A fun older kid spooky graphic. Gave me throwback vibes to Tim Burton and Invader Zim (but not JTHM. Not that dark) A good fit for the older middle grade set

I can’t wait for the second volume. This was absolutely amazing. I loved the plot and the artwork especially how dark it was. Loved the character that was basically allergic to everything lol. Stunning job.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of The Crumrin Chronicles. This was a quick read, but the most interesting part seemed to be the fae side of things and it remained stuck in the human world with supernatural elements that were presented as encroaching and dangerous more than anything else. The art was dynamic and occasionally gross, the plot was fairly predictable, and the characters were two dimensional. Clear set up for planned sequels.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I zipped through this. The art is utterly gorgeous. It is has a creepy look using eirie purples and blacks to sublime effect on many pages. The colouring does much of the tone-setting and there is an elegant use of shading that adds heft to both the action and emotional scenes. The comic is gracefully laid out, and I especially liked the thickly inked panels that added to the horror tone.

The characters are well written. Flawed yet likeable in the way the best young protagonists are. I found both Will and Tucker to be charming. Their relationship is well observed. The small and not so small sleights that strain a friendship seem natural despite the supernatural circumstances that the pair find themselves in. The dialogue is flowing and works harmoniously with the images on page. There was a great balance between the two.

A very well written supernatural teen mystery with pleasing artwork.

Actual rating is 3.25 stars

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC!

I loved it when a story gets all these types of mythical creatures all mixed together. I loved the illustrations and I think the story did flow well, but I found out that it was a spinoff of an existing series by the author 🤣 which I haven’t read yet 🙊 It’s quite enjoyable and entertaining but I think I would have rated it higher had I read the main series first 😂 I hope to get back to this later in the year after I finish with the main series 😊

To help Will Crumrin adapt to the mortal world after a hundred years in the twilight realm of faeries, sis big sister Courtney makes him a glamor charm that renders him the most popular kid in school. But he eventually finds popularity a prison, in which he's surrounded by people who neither know nor care about the real him. When football star Ross, jealous of Will's friendship with outcast Tucker, bullies her relentlessly, Will decides to turn him in, give up the false popularity of the charm. But Ross retaliates against Will, prompting Courtney to take revenge using magic. But her activity draws the attention of Emil Gorka, an ancient, powerful vampire.

Once driven into hiding by Courtney's former mentor, Uncle Aloysius, Gorka has reemerged under the guise of a corporate CEO. Everyone in town works for him, including Courtney and Will's clueless parents. But he wants Courtney, a powerful but inexperienced young sorceress as his servant. And to save Will from his dreadful bite, she must surrender herself. Now only Will, with the help of his best friend Tucker, can save Courtney from eternal servitude to the undead monster and his unquenchable hunger for blood and power.

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The art itself is good and looks stunning. I just can't really really into the story and the world. It feel flat for me. I can't say I enjoy this that much. It's just a 3 stars for me.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

'The Crumrin Chronicles Vol. 1: The Charmed and the Cursed' with story and art by Ted Naifeh is a graphic novel with the return of one of my favorite characters.

Courtney Crumrin is back. When her 'little' brother Will is rescued from a curse by faeries and comes to live with Courtney, she gives him a charm to wear in case he has social issues. Of course Will wears it all the time which has bad consequences that his big sister, Courtney, may not be able to deal with.

I adored the original series starring Courtney Crumrin, so this is a welcome return, and it doesn't disappoint. I was immediately back in Courtney's world with her scowling face. If you were a fan of the original series, this is a must.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

This is a sort of spinoff of Courtney Crumrin books, about a sorceress and her great uncle warlock. So it is centered in Wilberforce "Will" Crumrin, the brother of great uncle Aloysius, retorned from the land of fairies after near a hundred years or so, in the form of a boy clueless about living with humans.

Well, Courtney didn't do him a good favor with this magical pendant (and she should: all magic comes at a price), because it didn't allow Will to grow up to understand what it's like to make friends, and deal with the tortuousness of life at school.

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Parents are a nullity in this story, not only are they not aware of the magical life, but the only thing that interests them is money to the point of using their youngest son to progress at work.

The good thing is, he got Tucker's loyalty. An outcast girl who struggles with her looks, her sexuality, geek likes, and most of all her allergies.

