The Night Things
Courtney Crumrin Tales Volume 1 (Special Edition)
Ted Naifeh (Author, Artist)
Warren Wucinich (Colorist)

Oni Press
April 11, 2012 / ISBN: 978-1934964774
Teen / Young Adult / Gothic Fantasy / Adventure / Special Edition Graphic Novel
Amazon

Reviewed by Beth E. McKenzie

In 2002 Courtney's parents uprooted her to move in with their aged and infirm Uncle Aloysius Crumrin in the elite community of Hillsborough. Things are really weird there and it's not just because Courtney is a teenager. Besides the fact that her parents are broke and trying to scam their way into local society and Uncle Aloysius seems rather healthy, the goblin population is curious and always hungry. But Courtney is tougher than she looks, and in a perverse twist of teenage rebellion is trying to get by being, well, normal in Goth-land. So begins the saga of Courtney Crumrin, now in its tenth year of popularity. In honor of this achievement, Oni Press is releasing special edition, full-color, hardback compilations of the first four series in this Eisner-Award-nominated saga.

When reviewing a graphic novel, I love to be able to say the art is the star of the piece. While the story carries its own weight, it could not be as well told without the illustrations. Uncle Aloysius and the other adult Hillsborans (Hillsboroughites?) are drawn as what I consider traditional western cartoon figures and represent the norm- at least for Hillsborough - and the backgrounds remind me of woodcuts. Courtney and the teenagers at the uppity school are a mix of traditional style with manga heads, with the exception of the gang of bullies. They are straight manga and remind me of the homunculi in the Full Metal Alchemist series. They don't look like them, but they have that soulless glare that manifests in evil beings everywhere (and banana curls! The Horror!) Poor Courtney doesn't fit in with any of these, she has no nose and a round manga face with expressive eyes. She is even emotionally separated from her parents, who are so totally out there that their likenesses are the blank-eyed caricatures of fools.

Some stories just have to be told in pictures. I can tell you when Courtney turns her head the monsters disappear but you have to see it to get the full effect, especially once they stop hiding.

As stated in the review, this special, full-color, hardcover edition contains previously released material: Courtney Crumrin, Vol. 1: Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things (Courtney Crumrin Tales) [Paperback] (September 2003), which is a collection of the four issues in the series, Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things: #1 (March 2002), #2 (April 2002), #3 (May 2002) and #4 (June 2002).