Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer: Roman Dirge
Cover Artists: Roman Dirge & Kit Wallis
Publisher: Titan Comics
Price: $4.99
Release Date: March 18, 2026
Lenore has rebuffed the persistent Mr Gosh. She has survived the Pickle Hat's siege of her home in Nevermore. With her friends and a moon god, Lenore triumphed over the vengeful Time Goats. The girl who has defied death has even faced down Cthulhu. And to paraphrase JRR Tolkien, when it comes to bees, she's been there and back again. What lies in store next for Lenore and her friends? Let’s leap into Lenore: Blood & Money #1 and see!
Story
After Lenore died and revived at the mortuary, her family abandoned her. Yet, of all her family, her mother is the relative she misses most. Watching a movie with her friends reminds Lenore of how things used to be. But that doesn’t mean she enjoyed watching the movie. The filmmaker’s re-imagining of the stories she treasures makes Lenore angry. But when Pooty points out that reshaping classic tales into new forms often ignites interest among moviegoers, inspiration strikes.
In Lenore: Blood & Money #1, the little dead girl decides to make her own cinematic mash-up. After watching “Huny & Blud: Winnie The Pooh,” Lenore combines A A Milne’s classic characters with Mad Max and Jurassic Park. Unfortunately, when casting a film, not everyone gets the role they desire. And as on any film production, the director always encounters a few surprises.
Roman Dirge’s story reminds us of the power of the imagination. Lenore’s tale offers an exciting look at life following an apocalyptic event. Along the way, Lenore encounters an old friend. Yet while making her film, she reveals the wounds that have never healed. Pooty may be a demon. Ragamuffin may be the spirit of a vampire inhabiting a stuffed doll. Still, neither of them force Lenore to face something before she is ready to. Instead, Pooty and Ragamuffin dance around the truth, allowing Lenore to maintain the fiction that makes her continued existence bearable in Lenore: Blood & Money #1.
Art
As Lenore, Pooty, and Ragamuffin sit on a three-person settee that evokes cinema seats, Lenore simmers with her arms crossing her chest. When the credits finish, she gestures while venting her anger. Pooty’s face may be forever frozen into a frown. But as her outburst frightens Ragamuffin, a stuffed head gazes down at them from the wall, evoking a recent adventure.
Lenore, Pooty and Ragamuffin race across the desert in a plastic car in Lenore: Blood & Money #1. Adorned with skulls, a smiley face, the car with a smiley face on the front outpaces a group of weapon-toting bikers. Amid the fast-paced action, Roman Dirge lavishes a loaded palette on the sky. Like paints poured into a water tank, pink, orange, and yellow battle the vibrant blue sky gazing down on this shattered land.
Roman writes large uppercase black letters into white dialogue balloons and colored paper scraps. Like the dark panel borders, the balloon and box shapes suggest hand lettering. Sound effects enhance the big screen action while reminding readers that, having returned from the afterlife, Lenore doesn’t understand why people make a big deal about injuries and death. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.
Final Thoughts
We may never tire of our favorite stories. Still, new stories often excite us in ways we could never imagine. Lenore: Blood & Money #1 reminds us that utilizing familiar characters and situations can help aspiring creators begin their careers as storytellers.
Rating 9.8/10
To look inside, see my preview of Lenore: Blood & Money #1.
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