REVIEW: Courtney Crumrin #1

Courtney Crumrin #1 is a nice casual read written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh. I“ve always been intrigued by magic, spooky run down houses and a dark mystery hidden in the nearby woods. This book has a nice dark tone to the pages and panels. It“s a nice pace to an opening little story about a small town and a young girl by the name of Courtney Crumrin. Who is a witch as is her uncle who is a warlock. Holly who is also a young teenage girl moves in next door to Courtney and after a rocky start, become friends. Courtney opens up Holly to the world of magic and from there on Holly uses it for her own selfish means inside and outside of school. There“s an interesting hidden magical world around the small town of Hillsbrough where our story is set. Naifeh does an excellent job of panel to panel movement of the story. It“s a good introduction. I also like how he leaves a mysterious vibe around his characters. It“s casual but you can see it.

It“s an interesting look at how youth would abuse such magical powers. It“s a good message to send to young readers who just might happen to pick up this book. It is only a dollar. Bargain! Courtney tries to cope with Holly taking advantage of the new-found magic she has taught her. It“s a good lesson on even at the cost of friendship you must steer you friends correctly. Even if they don“t like it. Holly continues to use magic for her own gain. Courtney, who I“m guessing is a seasoned pro of magic begins to watch Holly more closely and we the readers get to dive down deeper into the magical world that surrounds the town of Hillsbrough.

With an interesting cliffhanger at the end of the comic, Courtney and the town of Hillsbrough has a lot more story to tell. Ted Naifeh has drawn open the curtain on this show and I believe young readers will really like this story. It has a lot of relatable issues teenagers might share with the characters in this book. Fitting in, finding friends, learning dark magic, and taking advantage of others than learning a lesson the hard way. With mysteries being set up for upcoming issues I“m sure Courtney will be at the helm of the storm. The comic has good character development and a nice mild haunting to it. It will be interesting to see how this world of magic and lore will unfold. Courtney Crumrin gets four out of five stars.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

(W) Ted Naifeh (A/CA) Ted Naifeh
Publisher: OniPress