Blankets: 20th Anniversary Edition

I don't know how to describe the way I feel about Blankets other than, when I closed its covers, it made me cry. Not because the ending was sad, because it wasn't, it was beautiful and hopeful, but because I couldn't believe what I had just experienced and I couldn't believe that it was over. For the first 200 pages of Blankets, I read slowly, immersing myself in every single drawing, every line, every word. For the last 350 pages I was consumed by the story. I have no recollection of anything happening outside of its pages. I was wholly a part of Craig's world and nothing could have drawn me out of it. Did hours pass? Possibly. I honestly couldn't tell you. All I can tell you is that I have never been moved by graphic novel like this and there are only a few traditional novels that have made me feel the same way. Craig Thompson says that Blankets came from the urge to describe what it is like to sleep in the same bed as someone for the first time. There is no sentence that sums up Blankets better than that, but there is so much more depth to it than that. Craig, the son of very religious parents, weaves two stories that have a blanket at their center: sharing a bed with his younger brother when they were children and falling in love for the first time with Raina, a girl he met at a Christian camp.. This is a book about passions (religious, sexual, familial, romantic) and how they are at once complementary and contradictory. They push and pull against one another as much as they make each other possible. When one passion cannot be reconciled with another, how we deal with the force of that disappointment eventually defines who we are. Blankets made me really think about my own religious journey. Religion is a huge part of this graphic novel and I know that that can turn some people away. At the center of the story is Craig's questioning of his faith, that until his young adulthood was a blind faith. It's honest, but it's still reverent. At the center of this novel is not losing one's faith, but being able to ask questions about it. About taking a personal journey to discover your relationship with faith, no matter what that faith or the result of that discovery may be. I know that I appreciate this part of the novel because the way Craig feels about things really mirrors my own life, but I don't think it should be a deterrent for anyone reading this novel. It is about so much more than just religion; it's one coming of age story in which everyone can find pieces of themselves. Often after finishing a novel I say, "Wow, that book made me want to go back to the front page and read it again." Well, for the first time, I actually did it. I read Blankets twice in one night and found that there were so many small things and connections that I missed after my first reading. For example, Raina and Craig begin their relationship as pen pals and at one point we see Craig draw a picture for Raina. Later, when he finally visits her house, that picture is on Raina's wall. It's details like that that truly make a graphic novel a masterpiece. But that is not the only thing that makes Blankets perfect. It's Thompson's excellent use of negative space, the recurring themes and images, like blankets and snow (blankets of snow!!), typography and so much more. Blankets will make you ache. It will make you pine for the particular way first love consumes you. It will bring you back to that particular loneliness that is high school, in all that you are forever surrounded by people. It will remind you of the fits of fanaticism that being a child and a teenager allow. Even if your life is completely different from Craig's, I challenge you not to find snippets of your own family here in both Craig and Raina's. I challenge you to read Blankets and not be moved. Please, please read this autobiographical comic: it doesn't get any better than this.

...and I've read quite a few. But first, let me tell you about a theory of mine. It is that the more complex the medium, the more powerful a message is possible. So, books, verbal, and art are all simple media, in that they are one concentrated, direct medium. All of these media have matured, in that there are the best books, the best speeches, and the best art already available. Music, graphic novels, and movies would be the next level of complexity in that they combine two forms of media. Music is the only one of these media that has fully matured, in that there is lots of music out there that is better than the best in either vocals or poetry. There have been a few movies that have transcended the separate media of photographs and literature, but really not very many. Movies is still a relatively new media, and I think that in about 20 years you will see lots of movies that are better than either of the components of photographs or literature. Which brings me to this book--this book is a land breaking book in that it finally pushed graphic novels past the point that either books or art can achieve on their own. Craig Thompson has finally brought the medium of graphic novels "into its own." And, then the Internet and "TV of the future" would be ultra-complex media. My guess is that it's about 100 years from now before anyone makes a website that's better than a good book. This story made me cry. Every chapter made me cry. I read it a chapter at a time, and savored it. I recommend that, because there is so much in this book. If you're looking to be surprised by a book, read another one. I could tell the ending from the first chapter or two, but it didn't matter. The strength of this book is in the emotions it evokes. This book did something really cool toward the middle--it portrayed perfection. Everything was perfect for just about 10 pages. I don't know how Craig Thompson did it, but he created something in this book that is larger than life, that is tangible, and that will probably stick with me forever. Maybe in a few years after I've read this book five more times, I'll figure out the magic of it and post another review and explain it all. But, for now all I can say is that I'm awed by how perfect this book is. Also, this book isn't a teenage love story. It's a story about childhood memories. It has the phantasmagoric effect of remembering. I loved it.

