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Marjorie Finnegan, Temporal Criminal
She’s Marjorie Finnegan. She’s a temporal criminal. What more do you need to know?
Oh, all right then: all Marj wants to do is race up and down the time-lanes, stealing every shiny-gleamy-pretty-sparkly she can lay her hands on. But her larcenous trail from the Big Bang to the Ninety-fifth Reich has drawn the beady eye of the Temporal PD, whose number one Deputy Marshall is now hard on our heroine’s tail—and taking things extremely personally.
Worse still, Marj’s worthless creep of an ex and his even scummier partner have seen an angle of their own in all this, and now intend to use her time-tech to change history for their own benefit.
Marj’s only ally? A guy called Tim. And he’s just a head.
Oh, all right then: all Marj wants to do is race up and down the time-lanes, stealing every shiny-gleamy-pretty-sparkly she can lay her hands on. But her larcenous trail from the Big Bang to the Ninety-fifth Reich has drawn the beady eye of the Temporal PD, whose number one Deputy Marshall is now hard on our heroine’s tail—and taking things extremely personally.
Worse still, Marj’s worthless creep of an ex and his even scummier partner have seen an angle of their own in all this, and now intend to use her time-tech to change history for their own benefit.
Marj’s only ally? A guy called Tim. And he’s just a head.
200 pages, Paperback
First published February 9, 2022
40 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
About the author
Garth Ennis
2,625 books3,171 followersEnnis began his comic-writing career in 1989 with the series Troubled Souls. Appearing in the short-lived but critically-acclaimed British anthology Crisis and illustrated by McCrea, it told the story of a young, apolitical Protestant man caught up by fate in the violence of the Irish 'Troubles'. It spawned a sequel, For a Few Troubles More, a broad Belfast-based comedy featuring two supporting characters from Troubled Souls, Dougie and Ivor, who would later get their own American comics series, Dicks, from Caliber in 1997, and several follow-ups from Avatar.
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Another series for Crisis was True Faith, a religious satire inspired by his schooldays, this time drawn by Warren Pleece. Ennis shortly after began to write for Crisis' parent publication, 2000 AD. He quickly graduated on to the title's flagship character, Judge Dredd, taking over from original creator John Wagner for a period of several years.
Ennis' first work on an American comic came in 1991 when he took over DC Comics's horror title Hellblazer, which he wrote until 1994, and for which he currently holds the title for most issues written. Steve Dillon became the regular artist during the second half of Ennis's run.
Ennis' landmark work to date is the 66-issue epic Preacher, which he co-created with artist Steve Dillon. Running from 1995 to 2000, it was a tale of a preacher with supernatural powers, searching (literally) for God who has abandoned his creation.
While Preacher was running, Ennis began a series set in the DC universe called Hitman. Despite being lower profile than Preacher, Hitman ran for 60 issues (plus specials) from 1996 to 2001, veering wildly from violent action to humour to an examination of male friendship under fire.
Other comic projects Ennis wrote during this time period include Goddess, Bloody Mary, Unknown Soldier, and Pride & Joy, all for DC/Vertigo, as well as origin stories for The Darkness for Image Comics and Shadowman for Valiant Comics.
After the end of Hitman, Ennis was lured to Marvel Comics with the promise from Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada that he could write The Punisher as long as he cared to. Instead of largely comical tone of these issues, he decided to make a much more serious series, re-launched under Marvel's MAX imprint.
In 2001 he briefly returned to UK comics to write the epic Helter Skelter for Judge Dredd.
Other comics Ennis has written include War Story (with various artists) for DC; The Pro for Image Comics; The Authority for Wildstorm; Just a Pilgrim for Black Bull Press, and 303, Chronicles of Wormwood (a six issue mini-series about the Antichrist), and a western comic book, Streets of Glory for Avatar Press.
In 2008 Ennis ended his five-year run on Punisher MAX to debut a new Marvel title, War Is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
In June 2008, at Wizard World, Philadelphia, Ennis announced several new projects, including a metaseries of war comics called Battlefields from Dynamite made up of mini-series including Night Witches, Dear Billy and Tankies, another Chronicles of Wormwood mini-series and Crossed both at Avatar, a six-issue miniseries about Butcher (from The Boys) and a Punisher project reuniting him with artist Steve Dillon (subsequently specified to be a weekly mini-series entitled Punisher: War Zone, to be released concurrently with the film of the same name).
Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garth_Ennis
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
December 29, 2025
This primarily comedic work set in a time travel sci-fi reality features 'good' and 'bad' sisters teaming up to stop a truly evil antagonist from using time travel to corrupt human belief systems. A typically darkly comedic and darkly violent Ennis work falls flat when coupled with PG art and lazy storytelling and juvenile 'adult' humour. Recommended swerve for Ennis fans. A strong One Star, 3 out of 12 read.
2025 read
2025 read
October 6, 2022
Becomes a super complicated plot about two scumbags trying to subtly change our history for the worst. Full of Ennis’s trademark lowbrow humor.
August 30, 2022
Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal follows Marjorie Finnegan, a fun-loving temporal criminal who just wants to steal whatever she can and whenever she wants to do it. With a larcenous trail stretching from the Big Bang to the Capitol Riots, Marj begins drawing the attention of the Temporal PD and now a certain deputy is right on her tail, and it seems to be personal. Worse than that, Marj’s ex, Stan the devil, and his partner, The Lord of Evil, have seen an angle of their own in all this, and now intend to use her time-traveling tech to change history for their own benefit. Marj’s only ally in all this? A guy called Tim. And he’s just a head. Now Marj has to find a way to lose this deputy while putting a stop to her ex, but she won’t be the same after all is said and done…
Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal is the first creator-owned work Garth Ennis has done with AWA, and hopefully not the last. He teams up with Goran Sudžuka, who he previously worked with on Aftershock’s A Walk Through Hell, for one hell of a fun miniseries. Marjorie Finnegan is a little different from most of Garth Ennis’s stories though, as this is a sci-fi story with time travel elements, while also maintaining classic tropes Ennis is known for.
This was a pretty great one through and through though. A quick read with hilarious humor and disturbing hyper-violence sprinkled throughout. Ennis also implements a fun device that lets the user give someone an “Alterni-Fate”, basically making a way their death would naturally occur in the timeline. It's a pretty neat invention that I wish Ennis used a bit more.
Just a really fun and simple 8-issue mini-series about an easy-going temporal criminal who has trouble growing up in a world where she can be anywhere she wants. Great art, fun characters, and a final issue that leaves enough room for a sequel if Ennis ever wants to come back to this world. Recommend to anyone who likes Ennis. I don’t know if this is actually a 5-star book, but who even cares? At least it’s fun!
Marjorie Finnegan: Temporal Criminal is the first creator-owned work Garth Ennis has done with AWA, and hopefully not the last. He teams up with Goran Sudžuka, who he previously worked with on Aftershock’s A Walk Through Hell, for one hell of a fun miniseries. Marjorie Finnegan is a little different from most of Garth Ennis’s stories though, as this is a sci-fi story with time travel elements, while also maintaining classic tropes Ennis is known for.
This was a pretty great one through and through though. A quick read with hilarious humor and disturbing hyper-violence sprinkled throughout. Ennis also implements a fun device that lets the user give someone an “Alterni-Fate”, basically making a way their death would naturally occur in the timeline. It's a pretty neat invention that I wish Ennis used a bit more.
Just a really fun and simple 8-issue mini-series about an easy-going temporal criminal who has trouble growing up in a world where she can be anywhere she wants. Great art, fun characters, and a final issue that leaves enough room for a sequel if Ennis ever wants to come back to this world. Recommend to anyone who likes Ennis. I don’t know if this is actually a 5-star book, but who even cares? At least it’s fun!
October 14, 2023
Garth Ennis writes a story about a woman doing crimes throughout time. It's a rebellious Doctor Who style story with Marjorie getting tracked down by the temporal police... the office happens to be Marjorie's sister! Meanwhile Majorie's ex (who looks like satan) Stan is hanging out with someone who actually may be Satan. The evil guy has a plan to take over the world - really the story isn't all that great. But for fans of Ennis, there's a lot here to enjoy. The dialogue is wild and hilarious, so many events in the comic just seem like excuses for Ennis to deliver hilarious over-the-top scenes.
April 18, 2022
This was wacked out and crosses pretty much every line known to society, so in other words an a-typical Garth Ennis romp. I consider myself an Ennis affaciondo and have probably read close to a 100 volumes of his work by now. So I had to give this one a go. The art is pretty weak overall in my opinion though it did evoke some pretty good laughs across the board it can be plain ugly at times, and I wasn't a fan of the colour palette at all.
