About.com Rating

In this sixth and final volume of the collected edition of the Courtney Crumrin series, the whole story of Courtney and her great uncle Aloysius comes to a strange but fitting end. Where the original comics were in black and white, this special hardcover edition adds colour, so even longtime readers of the series may want to check it out. And while the book has a younger-than-teen protagonist, it's the best kind of all-ages story: one that teens and adults will get as much out of as younger readers.

Publication Information

• Full Title:Courtney Crumrin Volume Six: The Final Spell
• Series: Courtney Crumrin (#t6)
• Writer/Artist: Ted Naifeh
• Publisher: Oni Press
• Publication Date: August 2014
• ISBN: 9781620100189 (hardcover)

Witch on the Run

Young witch Courtney Crumrin has had plenty of adventures, both alone, and with her great uncle Aloysius, who introduced her to magic in the first place. Now, her past mistakes have put the other witches and warlocks on her trail, intent on punishing her -- or maybe just on silencing her for reasons of their own. Though Courtney has help from her former teacher (and another former student of Uncle A) Calpurnia, even Uncle A seems to be against her this time.

Desperation leads Courtney to discover she has even more magical abilities than she thought, and she realizes she learned more from Uncle A than he probably intended her to. But she's still not powerful enough to survive on her own, and the place she seeks sanctuary reveals some dark secrets from Uncle A's past.

A Witch's End

Since this volume in the sixth in the series overall, and the second that collects the formerly ongoing series (which is to say, it's the second half of one of the stories in a larger overall series), I wasn't expecting a self-contained story. Interestingly, though, this volume very well could be read on its own. Though readers who have read the whole series will have more context and background, and there are a few references to much earlier incidents, this volume actually stands as a self-contained story and new readers could jump in here.

On the other hand, I love this series so much I want everyone to have read it from the beginning. So if you can only find book six, don't let the fact that it's the last in a series deter you from reading it. But see if you can find the other volumes first.

A Well-Drawn Witch

The main characters in Courtney Crumrin are well-drawn both in the literal sense -- the book has really great art -- and in the metaphorical sense -- they feel like well-rounded people with quirks and flaws and motivations of their own (especially if you've read the whole series). The art style is on the cartoony side, and is in many ways unlike my other favorite work by Ted Naifeh, The Good Neighbours (written by Holly Black), but it's every bit as skillful and evocative.

The writing, while often serious in tone, has quick flashes of humor that keep it from becoming too heavy and somehow make the serious parts feel more important. This book is the whole package: great story, great art, great characters. heck, even the lettering is good.

All-Ages Witch

I seem to have reviewed a fair amount of all-ages work (like Doll Bones and Real Mermaids Don't Wear Toe Rings, when I really have plenty to keep me busy with strictly YA work. But some books are just so good I have to share them with everyone, and the Courtney Crumrin series is made up of such excellent books. They're accessible to tweens and even younger, but should be just as appealing to teens and adults. There are themes here that affect all of us, whatever our age. And plain great storytelling should be shared as widely as possible.

The only downside is that this is the final Courtney Crumrin book, so if you fall in love with the series like I did, you've only got the six volumes. But Ted Naifeh has other good work -- similar in tone and art style is Polly and the Pirates -- and he's still creating, so while we might not get any more Courtney, we'll still have plenty of Naifeh's work to come.