''Delilah Dirk'' is a series of action adventure graphic novels following adventures of the titular character, Delilah Dirk. Written and illustrated by Tony Cliff, Delilah Dirk started as a webcomic, and now consists of three full graphic novels and one shorter story.

Creation

Writer and illustrator Tony Cliff is a Canadian cartoonist and animator also known for his contributions to the ''

Flight Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...

'' anthology series. He started working on Delilah Dirk as a 30-page comic inspired by the

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise consisting of five films and a prequel television series, along with games, comics, and tie-in novels, that depicts the adventures of Indiana Jones (character), Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, ...

, and

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

. Cliff combined this initial comic with a short story from the ''Flight'' anthology with another hundred pages to create the first complete published story, ''Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant''. Cliff has also cited

Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films and radio and television programmes, and ...

and the '' Sharpe'' series, as well as the histories of the

Elgin Marbles The Elgin Marbles ( ) are a collection of Ancient Greek sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures from the Acropolis of Athens, removed from Ottoman Greece in the early 19th century and shipped to Britain by agents of Thomas Bruce, 7 ...

and the

Venus de Milo The ''Venus de Milo'' or ''Aphrodite of Melos'' is an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek marble sculpture that was created during the Hellenistic art, Hellenistic period. Its exact dating is uncertain, but the modern consensus places it in the 2nd ...

as inspirations. He describes himself as "enthusiastic for historical elements" but adds that "if I feel like some historical accuracy is putting a speed bump in an otherwise smooth story, I'd like to think I'd favor the story over the accuracy". He has also stated that part of the inspiration for the series was to contrast with the humorless depiction of women in late '90s superhero comics.

Works

''Delilah Dirk'' is an action adventure comic set in the 19th century. The main character is a trained sword fighter who fights pirates while travelling the world on her flying boat.

''Delilah Dirk and the Treasure of Constantinople''

The first publication of a Delilah Dirk adventure was a 28-page comic made in 2007. It would later become chapter 1 of ''Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant''.

''Delilah Dirk and the Aqueduct''

The next publication of a Delilah Dirk adventure was in ''

'' Volume 5. Flight was an anthology series, and volume 5 was published in 2008. The pages and plot from this short story would later become chapter 3 of the longer work ''Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant''.

''Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant''

The first book of the series is set in Turkey in 1807. Dirk escapes a Turkish prison while befriending a mild-mannered

Janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

officer named Selim who becomes her sidekick. Dirk then plots to steal treasure from the pirate Zakul.

''Delilah Dirk and the Seeds of Good Fortune''

This shorter story, written between ''The Turkish Lieutenant'' and ''The King's Shilling'', is 36 pages and is in black and white rather than color like the full graphic novels. Dirk needs to obtain a signature from a corrupt chieftain of a small Greek town, but her plan unravels due to the greedy manipulations of a local merchant.

''Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling''

The second graphic novel was released in 2016. In it, Dirk and Selim are accused of espionage against the British crown, and must clear their names. This book was originally tentatively titled ''Delilah Dirk and the Blades of England''.

''Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules''

The third graphic novel was released in 2018. It is set in central Asia and relates to the location of the legendary third pillar of Hercules.

Publication history

''Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant'' was first published online, starting on May 28, 2011. By December 2011 it was in its fourth chapter and it was fully published online by February 2012. Tony Cliff stated that had always intended ''The Turkish Lieutenant'' to become a printed graphic novel, and he serialized the book online to gauge public interest. Delilah Dirk first appeared in print in French, published by Éditions Akileos in 2011. An English print book, which added around a dozen pages to the web version and edited some of its text, was published by

First Second Books First Second Books is an American publisher of graphic novels. An imprint (trade name), imprint of Roaring Brook Press, part of Holtzbrinck, Holtzbrinck Publishers, First Second publishes fiction, biographies, personal memoirs, history, visual e ...

in 2013. First Second Books has published the subsequent books as well. The second book in the series, ''Delilah Dirk and the King's Shilling'', was partially published online before the release of the book. The first 90 of the 160 pages were published online serially and for free before the book's release. ''Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules'' similarly had about 100 pages released online prior to the print publication of the entire story.

Reception

''The Turkish Lieutenant'' received many positive reviews. Reviewers for Comic Alliance wrote that "''Delilah Dirk'' reminds me of the best aspects of classic Disney movies, but skews towards a much more mature audience without being "adult" in a way that could turn off some readers" and "sassy lady protagonists are my jam so it's unsurprising that I really enjoy ''Delilah Dirk''. Tony Cliff is an excellent storyteller who keeps the action constantly moving. But most importantly for a book about a sassy lady, he pulls off excellent body language and facial expressions". Reviewing ''the Turkish Lieutenant'', a CBR.com reviewer called it "a charming story, saying that "Cliff really makes the friendship between Dirk and Selim feel real... These are two fascinating characters who have good chemistry with each other, and the fact that Cliff's writing is so often funny as well as insightful makes this an even more delightful read". It also received positive comments from

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, and

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. ''Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant'' was a New York Times bestseller in 2013. It was named both A ''Publishers Weekly'' Best Children's Book of 2013 and Best Teen Book of 2013 by ''Kirkus Reviews.'' It was also nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

for Best Digital Comic in 2012 and also received Shuster and Harvey nominations. ''Delilah Dirk: Practical Defence Against Piracy'' was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Webcomic in 2023.

Adaptations

In 2016, Walt Disney Pictures announced a live-action adaptation of ''Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant''.

Roy Lee Roy Lee (born March 23, 1969) is an American film and television producer. His production company, Vertigo Entertainment, has a first-look deal with Lionsgate. Early life Lee was born in 1969 at Wyckoff Heights Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, ...

was named as one of the producers. As of late 2019 there was no further information on the status of the project.

External links

Official website

References

{{reflist 2007 comics debuts 2011 webcomic debuts Canadian webcomics Canadian graphic novels Adventure webcomics Adventure graphic novels Comics about women First Second Books books Historical fiction graphic novels Historical webcomics