Delia

by Hans Rickheit, Krissy Dorn

A sci-fi adventure romp that brims with dark humor, danger, and ominous allegorical undertones. When Delia receives mysterious radio signals from beyond the planet, her curiosity is sparked. The plucky young scientist teams up with the esteemed Professor Tak and his bohemian son Theodore to convince the skeptical citizenry that this is not all just some elaborate hoax. The implications of her discovery may shatter her world. Set in an atmospheric ’50s-era city in a parallel universe populated by anthropomorphic squirrels, Delia is a sprightly comics collaboration between cartoonist Hans Rickheit ( The Squirrel Machine , Cochlea & Eustachia ) and his wife, Krissy Dorn. This sci-fi adventure romp brims with dark humor, danger, and ominous allegorical undertones. Black and white illustrations throughout

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2022

About the author

Hans Rickheit has been an artist and cartoonist for over 25 years with a devoted following of readers and fans. His comics and drawings have entertained and educated people worldwide, having been featured in publications such as THE STRANGER, KRAMER'S ERGOT, PROPER GANDER, PAPER RODEO, LEGAL ACTION COMICS, BLURRED VISIONS, HOAX and TYPHON. In addition, his work can be found in other media, from posters and TV shows to movies and art galleries.
Currently living in Hawley, Massachusetts, he is the man responsible for CHROME FETUS COMICS and the Xeric-Award Winning Graphic Novel, CHLOE (200?), with the latter being serialized online as you read this. Recent published works include THE SQUIRREL MACHINE (2009), and the newly released FOLLY (2012), both from Fantagraphics Books. Original, ongoing serialized projects include the comics ECTOPIARY--a six hundred page graphic novel in the making--and COCHLEA & EUSTACHIA, a story that Hans promises will be "completely unencumbered by tempo, character development, plot, or logic."

Reviews

[Bill Hsu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I consider The Squirrel Machine to be a masterpiece of the form. Delia is filled with Rickheit's beautiful and obsessively detailed art and texturing, but in the service of a YA adventure story with kaiju.

[Drew Canole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surprised I missed this when it came out. I'm a fan of Hans Rickheit, and certainly won't pass on 200+ pages of his artwork!

The story is pretty intriguing at first with a scientist building a machine getting her instructions from messages from space, but it doesn't really pay off - except for some really fantastic illustrations of a kaiju squirrel machine .

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hans Rickheit has, it seems, always been into squirrels. His The Squirrel Machine is a terrific, edgy surrealist story, as are Cochlea & Eustachia, strange, meticulously drawn fantasies with an anti-tech/industrial edge.

Enter fan-girl (ok, woman) Krissy Dorn, who is also into squirrels, who contacts Rickheit, and--fast-forward--they meld their squirrelly passions in marriage and arr. Dorn, who does the inking, is listed as co-author. The story involves anthropomorphic squirrels, you'll be relieved to hear, and the obsessive drawing of metal monsters and machines we know from Rickheit, but alas, the surrealism is largely gone, replaced by a sci-fi story with much edge, with a girl squirrel mc, and what seems to be directed to a lighter, YA audience.

i wasn't as into it as other Rickheit stories, but for most readers, this will be more accessible. I don't always like accessible. Not in Rickheit, at least. But come for the art, stay for the art!

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

The cartooning is really sharp and on point. I was genuinely surprised by how gorgeous certain pages were, and the whole comic read like a breeze. The plot is a bit out there and at times a little silly, but the artwork more than makes up for any shortcomings. The black & white artwork depicting an anthropomorphic squirrel civilization really works well, and when things get weird in the second half of the book the artwork is absolutely phenomenal. Worth checking out for the art; your mileage may vary on how much you get out of the story.

[Victor · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is amazing, and after a painfully slow start, the story gets interesting. The ending is a bit pat, but it leaves it open for a sequel, perhaps one based even more on the graphic novel's repeated catch phrase "freedom isn't given, it's taken." A slightly stronger editorial hand would have heped this, as making the first 50 pages into a five page sequence probably would have helped the book a lot, and I docked it a full star solely for that.

[Squirrel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars mostly because of all the neglected world building that could have been done imagining how different a society made from the descendents of squirrels would be. I was also not expecting the direction this was going in at all.

[Petr Nakasharal Fabián · Rating 2 out of 5]

Začalo to slušně. Art i scénář. Jako první mě ale začalo srát panelování a velice rychle se přidalo vyprávění a všechno šlo do kopru. Ke konci už jsem fakt trpěl a kdybych se nesnažil bejt objektivní, tak je to hvězda jen jedna.

[Wei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the story, very creative and well illustrated! Hopefully there will be a 2nd book based on the open ended-ness of the ending...