I wouldn't recommend unless u enjoy some raunch and have a very low moral meter... in the name of entertainment.
I wouldn't recommend unless u enjoy some raunch and have a very low moral meter... in the name of entertainment.
March 12, 2022
Confesso que há algo que me desagrada na forma como Garth Ennis aborda o humor. Talvez pelo seu lado de completo slapstick, este argumentista é dos poucos herdeiros da tradição do humor destravado. Mas, em BD, isso nem sempre se ajusta à necessidade de construir uma narrativa coerente. É este o problema que sinto, a sucessão de piadas é tão rápida que torna o ritmo da história difícil de apreciar. Apesar disto, como não admirar aventuras descontroladas através dos tempos, especialmente com as vinhetas hilariantes que Ennis estrutura e o ilustrador acompanha à altura?
August 1, 2024
Marjorie is a time bandit. Cruising up and down the time stream stealing sparkly things. But the lead deputy of the time police wants to catch her something fierce. When you find out who that is and learn the why, you understand. But, Marj discovers there’s a super evil s.o.b. that has a diabolical plan that would change things in a very bad way. So now comes the journey to stop him. Pretty basic plot and the story was moving along fine. But from a little after that halfway point to near the end the story telling gets a little dry and dragged out. Book becomes dialogue heavy but they aren’t really saying much. Bunch of cursing and talking shit just for the sake of it. Seems like Garth was stretching this thin to get to that 8th issue. Artwork was solid throughout.
July 29, 2022
Fun but flawed and very very adult.
April 30, 2022
For fans of garth ennis you know what you are getting yourselves into. This is a timetravel heist of a story of having fun, not caring and then getting some of the consequences from that. All combined with ennis's charm, curses, and graphic violence.
Good fun, and worth a read. Would not be for everyone though.
Good fun, and worth a read. Would not be for everyone though.
July 21, 2022
Garth Ennis writes a science-fiction humor book, and it works incredibly well! I thought his well-known satirical bent, cynicism, less respectful attitude toward established organizations,and general snarkiness would make this hard to pull off and still be funny - - but it is! Also, the choice of Goran Sudzuka, the same artist that Ennis collaborated with on the grim but superb A WALK THROUGH HELL seemed odd to me, but Sudzuka shows his lighter side, and the images are very expressive and add to the humor.
Of course, the trademark ultra-violence and foul language are here along with some sexy sidebars and innuendos and school-boy humor, but it just wouldn't be an Ennis creation without it. If you want to introduce your friends to Ennis' works (and you should) but feel THE BOYS might be too over-the-top and extreme an introduction, try suggesting this one. I'm still laughing.
Of course, the trademark ultra-violence and foul language are here along with some sexy sidebars and innuendos and school-boy humor, but it just wouldn't be an Ennis creation without it. If you want to introduce your friends to Ennis' works (and you should) but feel THE BOYS might be too over-the-top and extreme an introduction, try suggesting this one. I'm still laughing.
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February 12, 2022Normally, if you launch a new comics publisher, then the second you hit 'send' on the press release – or is it even a moment before? – there's a knock at the door, and Garth Ennis is stood there with a pitch for a war comic. So it's fairly common for a series by him to be the first thing I read from a new player, but the difference here, the first thing I've read from old Marvel hands Bill Jemas and Axel Alonso's new venture AWA, is that this is very much not a realistic, hard-bitten yet somehow ennobling story about some obscure corner of WWII. Nope, this is Garth in his comedy mode, which unlike the reliably impressive war books, can sometimes go horribly wrong, especially now he's having to navigate a new world where it isn't just the crusty old right wing liable to be deeply unimpressed by transgressive humour. This, though, pretty much comes off. It's a time-travelling romp, pretty much what we expected the Loki TV series to be from the first trailer, albeit with a far fouler mouth than Disney+ was ever likely to stomach – as witness the wonderfully named Unfucker, a handy device which gets the story out of having to worry too much about all those problems with grandfathers and butterflies which can get in the way when you just want to have your protagonists hooning around the timestream causing chaos. Although obviously an Unfucker can only unfuck so much, which is where the fiendish plot comes in, but to be honest while that did have some good gags, it was a bit of a reprise of stuff Ennis has done before in comics that are always going to be considered more central to his oeuvre than Marjorie Finnegan, Temporal Criminal. On which note, the notion of using artillery to see off Norsemen apparently hit Ennis when he was watching Vikings and finding it a bit slow, but I couldn't help wondering whether he's just forgotten seeing The Time Meddler somewhere way back. Never mind: the solution here is significantly different (read: way more brutal) than the Doctor's, its ultraviolence almost tipping into Looney Tunes hilarity (and in general, the art from Goran Sudzuka is a delight, recalling Garth's finest collaborator, the much-missed Steve Dillon). But regardless of any retreads along the way, the sheer energy of the caper material meant this was a very fun read. And I loved the pun in Marjorie's ex's name: Stan Zanzibar. Which said, the implication towards the end here that maybe there are worse things in the world than organised religion is the sort of later-life reassessment which I could understand from Pratchett, but which from Ennis feels worryingly like he could be trying to signal he's a prisoner.
