Delilah Dirk

Writer and illustrator Tony Cliff is a Canadian cartoonist and animator also known for his contributions to the Flight anthology series.[3] He started working on Delilah Dirk as a 30-page comic inspired by the Napoleonic Wars, Indiana Jones, and James Bond. 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.[4]

Cliff has also cited Horatio Hornblower and the Sharpe series, as well as the histories of the Elgin Marbles and the Venus de Milo 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".[4] 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.[5]

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.[1]

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant was first published online, starting on May 28, 2011.[12][13][14] By December 2011 it was in its fourth chapter[15] and it was fully published online by February 2012.[16] 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.[4] Delilah Dirk first appeared in print in French, published by Éditions Akileos in 2011.[17] An English print book, which added around a dozen pages to the web version and edited some of its text,[4] was published by First Second Books in 2013.[2] First Second Books has published the subsequent books as well.[1]

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.[9] Delilah Dirk and the Pillars of Hercules similarly had about 100 pages released online prior to the print publication of the entire story.[18]

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"[15] 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".[19] 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".[7] It also received positive comments from Boing Boing, io9, and Wired.[10]

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.[1] It was also nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic in 2012[20][3]and also received Shuster and Harvey nominations.[21][5] Delilah Dirk: Practical Defence Against Piracy was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Webcomic in 2023.[22]

In 2016, Walt Disney Pictures announced a live-action adaptation of Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant.[1][23] Roy Lee was named as one of the producers. As of late 2019 there was no further information on the status of the project.

• Official website