Salutations, traveler of The Internets! Welcome to William's Bloody Hell, so named after our founder, Sir Bloody William.
He is seen in the likeness above in a rare, 19th century woodcut. This
image was rumoured to have been
commissioned after a bout of unpleasantness
in the White Chapel district of London. Do enjoy your stay and peruse our many, varied offerings, much of which cannot be found elsewhere!
:: Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics by Ted Naifeh ::
by William the Bloody
This 4 issue mini series is the sequel to Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things, where our heroine, Courtney and her parents move in with her Great Uncle Alosysius. Her parents believe this is because he is getting old and needs help around the house; not that they really care, as they are in it merely to live in his wonderfully large home and give off the air of wealth. As Courtney soon discovers, this is not the case. Alosysius wanted them to move in in order to divert attention from himself and what actually goes on around him, especially under cover of night. It seems that Uncle A is a warlock and there are a great deal of other things which go on that he prefer be kept secret from the "ordinary" townsfolk (this includes, but isn't limited to, hobgoblins and shape-changers).
Where the first mini series served as an introduction to the world of magic and the night things, this one shows a Courtney all settled into her new life and how she uses magic to help cope in the regular world. This series also focuses on the warlock and witch community, as they are having difficulties and come to Alosysius for help. Her curiosity piqued, Courtney does some research on her own, and discovers that someone has summoned an awful creature to slaughter some higher-ups on the Coven's Council. Also, a witch is cursed to keep silent, by coughing up frogs when she tries to speak and her fingers turn to snakes when she tries to write, her house creature Skarrow is blamed for everything. Courtney knows Skarrow is innocent and now must prove to the Coven that someone in their very midst is to blame. But failing that....
The Good: Fans will recognize Ted Naifeh's art from the delicious GloomCookie comics, and it is equally good here. His style is perfectly suited to the black and white medium and tales of a creepy nature. The Courtney Crumrin books are my first taste of his writing skills and it's...eh ok. It's not superfuntastic making me do cartwheels, but it doesn't outright suck either. The first 3 issues are pretty darn good, starting the mystery out in an intriguing way (and the meeting of the cats was just plain fun, but then I love stuff involving the secret lives of cats). I loved the horrible hobgoblin Tommy Rawhead 'n' Bloody Bones, Ted did an awesome job with his design.
The Bad: The last issue I feel falls short. The discovery of who the villain really is just doesn't do it for me. I don't feel as though the clues were all there. The question of who benefits from all this? wasn't really answerable from any subtle hints anywhere; it was just sort of given to you all at once in the end and you have to accept it.
All in all, it made for some fun diversion, if you're into supernatural stuff (bits of magic, man eating monsters, talking cats, and necromancy). A good time, but doesn't make you think to much.
B-
