Line #22 Webcomic/Derelict


1	''[[http://derelictcomic.com/ Derelict]]'' is a science fiction webcomic set in a post-flood world, written and drawn by Creator/BenFleuter. It's about Dang Thu Mai, a lone scavenger living on a boat and coping with her surroundings. Complicating matters is an otherworldly fog which shrouds the world, and hides the so-called "Miasmic Races", monstrous yet intelligent beings, most of whom possess nothing but ill will for humanity. Eventually Dang's travels bring her into contact with other characters, some of whom become the focus of the strip.
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3	The strip went on hiatus in 2016, and finally in 2021 Fleuter posted [[https://derelictcomic.tumblr.com/post/644381560811012097/ending-derelict an announcement]] that he had given up on continuing it.
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5	Starts [[http://derelictcomic.com/?strip_id=0 here]].
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7	----
8	!!Tropes included
9	* AnachronicOrder: The segment with Dang on board the [[spoiler:Miasmic-occupied oil-drilling complex]] requires several re-reads in order to get the order of events right.
10	* AllThereInTheManual: [[WordOfGod Ben]] has revealed in other projects, and on the Nothing Personal forums, much more information than the comic itself has.
11	* AfterTheEnd: Though we still don't know exactly what the end was, yet.
12	** AuthorAppeal: Ben is rather fascinated by the subject, to say the least.
13	* TheArk: Mention is made of massive floating structures called 'Ark Cities' where many humans now live. [[spoiler: Dang eventually ends up living on one.]]
14	* ArtisticLicenseShips: The strip is full of slack shipkeeping practices (mostly unsecured cargo) would get you killed in short order on any real ocean. Probably due to ConservationOfDetail.
15	* {{Chiaroscuro}}: As Dang chases down the stolen Pen at night
16	* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: Dang uses UV crossbow bolts against Miasmic enemies.
17	* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: "This One": the size of a jumbo jet, has a mouth full of wriggling tentacles, ghostly white, and able to force its way into your mind to convey thoughts and images; is polite, helpful, and generally wants the best in life for others.
18	* DisasterScavengers: Dang is one, and there are certainly others. It's now been shown that in some places, society continues to function, with [[spoiler: both humans and miasmics present.]]
19	* {{Flashback}}: The sequence on the oil rig is half Dang trying to find oil for the ''Penumbra'', half flashback to an earlier time when Dang had a lot more fight in her and was [[spoiler:exposed to the Miasma]].
20	* HalfHumanHybrid[=/=]TheVirus: The strip has now shown what appears to be a half-human/half-miasmic hybrid; Dang shows troubling signs of potential hybridization (more green highlights in her hair) after each miasma exposure.
21	* HouseboatHero: Although Dang does sometimes sleep on land when scavenging, it is abundantly clear that the ''Penumbra'' is her home. [[spoiler: Until it gets destroyed.]]
22	* HostileWeather: The Miasma. Eldritch, toxic, tentaculate (with artistic suckers), MindRape-y, and possibly intelligent. Established as nothing but bad news if you're human and have lost your mask.
23	* ImportantHaircut: Ben uses the length of Dang's hair to help indicate time passing between events; the growth is just as important as the cutting.
24	* LockingMacGyverInTheStoreCupboard: Dang gets locked in a room which contains welding and/or diving tanks.
25	* MalevolentMaskedMen: The humanoid Miasmic races. The masks and voluminous cloaks protect them from the sun, seeing as they're burned by ultraviolet light. [[spoiler: In more stable and civilized places, they tone back this look.]]
26	* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Possibly. At the least, Beautiful Flower was not nearly as nasty as the other miasmic beings; she regretted stealing Dang's boat and later uttered a prayer when it appeared she killed Dang.
27	** Later strips show Humans and Miasmics mixing, albeit warily, especially [[spoiler: in the Ark city.]]
28	* OceanicAirlines: Dang comes across a crashed passenger jet which is sporting an Oceanic Airlines logo
29	* OddShapedPanel as wide as the strip, and wavey, to indicate that she [[http://derelictcomic.com/?strip_id=44 slept a long time.]]
30	* OminousFog: Which is apparently not normal fog, as it may be poisonous and hides inhuman beings who are intelligent, but not, apparently, inclined to play nicely with humanity. It's also drawn in a way that resembles [[EldritchAbomination tentacles]].
31	** Now officially confirmed as a FogOfDoom; complete with brutal MindRape, implications of GeniusLoci, and [[RuleOfThree complementary]] [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking free ballet lessons]].
32	* RuleOfPerception - the "UV weapons" glow a convenient neon blue
33	* RuleOfThree: Dang ponders them, related to survival: three minutes without air, three days without water, three months without food.[[http://derelictcomic.com/?strip_id=12 Then she wonders if she got it right.]] (Not exactly: three weeks without food is the rule.)
34	* ScavengerWorld: At least for those who live on their own. There are certainly plenty of abandoned spots ''to'' scavenge, though. [[spoiler: It does turn out that in some places society has managed to resume with both humans and miasmics present.]]
35	* SilenceIsGolden: More often than not, the comic will go for whole pages with no spoken words or [[WrittenSoundEffect sounds]]. It's very effective at conveying a sense of isolation.
36	* ShoutOut: As noted above, Dang comes across a crashed passenger jet which is sporting an [[Series/{{Lost}} Oceanic Airlines]] logo.
37	** The [[NightmareFuel shapeshifting creature]] Dang fights on the freighter Goya is an obvious reference to ''[[Film/TheThing1982 The Thing]]''.
38	** The [[DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu unstintingly polite and friendly]] EldritchAbomination Dang is rescued and resupplied by after her encounter with the ''Goya'' repeatedly refers to itself as "[[Franchise/MassEffect This One]]."
39	* SkeletonsInTheCoatCloset: The Miasmic Races often wear skulls of various species as helmets when they run the risk of being exposed to the light.
40	* SurrogateSoliloquy: Dang laments the supply situation [[http://derelictcomic.com/?strip_id=32 to Pen.]]
41	* TakenForGranite: A risk the Miasmic Races run if they are exposed to ultraviolet light.
42	* TimeSkip: We go from [[spoiler:a wounded Dang sitting on a tiny island, with the Penumbra destroyed and a naval battle raging around her]] to [[spoiler: her working as a shuttle-train operator on an ark city.]]
43	* WeakenedByTheLight: The Miasmic Races cannot stand ultraviolet light (it turns them to stone), so they go cloaked and helmeted (well, [[SkeletonsInTheCoatCLoset skulled]], usually) during the daytime. Humanity has apparently somehow developed UV weapons to use against them.
44	* WhamEpisode: [[spoiler: The destruction of the Penumbra.]]

Context Webcomic / Derelict