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| Title, Author, Edition | Date | Language | Format | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courtney Crumrin in the twilight kingdom / by Ted Naifeh ; edited by Joe Nozemack & James Lucas Jones. - 1st ed. | ||||
|
Portland, Or. : Oni Press,
-
Courtney Crummin ; 3
1 v. (unpaged) : chiefly ill. |
2004 | English | Book; Illustrated | 14 |
No Tags for this versionSeparate multiple tags with a semicolon test cricket; Perth (WA) No Comments or reviews for this version |
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Reprinting the third four-issue miniseries starring adorable young curmudgeon Courtney Crumrin and her excellent cast of co-stars, "In The Twilight Kingdom" manages to come very, very close to its predecessor "Courtney Crumrin And The Coven Of Mystics", which I consider to be one of the greatest comic arcs ever published.
The first issue reprinted here is a bit atypical for the Crumrin series; it's a brief visit back to the hometown Courtney lived in before moving to Hillsborough. Different isn't bad though; this story is riveting as Courtney reconnects with her old friend and is disgruntled, and later more deeply concerned, about the turns her friend's life has taken in the past year.
It's with #s 2-4 that the story of young witches and warlocks eager to prove their prowess at the start of a new school year, the calamitous results of one spell, and the journey into the Twilight World begins. Courtney finds herself compelled to help a group of her peers she's not especially fond of (our dear little grumpy champion does make human friends so easily!). The journey to the Twilight Kingdom takes the group deep, deep into the heart of the world of the Night Things, farther than Courtney's ever been. And when the Twilight King himself appears....
Now, this collection introduces a number of characters who could well go on to be longstanding parts of the Courtney Crumrin/Hillsborough/Night Things mythos, but it's the King who stands out. Within the first couple of pages of his entrance he establishes himself as, believe it or not, not only one of the most fascinating and unforgettable characters in the aforementioned mythos but in comicdom as a whole. When was the last time Any comic book character did that so quickly? Maybe Imperiex's first true appearance in DC's "Our Worlds At War" crossover, but he'd been built up, both directly and indirectly, for a long time beforehand. The Twilght King, like Uncle Aloysius, like the numerous unforgettable and distinctive goblins (some of whom I don't think have even had their names revealed yet), like the Dreadful Duchess and like Courtney herself, is one of the reasons I think this ongoing cycle has what it takes to last, to be part of comic history like Superman or the X-Men. Cripes, if not for the small fact that 99.9% of the world has no idea a series of books called "Courtney Crumrin" exist, this could be as big as Harry Potter or Lord Of The Rings.
There's a lot of similarities here to Potter actually, which brings me to another point. The Crumrin series seems to get classed as a children's series, and while there's a lot in the books that appeals to me in the same way as movies like "Fairy Tale: A True Story", "Kiki's Delivery Service" or "Dumbo", there are other aspects that appeal in the same way as horror movies. There is some dark stuff in here, harkening back to the fairy tales of old (you know, wolves wolfing down Grandma, wicked crones trying to trick little children into the oven...) and after reading quite a lot that's classedas horror and seeing - I don't know how many horror movies, hundreds At Least - I can confidently say that a character like Rawhead'N'Bloody Bones is Pretty Freaking Scary! The stories are also full of compassion and wonder and fantasy, and I'm certainly not one to recommend blocking books, but the bottom line is if your five year-old wants to get into the world of Courtney Crumrin, perhaps you should read the first couple of isues to him or her as a bedtime story or someting? Just in case the little ones get frightened...
All that aside (after all, Potter and other kid-geared stuff can be frightening for the Really young fan) this is a fantastic entry in the Crumrin series. There's plenty here to appeal to fans of everything from anime to Harry Potter to epic fantasy (a la Tolkein and Robert Jordan) to Disney to the whole gamut of comic books out there and even to horror movies, with all aspects of the story blended perfectly. An outstanding volume of material, and Enter The Twilight King!
I love this comic like 10 to the infinite power.
It's great for all ages and of course if your a nerdy/dorky and a little bit gothy/dark girl, you'll love it 'cuz you'll totally see yourself in Courtney. I love her sarcasm and i passed it on to my 10 year old cousin and she loves her too.
This was given to me as a christmas gift. I wasnt sure about reading a YA (young adult) graphic novel (I'm in my late 30's), but my friend knew I was a fan of both graphic novels and in particular of the urban fantasy genre. Still, I gave it a try and was delightfully engaged by both the story and the artistic moody style of Naifeh. Needless to say I had to go and pick up volumes 1 and 2. I highly recommend this series not just to younger readers but for adults too. Delighfully dark and fun (althogh it has very dark themes, like all good fairy tales do). Now I am anxiously waiting for volume 4 which should be out end of March 2009.
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