ROMAN DIRGE’S LENORE: THE TIME WAR #1 / Script, Art, Colors, and Letters by ROMAN DIRGE / Design by MATT BOOKMAN / Published by TITAN COMICS

I never read any of the original comics featuring Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl. I was aware of their existence, being a goth in college at the height of the character’s popularity. Even then, I knew her more as the subject of merch at the local Hot Topic than for her Slave Labor Graphics comic series. So I went into the new Titan Comics’ Lenore series completely blind.

Thankfully, there’s a helpful Flashback Squirrel who explains the story so far. The short version is that Lenore and her friends Pooty Applewater and Ragamuffin got lost in time after some shenanigans involving what might have technically been cannibalism. Now, Pooty is in Ancient Rome, Ragamuffin is lost among dinosaurs and Lenore… well, let’s just say it involves a certain tentacle-faced elder god with a sunken city and no sense of humor.

Will Lenore and her friends find each other? Will they get back to their proper place in time and space? Why am I asking you?

My only complaint regarding Lenore: The Time War #1 is no effort is made to explain who the heck the characters are for total newcomers like me. Then again, how many newcomers like me are likely to just now be trying to read Lenore without having seen the earlier comics and animated shorts?

(Really? There were animated shorts too? How did I miss this again?!?!)

Lenore: The Time War #1 is dark, twisted fun and I see now what I’ve been missing out on all these years. It is subversive. It is offensive. It is hilarious. The humor is infectious, the artwork infusive, and the overall presentation is delightfully infelicitous. If you are a dark soul who likes cute, funny things, this will be right up your alley.

Lenore: The Time War #1 releases on February 12, 2025.