Now, to continue surviving life at school , er I mean, the enemies that great-uncle left.

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{This time in Spanish:}

Esta es una especie de spin-off de los libros de Curtney Crumrin, sobre una hechicera y su tío abuelo brujo. Así que se centra en Will Crumrin, el hermano del tío abuelo, regresado de la tierra de las hadas después de casi cien años, en la forma de un niño sin idea de cómo vivir con humanos.

Bueno, Curtney no le hizo un buen favor con este colgante mágico (y debería hacerlo: toda la magia tiene un precio), porque no le permitió a Will crecer para comprender lo que es hacer amigos y lidiar con la tortuosidad de la vida en la escuela.

Los padres son una nulidad en esta historia, no solo no son conscientes de la vida mágica, sino que lo único que les interesa es el dinero hasta el punto de utilizar a su hijo menor para progresar en el trabajo.

Lo bueno es que se ganó la lealtad de Tucker. Una chica marginada que lucha con su apariencia, su sexualidad, sus gustos geek y, sobre todo, sus alergias.

Ahora, a seguir sobreviviendo la vida en la escuela , cof, a los enemigos que dejó el tío abuelo.

I think there is a lot to like about this story and the way that different elements of magic get mixed into a story about real friendship, but I have so many issues with the art. There are entire panels that look like someone that has never drawn tried to draw them. I'm sorry, but I kept getting so distracted by trying to figure out why people suddently had 3 fingers that I constantly had to go back and re-read entire pages. I can understand it being an aesthetic choice. I can also say that it's not an aesthetic choice that I agree with.
Going back to the good in it. The story is a new angle on Courtney Crumrin, one that focuses on Aloysius Crumrin's brother returned from the world of fae to live out his life as a normal human. There's misuse of magic, teenagers being awful, and a terrifying vampire set on revenge. As I said before, it has some good elements and some very imaginative takes on magic and how it can both work with and against one. I also really like the friendship between Will and Tucker and how it shows that you have to put work into friendships for them to truly be good. Just, again, the art is 100% not for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for the early read.

This was a nice read. However, I didn’t get really invested in the story. I think I am a bit too old for this graphic novel. Moreover, I wasn’t a fan of the drawings. I think it can be an amazing read for some people but I just didn’t get the desire to know what happens next. I found it a bit all over the place at times and hence, was a bit confused.
I recommend it to middle-graders or just people with different tastes than mine.
2.5/5

I really loved this comic and all the characters in it. The story is interesting; these guys having to deal with a lot more than a typical high-schooler.

This was a dark read but a good one. The illustrations were great all apart from the Sister. I couldn't understand why there wasn't a nose on that characters face. The moral for this story was obvious but very well done. The colourist worked really well with a specific palette of colours.

I didn't really get a great connection with it but did enjoy it. I can't work out if I would be carrying on reading the series or not.

I loved this continuation of the story from Courtney Crumrin - it featured mostly familiar main characters, with some new ones thrown in. The plot was exactly what I'd come to expect from the main series, and it was a lot of fun, with a little moral about who your true friends are. Plenty of monsters of all kinds, even the human ones, and nothing that would prevent me from sharing it with my daughter.

More grown up than the original Courtney Crumrin books, yet still retaining the sweetness and whimsy alongside the darker, gloomier, gothier aspects.
Story wise, this feels more like a short story attached to a main narrative, but hopefully this will be strengthened. The new characters, particularly Tucker, are just lovely. Naifeh"s art remains beautiful., and the colour palatte is stunning, There was more than one panel that I wanted to put up on my walls.
I shall be going back to reread some earlier stuff for sure.
For spooky kids, and those of us who used to be spooky kids.

I received an eARC copy from Oni Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Crumrin Chronicles Volume 1 is/was my first encounter with Courtney Crumrin and her spooky world. Although this volume focuses more on Will, Courtney's "younger brother" (Will is actually Wilberforce, Great Uncle Aloysius' brother, for those of you familiar with the whole series), I still think I managed to grasp a good hold of the entire world and the story revolving around Courtney and her adventures (I did read a bit about her, yes, I did).

