Showing posts with label Roman Dirge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roman Dirge. Show all posts

Friday, September 4, 2026

Lenore: Hodge Podge Announcement

 


After Lenore died, she awakened on the embalming table. When her family rejected her, Lenore found new friends. She revived Ragamuffin, a vampire imprisoned in a doll. Lenore also befriended Pooty, a demon warrior. She lives in her family home in the town of Nevermore and doesn’t understand why people make a big deal about death. 

After her adventures through time and space, what will Lenore do next? And what dangers will she discover closer to home in this series of inter-related one-shots?

Here's all the info from Titan Comics: 


Lenore: Hodge Podge

Author/Artist: Roman Dirge

Publisher: Titan Comics 

SC, 112 pages, FC, $24.99

ISBN: 9781806182176

On sale September 8, 2026

 

Lenore’s back with the usual gang for misfits for four fantastically foolish, farcical felinologistic-themed fairy tales guaranteed to fracture your funny bone and leave you gasping for breath, weak with mirth.

 

The collection contains four individual stories, including:

 

CURSE OF THE BEEBEEYAGA 

One day Lenore and Ragamuffin find their chum Pooty at the bottom of a well. Turns out he’s been thrown down there by a real dick of a bumblebee. Things take a turn when the bee’s Gram Gram, the legendary BEEBEEYAGA, turns up, and then all hell breaks loose!

 

BLOOD AND MONEY

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, Winnie the Pooh (played by Lenore), ROOgamuffin, and Pootlet defend their 100 Acre Wood Dino-park fortress from exploding cars and an army of gasoline-guzzling road-warriors, just the way A.A. Milne intended.

 

MUFFIN ELSE MATTERS

Ragamuffin is forced to seek help from the Spam Witch when Lenore goes all funny like and starts acting like a cat. Turns out her cat battery is flat, and it needs recharging. Get ready for mayhem.

 

GHOST STORY

Lenore and crew decide to spend the night camping in the woods and sharing ghost stories under a star-encrusted night sky. Then the bickering starts, the accusations, and the insinuations.

 

Pre-order it now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Forbidden Planet for the UK and Europe.  

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For more, see:

 


 

Lenore: Curse of the Beebeeyaga #1 Review

 


 

Lenore: Blood and Money #1 Review  

 

 


 

Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1 Review 

 

 


 

Lenore: Ghost Story #1 Review 

 

Thursday, May 14, 2026

Lenore: Ghost Story #1 Review

 


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. 


Friday, May 8, 2026

Lenore Ghost Story #1 Preview

 

COVER A: ROMAN DIRGE


Lenore has discovered that Bees are not always kind. She's survived a harrowing chase through a post-apocalyptic desert. The undead girl may even be able to look forward to a future with a cat by her side. Along the way, her friends have stood by her, and more friends from her past have returned to aid her. What will life bring Lenore's way next? And have Lenore's feelings for the undead boy who loves her changed?

Here's all the info from Titan Comics: 


LENORE GHOST STORY #1

Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer: Roman Dirge

Cover Artists: Roman Dirge & Kit Wallis 

Publisher: Titan Comics

Issue Length: 32 Pages

Price: $4.99

Release Date: May 13, 2026 

 

Nature. It’s itchy and there’s bugs in it.

Yet, this is where Lenore and crew decide to spend a little relaxation time camping, while each take turns telling their best ghost story under a star encrusted night sky.

Not surprisingly, things don’t go well as some painful memories are rehashed, and the Ghost of Mr. Gosh decides this is a perfect opportunity to make an unwanted appearance.

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 


 

Here are more cover options:

 

 

COVER B: KIT WALLIS

 


COVER C: KIT WALLIS FOIL VARIANT $14.99



Also available:




COVER D: ROMAN DIRGE VIRGIN VARIANT 

 

 

Pre-Order now from your local comic shop (or online at forbiddenplanet.com for UK & EU!)

 

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us. 

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1. 


Sunday, April 19, 2026

Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1 Review

 


Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1 Review

Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer: Roman Dirge

Cover Artists: Roman Dirge & Kit Wallis

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: April 15, 2026

 

Death couldn't stop Lenore's huge spirit from returning to the little girl. She lives in her family's house with her friends Pooty and Ragamuffin. Along with the demon from Heck and the vampire reincarnated as a doll, the former Egyptian Pharaoh Taxidermy occasionally visits the undead girl.

 

Recently, another friend has resurfaced. He was enhancing his culinary skills by training with the muffin chefs in Europe. But when he got Pooty's call, Muffin Monster dropped everything to return to Nevermore. How will Lenore's life change now that the Muffin Monster has returned? And what happens when Lenore goes into cat withdrawals? Let’s leap into Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1 and see!

 

Story

Lenore, Pooty, and Ragamuffin may have exceeded the average Human lifespan. Still, they're easily bored. So when their Xbox breaks, Pooty explores a new interest. But after enjoying the high life as a celebrated gladiator in ancient Rome, Pooty raids the Funsies budget whenever he sees something he wants. While Ragamuffin takes him to task for his selfishness, Pooty’s weakness pales in significance when Lenore gets the zoomies.

