New Webcomic: Delilah Dirk by Tony Cliff

It's quite rare that I get to be one of the first people to talk about something, but sometimes I'm on Twitter at just the right moment to do just that. Such is the case with this debut of a new webcomic, Delilah Dirk, by Tony Cliff, and I couldn't be more pleased about it.

Delilah Dirk is set in Turkey in the 19th Century, and according to Cliff it's about a young man who owes his life to a "brash adventuress" (she's the one in the center of the picture to the left) who is also responsible to endangering it in the first place. The webcomic is a serialization of a 160 page graphic novel, which means the story is already completed and assuming the hosting holds up, readers will be able to get the entire story in 4 to 6 page increments. (Cliff says he will dole them out in ways that provide the best cliffhangers.) You can get updates via RSS, Twitter, or even good old fashioned e-mail.

If the story seems vaguely familiar to you, these characters appeared in a Flight anthology, the fifth one to be exact. This is the beginning of Delilah's story, and I wonder how the piece we've already seen will fit in--if it does at all. Going back and having a look, it seems like Cliff's illustration style has improved over time, which is always a good thing.

The first four pages are all set up, but they are beautiful set-up. The opening shots of Instanbul show a level of craft and detail that set a comic like this above many others available for free on the web. This is not a whim or a side project. This is a bona-fide comic, one that Cliff hopes will benefit from web exposure and possibly be in bound form eventually.

If you like fun adventure comics, get on board with this one now. The setting and world are drawn beautifully, it has a strong female lead (which is another great feature of the prior story from Cliff with these characters), and it's hard to argue with free.

You can get started here. Delilah Dirk will update weekly on Saturdays. This is definitely going on my RSS list, and it belongs on yours, too.
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