Title: Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics
Author: Ted Naifeh
Publisher: Oni Press
Copyright: 2003
ISBN: 1929998597
Pages: 130
Price: $11.95
Rating: 10
Synopsis:
"Courtney Crumrin is a great analogy for how high school felt for most of us. Unfortunately, we didn't have creatures that could eat our tormentors for us."
--Newtype USA Magazine
"Courtney Crumrin is a modern-day fairy tale in the darkest tradition of the genre. Ted Naifeh has created a wonderful series that merges the terrors of the night with the awkwardness of childhood, and an offbeat young heroine who triumphs over the monsters that haunt each world."
--Paul Dini, Emmy Award-winning producer of Batman: The Animated Series
Courtney Crumrin is back in a new adventure that pits her against the town's most powerful warlocks and witches--the Coven of Mystics! When the night things of Courtney's community start making trouble, it seems like the Crumrins are the only ones interested in the truth. After an initial confrontation with the world's most terrible hobgoblin goes badly, the Coven decides it needs a scapegoat. the mystical council turns its ire on Skarrow, a creature of the dark in service to the town's most beautiful and reclusive witch. Knowing that disturbances of this kind are never easy to explain, uncle Aloysius dismisses the Coven's accusations, starting a curious Courtney down a twisted path to discover the true mastermind behind all the horror! But does Courtney stand a chance against a being as powerful and manipulative as the one waiting for her at the end of her journeys?
Review:
Closing our hearts to the world often seems like a great idea, considering the jerks that run amock in our times; but sometimes, just when you think you're happy in your isolation, "you can get bitten on the ass."
Our little Courtney Crumrin agrees in her own way: "It is unwise to turn your back on the world. But it's deadly to turn your back on a Crumrin."
The second volume would've received an 11 rating if it was part of the rating scale. The second part of the series introduces us to the true darkness lying within the shadows in Hillsborough, a tantalizing evil oilier and inkier than the most wretched, blood-thirsty creatures of the night. Its many names include Ambition, Love, and Revenge. It is the human heart, and Ted Naifeh's atmospheric style and beautifully grotesque collection of Night Things work together flawlessly to convey the full magnitude of its power. The plot will leave you starved for a happy ending of some kind (even if you don't particularly like them). It's that poignant.
In midst of the harsh and unforgiving reality checks, Naifeh manages to maintain a level of spunk and subtle humor throughout the volume, courtesy of Courtney, her new teacher (in more ways than one) Ms. Crisp, and the character of the hobgoblin.
It may be a little too late to erase the Spider-Man version of this beast out of our heads, but I felt that this character in particular deserved a bit of special acknowledgement. Major kudos to Naifeh for monster design. One look at ol' Tommy Rawhead would make even Freddy Krueger piss himself. What advantage does Ms. Crumrin take of this new foe, I wonder? Read Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics to find out!
Ted Naifeh's first love is comics. Since the age of eighteen he's worked as a professional artist on a variety of genres ranging from horror to western to science fiction and fantasy. Ted is also the co-creator of comics such as the goth romance Gloom Cookie and the groundbreaking How Loathsome.
