Courtney Crumrin & the Night Things [Paperback]

Ted Naifeh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 27, 2002

Courtney's parents have dragged her out to a high-to-do suburb to live with her creepy Great Uncle Aloysius in his spooky old house. She's not only the new kid in school, but she also discovers strange things lurking under her bed.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Ted Naifeh, co-created the fan-favorite comic GLOOMCOOKIE at Slave Labor Graphics and has done extensive work for Dark Horse Comics. He collaborated with writer Dan Brereton on 2001’s spooky THE GUNWITCH: OUTSKIRTS OF DOOM miniseries and illustrated stories for Dark Horse’s successful line of licensed comics, including STAR WARS and BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Oni Press; Graphic No edition (December 27, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929998422
• ISBN-13: 978-1929998425
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 6.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,354,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Top Five Comics of 2002 (#2, in fact), February 25, 2003

By 

GLBT (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Courtney Crumrin & the Night Things (Paperback)

For those of you who enjoy the morbid humor of Edward Gorey or Charles Addams (creator of the Addams Family), do yourself a favor and pick up this wonderful limited series by creator Ted Naifeh. All four issues of Volume One are now collected in this Trade Paperback and a second volume (also consisting of four issues) is currently being published.

Courtney Crumrin is a young girl whose family moves in with her creepy uncle in an ultra-creepy mansion. Courtney's parents are dull-brained yuppie wanna-be's who can't wait to 'network' with the neighbors, and Courtney is left pretty much to herself. It turns out, however, that the creepy uncle in question is something of a wizard and leaves books full of magic spells lying around for Courtney to find and experiment with.

Now, if you're thinking Harry Potter, you couldn't be more wrong. There's nothing sweet or altruistic about Courtney Crumrin, and that's what makes this series so much fun. She's not the type to worry unduly if her one friend gets devoured by a demon. Courtney is primarily out for herself in a world full of idiots who always seem to be getting in her way. In other words, she's the kind of girl I'd like to marry someday.

Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is one of those comics that, from the moment you begin reading, you're completely transported to another world. Ted Naifeh's writing and illustrations complement each other beautifully and his stories are a whole hell of a lot of fun.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Trials of Courtney Crumrin, September 26, 2003

By 

Joshua Koppel (Chicago, IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Courtney Crumrin & the Night Things (Paperback)

Courtney Crumrin is a young girl just on the verge of womanhood. Her family (two airhead parents who want to climb the social ladder but don't know what rungs are) has moved in to their great uncle's home to aid in his ailing health. It is a spooky old mansion and Courtney notices some of the Night Things lurking about.

Courtney does not make friends easily but also does not take things lying down. In this first collection we see Courtney face her first four challenges:
Extortion and goblins
A botched attempt at witchcraft
A Changeling
A doppelganger

But Courtney rises to all occasions although she sometimes gets a little help from the Great Uncle who has plenty of his own secrets.

The stories are drawn, well, dark. They have atmosphere and character when so many comics don't. But while they are drawn in a dark manner and the subject matter can be unusual, these are not dark tales. Courtney is too strong-headed for that to happen.

My one complaint is the lack of noses. This is not too bad except in profile (when Courtney looks like a turtle). Otherwise it is a very well written set of tales and I am anxious to read more.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spooky, funny, brilliant!, April 9, 2003

By 

Dilemma Moon (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Courtney Crumrin & the Night Things (Paperback)

I found the first Courtney Crumrin comic book at a friend's house. After flipping through it, I had to borrow it and read the whole thing. Now I've got all four issues in this trade paperback, and I love it!

Courtney Crumrin is a kind of a brat, but it's not her fault. She's got shallow yuppy parents, stuck-up rich snob classmates, the school bullies beat her up, and there are Things living in the house at night. Her life sucks, and at first the only way she can blow off steam is to make sarcastic comments about all of it. She's pretty darn smart and funny, too. Then she figures out that her creepy old uncle Aloysius is a magician, and after digging around in his old spellbooks, she comes up with a new hobby and a much more effective way of dealing with the problems in her life.

I love Courtney's cranky anti-heroine personality and Aloysius' crusty facade and irreverant attitude. The night things are spooky and cute at the same time, especially Butterworm, and the house ... the house is a character all by itself! Great art, great story, fantastic characters all around. I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves Harry Potter, or who hates Harry Potter because it's too 'nice.' Actually, I'd recommend it to anyone, hands down!