Rating: Summary: Courtney Crumrin - Fables for outsiders Review: Simply put, Ted Naifeh has created one of (if not THE) best modern fable in comics today. I cannot say enough about how amazing his stories and characters are. Do yourself a favor and buy both Courtney collected volumes, as well as Ted's awesome work on the Nocturnals "Gunwitch: Outskirts of Doom". I promise you will not regret it!
Rating: Summary: A Wondrous Rarity, an Artist Who Can Write Review: Ted is one of those wondrous rarities, an artist who can write. Well.There are too many books with beautiful artwork and insipid plots. This is not one of them. The pen and ink illustrations are beautiful, and humorous, and spooky, and all the other good things you want in a book, but the storyline? Marvelous and brilliant, with well rounded characters, good suspense, and all the rest. Including unexpected niceties such as incantations that actually scan (a rarity in even modern books of witchcraft) and are folklorically accurate (again a rarity, even among modern books of witchcraft). If you liked the Books of Magic, you'll like this, except you'll probably like it better.
Rating: Summary: Dark, scary, and a LOT of fun!! Review: Ted Nafieh is one of my favorite artists for his work on an adult fairy tale comic called Gloom Cookie, written with a partner. Courtney Crumrin ( which I bought in its monthly comic book form and then again with this collection) is that more special for being written by Ted. If you are a fan of gothic children's tales (Neil Gaiman's children's stories, Jill Thompson's Scary Grandmother) or just love spooky things like the Addams Family and the work of Gorey (the Gashlycrumb Tinies) you are guaranted to love the adventures of Courtney. The art is noirish and beautiful. The characters are menacing, souful, viscious, and lovely ( sometimes all at the same time). The story is attractive to that lost pre-teen in all of us who didn't get along with the "normal" kids and longed to hunt goblins in the woods and befriend the little nasties that live under the bed.
|