LENORE #11 REVIEW

[Ryan Day]

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Quick rating: Great

"I never had a bird in any manner. Most notably, not in my butt."

Written and Illustrated by: Roman Dirge

She’s back! And how I’ve missed her.

Roman Dirge’s Lenore is something of a cult sensation. Born out of Slave Labour Graphics along with Jhonen Vazquez’s Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, the continuing story of the cute little dead girl has nicely evolved from collections of crude short strips into a book with an actual narrative and artistic standards.

It’s been a slow evolution, though, as Dirge has frequently put Lenore aside in favour of other tasks like working on Invader Zim and ... well, designing T-shirts, I guess. Frankly, I suspect he works a day job as a broker on Wall Street, making a fortune trading on the stocks of hot new piercing and tattoo companies. That’s just a theory, though.

The result, at any rate, is that Lenore comes out about once a year, which still makes it more frequent than The Ultimates. It’s not the most plot-oriented series, but Dirge still provides us with a text summary of the story so far: Lenore got bored and wandered off from Hell. The Dark Overlord sent a bounty hunter, Pooty Applewater, to retrieve her, but Pooty decided he like hanging out with Lenore. The Dark Lord then sent his most trusted agent, Ouchie Boo Boo, disguised as Lenore’s sister. All of this, Dirge tells us, is leading up to an inevitable battle of epic proportions. In his own words, "The killing and gory blood mess begins..."

But what begins is, in actuality, a seven-page joke about Lenore trying to convince her friend Ragamuffin - an immortal and powerful vampire trapped in the body of a stuffed toy - to eat a banana. But Ragamuffin doesn’t like bananas. See the conflict?

To make a long story short, an amazing coincidence involving the aforementioned banana, a dead bird, and the Well of Lost Souls results in the armies of Hell being released into the living world. Naturally, the armies of Hell are made up largely of zombie Nazis. But before the ultimate conflict can begin, we get a super kung-fu showdown between Pooty and Ouchie. It’s like Kill Bill, only cuter. And mixed up in all of this are a series of stupid jokes, puns, and general random insanity. Lenore herself remains adorable, yet almost totally clueless - in no small part thanks to 39.4 per cent of her brain having been eaten by worms.

It’s fairly safe to say not everyone will appreciate Lenore. Perhaps you read the above description and say “That’s stupid.” Well frankly, you’re stupid, too. And stinky. Mind you, it is stupid on occasion - gloriously, wonderfully stupid, bizarre and demented. Take a bit of The Far Side, some Addams Family - particularly the original comic strips - and some of Jhonen Vazquez’s influence (Invader Zim fans will love this sort of humour) and you’ve got yourself a rough approximation of Lenore. It may not make sense, but it generally isn’t supposed to.

The main backup feature, also by Dirge, is "Nature’s Really Amazing Stuff" - a look at the amazing walking leaf insect. It’s kind of like National Geographic, only stupider. For example, did you know that while the walking leaf can blend in flawlessly with a tree, but somewhat less flawlessly with an irish setter?

I’m not sure if anyone, even Dirge himself, knows when there’ll be another issue of Lenore. He says there will be one, but wisely doesn’t set out any deadlines. At least this way, it’s a nice surprise when you walk into the store and see the latest issue sitting there in front of you. None of this "Wah Wah Wah" business, crying like a little sissy baby because it didn’t come in on its anointed day. In a way, issues of Lenore are like true love: If you go out looking for it, you’re likely to come up empty handed. But sit back, relax, eat a banana, and true love - or the next issue of Lenore - will come right to you when you least expect it.

Or not. Whatever. It’s a funny book. You should buy it.


ART:
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STORY:
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OVERALL:
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[William Claypool]

Agreed, it was a very funny issue, and in my view, one of the most enjoyable comics in recent weeks. I was elated when I learned it was coming out. I hope another issue comes out eventually, if not, this cliffhanger could be on par with the Red Dwarf finale when Rimmer kneed Death in the testicles and ran. Oh, and a very suiting, fun review too.

[Joel Phillips]

I forgot how good this was until it came back. Then all of a sudden the issue was over and I was left screaming "why????", like when the hero holds his dead partner in the rain in one of those cop movies.

But yeah, Lenore kicks ass. And the banana/bird sequence is the funniest thing I've read all year.

[Zeb Aslam]

Great review Ryan...couldn't agree more.

Heh, this was actually my first issue of Lenore, having finally caved and buying it under the influence of a certain Vasquez obsessed friend of mine, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I used to be one of those people who thought this was 'stupid' as you put it, but the depth of the characterization (albeit silly) and the sheer fun of the banana argument was excellent. I'm planning on getting all the back issues now...man that was hilarious!!

[D.O.A]

I'm a recent convert to Lenore but I always wonder if these type of reviews bother Dirge. His original Lenore stuff in magazine predates Vasquez, yet i see Vasquez mentioned in almost every review for Dirge I see. Is this common knowledge or do people think Dirge followed Vaquez? Either way, I like the direction his newer work is taking.

[Ryan Day]

I'm a recent convert to Lenore but I always wonder if these type of reviews bother Dirge. His original Lenore stuff in magazine predates Vasquez, yet i see Vasquez mentioned in almost every review for Dirge I see. Is this common knowledge or do people think Dirge followed Vaquez? Either way, I like the direction his newer work is taking.

As far as I know, they both started doing their stuff at about the same time. They work with each other on various projects - Invader Zim, for one, and Vazquez has done backup strips for Lenore - and both appeal to a largely similar demographic.
Personally, I find Vazquez' early stuff to be superior to that of Dirge; there's a more advanced storytelling technique, and the humour is, at times, more subtle. My basic theory is that Vazquez has rubbed off on Dirge more than vice versa, though I could be incorrect. I think Lenore has evolved a lot since the early days, and I'd attribute at least part of that to Vazquez.

[hbrogan]

Yay! I love Lenore. It's just so darn cute in a weird "dead" way. I do wish Dirge would do Lenore on a more consistent basis. Maybe twice a year? Pretty please with bannanas on top?

If you like Lenore, check out Serenity Rose, also from SLG. It's not as obviously wacky, but it's cute, smart, and it comes out at least every third month. ;)

[Ryan Day]

Yay! I love Lenore. It's just so darn cute in a weird "dead" way. I do wish Dirge would do Lenore on a more consistent basis. Maybe twice a year? Pretty please with bannanas on top?

Well, he is coming out with Samurai Sloth later this year, supposedly. Consolation prize?

If you like Lenore, check out Serenity Rose, also from SLG. It's not as obviously wacky, but it's cute, smart, and it comes out at least every third month. ;)

serenity's really grown on me. It's just a really neat book; it reminds me of Vazquez' I Feel Sick more than Lenore, actually. Here's a review of the third issue (http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/forums/showthread.php?t=27117). Four just came out a couple weeks ago.

[D.O.A]

Lenore first came out in 1992, according to an interview from Dirge. Vasquez put out JTHM in 1995, so yeah Dirge's older work looks kinda sucky, but it is OLDER. I don't really care as I like them about the same for different reasons. When I want to read something deeper and more life afirming, I read Jhonen's books. If I want just to be mindlessly (I don't mean this in an insulting way, I swear) entertained, I read Dirge's stuff. I'd argue the way they've evolved too. Jhonen's older work was really "jaggedy" while Dirge's work was always more "roundy". Jhonen's newer stuff has become more roundy and less jaggedy. Anyways, I guess only they could answer that one, but that is my theory based on what I see.