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To celebrate First Second Books and the rise of graphic novels, we thought it would be fun to have graphic novelist veteran, Leland Myrick, who has been with First Second from the beginning, and Andy Hirsch, a 2016 debut graphic novelist, interview each other.

Gadzooks! Did you know Tony Cliff has completed his first graphic novel—Delilah Dirk: The Turkish Lieutenant (all 160 pages of which are viewable online FOR FREE!)—and has now embarked on a second volume? You do now!

A brand-new Delilah Dirk adventure, blossoming this Spring! Delilah seeks to extract a signature from a tyrannical property owner while coping with an obnoxious merchant and a handful of Turkey’s sourest apples. Delilah Dirk and the Seeds of Good Fortune (working title) will be 36 pages of self-published high-quality black & white adventure (plus full-colour covers).

The second book will debut at TCAF, as well as VanCAF, and San Diego Comic-Con this year. 

(via Delilah Dirk and the Seeds of Good Fortune)

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant is a beautiful and ambitious graphic novel by illustrator Tony Cliff. And you can start reading the first 50 pages right now, free.

The project is absolutely stunning. It instantly brought to mind my old Tintin books (and a touch of Miyazaki in that flying sailboat!), with the promise of grand adventure you feel the moment the story begins. The rich colours and awesome layouts just add to the whole experience. The story: 

In 19th-century Turkey, an officer in the Janissary army must struggle to repay a brash adventuress for saving his life, even though she was the one who endangered it in the first place. The webcomic unfolds with four or six new pages each Saturday. The number of pages varies each week in service to the story, usually determined by which page would make a more cruel, heart-wrenching cliffhanger.