Courtney Crumrin is like a Milky Way. Stay with me. What I mean is that it's dark, but it's also very sweet. Courtney herself is not the sweetest girl in a world, in fact she's pretty much antisocial, but given the society she's being asked to fit in with, the reader is more likely to sympathize with her than with the majority. This issue puts the conflict between Courtney and polite society right at the forefront, and it's funny and biting and at times sad, but it has a finale that is genuine and touching. It also features terrific artwork, as Naifeh combines shadows and weirdness with expressive characters and detailed backgrounds.
Each issue of Courtney Crumrin has focused on a young/teenage problem, such as moving to a new place, babysitting or dating and in this issue it's the all-important lesson that most of us take a long time to learn: being yourself. As with the problems in the previous issues, though, the problem is expressed through magic or faeries, in this case the time-honored tradition of a changeling. Naifeh serves up a story that doesn't present Courtney with any obvious answers, as her changeling is actually more popular and better with friends, school and parents.
Courtney's solution to the dilemma is perfectly in line with her character, as she learns a lesson but doesn't fundamentally change who she is. It is at once an entertaining sequence, reinforcing the theme of independence that has run throughout the entire series, and a good message for any young girls who might be reading the book, running counter to the message that popular media tends to drive home about being popular and fitting in. There's also a nice payoff to the relationship between Uncle Aloysius and Courtney, showing that despite their rough exteriors, they do have a strong bond based on being outside the social norm.
With the artwork, Naifeh paints a picture of a strange town, and it's mostly in his staging, rather than anything obvious. The architecture and background detail, save for Aloysius's home, is pretty standard, but the way that Naifeh shades it and the angles he uses to draw it give it a slightly off-kilter, weird look. This helps to reinforce that for Courtney, the normal is what really seems bizarre, while she deals with goblins and gremlins more easily. I also like that Courtney has inhuman features, but she never stops seeming like a normal little girl to me, despite her not appearing as one.
Naifeh has created a likable character and a fascinating world in Courtney Crumrin, and I hope that we'll see more of both in the future. There's room for a lot more stories about Courtney and her real-life based trials and tribulations, filtered through the strange and unusual.