The plot was a hit from the start (how could it not be?! We got magic, vampires, charms, books filled with a bunch of spells, a sorceress, spooky vibes, a creepy and mysterious atmosphere, a great uncle who returned to life as a young man - what's not to like?); I was expecting something evil to happen when I realised Will is getting a necklace with a pendant that would make everyone like him. How could he possibly know whether those friends are by his side for real or just being attracted and manipulated by the pendant? And how could I not love it?! For me, reading about Courtney for the first time, this little piece of magic was an entrance to the mystical and dark aspect of the story.

The actual care Will expressed toward Tucker and the situation she ended up with with the bullies at the school is what I came here for. It was courageous of him to stand up for his friend and take matters into his hands. The trio (Courtney, Will, and Tucker) joined their forces and knowledge to fight the vampire and protect the world.

The dark theme of the graphics worked wonders with the somewhat fairytale story; I felt drawn to it from the first page. The artwork is stunning, the illustrations are gorgeous, and I adored Courtney's dominance on each of the panels she appeared on; she is such a fierce sorceress.

What made me give three stars to this read are the gaps in the panels, dialogues, and the overall story, which hindered any character development. I understand that reading graphic novels in general calls for my imagination to fill in the gaps as well, but at times, I felt like I ended up guessing a big chunk of the story to make it make sense. It just felt too rushed.

Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing Will, Courtney, and Tucker grow and evolve in the upcoming volumes!

First of all I would like to thank NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC !

It was a bit all over the place and sometimes I didnt completely understood what was going on but it wasnt bad !

Nice dark fantasy comic, I'm curious to see the rest of it !

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Crumrin Chronicles Vol. 1 by Ted Naifeh is a fantasy graphic novel that will appeal to fans of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I have read stories in the Courtney Crumrin graphic novel series before, and I was struck by the excellent writing and plotting of the series. This graphic novel is a spin-off of that series, and the previous series is not required before reading this one. There is a prologue at the beginning of this graphic novel that explains everything you need to know. This graphic novel is about Courtney's brother Will, who is actually a faerie who no longer has magical powers. Thanks to a charm, he is extremely popular at school. But that all comes to an end when he defends an unpopular student from bullying, and the popular crowd turns against him. How will Will resolve this situation? Will it require bravery, magic, or something else?

Overall, The Crumrin Chronicles Vol. 1 is an enchanting, magical graphic novel that will appeal to teenagers who are finished watching Sabrina and American Horror Story on Netflix. I would also like to recommend it for fans of the Bizenghast manga series, which is one of my favorite manga series. The gothic vibe and sense of horror starring teenage protagonists is present in both works. I am happy to give this book 5 stars. I hope that in the next volumes, they will focus more on the characters and character development. I am interested to see how WIll develops his relationships with others at the school in the future. If you're intrigued by the description above or if you're a fan of witchy graphic novels, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in June!

Thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Crumrin Chronicles Vol. 1 by Ted Naifeh is a fantasy graphic novel that will appeal to fans of The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. I have read stories in the Courtney Crumrin graphic novel series before, and I was struck by the excellent writing and plotting of the series. This graphic novel is a spin-off of that series, and the previous series is not required before reading this one. There is a prologue at the beginning of this graphic novel that explains everything you need to know. This graphic novel is about Courtney's brother Will, who is actually a faerie who no longer has magical powers. Thanks to a charm, he is extremely popular at school. But that all comes to an end when he defends an unpopular student from bullying, and the popular crowd turns against him. How will Will resolve this situation? Will it require bravery, magic, or something else?

Overall, The Crumrin Chronicles Vol. 1 is an enchanting, magical graphic novel that will appeal to teenagers who are finished watching Sabrina and American Horror Story on Netflix. I would also like to recommend it for fans of the Bizenghast manga series, which is one of my favorite manga series. The gothic vibe and sense of horror starring teenage protagonists is present in both works. I am happy to give this book 5 stars. I hope that in the next volumes, they will focus more on the characters and character development. I am interested to see how WIll develops his relationships with others at the school in the future. If you're intrigued by the description above or if you're a fan of witchy graphic novels, I highly recommend that you check out this book when it comes out in June!

I really enjoyed this Graphic Novel about an older sister, her younger brother, and his two friends fighting evil to protect each other. Middle Grades and up will be surprised to actually enjoy reading.

It was definitely an interesting read. I liked the illustrations and the concept of the story, I just think it was a bit rushed. You can see my full review on goodreads!