Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things is an independent comic book series written and illustrated by Ted Naifeh.Courtney is an odd little girl who doesn't quite fit in. When she and her parents have to move to her uncle's old mansion, she must adjust to a whole new school in a neighborhood she isn't entirely comfortable with; however, things quickly take a turn for the better, as she meets the strange and interesting individuals that live in and around her uncle's house.—
This comic provides examples of the following tropes:
Action Girl: Courtney isn't going to let being small and a preteen get in the way of saving the day.
Adults Are Useless: played straight with Courtney's parents, averted with Uncle Aloysius and Calpurnia Crisp.
Affably Evil: Tommy Rawhead. Butterworm could also be considered as such.
Growing Up Sucks: Played with. Courtney was never very innocent and is more perceptive than most adults, but she is realizing how complicated being an adult really is.
Half-Human Hybrid: Skarrow used to be a boy but was turned into a Night Thing by the Dreadful Duchess. later, we see that she made onother one, probably the baby Courtney was previously baby-sitting.
Haunted House: Courtney's friend is living in one. It's his mother's ghost.
Humans Are Special: even if Human activity drove him and his subjects underground, the Twilight King is not willing to retaliate and acknowledges human mastery of the surface world.
I Just Want to Have Friends: Despite being a snarky loner, Courtney does occasionally wonder if something is wrong with her and not the world.
I See Dead People: Courtney can see ghosts as a consequence of being magical.
It Gets Easier: Not quite yet, but Courtney shows surprisingly little remorse over her most morally repugnant actions. That is, ressurecting Tommy to kill for her.
Jade-Colored Glasses: Aloysius, especially in light of hints that he was as idealistic as Courtney when younger.
Little Miss Snarker / The Snark Knight: Snark gets Courtney through life, sometimes more successfully than others. Part of being very young, though, means that she's secretly very idealistic and her snark results from very little being up to her standards.
Obfuscating Disability: Aloysius is perfectly sound physically and mentally and doesn't need Courtney's parents to take care of him. He just tolerates them because they make his house less menacing and noteworthy.
Old Dark House: The Crumrin place is infamous as this. Turns out the neighbors are right, but it's not anything like they think it is.
Old Master: Aloysius Crumrin looks like a frail old man, but, when needed, he can behead "The Worst Goblin That Ever Was" in one move.
Parental Neglect: Courtney's parents don't do a very good job of taking care of her. Not out of spite they just aren't very good at giving her the emotional attention she needs.
Rage Against the Mentor: Courtney temporarily shuns her uncle after he has let Skarrow being killed.
Again in Monster Holiday, after he refuses to help out a group of werewolf gypsies and a girl who loves one of them.
Upper Class Twit: Courtney's parents. Or at least this is what they aspire to be, which is probably even sadder.
Weaksauce Weakness: One issue deals with a monster immune to curses famed for killing magic-users. What can defeat such a fearsome creature?... Turns out normal weapons work just fine.
What the Hell, Hero?: When Courtney and her uncle are on holiday in Europe, Courtney finds herself drawn to the company of a young vampire and starts to find the idea of dying with him to be appealing, since she's tired of everyone she knows dying or leaving her. When her uncle discovers that the vampire has been drinking her blood, he is confused as to how a vampire could get the better of his niece, who is plenty proficient in the use of magic. The owner of the hotel they are staying at promptly tells him off for failing to consider the fact that Courtney is a young girl who had to grow up fast and was thus vulnerable in ways that he was ignoring.
Courtney gets this herself a couple of times, related to her possibly excessive revenge against Hector. She even wonders herself if it was really justified or if she had less extreme options.
When She Smiles: Courtney almost never does this. So when she does, she really means it.
Will Not Tell a Lie: most Night Things don't know the very concept of lying (even if they can hide a truth), and are genuinely baffled when Humans don't keep their word.
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