Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things

I first became aware of the Courtney Crumrin series when I saw it compared to Tom Siddell's brilliant Gunnerkrigg Court graphic novels (originally a web-comic), which I absolutely adore. When a friend also had good things to say about the Courtney Crumrin comic, I decided I needed to give these books a try, and I'm glad that I did!

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is a trade edition, containing the four individual issues of the comic, and is narrated by a goblin named Butterworth, who introduces the tale of young Courtney, and how she and her status-conscious parents first came to live with their Great-Uncle Aloysius Crumrin in his sinister mansion in the exclusive suburb of Hillsborough. Courtney's difficulties fitting in with her show more spoiled classmates, her growing awareness of the unearthly creatures around her, and her interest (and involvement) in her Uncle Aloysius' hobby of witchcraft, are all set out here, in a narrative that never fails to entertain.

Like another reviewer, I was particularly struck by the fact that one of Courtney's classmates wanders off into the woods and is never seen again (eaten by a goblin), and this causes little excitement. This is emblematic of the way in which the extraordinary is accepted with little comment, an aspect of Ted Naifeh's storytelling that I find very appealing. The artwork is spot on, particularly in the way that it captures the general vacuity of Courtney's parents, or Uncle Aloysius' frightening, yet somehow also endearing, mien. All in all: a fabulous little comic! I will definitely be seeking out the sequels! show less

I enjoyed this dark little fable about a not-very-nice kid, introduced to an upper-class community and a supernatural world at the same time. The anti-heroic nature of the protagonist is a refreshing change of pace from uber-competent and/or uber-nice protagonists with a strong sense of morals. Instead Courtney is more like a cross between Veronica and J.D. in the movie "Heathers" -- not quite as bad as J.D., but a little meaner than Veronica. The collection of characters around her is also entertaining: The vapid social-climbing parents; the snobby and cliquish middle-school kids; the intriguingly aloof and sinister great uncle; and the various goblins, changelings, and other supernatural entities.

I read it in the black-and-white, but show more will look for the color version, and following volumes as well. show less

Courtney Crumrin is being forced to move to a more upscale suburb by her slightly opportunistic and always oblivious parents to live with her Uncle Aloysius. Thing is, though, Courtney isn't your average mall kid, the new house isn't your modern day McMansion and Uncle Aloysius isn't your typical crusty old coot - good thing, too, because when things start getting really weird, Uncle Aloysius may be the only one standing between Courtney and disaster.

Courtney Crumrin is a modern gothic fairy tale, more Grimm than Disney. It combines amazing graphics with a darkly humourous and very entertaining coming-of-age tale - think Neil Gaiman's Coraline meets the kids from 90210 in a yuppie suburb where the parents are so self-absorbed, no one show more notices would notice if their human babies are swapped with goblins.

Although I suspect this graphic novel is aimed at kids 12 and up, adults are sure to enjoy the dark humour and the great graphics. show less

I got an eGalley of this book through NetGalley.com. It was a really excellent graphic novel filled with mystery, some creepy things, and magic. After reading it I want to go out and read all of the other books in the series.

Courtney Crumrin is forced to move into her great-uncle's old creepy house with her parents (who are broke and need a place to live). To say that Courtney doesn't fit in in this prestigious town and preppy school is an understatement. Then one night Courtney sees something in her room and she finds that her uncle's house holds more mysteries and more magic than she had ever imagined. Now if COurtney could just stay out of trouble for a while and not cause any magical mischief that would be great...

Courtney is tough, show more sassy, and very much her own girl. She doesn't take crap from anyone and doesn't try to blend in. She reminded me a lot of the girl, Mandy, from the cartoon Grim and Evil. I loved her. She tries so hard to make her own path but still finds herself feeling a bit lonely and scared at times. The camaraderie she develops with her great-uncle is sweet, especially since her parents are so absent (both mentally and physically throughout the story). There are a lot of great characters in this story but Courtney and her great-uncle are the highlights.

This graphic novel contains three sub-stories. One is about what happens when Courtney tries out a spell to make everyone like her. The second is about what happens when Courtney goes to babysit for some neighbors and finds out their baby has been replaced with a goblin of sorts. The third tells about when something mimics Courtney and tries to take over her place in everyone's life.

The illustrations are wonderful. It is always easy to follow and easy to tell what is going on. Only the first part was in full color (probably because it is an advanced copy) but the part that was in color was excellent! The colors are lush and dark and perfectly match the tone of the story.

