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 goblinsA botched attempt at witchcraftA ChangelingA 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.
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!
There are too many books with beautiful artwork and insipid plots. This is not one of them. The pen and ink illustrations are beautiful, and humorous, and spooky, and all the other good things you want in a book, but the storyline? Marvelous and brilliant, with well rounded characters, good suspense, and all the rest. Including unexpected niceties such as incantations that actually scan (a rarity in even modern books of witchcraft) and are folklorically accurate (again a rarity, even among modern books of witchcraft).
If you liked the Books of Magic, you'll like this, except you'll probably like it better.