Taxidermied: The Art of Roman Dirge (Book)
Written/illustrated by Roman Dirge
Published by Titan Books
Many horror fans are familiar with the best known work of Roman Dirge, that being the twisted little comic called Lenore. The strange and sick tales of Ramona, the cute little dead girl, and her compatriots such as Taxidermy and Mr. Gosh have charmed readers for years. However, Lenore is not the end of Dirge’s talents, far from it.
Taxidermied is a collection of Dirge’s artworks in an attractive, large-format (i.e., “coffee table”) volume.
Dirge is, quite simply, a genius of astounding talent. Sick, twisted, disturbing talent, but talent just the same.
Featuring over 100 illustrations, some never seen before, we’re taken on a trip through the demented mind of Dirge and his collection of exes who apparently tend to be obsessed with different animals. It’s too much to explain; you’ll have to read the book.
Other than amazingly gorgeous representations of Dirge’s artwork, the single best part of the book is Dirge’s comments about each piece. His dark humor pervades his commentary, providing entertaining insight for the work. Many of the pieces would be a little hard to comprehend without the comments, making them doubly useful. (So…why is that nurse thing wearing a swastika armband and unraveling that woman’s arm???)
I know I’m beating a drum here, but the art is gorgeous. Just beautiful. If I were wealthy, I’d buy a second copy, take a razor blade to it, and commit many of the pieces to frames to decorate our walls. This edition is that strong with beautiful colors and high quality paper.
Any fan of Dirge will want this book under the tree on Christmas morning. Any fan of artwork, especially of the transgressive, bizarre, twisted nature, will enjoy this as well…if only to place on the coffee table and freak out the straights.
5 out of 5
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