Because it was the human elements of Courtney Crumrin's first mini-series, the way the mystical related to real life, that I loved so much about the first issue, I'm surprised that I'm enjoying this second series just as much. Naifeh has left off examining much of Courtney's regular life and is exploring the secret life she leads among mystics, talking cats and other supernatural elements, but I find his creation of a secret world every bit as fascinating as his take on grade school politics, and Courtney remains as delightful a protagonist as ever.
I am not what you call a cat person. Before I learned I was allergic to them, I just didn't like them. Now I like them even less. However, I can't deny that they make for great fiction, and the idea that their solitary ways and affinity for the night indicates an older connection is something that I have liked when I've seen it. Naifeh's take on the cats is not completely new, it's been seen in a number of stories including Gaiman's famous "Dream of a 1000 Cats" but it's not just the ideas that make this issue intriguing to me. It's the characterization.
Naifeh gives each character their own voice. The cats all feel like cats, with a certain arrogance and loner nature, but they have different ways of showing their nature, whether it's a surplus of predatory instinct, too much pride, speed or even a touch of nobility. The same is true for the human characters, with a terrific opening sequence between Aloysius and Calpurnia or the always enjoyable cynical yet also open-minded Courtney. Or, more impressively, the character of Skarrow, who is well-developed in personality even though he never speaks.
That speaks to Naifeh's other talent, beyond just dialogue and imagination, and that is his artwork. His work is shadowy and dark, reminiscent of Mignola in some ways, but his designs for characters are sharper. The various cats are realistically rendered, given different coloring jobs or other distinctive features to make them easy to tell apart, and I like that Naifeh has a variance of stylistic approaches. Courtney is more cartoony, drawn somewhat inhumanly, while Aloysius and Calpurnia really look more or less human, although with a certain otherworldly air about them as well.
The obvious recommendations for Courtney Crumrin are for those who enjoy comics like Gloom Cookie or Little Gloomy, but I'd say that anyone who enjoyed Sandman or Harry Potter should also absolutely check the book out. Naifeh's work has the same feeling of showing readers a world of magic and fantasy without requiring you to love elves and dragons, and Courtney herself is like Harry Potter's more sarcastic younger sister.