 

Ragamuffin may be a vampire trapped in a stuffed toy. Still, he cares for Lenore and puts up with Pooty’s antics. He often plays the sidekick in Lenore’s adventures. Both Pooty and Lenore may look the other way when Ragamuffin suffers misfortune. But in Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1, Ragamuffin drives the story. He knows Lenore’s history better than Pooty and how to act when Lenore starts meowing, scratching, licking, and coughing up furballs. Pooty thinks the solution to Lenore’s dilemma is easy. But as they struggle to help their friend recover, the demon realizes how much he and Lenore need Ragamuffin to keep them grounded.

 

As a child, Lenore loved her family. But so long after they abandoned her, all she knows about them is the absence in her life that they should be filling. Roman Dirge’s story delves into Lenore’s past and explains the reason behind one of her struggles. It may not explain every mystery in Lenore's past, or why her family rejected her when she returned to life. But as Ragamuffin's authority on the occult says, sometimes, the past should remain a mystery in Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1.

 

Art

Ragamuffin crosses his arms over his chest as he remonstrates with Pooty. The demon flings his arms in the air and points at his purchases. But mostly, he rests his hands on the purple marble-framed game table. When Pooty realizes how he has failed them, his head droops. The demon looks up when Lenore soars over the table. She crawls down the hall and leaps over furniture. Then she bounds onto a window seat. Frowning at the bird perched on a wooden railing outside, Lenore scratches at the window.

 

Roman Dirge applies a lavish palette of vibrant colors to Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1. A diagonal checkerboard of purple, lavender, and beige wallpaper rises above the wainscotting that tops the maroon and coral stripes. Purple dominates the elegant rooms of her family's mansion. Red, pink, and blue also glow in the light shining through the gold-framed windows and the yellow lamps. At night, the former vampire lies in his bedroom on a red bedspread. When he ventures into the house at night, a green cast fills the walls, furniture, and people illuminated by his flashlight. And a glimpse of a green, blue, and yellow realm evokes Lenore’s meeting with Cthulhu.

 

Large uppercase black letters fill white dialogue balloons and colored paper scraps. Like the dark panel borders, the balloon and box shapes suggest hand lettering. Ragamuffin speaks into yellow balloons while braving the darkness with the yellow beam of his flashlight. An occult authority’s off-panel dialogue fills green balloons. White sound effects fill the darkness and accompany broken white lines, revealing how Lenore's affliction drives her actions. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Confronted with Lenore's dilemma, Ragamuffin reveals an unexplored episode of Lenore's history and how one friend sought justice for the undead girl. As Pooty helps him seek a remedy to Lenore's affliction, another friend comes to their aid. Whether dead or alive, friends stick together, and love never dies in Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Lenore: Blood & Money #1. 

 

For how this series began, see my review of Lenore: Curse of the Beebee Yaga #1. 


Thursday, April 16, 2026

Lenore: Muffin Else Matters #1 Preview

 

COVER A: ROMAN DIRGE


Lenore may have died. But that couldn't prevent her huge spirit from returning the little girl to life. Lenore lives in her family's house with her friends Pooty and Ragamuffin. Along with the demon from Heck and the vampire reincarnated as a doll, the former Egyptian Pharoah Taxidermy occasionally pays her a visit. 

Recently, another friend has resurfaced. He was enhancing his culinary skills by training with the muffin chefs in Europe. But when he got Pooty's call, Muffin Monster dropped everything to return to Nevermore. How will Lenore's life change now that the Muffin Monster has returned? And what happens when Lenore goes into cat withdrawals?

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:

 

LENORE MUFFIN ELSE MATTERS #1

Format: Comic book

Writer / Artist: Roman Dirge

Publisher: Titan Comics

FC, 32pp, $4.99, On sale: April 15 2026

 

Behold a tale of Lenore and her kitties! When Lenore’s cat battery runs down due to a lack of feline friends, an ancient Witch takes us on an origin story of Lenore’s history of cats, which holds the key to unlocking the truth about Lenore’s mum. THIRD ISSUE IN A SERIES OF FOUR LENORE ONE SHOTS!

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 

 


 

 


 


 

 


 

 


Here's another cover option:

 

 

COVER B: KIT WALLIS

 

  

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For what happened last time, see my review of Lenore: Blood & Money #1. 

 

For how this series started, see my review of Lenore: Curse of the Beebee Yaga #1. 

 

 

For more info: 

https://titan-comics.com/c/2425-lenore-muffin-else-matters/

 

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Lenore: The Time War HC Review

 


Lenore: The Time War HC Review

Writer, Artist, Colorist & Letterer: Roman Dirge

Cover Artists: Roman Dirge & Kit Wallis

Editor: David Leach

Designer: Matt Bookman

Publisher: Titan Comics

Price: $24.99

Release Date: July 22, 2025

 

Lenore and her friends live in the town of Nevermore. Ragamuffin is a vampire trapped in a stuffed doll. Pooty is a bucket-headed demon with a pitchfork who decided he liked living with Lenore better than inhabiting his native realm. Yet strange things happen in Nevermore. When Lenore’s Pickle Hat becomes self-aware, it tries to kill the undead girl and her friends.