This is a great graphic novel for all ages. Some parts might be a bit scary for younger kids, most of it is just kind of creepy and not really scary.

Overall I absolutely loved this book! Now I want to go out and read all of the COurtney Crumrin books :-) Courtney is a fun character and the combination of magic/magical creatures/creepy house is creative and fun. This is a graphic novel that is beautifully drawn and I think people of all ages will really enjoy it. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of these books in the future. If you like the Locke and Key series, but want something that is kid-friendly this would be a great series to read. show less

The volume starts with an explanation that posits that children are pure id-driven, selfish, mean creatures that only learn kindness and civility as they grow up in order to obtain things they want like a job or spouse, and I just disagree so hard with the idea that children do not have any kindness or gentleness intrinsic in their souls that it cast a pall over the rest of the book for me. (Not that children can't be cruel or mean, but I rebel against the idea that this is solely how children naturally act.) The comic itself was enjoyable enough; I would have eaten it up with a spoon in my teenage years.

The Courtney Crumrin series reminds me a lot of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Of course, Courtney's an only child and her parents are still alive, only they're completely useless, which is why they move in with the creepy as hell old uncle. Another difference, too, is that the uncle, so far at least, does not really appear to be evil. Everyone else in the series sure does though. Oh yeah, and there are monsters, but some of them are nice.

You may be thinking 'hey! that really doesn't sound too much like the Lemony Snicket books,' which would be somewhat justified based on that description. However, there's something about the tone and even the illustrations that called it to mind constantly. From the creepy tower Uncle show more Aloysius lives in to the dark humor, I would definitely recommend this to fans of that series.

While I was definitely entertained by the story, I wasn't a fan of the artwork. Well, I mean, the buildings and stuff were fine, but the people. They just were not working for me. They all look like something out of a dream, perhaps one inspired by The Scream. Here's a sample image, just so you know what's I'm talking about.



Here's what bothers me about this. Let's start with Courtney, the girl in the middle, who's probably the most normal looking character in the series. She actually doesn't inspire nightmares and is, in some scenes, almost cute looking, in a moppet sort of way. However, she doesn't have a nose, not just in this picture, but in any of them. Where did it go? Then on the left, you have a boy (I can only tell the gender by the uniform), we have a guy with empty, soulless eyes. Many of the characters have eyes like that, like she attends a school of zombies or brainwashed kids. On the right is a guy, who is supposed to be Mr. Hottie-Face, and he does somewhat resemble Spike from Buffy, but he also looks like an alien or a snake. I mean, his ears...they are pointy, even more so in some other images. I expect that if he opened his mouth, he would have sharp teeth with which he will chomp on your soul, which is probably what happened to the kid on the left.

All of that said, the art totally fits the story, since it does have a vague nightmarish quality to it, and real monsters do abound. However, it just seems odd that the monsters are so much less intimidating than the humans, which may in fact be the point. Actually, that's a message I can get behind, since so many people suck.

This was fun in a very creepy way. This appeals to the kind of people amused by children getting eaten or babies being replaced with a changeling. If you like Neil Gaiman's work for children, especially Coraline, you may want to give Courtney Crumrin a try. I think I'll be checking out volume two. Who knows, we might even find out what monster took Courtney's nose! show less

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is a kids' graphic novel. It has a classic plot--girl moves to creepy old uncle's house and creepy stuff happens--but this is a model example of Tropes Are Not Bad.

There are three main things that keep this book amazing:

A) It knows its tropes, loves them, and uses them well. This is the kind of story kids like.

B) It's funny, in a biting way. It's SMART humor. The characters and dialoge are just off-beat enough to make everything seem shiny and new.

C) It's a graphic novel with gorgeous, quirky, dark art that sets the mood and lets us create a little more of the story in our own heads while giving us something pretty to look at. I love fantasy art in general, and this art adds humor to dark scenes and show more a sense of creepy to the funny scenes.

I will warn that the characters are not paragons, and this is not a morality play. The characters are good, but they aren't above being vindictive and conniving. It's a little creepy sometimes because it's unexpected, but it's realistic and would promote discussion.

I highly recommend this series to kids (of all ages ;) ) who like this sort of quirky fantasy/gothic horror trend that's happening right now in fiction. Fans of Lemony Snicket, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Skulduggery Pleasant, Zorgamazoo, that whole vein. show less