Lenore: Ghost Story #1 Review
Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer: Roman Dirge
Cover Artists: Roman Dirge & Kit Wallis
Editor: David Leach
Designer: Matt Bookman
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: May 13, 2026
Lenore lives with her friends Pooty and Ragamuffin in a
house outside Nevermore. She enjoys exploring the woods surrounding her home.
The little undead girl plays games with her friends, watches movies, and reads
classic tales. Despite her penchant for violence, Lenore often shies away from
killing cute and cuddly creatures.
After surviving their encounter with the Beebee Yaga and her
grandson, Lenore, Pooty, and Ragamuffin return to the woods. How will they wile
away the evening? And which will be a bigger target for roasting: the
marshmallows they brought, or each other’s stories? Let’s leap into Lenore:
Ghost Story #1 and see!
Story
After the homicidal Pickle Hat trapped Lenore, Ragamuffin,
and Pooty inside their house, they grew hungry. So when two Time Goat agents
arrived to rescue them, Lenore killed and cooked them. But eating the meat of
seasoned time travelers dispersed the friends across the time stream. And when
they united in ancient Egypt, Time Goats sent all their agents to the distant
past to kill Lenore, Ragamuffin, and Pooty.
As darkness falls, and they roast their marshmallows,
Ragamuffin asks for a ghost story in Lenore: Ghost Story #1. The undead girl
still has goats on the brain. It takes Ragamuffin a while to explain he wants a
ghost story, not a goat story. Lenore grows angry when her story fails to
command her friends' attention. So, when Ragamuffin begins his tale, Lenore's
not inclined to listen.
Although Muffin Monster has rejoined their circle of
friends, Lenore allows few people into her inner circle. As Lenore and
Ragamuffin compete for Best Storytelling honors, more visitors from previous
adventures arrive in Roman Dirge’s story. They serve as reminders that Lenore
may regard the people who help her, bring her joy, and offer her affection as
irritants or threats to her way of life. And like Flashback Squirrel, Lenore
knows how to protect herself from those she cannot abide.
Art
After catching Flashback Squirrel at an awkward moment, a
yellow pinprick amid the silhouettes of evergreens welcomes readers to the
Hundred Story Woods. The friends sit on logs by the fire, while the new
addition to Lenore's family sits in a pet carrier. Lenore smiles as she
delivers a killer conclusion to her story. But when Muffin Monster and Pooty
regard her with bemusement, she grows increasingly incensed. Eventually, she
leaps off the log, lands before Ragamuffin, and shakes the stuffed doll in Lenore:
Ghost Story #1.
As Roman Dirge adorns his art with vibrant color, green
dominates the friends' evening by the fire. While Ragamuffin is Black and
White, gray accompanies decay and death in his biographical story. A yellow
visitor links with the campfire and reminds readers of how Lenore treated the
person the last time they met. Pink links the Muffin Monster with his
life-changing present, while red drenches Ragamuffin’s story and evokes the
room where the friends conceived their post-apocalyptic adventure.
Large uppercase black letters fill white dialogue balloons.
Like the dark panel borders, the balloon and box shapes suggest hand lettering.
Ragamuffin's narration fills beige balloons. Words written on a person’s
forehead suggest their thoughts, while a white word that hovers before Lenore
doesn’t deliver the intended effect. But white sound effects accompany the
action as storytelling grows increasingly fraught in Lenore: Ghost Story #1.
Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
While three is company, four doesn’t necessarily make a
crowd. Still, the Muffin Monster’s return prompts the friends to pair off.
Ragamuffin helped the undead girl amid her helplessness, and Muffin Monster
delivered a cure for the zoomies. So, Pooty stays close to Lenore while
Ragamuffin draws strength from Muffin Monster’s support. Yet Ragamuffin has
something he wants to get off his chest, and the vampire trapped in a stuffed
doll is determined to tell it in Lenore: Ghost Story #1.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside see my preview of Lenore: Ghost Story #1.
For what happened last time, see my review of Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1.