Roman Dirge (born Roman Elliot; April 29, 1972) is an American comic book writer, artist, and former magician. He is best known as the creator of the comic book series ''

Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl ''Lenore, The Cute Little Dead Girl'' is a black comedy comic series created by Roman Dirge, inspired by the poem " Lenore" by Edgar Allan Poe. Lenore has appeared in several comic books by Dirge. From 1998 to 2007, she featured in her own series ...

''.

Career

Told by his art teachers that he would never make it as an artist due to his crude style, he quit art and became a full-time magician. After a few years, his passion for art overtook him and he created the comic ''

'' for '' Xenophobe'' magazine. The comic strips were later seen by Dan Vado, president of

Slave Labor Graphics Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) is an independent American comic book publisher, well known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics. Creators associated with SLG over the years include Evan Dorkin, Roman Dirge, Sarah Dyer, Woodrow Phoenix, Jh ...

. Dirge has also written books such as ''Something At The Window Is Scratching'', '' The Monsters In My Tummy'', ''The Cat With A Really Big Head: And One Other Story That Isn't As Good'' and has done work for ''The Haunted Mansion'' comics. He has over 75

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing ...

s. On February 26, 2013, Dirge and his then girlfriend were injured in a hit-and-run accident in

Hollywood, California Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

, while crossing the street. One of Dirge's legs was severely injured and had to be rebuilt with a metal rod, but he was said to be in good spirits despite facing a long recovery.

Animation

26 episodes of a Lenore Animation were created for

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

's website ScreenBlast, these are no longer available on Screenblast, but can now be seen on Dirge's site Spooky Land. Roman Dirge wrote for his friend, and fellow Slave Labor Graphics artist

Jhonen Vasquez Jhonen C. Vasquez (; born September 1, 1974) is an American cartoonist, animator, screenwriter, music video director, and voice actor. He is best known for creating the comic book '' Johnny the Homicidal Maniac''—along with its spin-off comics ...

's ''

Invader ZIM ''Invader Zim'' is an American animated science fiction dark comedy television series created by comic book writer and cartoonist Jhonen Vasquez for Nickelodeon. The series centers on an extraterrestrial named Zim (voiced by Richard Steven Ho ...

'', and on the back of the second ''Invader ZIM'' DVD it says "Made with 100% more Dirge" with a picture of him on it, ''Invader Zim'' style.

Music

Dirge was in a band during high school named Of Worlds Long Dead. Dirge provided original art for

Scarling Scarling. was an American noise pop band formed in Los Angeles in 2001. The band consisted of lead vocalist Jessicka Addams and guitarist Christian Hejnal. Name The band's name comes from a fictional word created by singer/fine artist Jessicka ...

's tour posters in 2003. Dirge provided the cover, booklet and CD art for the 2001 album '' Welt'' as well as the cover art for the 2018 album '' Tricks'' by

ohGr ohGr is an American industrial band formed by Nivek Ogre and Mark Walk of Skinny Puppy. Early ohGr releases incorporated hip hop and synth-pop influences, and in contrast to Skinny Puppy, utilized conventional structures and a lighter tone. Og ...

Selected bibliography

*'' Lenore'' *''Something at the Window is Scratching'' *'' The Monsters in My Tummy'' *''The Cat With a Really Big Head: And One Other Story That isn't As Good'' *''Peter The Pirate Squid'' (writer, art by Steven Daily) *''It Ate Billy On Christmas'' (writer, artist, paintings by Steven Daily) *''

Haunted Mansion The Haunted Mansion is a dark ride attraction located at Disneyland, Magic Kingdom, and Tokyo Disneyland. The haunted house attraction features a ride-through tour in Omnimover vehicles called "Doom Buggies", and a walk-through show is displa ...

'' (Art covers and stories) *'' Lenore: Pink Bellies''Roman Dirge’s Lenore: Pink Bellies
/ref>

References

External links

His LivejournalOfficial Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dirge, Roman 1972 births American comics artists American comics writers Living people Slave Labor Graphics Album-cover and concert-poster artists