07/15/2005 1:6 PM
Posted by VeggieSteph

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things by Ted Naifeh

Meet Courtney Crumrin. She is a little girl who has the problems of most 10 year olds: her parents are unapproachable, she has “weird” hobbies, and the popular kids at school don’t really like her. However, you could say that most 10 year olds don’t have creepy crawlies living in their houses, and most probably don’t have an uncle that is obsessed with the occult. The folks at Titan Comics turned me on to this series, and boy am I glad for it.

Courtney and her parents have moved into her weird uncle’s house to help take care of him in his old age. She doesn’t know her uncle well, and she finds him intriguing and a bit spooky. She is a snarky little thing, and she’s not very happy with the move. Her parents are relentless social climbers who want her to fit in and make all the right friends (i.e., all the rich kids, so they can get in with the kid’s rich parents). Unfortunately, she’s a little too angst-ridden and weird for the popular folks at school. The best parts start when you get to her uncle and his library. Courtney’s uncle likes to dabble in the occult, and the creepy crawlies like to hang out in and around his house, scaring her when she wakes up in her new room, and following her around in the woods. Instead of being a scaredy-cat, she learns to handle them on her own, and adds a dash of sarcasm to boot. She embraces her uncle’s hobby; only to find out he isn’t quite as infirm as he’d like people to believe. In fact, he is ready and able to get her out of a few scrapes, and he plans to teach her much, much more.

I found this to be a very entertaining read. It’s labeled as young adult, and it was, but I think any adult who likes Emily the Strange or other quirky style comics with spunky heroines would like Courtney Crumrin.

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is Volume 1 in a series of 3 (so far). The illustrations are simple but well done, the Night Things are creepy, and the writing is just perfect for the characters. I’ll definitely be picking up the next few in the series.