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October 20, 2024It took a bit for me to get into the groove of this one, but once I did I had an absolute blast. This is Ennis is his comedy mode, which can sometimes go very bad. In this case, while bonkers and gross stuff is littered throughout, there’s also solid story structure and interesting (though not necessarily likable) characters. I was actually reminded of Si Spurrier’s Motherlands, which is a similar sci-fi romp where two family members with a complicated relationship go on a quest and reach some sort of closure. Plus Ennis’ dialogue is a joy to read here. More than a few laugh-out-loud lines.
Goran Sudzuka’s quality art reminds me of the much-missed Steve Dillon at times.
Goran Sudzuka’s quality art reminds me of the much-missed Steve Dillon at times.
January 2, 2024
Not good. It started off average and kept tripping over itself. On paper it should have been great. Garth Ennis and a time traveling murderous pirate wench but she is so unlikeable it make it hard to care. Ennis unashamedly puts his terrible politics on any page he gets a chance which kills whatever momentum there already isn’t. Not interested in a second venture.
July 6, 2024
The Ennis humor is here and the story is a fun ride. Still, this is no Preacher or War Stories. Sometimes the lines are cringy and the main character simply isn't sexualized enough. There's some lost potential right there. Maybe the artist is to blame for not adding more focus on TnA? Either way, it's not worth 5 stars, not by far. Even Jimmy's Bastards was worth more.
Marjorie Finnegan is a thief who travels through time to 'liberate' valuable items. Her sister Harri is temporal officer who doesn't take kindly to Marj screwing up the timeline. While Mark and Harri are distracted fighting each other like kids, a group of cloaked individuals hired by the Lord of Evil and Stan Zanzibar (Marj's ex) search her stolen stuff for an important document called the Hypocrypha. The Lord of Evil intends to use it to rewrite every important event related to religious faith.
Marjorie Finnegan is a thief who travels through time to 'liberate' valuable items. Her sister Harri is temporal officer who doesn't take kindly to Marj screwing up the timeline. While Mark and Harri are distracted fighting each other like kids, a group of cloaked individuals hired by the Lord of Evil and Stan Zanzibar (Marj's ex) search her stolen stuff for an important document called the Hypocrypha. The Lord of Evil intends to use it to rewrite every important event related to religious faith.
March 29, 2025
After Garth Ennis' Babs series wrapped, I was craving something similar. His Marjorie Finnegan - Temporal Criminal is also about a foul-mouthed, violent, mercenary beauty, but the setting is time travel unchained. Babs was really about incels, but Marj's adventures is more scattershot. It's about having fun with the premise, and it's anything goes as far as the world-building goes. Though "origin" chapters are included, we catch up to Marj as a pair of villains set her up while they steal one of her ill-begotten treasures so they can use to change history. She has to team up with her sister, a hard-assed time cop, to stop them and so it goes. Along the way, we'll meet a lot of crazy characters - including a dinosaur bridesmaid - in many time frames (including some insane futures), and unlike most time travel stories, religious figures aren't safe from lampoon. It's Ennis, after all, so expect the most blasphemous roll through History. The art by Goran Sudžuka is cute and fun - somewhere between Jacen Burrows on Babs and the late, great Steve Dillon on Preacher (Ennis has a type) - more pleasantly cartoony than Andy Clarke's covers would predict. Marjorie Finnegan isn't to be taken very seriously, just a bit of scatological fun.
