Delve into shadows with graphic debut.

A FEMALE detective will risk life and limb as she searches across the city for a man missing in deeply suspicious circumstances.

This is the plot for the debut graphic novel, titled Shadowraith, from University of Lincoln graduate Nicholas Dishington.

Mr Dishington, 23, of Lincoln, began work on the graphic novel in his third year of university when studying contemporary lens media.

It has now been picked up by publishers and will go on sale on January 31.

Priced £3.10, the graphic novel is made up of 36 pages of black and white photographs, shot in a film noir style.

Shadowraith uses photographs instead of conventional illustrations, combined with a film noir style.

Nicholas said: “It started as a university project in my third year and went from there.

“Most of the shots were done in central Lincoln and a lot of them were done around the Brayford area, although the story is supposed to be set in London.

“My main inspiration came from Sin City and films such as Iron Man and Spiderman.

“Film is bridging the gap with comics and I wanted to bridge the gap the other way and make comics more realistic by using photographs.”

The lead character in Shadowraith is played by local model Alivya V Free, with other characters being played by friends of Mr Dishington.

The graphic novel will be published by The House Of Murky Depths. It will be available online on sites such as Amazon and will also be stocked by comic shop Comic Worlds in Lincoln’s West Parade.

Mark Brunton, who has owned Comic Worlds for 17 years, says Shadowraith has the potential to be a big success in the comic book industry.

He said: “Shadowraith is quite unique and looks very impressive.

“It’s not just someone who’s gone out and taken some photographs. You have to look twice to realise it’s not actually artwork.

“There’s not a lot of photographic comics on the market at the moment, so it has the potential to do quite well on a national level, if it gets across the shops and conventions.”

For more information on Shadowraith, visit www.shadowraith.co.uk