megalomania time!
Panel One: The floor drops out and the unfinished flying machine launches. Heck of a way to impress a girl. :) Everything else in the pit, tools, parts, etc. also falls on the helpless village below. Sparks may be gifted, but they don't think ahead. How long will it take to replace all those parts?
Panel Four: They're awfully calm considering they're falling to their doom.
Panels One thru Five: Agatha's spark is showing, she's re-designing an engine while falling.
No commentary.
Double page panel: The first appearance of Castle Wulfenbach
No commentary.
Panel Two: First appearance of General Khrizhan.
Panel One: The General stops several hundred pounds of metal with one hand.
Panels Six and Eight: Agatha smells nice to the General. We know Jagermonsters are strong and can smell the spark.
Panel One: Gil denies Agatha smells nice. Apparently, hes aware that Jagermonsters can smell the spark.
Meet Von Pinn
No commentary.
Full page panel: First appearance of Von Pimm.
Full page panel: You can see Agatha's reflection in Von Pinns monocle.
No commentary.
Panel Three: Agathas tunic is not ripped.
Panel Four: Agathas tunic is ripped. Agatha gives a direct order to Von Pinn.
Panel Five: Von Pinn obeys Agatha's order. Hmmmm...
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Panel One: One of the children watching has a clock design on his forehead. A new brooch design? It may be a nod to the Watchmen comic series. He also appears on the following page.
Panel Two: Von Pinn's pocket watch has a crossed-out sigil design on it.
Panel Four: Von Pinn is inhumanly fast as well as inhumanly strong (She lifted Agatha with one hand.)
Panel One: First appearance of Theopholous DuMedd. He's wearing a trilobite brooch.
Panel Three: Theopholous claims that his aunt Lucrezia married one of the Heterodyne Brothers.
The Dragon From Mars
The pages are all sepia-toned (neat effect!) because this is actually a story-within-a-story, a tale being told by Theopholous to the children. While it's possible that some of the information we learn is true, none of it can be taken as accurate without independent confirmation. Still, it brings up some interesting questions.
Panel One: The adventure is titled: "The Heterodyne Boys and the Dragon from Mars". This is a typical title for a pulp novel in an adventure series from the 1940's & 1950's. First appearance of Billy Heterodyne. (Barry's first appearance was in a flashback in Issue #2) First appearance of revenants. (First mentioned in a poster in Issue #1)
Panels One thru Three: We "learn" that a revenant can be restored to humanity.
Panel Six: Klaus knows how long he was a revenant, so apparently they do retain at least some memory of what they did.
Panel One: We "learn" the Other is a thing, not a person.
Panel Three: The cylinder is labeled: "Hercules Class Piston". The archway has a carved face with tusks, but it doesnt look like a Jagermonster. An early version perhaps?
No commentary.
Double page panel: First appearance of TOtheron, Dragon King of Mars. Note that his name is T(he) Other On(e). Where is the light source thats casting the Baron's shadow on the wall?
No commentary.
Panel One: First appearance of Lucrezia Monkfish.
Panel Two: Barry says she's his wife.
Panel One: First appearance of Dr. Mongfish, Lucrezias father.
Panel Two: Barry's portable claw is labeled: "Heterodyne Portable Claw" and "Use Only for Good".
Panel Three: We "learn" that portals can be passed through as well as viewed through.
Panel Two: The Dragon King of Mars is a hive engine?
Panel Four: The bottle is labeled: "Ocean". Dr. Monkfish says it's labeled: "Ocean in a Bottle".
Panel One: Lucrezia has been restored to humanity. "Thank goodness you had all those clockwork ducks, Klaus." Apparently, there are multiple ways to restore a revenant's humanity.
Panel Two: "Hey Klaus! We're going to Mars in a rowboat!! Beat that one buddy!" My fantastic adventure is more fantastic than your fantastic adventure. Nyahh-Nyahh!
Panel Four: Winslow is a puppet on Theo's left hand, presumably playing the role of the Dragon King from Mars. Is the right hand puppet supposed to be Barry? The children say that Von Pinn is really Lucrezia.
Panel One: Agatha meets Theo. Theo says his favorite Heterodyne stories are the ones with the monsters Punch and Judy. Punch and Judy is the historical name of a puppet show that was commonly played throughout Europe in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Agatha says her favorite Heterodyne story is "The Heterodyne Boys and the Race to the West Pole". This may be a nod to Piers Anthony's Apprentice Adept series where the planet Phaze has a West Pole.
Continuity Note: Agatha remembers an Uncle Barry. Theo claims that his aunt is Lucrezia Monkfish. In Theo's story, he mentions that Lucrezia married Billy Heterodyne, the brother of Barry Heterodyne. If all of this is true, then Agatha and Theo may be first cousins and not know it.
Panel Two: Z claims his father is The Iron Sheik who built the mechanical camel. Is this who hes being held hostage for? If Lucrezia is his aunt, and The Iron Sheik is his father, that would make Lucrezia and The Iron Sheik siblings.
Panel Four: Theo is wearing a trilobite brooch and drinking out of a mug with the Flying Castle design.
Panel One: The princess says that nothing can cure a revenant. The revenant bugs are called slaver wasps.
Panel Three: The princess says that hive engines create slaver wasps.
Sneaking Into the Baron's Lab
Panels One thru Three: "You want to be sneaking into one of the Baron's labs? Even after what happened the last time?!!" "Well, Yeah." "Sweet!! Lets Go!" I love this exchange.
Panel Four: The screw heads on the deck behind them are about six inches across. Who uses a screwdriver that big?
Panel One: The cylinder is marked: "37". The lab has a taped up sign: "Experiment in Progress! No Clanks, Cucumbers, Clocks or Dancing".
Panel Four: First appearance of Dr. Vg and Dr. Rovainen. Dr. Vg wears a Flying Castle brooch.
Panel One: Dr. Rovainen can recognize the work of The Other. Presumably, he can recognize the work of The Baron. This would suggest that the Baron is NOT the other, a theory that was suggested in The Secret Blueprints.
Panels Two thru Five: Is that Krosp's shadow? How did he get here?
No commentary.
Panel Four: First appearance of Katz? How was he summoned? Did he hear the crash of the Hive?
Panel Three: Grease trap duty. Obviously some form of punishment, a work detail.
Panel Four: It looks like Katz is a clone. How does the Baron tell them apart? Or are they all named Katz?
Panels Two and Three: The Baron is obviously hearing the story of the Dragon King of Mars for the first time.
Panel Five: Panel is marked: "Annovatron Mark VII", "off" & "on". The Baron obviously recognized DuMedd.
Panel One: DuMedd calls out "Mimmoth Exterminators!" as he enters the lab. The place apparently needs it. Mimmoth sighting: There are two mimmoth hiding atop the console on the top right of the panel. The welcome mat reads: "Decontaminate Your Feet!" There's a fish mounted over the doorway and the goldfish from the University (last seen here is back, in the lower right corner. His bowl has been given tank treads and he has his own set of controls inside the bowl. He's never mentioned by name in the comic, but the Foglios call him Carassius Auratus.
Panel Six: Bulkhead door is labeled: "Potable Ballast" and "Wheel 610P". Potable means drinkable.
Othar Tryggvassen, Gentleman Adventurer!
No commentary.
Full Page Panel: First Appearance of Othar Tryggvassen.
Full page panel: Othar Tryggvassen introduces himself to Agatha Clay as a gentleman adventurer. His name is strongly reminiscent of Olaf Tryggvason, a 10th century King of Norway. Note: Othar is suspended by his thighs and arms. It is possible to be suspended this way for long periods of time without harm.
Panel Two: Agatha recites adventures of Othar. He takes credit for the first two, but denies the third one which she made up. Apparently, he really is an adventurer and not just taking credit for being one. "The savior of the town of Mount Horeb from the rain of mustard." The Mustard Museum in Mount Horeb, Washington was so tickled by this reference, they posted it on their webpage.
Panels Three and Four: Agatha is exceeding cautious about the pit Othar is suspended above. Considering that they're on an dirigible, it might literally be bottomless.
Panel Four: Othar apparently believes that his life is an adventure story. He tries to fit Agatha into a stereotype (villian's beautiful daughter, plucky lab assistant, spunky girl sidekick, etc). He also has little regard for the consequences of his actions, like all the hostages who would die if he succeeded in blowing up Airship Castle Wulfenbach. No wonder people don't like Sparks around!
No commentary.
Any Plan Where You Lose Your Hat...
Panel Three: Another running gag reference to the importance Jagermonsters place on their hats.
No commentary.
Panel Two: Does each clone have a different eye color? Is this how the Baron tells them apart?
Panel One: The Jagermonsters refer to themselves as Jagerkin.
Panel Five: I believe this is the first mention outside of The Secret Blueprints that the Baron took in the Jagermonsters rather than created them.
Tea with the Generals
Panel Two: Another reference to fact that Amanda smells different to the Jagermonsters.
Panel Five: First appearance of General Zog and General Goomblast. General Khrizhan's first appearance was on Page Twenty Five when Gil and Amanda crashed through the window in Gil's flying machine.
Panel Four: Agatha gets her "stuff". Have we seen this before? Or was it simply stuff the Jagermonsters took from Clay Mechanical?
Panel One: The mugs are marked with a pretty girl and the Jagermonster brooch design. The tea pot has a monster's face, the spout is his nose.
Panel Two: The mug is labeled: "Souvenir of Castle Heterodyne". General Khrizhan and General Goomblast are speaking in whispers, apparently Agatha doesn't just smell like a spark, she smells like a Heterodyne spark!
Panel Five: Jager Andre leads Agatha away from the combat.
No commentary.
Panel One: This portion of the Airship is decorated with a moon and suns motif.
Back to the Dorm
Panel Two: First appearance of Hezekiah Donowitz. Bottles are labeled: "Dynamo Wine" and "Whale Ale".
Panel Four: Bottles are labeled: "Fizz" and "Cyclops". The Cyclops bottle has one eye.
Panel One: The upside down bottle is labeled: "Old Upside Down Ale".
Panel Two: The bottles are labeled: "Formula 73A", "Spark Gap", "Old Hypothesis ~~ Let's try it", "Aqua Regia", "Jack", and "Sweet Span". Spark Gap is a type of radio transmitter that creates a magnetic field by having a spark jump a gap. Spark plugs work in a similar fashion. A Hypothesis is an unproven theory for explaining the results of an experiment. Aqua Regia is a Latin for "Royal Water", a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acid so corrosive that it's the only acid that can dissolve gold, hence the name.
Panel Four: The bottles are labeled: "October Frenzy", "Potato Surprize", "Blue Lightning" and "Drink Me". The latter is a reference to Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll where Alice encounters a similar bottle.
No commentary.
Panel Five: Krosp is drinking from Agatha's cup and using his hands. This is the first indication that he's more than just a cat.
Double Page Panel: Agatha is dreaming of a clockwork universe. A standard Earth globe is just over her head. A stylized sun is in the upper left corner. There are three colored circles on wide sweeping arcs. A red circle is labeled with the symbol for Mars, a green circle with the symbol for Venus, and a blue circle with the symbol for Jupiter. They are also the symbols for man, woman and tin, but I don't think those interpretations apply here.
Agatha is Given the Locket (Flashback)
Unlike all other flashbacks, this one is in full-color.
Panel One: Baby Agatha has used wooden and tin scraps to build a water-powered device to swing a mallet at a croquet ball. She is humming the music which indicates she is 'sparking'. She has a spoon in her hand and there's a screwdriver on the ground.
Panel Two: Barry gives Agatha a Trilobite locket.
Panel Three: The locket has her parents' pictures inside. We cannot see them. Barry is speaking of them in the past tense.
Panel Four: There is a wrench on the ground next to Agatha's creation. They are living in a cottage in the mountains. There is a very large clank behind the cottage, we can only see it's mechanical leg.
Panel Four: Uncle Barry places the locket around her neck. He is crying.
Panel Six: Agatha gets a headache.
Panel Seven: The panel goes from full-color to grey. Agatha can no longer 'Spark'. She says the music has stopped.
In the Lab / Moloch's Story
Panel One: The box on the wall of the lab is marked: "Emergency".
Panel One: The vat of bubbling green fluid is labeled: "Do Not Drink"
Panel Four: Agatha says "Well, at least I don't have another FAILURE staring at me." Ironically, A SUCCESSFUL Dingbot is staring at her from hiding. But why is it hiding from it's creator?
Panel Six: The generator is obscured by word balloons. The only words I can make out is "Steam Generator".
Panel One: First mention of Duke D'omas.
Panel Three: The duke's gunboat is marked: "Vienna 707".
Panel One: First appearance of Bangladesh DuPree.
Panel Three: Moloch says that Bruno, the kid, himself and Omar got away. He didn't think anyone else did. This is significant later.
Panel Four: The container is labeled: "Syrup of L".
Dr. Dim
Panel Five: First appearance of Dr. DiMitri. Note that he has surgical scars on top of his head.
Panel Four: There's an old man with a beverage cart down the side corridor. It has pressure valves.
Panel Five: The supply room. The cylinder is labeled: "Packing". The crate is labeled: "Grease Grade 5". The box is labeled: "Bearings". The air tanks are labeled: "Air (Good)" and "Air (Bad)".
Panel Two: The cans are labeled: "Paint" and "Shellac". The bottles are labeled: "Vin Ordinary" and "Vin Weird". Vin is the Latin word for 'wine'.
Panel Eight: Notice that Krosp is hiding among the rag dolls. He really gets around this ship. The various containers are labeled: "Ether Bunny", "Gear Polish", "Cavorite", "Cavorite", "Mummy Dust", "Mummy Dust" and "Olio". "Ether Bunny" is the punch line of a high school freshman chemistry riddle. What do you call two rabbits connected by an oxygen atom. Ether Bunnies! :D Cavorite is from the H.G. Well's novel First Men in the Moon. Dr. Cavor invented an anti-gravity material which he named after himself.
Fencing with Royalty
The flying castles and picturesque beautiful women theme dominate the decor of the fencing hall. Note that while Sleipner practices with goggles on, the match between Agatha and the Princess is done without face protection. This would drive most instructors to screaming.
See notes to previous page.
Agatha Has Had Enough
Panel Four: Another reference to the fact that each Spark (Madboy) has their own style. D'Omas was obviously a spark.
Panel Five: Agatha's Dingbots are referred to as "those tiddly little clockwork things", they're still not called Dingbots in the story line. Another reference to Castle Heterodyne as punishment.
Panel One: Mimmoth sighting: In the glass jar in Morloch's hand. (Okay, so it's an obvious one!) Another reference to The Glass Jars. This is *still* the only punishment that we know what it is.
Panel Two: Dingbot sighting: Peering out from top of machinery.
Panel One: Now Krosp is in the lab. That cat gets around!
Panel Three: A reference to Carassius Auratus, however he's still only known in the storyline as "the goldfish".
No commentary.
Panels One thru Four: Gil obviously has plans for Morloch. Wanna bet they won't get the Baron's approval?
It's a Talking Cat
Panel Three: Agatha learns that Krosp can talk.