November 25, 2023
3.5 stars for the script
4.5 stars for the art
Picked this up based on Goran Sudzuka's (as usual) glorious art - when I came to read it I discovered a bloody, nihilistic, swear-fest that I was in just the right mood for - that being someone who sees the human race in all its dumbass, f**k-the-planet-up stupidity as we trundle toward into the over-cooked eco-system that should be keeping most of us alive, but very soon won't. Especially loved the scene atop the Capital building as the Jan 6th insurrection roils below Marj, Harri and (the battered head) Tim.
4.5 stars for the art
Picked this up based on Goran Sudzuka's (as usual) glorious art - when I came to read it I discovered a bloody, nihilistic, swear-fest that I was in just the right mood for - that being someone who sees the human race in all its dumbass, f**k-the-planet-up stupidity as we trundle toward into the over-cooked eco-system that should be keeping most of us alive, but very soon won't. Especially loved the scene atop the Capital building as the Jan 6th insurrection roils below Marj, Harri and (the battered head) Tim.
March 15, 2022
I was excited for the idea of this comic book, y’know, the adventures of a “temporal criminal.” But instead Ennis went down his “religion is stupid” rabbit hole. And maybe this would have seemed new and transgressive if I hadn’t seen it so many times already (including Ennis’ own Preacher series), but instead it just seemed kind of rote and dumb. I just wanted a bad ass lady messing things up through time. And I got 10% of that…
February 16, 2022
Ennis’s satirical stuff always misses me; I just don’t think he has the right sensibility, and interrupts himself constantly with gross-out jokes. An early gag of our hero blowing so many holes in a thug that he looks like a Connect Four board is so disgusting that I was immediately angry at myself for letting it into my memory.
December 31, 2023
Less shocking than I expected
Kind of a mashup of Time Cop and Rick Remender's Strange Girl, but with Garth Ennis's humor. The sex and violence was pretty tame by his standards, but I guess most of the edginess is in the sardonic religious commentary. Not his worst, but I'd already gotten bored by the halfway mark.
Kind of a mashup of Time Cop and Rick Remender's Strange Girl, but with Garth Ennis's humor. The sex and violence was pretty tame by his standards, but I guess most of the edginess is in the sardonic religious commentary. Not his worst, but I'd already gotten bored by the halfway mark.
January 20, 2025
This is a nice Garth Ennis comic.
The story itself is just an excuse for him to show Marj doing shenanigans at different time periods.
But it is fun.
I liked the artist Goran, his work reminded me a lot of Steve Dillon's from Preacher.
Ennis has a tight bond with great artists who can translate visually all his crazy and violent plots into funny and beautifully drawn pages.
The story itself is just an excuse for him to show Marj doing shenanigans at different time periods.
But it is fun.
I liked the artist Goran, his work reminded me a lot of Steve Dillon's from Preacher.
Ennis has a tight bond with great artists who can translate visually all his crazy and violent plots into funny and beautifully drawn pages.
May 20, 2023
A fund-raising great from start to finish!
I liked everything about this book.
The art,the crazy story and outlandish characters.
Garth Ennis is the evil genius of the comic book world
I liked everything about this book.
The art,the crazy story and outlandish characters.
Garth Ennis is the evil genius of the comic book world
September 8, 2022
Shame she dies at the end
July 13, 2023
Hilarious Sci-if
Funny from beginning to end. Marj is so likable and despicable that you can't help but want her to succeed. Most hilarious book I've read in a very long time.
Funny from beginning to end. Marj is so likable and despicable that you can't help but want her to succeed. Most hilarious book I've read in a very long time.
August 3, 2023
Mostly Garth Ennis realizing the comedic skills of quiet dramatist Goran Sudzuka
November 19, 2023
Just...a lot of immature would be humor, and unrepentantly asshole main character, unpleasant to read.
November 25, 2023
Art's decent, but the time-traveling story is pretty silly. Ennis can do better.
December 29, 2023
It's okay. Pretty much what you expect from Ennis. Feels like something Wildstorm would have published in 2006.
January 19, 2024
This book is hilariously funny and gorgeously beautiful. I had so much fun reading this. Just awesome.
March 3, 2025
A fun irreverant very Ennis run through time.
This is just pure entertainment.
This is just pure entertainment.
June 22, 2025
Nsfw but turn off your brain absurdly funny, warped and weird. All Hail Marj!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews