Ted Naifeh's a clever guy. I'm pleased he keeps returning to this wonderfully dark but playful character, but he only seems to do so if he can take her in a new direction. And he does so here, by taking her back to her roots, where we discover that she was special long before she ever encounter her warlock uncle. There's a surprisingly schmoltzy tone that turns up here at one point, but overall, the property still boasts the same edge that sets Courtney Crumrin apart from her better known cousin, Harry Potter.
Courtney and her parents head back to her hometown so they can arrange for the sale of their rundown condominium. That gives Courtney the chance to catch up with Malcolm, the only other kid she could ever call a true friend. A year apart has not only brought about changes in Courtney, though. Malcolm -- who's always been a sad child thanks to his mother's melancholy, tragic existence -- has begun hanging around with a couple of neighborhood punks who have led Malcolm down a dangerous path.
Naifeh's art is as strong as ever. I love the dark, empty look Naifeh instills in Courtney's father's eyes. It reinforces how his materialistic nature is an ultimately unfulfillinh and pointless avenue to explore. I also love the exotic, beautiful tone the artist instills in Malcolm's mother. One can't help but be impressed by Naifeh's ability to make even a rundown townhouse in suburban America look haunted and gothic.
There's a moment in this issue that the story takes on an oddly conventional tone. Even the characters acknowledge there's an "after-school special" quality to their conversation. Fortunately, that conventional plot point doesn't seem so conventional by the issue's end. Naifeh manages to instill a sense of real-world danger here, and that makes for an even stronger contrast with Courtney's burgeoning supernatural skills.
While there is a conventional quality to the central plot, there's a secondary plotline that wraps up this issue that takes the reader off guard in with its M. Night Shyamalan-esque twist. I also enjoyed the balance Naifeh brings to Courtney's parents. They finally come across as something more than one-dimensional, money-grubbing suburbanites. The sadness that Courtney's dad exhibits earlier on in the issue, which is tempered by his emotional failure to recognize real priorities by issue's end.
