Craig Thompson (1) (1975–)

Wrrr. This graphic novel. Wrrr. The art is *amazing.* The structure and the intertwining of motifs and themes is by turns fascinating and compelling. The story is only so-so. And then there's the "urg" feeling I had the whole time I was reading. The story is set in an unnamed Middle Eastern country sometime in the near-ish future. Here's my first two "urg" feelings: Craig Thompson is not, to the best of my ability to discover, of any sort of Middle Eastern descent nor is he culturally show more adjacent in any way (like, say, having married someone of Middle Eastern descent). A white person writing a book about the Middle East is not an automatic "urg," but it does make me pay real close attention and start looking for an answer to the question, "Why *this* story, why by *you*?" I didn't feel like I ever got that answer. And the nonspecificity of the setting made me go "Hrrm" as well. Americans aren't historically so great at understanding Middle Eastern countries, cultures, and peoples with nuance and specificity, so the vague setting feels like maybe not enough effort. Then there's the dramatic sexualization of the female lead, who is shown naked *a lot* and who is raped *a lot* and who we *see* getting raped *a lot.* I didn't feel like this nudity and sexual violence was helping me confront anything or learn anything (except maybe demonstrating that whole "arousal does not equal desire" thing, but I never felt like Thompson was going for that, so.). There's a sultan who is one hundred percent governed by his lusts. Flrn. He's got a harem, and guess how many of the women in it are full-fledged characters rather than naked women we see the sultan ****ing in all kinds of positions? Dingdingding. Zero. And then there are the characters of African descent. They are decidedly simian in appearance. They are *treated* (some of them anyway) as fully-rounded characters; their depiction in the story is not racist as far I saw, but their *images* were. Whhyyyyyy? Aside from the eye-popping "wow" of the art itself, the positive thing that stood out to me about this graphic novel was the depiction of stories from both Christian and Islamic religious tradition that were woven into the larger narrative. These were magnificently illustrated, and the explanation of the differences between the same stories from the two different traditions were fascinating. It made me wish Thompson had teamed up with some religious scholars and done a nonfic comparative graphic work about Christianity and Islam. Alas. show less

from Laura:

Carnet de Voyage is Craig Thompson's travel journal while touring in Europe for Blankets and also researching for his next book, Habibi, in Morocco.

I love Craig Thompson's lines, which are so full of movement and energy, even after losing his drawing supplies and being temporarily reduced to ballpoint pen. I enjoyed the occasional appearance of a narrator/conscience/pep talker who helped him bear homesickness, worsening rheumatoid arthritis and a recent heartbreak ("You're just show more whiny and egocentric and somehow oblivious to the real suffering outside of you. It's an American trait. Boo hoo hoo, you lost your drawing supplies...this man draws with his mouth. Boo hoo hoo, your girlfriend left you...this old man is forced to beg on the street because there's no social security in Morocco. A donkey cart ran over his legs and now he's crippled. In Fez, you can buy ballpoint pens for Carnet. No need for fancy 'brush pens.'"). I loved his inclination to draw trees and cats above anything else.

A few more favorite quotes (better with accompanying images):

Aboard the bus, I sat next to the very first American I'd encountered in my Moroccan travels--Darren. We're the same age, both from the midwest, similar fundamentalist upbringing, but in contrast to me, he's the quintessential laid-back traveler--extracting pure joy from his journey. He quit his job, left his girlfriend, and sold all his belongings for an indefinite time abroad on an Ultimate Frisbee tour. Our pastimes encapsulate entire world views. While I'm hunched over a pad of paper in an almost fetal pose--he's extending his body in such a carefree manner--and frisbee's a cooperative rather than a competitive sport. That's the basis of my challenge in keeping this carnet...to draw as a manner of interacting with the world, extending myself...instead, I feel a bit isolated, neurotic, and burdened. Most often, I continue Carnet out of fear of disappointment in myself if I stop.

Our lives are so stupid and mundane and magical and sacred! I'm happy and sad and deluded and insecure and egocentric! show less

http://andalittlewine.blogspot.com/2012/03/blankets-by-craig-thompson-book-12-of...

After I finished Craig Thompson's Habibi at the end of February, I was left really wanting to re-read his memoir/ "illustrated novel" Blankets. This took a little doing, because I love Blankets. I have bought the book multiple times, and multiple times I have given my copy away to friends, imploring them to fall in love with it, too.

In Understanding Comics, Scott McCloud argues that ones of the choices the show more artists must make is his level of photo-realism. Most artists could, if they chose, fill their novels with precisely unique faces and bodies, making each page a photograph. But the human mind sees faces everywhere (that is why our emoticons work :-p ).

In Blankets, Thompson chooses to skirt a fine line, drawing his characters a little on the ambiguous side; they are clearly human, but who are they precisely? His character, thin-limbed, long faced and large nosed, could be him, judging by his photo on the back cover. But it could be a drawing of me, too. And that's where the magic begins.

From here
After Craig (the character, to distinguish from Thompson the author) and his girlfriend Raina spend a virginal if sexually-charged night together, Craig utters a small prayer, accompanied by the sleep tossed images of a beautiful girl who we know is Raina, but could very well be any girl; in the simple black and white illustrations I defy anyone to conclusively name her hair color:

Pressed against her
I can hear ETERNITY--
hollow, lonely spaces and
creents that churn
ceaselessly,
And the fallen snow
welcomes the falling
snow with a
whispered "HUSH."

What I love about Blankets is how unassuming it is. There are lessons here: hard, painful, familiar lessons about growing up, about faith and parents, about the limits of authority and the limits of our ability to change the world- while Craig is endlessly unresolved about where his life should lead, Raina has already taken on the challenges of motherhood, stepping in with her sister's baby while the sister and husband indulge their materialistic side (they are, in fact, trying to distract themselves from the fact that their marriage will soon fall apart if they don't address their problems head on). But Thompson doesn't beat us over the head with any of those lessons.

Instead, he unfolds this love story, and in unfolding it he gives us glimpses into the traumas that have happened and are continuing to happen to both Craig and Raina. They are doomed but don't know it, and when the inevitable comes, it comes with an honest softness the opposite of the dramatic climax we expect from literature. show less

I fell in love with Craig Thompson's Habibi (2011) when I read it over a year ago, and I can't believe I waited this long to check out Blankets. this is a gorgeous work of art that's full of imagination and youthful pathos. It's also the publication that put Thompson on the map as a graphic novelist, winning him fans, critical acclaim and accolades along the way. Right from the beginning you can see that Thompson is a gifted artist and storyteller. In his own words (from an interview): "I show more was reacting against all of the over-the-top, explosive action genre—I guess alternative comics have been doing that, for a while. But I also didn't want to do anything cynical and nihilistic, which is the standard for a lot of alternative comics."

Blankets is autobiographical, the author's own spiritual journey from teenager to adult in the wintry upper Midwest. Reading it—or better yet, experiencing it—is like being present in a shared dream, floating along from one moment to the next. By the book's end I was so inspired that I wanted to drop everything and go write my own story as a graphic novel. That is the power of this book. show less