Lenore: Cooties HC Review

 

Lenore: Cooties HC Review

Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer:

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $17.99 US/£12.99 UK/$22.00 CAN

 

Included In:

Boxed Set: 336 pages, FC, $59.99

ISBN: 9781787748507

Release Date: November 11, 2025

 

Lenore was a little girl who died but mysteriously awakened on the embalming table. Her parents neither understood this miracle nor how it changed her personality. So, Lenore lives alone in the family home until she mends a doll and awakens the spirit trapped within. Like Lenore, Ragamuffin once had a life. But the vampire lacks fangs, cannot drink blood, and is a cuddly keepsake stuffed with cotton.

 

Lenore and Ragamuffin had many adventures. The stuffed doll cared for her, even if she didn’t always treat it nicely. But then Lenore got a second chance at death. How will Ragamuffin and her friends cope in her absence? And will they travel to the afterlife to rejoin her? Let’s leap into Lenore: Cooties HC and see!

 

Story

Everyone assesses their relationships differently. Even though Lenore disliked Mr. Gosh, he remained devoted to her. He marks the second anniversary of her passing with a visit to her grave. But while her unrequited lover prefers to sit around and discuss his feelings, Ragamuffin exhumes Lenore’s grave and revives her. She’s happy to be unalive again. Still, Lenore dislikes it when Ragamuffin disrespects the worm slowly eating her brain.

 

In Lenore: Cooties HC, the Dark Overlord of Heck hates souls escaping his domain. So, he commissions the bounty hunter Pooty to retrieve Lenore. But when Pooty reaches the surface and finds Lenore, he finds her better company than the Dark Overlord and his fellow demons. So Pooty decides to stick around and play Parcheesi.

 

Roman Dirge packed the early issues collected in Lenore: Noogies HC with one and two-page stories. Then, he gradually increased the length of the later stories collected in Lenore: Wedgies HC. Each of the four issues collected in this third volume features one long story and a couple of shorter tales. These stories speak to each other as they build the relationships between Lenore, Ragamuffin, and Pooty.

 

While establishing Lenore, Ragamuffin, and Pooty as a trio to rival Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, and Dr. McCoy, Roman's stories portray Lenore as a girl caught between two worlds. As Ragamuffin and Pooty recognize that Lenore has made their lives better, other friends also value her presence in their lives. And the Dark Overlord tries to drag her back to Heck, Lenore's friends risk their lives to protect the walking dead girl in Lenore: Cooties HC.  

 

 

 

 

Art

When Ragamuffin digs her up, Lenore's dazzled eyes and smile disturb him. Then the little blond girl with skull barrettes and a black dress removes her death mask. Ragamuffin shares Lenore’s black and white coloring and big eyes. But Pooty proves that opposites attract, as the demon has cutouts in his bucket head where eyes and his mouth should be. While Taxidermy makes a return, readers also meet Lenore’s long-lost sister. The spitting image of Lenore, Ouchi Boo Boo wears a nurse's uniform and wields hypodermic needles like a ninja.

 

Roman Dirge provides some touchstones for his franchise that will echo through later stories. Familiar elements, such as the mice in "A Nice, Cozy, Lazy Summer" and "Hickory Dickory Dock," recall Lenore's earlier adventures. The coloring in these collected issues is less vibrant than in Lenore: The Time War HC, evoking restrained coloring on toned paper. Yet the girl’s Addams Family-style house and the Well of Souls return in Lenore: Curse of the Beebee Yaga #1.

 

Roman Dirge places black letters in dialogue balloons and narrative boxes or writes them into panel backgrounds. Dialogue and exposition come in a variety of styles and occasionally overtake panels. Sound effects enhance Lenore’s search for interest and fun, while demonstrating her impatience with people who irritate her. 

 

Extras 

An essay detailing Lenore’s journey appears halfway through Lenore: Cooties HC. Beautifully colored portraits of Roman's ever-enlarging cast bolster this volume, while a Dope Ass Tattoo Flash page appears in each issue. A guest artist gallery also lets other creators share their love of Lenore. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a physical copy for review.

 

 

 

 

Final Thoughts

Amid the stories collected in Lenore: Cooties HC, the continuing "Things Involving Me" detail Roman Dirge's wilder adventures and provide glimpses of his upbringing. After Neil Gaiman explains why he likes Lenore and writes horror in his introduction, these insights into Roman Dirge's childhood suggest why he continues to craft these darkly comedic tales in Lenore: Cooties HC.

 

Rating 9.4/10

 

 

To look inside see my preview of Lenore: Slipcase Set.