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COURTNEY CRUMRIN & THE NIGHT THINGS #3
Highly Recommended (9/10)
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Oni Press
Writer/Artist: Ted Naifeh
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
Let's see... new girl in town, popularity... what's not on Ted Naifeh's weird exploration of adolscence. Oh yeah, babysitting. The creator continues his hilarious and dark journey into the supernatural here. I haven't heard a lot of folks talking about Courtney Crumrin yet, and that's a shame. Naifeh's flipside of Harry Potter is morbidly entertaining, and I hope that the eventual trade paperback collection makes people sit up and take notice.
Courtney gets roped into babysitting the newborn child of the local district attorney, mainly so her parents can continue their awkward climb up the social ladder. Of course, that ends up being the night that the baby is abducted by faerie folk, and Courtney gives chase into Goblin Town -- not so much to rescue the baby, but to cover her own butt.
Naifeh's art continues to remind me of Dan Brereton's work, but there's a strong Mike Mignola vibe at play here that's undeniable. The strongest visual element of the book, though, is definitely Courtney. Her near-featureless is surprisingly expressive; Naifeh conveys her attitude, anger and annoyance with crystal clarity. The Globin Town setting later in the book is stunning, as rich in detail as something we'd see in a Charless Vess faerie market image.
I've said it before, but merits repeating: Naifeh's choice for Courtney's characterization is wonderful. She's far from the typical teen heroine we normally see. She's selfish, not selfless. She's bitter, not bright-eyed. In fact, she almost seems too grown-up and jaded... she would, if not for Naifeh's narration. Courtney hides her fear and doubt well; that's part of who she is. But those elements are there, and Naifeh wisely uncovers them with his script.
There's a refreshing cynicism that fuels this book and sets it apart from the young-adult fantasy genre to which it only seems to belong. There's only one innocent in this story, and he's as low as he can get on anyone's list of priorities. Naifeh's scathing look at yuppiedom is so effective because it's really not that far from the truth.
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