 

Like a medieval lord, knights, and villagers trapped in a castle, the situation grows steadily worse as the siege continues year after year. Weakened and irritable due to lack of food, can Lenore and her friends escape the psychotic Pickle Hat and get something to eat? And how might their actions affect Humanity? Let’s slip on our time rings, leap into Lenore: The Time War HC, and see!

 

Story

When events reach their lowest ebb, Time Goats teleport into Lenore’s home. They take her side and urge Pooty not to kill the Pickle Hat. Sadly, hunger overwhelms Lenore. Although they could rescue her, she kills the Time Goats and shares the roasted meat with her friends. Yet as they eat, the three friends teleport to distant locales in Lenore: The Time War HC. Pooty makes a new life in ancient Rome. Ragamuffin adapts to life in the Cretaceous Period. Lenore appears in space and joins a cosmic choir.

 

At first, the friends fare well apart from each other. Pooty may miss Lenore and Ragamuffin. Yet the demon enjoys wealth and acclaim as a gladiator. Ragamuffin finds a new family when he joins a band of Velociraptors. Still, the vampire-doll yearns for more. Ironically, Lenore finds fulfillment with her new friends. Like someone suddenly discovering the all-encompassing power of religion, Lenore never grows bored, hungry, or yearns to kill anyone as she sings with space aliens.

 

Lenore may have lived for a century. Still, she is a child. And after six years, the undead girl wonders why the choir sings. As curiosity often provokes change, Lenore goes on an adventure across space and time. But when Lenore and her friends reunite, the Time Goat society that monitors the stability of the time stream triangulates their position in Lenore: The Time War HC.

 

Art

Lenore’s mansion seems filled with the mysterious power that resurrected her. After vanishing from her stately home, Lenore hangs out with tooth-shaped aliens wearing robes. In Rome, Pooty uses his pitchfork to slay Human gladiators wearing golden helmets with red plumes. After each bout, women in robes and sashes crave his bucket-head body. Ragamuffin races with Velociraptors through grasslands to leap upon unsuspecting prey. Each evening, the stuffed doll scratches its back with a crab on a stick. Then, Ragamuffin sleeps in the skull of a Tyrannosaurus beneath a starry blue sky.

 

Flashback Squirrel, who introduces the story, watches his family clash before his statue in Lenore: The Time War HC. Taxidermy, an Egyptian god with an insect head, protects the friends against the vengeful Time Goats. A character shaped like a crescent moon with a narwhal-worthy nose offers his help, but may not be as powerful as he claims. And then there are cats. Lenore adores them, even if she doesn’t know how to care for them.

 

Roman Dirge enhances the richly colored cinematic scenes with generously sized words in balloons, colored boxes, and backgrounds. Lenore: The Time War HC includes detailed panels, flash pages, and enormous double-page spreads. Sound effects help us hear roaring monster babies, shouting aliens, and a remark that makes an elder god cry. The beautifully produced hardcover seems durable, securely bound, and like Pooty's pitchfork, excellently balanced. The volume also boasts a gallery of cover art. Thanks to Titan Comics for providing a physical review copy.

 

Final Thoughts

Lenore: The Time War HC is a celebration of friendship, a guide to surviving interesting times, and a reminder to have fun regardless of what life throws our way.

 

Rating 9.8/10

 

To look inside see my preview of Lenore: The Time War #1. 

 

For more, see my interview with Roman Dirge. 


Saturday, March 21, 2026

Lenore: Blood & Money #1 Review


 


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.

 

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Lenore: Blood & Money #1 Preview

 

COVER A: ROMAN DIRGE

 

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?

Here's all the info from Titan Comics:

 

LENORE: BLOOD & MONEY #1 (ONE-SHOT)

Format: Comic book

(W/A) Roman Dirge

Publisher: Titan Comics

FC, 32pp, $4.99, On Sale March 18, 2026

 

“Roman Dirge has the best imagination this side of Tim Burton." - Caroline Thompson (Writer, Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands).

 

ENTER THE WORLD OF WINNIE THE POOH AS ONLY LENORE AND CREW CAN DO. I DIDN’T MEAN FOR THAT TO RHYME. EW.

 

Now put that world in an apocalyptic wasteland and gaze in wonderment why Roman would do this, as Winnie the Pooh (played by Lenore), ROOgamuffin, and Pootlet outrun dangerous raiders, and defend their 100 Acre Wood Dino-park fortress from exploding cars, just like I’m sure the original creators of Winnie the Pooh intended.

 

 

Now, let's take a look inside:

 

 


 

 



 

 


 

 


 

 Here are more cover options:

 

 

 

COVER B: KIT WALLIS



COVER C: ROMAN DIRGE



Not pictured:

 

FOC: KIT WALLIS FOIL VARIANT 

 

 

Thanks to Titan Comics for sharing this preview with us.

 

For the previous issue in this series of 1-shots, see my review of Lenore: Curse of the Beebee Yaga #1.