Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things

Rating:
Summary: spooky and magical
Review: This series was the first series I ever bought in comic book form and it was a great way to start off too. Ted Naifeh, who has done illustrations for Gloomcookie and the Nocturnals, started his own series.
Courtney Crumrin moves to her great uncle's house with her parents. The house is located in a suburb, which gives Naifeh the opportunity to mock suburban life through clever writing and very well done illustrations.

There are four stories in this volume,
the first is our introduction to Courtney, her great-uncle, and parents and the neighborhood.
the second, Courtney secretly begins to practice magic
the third, Courtney has her first babysitting job and her first journey into Faerie
the fourth, maybe a story that would make more sense after reading the first three

Looking back on what I've written, I don't know if I've really conveyed what I liked about this miniseries. The writing is good, the illustrations are good. Courtney starts out not being the most sympathetic of characters, she's sharp tongued and generally pretty grumpy and doesn't much like people. However, as the plot progresses you grow to like her which sets this series apart. The stories are told with genuine heart, and there is emotion, danger and character development.

As in any good fairy tale, there's also the hint of violence beneath the surface. And there are a few people who do get eaten, Naifeh's world is dangerous as well as magical. On the whole it's one of my favorite series. Check out Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics, which is even better.