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     I wasn't sure what to think when I sat down to read Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things. The main reason behind my reluctance was the cover art. On first glance it came across as childish and yet still it was dark with a lot of sharp lines, a blatant contradiction. Also, Courtney seemed to be lacking a nose. Thankfully, though, when I opened the book and began to read, I realized that while Courtney remained quite noseless throughout, the story was pleasantly surprising.

     The story follows a young girl named Courtney who is forced to baby sit the infant child of a wealthy couple in order to help boost her parent's social status as the creepy neighbors, to that of the warm, trusted family. Annoyed enough by this, she is even more upset when she discovers that the child she is babysitting has been replaced by a demonic changeling so the baby could be kidnapped and sold on the black market. Ain't that a bummer? And why do I always end up reviewing weird stuff like this?

     Anyway, this is the point when we realize that Courtney is no stranger to mysticism at all. In a hilarious scene, our girl turns hero and hangs the changeling upside down and spins him like the prize wheel on a game show until he promises to lead her to where the baby has been taken. When he finally talks, Courtney heads off on a mission to save the child.

     It is easy to see why Ted Naifeh, who had long been struggling as a comic book and 3-D game artist, finally gained critical acclaim for this series. In the end, the contradiction that had very nearly turned me away from this story was the perfect accent to it. The paradoxical style of art, the way it seemed to be both childish and eerie perfectly sets the progression of Courtney’s character and adventures. While still very immature, she is forced to push this state of being aside by her knowledge of the world.

     Courtney is an enchanting character, dark, sarcastic, and even a little sadistic. So don't expect any shiny happy ending for this title. The story seems to be just as unconventional as its characters, which has me hankering to read the rest of the series. This story is proof positive that you should never judge a book by its cover.

     Send your comments and or questions about this article to manzanos@netzero.net.

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