Derelict (webcomic)
Derelict is a science fiction webcomic set in a post-flood world, written and drawn by Ben Fleuter (also the author of Galactic Maximum). 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.
Starts here.
Tropes used in Derelict (webcomic) include:
- Anachronic Order
- All There in the Manual: Ben has revealed in other projects, and on the Nothing Personal forums, much more information than the comic itself has.
- After the End
- Author Appeal: Ben is rather fascinated by the subject, to say the least.
- Chiaroscuro
- Deliberately Monochrome
- Depleted Phlebotinum Shells: Dang uses UV crossbow bolts and a few grenades with glowing fragments against Miasmic enemies.
- Disaster Scavengers
- Frickin' Laser Beams
- Houseboat Hero
- Hostile Weather
- Important Haircut: Ben uses the length of Dang's hair to help indicate time passing between events; the growth is just as important as the cutting.
- Intrigued by Humanity: The White Leviathan, calling itself simply "This One". A young species became really interesting for It to watch but a few millennia ago, and oops, almost gone. Isn't this frustrating?
- Kraken and Leviathan: There are giant sea serpents some Miasmics use as mounts. Also, an ancient tentacled entity who considers humanity curious.
- Les Yay: Dang has a naked pin-up poster on her wall.
- Malevolent Masked Men: The humanoid Miasmic races.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Possibly. A common Miasmic tribe, if they catch humans, may expose them to fog or perhaps eat. Some are raiders at war with human groups. Beautiful Flower was not nearly as nasty; she regretted stealing Dang's boat and later uttered a prayer when it appeared she killed Dang. Arbutus allows the Miasmics, but the high-ups make it clear it's a human city first. Then there was a mixed faction on Goya, apparently with both species working together for lost knowledge and presumably life closer to pre-fog standards, at least for their own. But then, Beautiful Flower didn't speak human tongue well, thus most likely was a feral struggling for something more.
- Odd-Shaped Panel
- Ominous Fog: 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.
- Now officially confirmed as a Fog of Doom; complete with brutal Mind Rape, implications of Genius Loci, and complementary free ballet lessons.
- Painting the Fourth Wall
- Rule of Perception
- Rule of Three: Big time.
- Scavenger World
- Silence Is Golden: More often than not, the comic will go for whole pages with no spoken words or sounds. It's very effective at conveying a sense of isolation.
- Shout-Out: Dang comes across a crashed passenger jet which is sporting an Oceanic Airlines logo.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet
- Surrogate Soliloquy
- Wall of Blather