This is one of the best graphical novels I have ever read. In fact I find it to be one of the most engaging and accessible pieces of art I have come across in some time. I became acquainted with this book by somewhat peculiar circumstances. I was at my friends apartment talking about how he (an artist) should consider branching off into sequential art. He wasn't exactly intrigued by the idea. Nevertheless we continued to talk about the medium for a while and as I was praising the medium for one reason or another he walked over to his desk and pulled this book from out of one of the drawers. Obviously it had been important to him judging by the fact he seemed to have it stashed away from his other books, and it would soon become important to me. I borrowed the book and found myself reading it (in its entirety) later that night. I was absolutely sucked into this book. From the first pages, I began to connect with the narrator. There are undoubtedly various reasons for this. Some of the more obvious ones being that I have many similarities with the author. I live in a Midwestern farming community (albeit one of some distinction). But that was not the connection. The connection came to me much in the same way I believe it will come to you if you read this book. Thompson discusses the power of early relationships in this novel. He is able to describe a relationship between the narrator and a girl in a way that all people who have been in similar circumstances will be able to relate to (there are many examples of this, but I don't want to give away plot details). Perhaps on a lesser level Thompson discusses various other relationships the narrator has with individuals, his preacher, his brother, etc. And even though some of these relationships (as well as the characters in these relationships) are not entirely fleshed out the reader is still able to feel connected to the story because of the intense development of the narrator. There is a feeling of empathy and connection with the narrator that is extremely hard to find in any medium of art. And perhaps that is the most powerful part of this book on any level. That the author is essentially the narrator, and that he invites us, in such a friendly manner, into his life through the lens of a great book.

Sure, there may be a little bit of teen horniness in the story (it would be dishonest to exclude it completely) but I have never read something that so effectively portrayed the other side of the amazing feelings that come with young love. It was not fantastical romance. Not porn disguised as romance. It was just genuine real feelings of affection in the way they actually feel. And that’s just my thoughts on the romance part. I enjoyed the coming of age part even more, just struggle a little more to describe why. Also, book was in actual new condition, so kudos

You've probably read stories like these. Hell, you've probably read, watched, heard tons of them during the course of your lifetime. I know I did. Some of them were more than excellent, some of them were boring piece of crap without an intelligent thought, some of them were just `meh' - random genre-writing without a real effort - and some of them were something more than a story. Something more like an experience imprisoned on paper. Thompson's "Blankets" is one such story and no matter how many times you heard something just like it this one will manage to kick you in the gut. Or wherever it hurts the most. Premise is simple enough. You have a young boy and his brother living in rural Wisconsin. You have religious parents with no lack of authority, and a community full of "jerks". You have bullies in high-school and you have religion as an escape mechanism from plights of this world. You have a winter-camp, pretty girl and falling in love. You have a road trip, or something very similar to it and you have emotional growth connected to it. You have a disillusion and maturing, you have fears, hopes and longing. In other words, you have elements of everyone's life - rearranged a bit to suit a purpose of a story - laid out on close to a 600 pages. It could've gone to blatant cliché or it could've been boring as hell. Fortunately, it wasn't neither. Though elements are familiar, their representation isn't. Thompson is skillful artist (which becomes more obvious in the "Habibi") and the way in which he manages to construct panels to show, indicate and cause emotions is something to behold. His line can be either simple or endlessly complex (reminiscent of arabesque or techniques of expressionism), extremely manipulative or perfectly innocent and much of the power that lies in this book does come from the Art itself, words merely supplement the picture. And "Blankets" is powerful, have no doubt about it. It takes you back to a place and events you never quite forgot, it makes you wonder what if, it makes you pick up a phone and make a call (though You know it would be a wrong move and nothing good could come out of it), it gives you this feeling that, despite everything, world really is a wonderful place. Thompson is very careful about it, more careful than many an author out there. He never idolizes the past (though sometimes he does `preach' about it from an older perspective), nor does he dwell in it. He uses it as a fuelling ground, using his art to represent a moment (or few) that made him what he is today (moment we all, in some part, share with each other). At the same time, this is a book about personal experience and a book about `being human'. Do you recall most famous blanket in the history of comics? If you recalled Linus's security blanket from "Peanuts" you recalled right. What Charles Schulz did in a series of cartoons, Thompson did on a more complex level. "Blankets" is a story about insecurities and various mechanisms that we use to overcome them. World is dark and full of terror (or so the saying goes), and sometimes you need a blanket under which you can devise your own world, with its own rules. Eventually, you'll have to get out (Thompson uses the famous dialogue from Plato's "Republic" to indicate this). World will not change, but you'll be more prepared.

This is a coming-of-age story. This is well-drawn, expressive, and nothing immoral about it. Sure, Craig slept with Raina. So? He’s human. So’s Raina. That relationship’s not gonna last long. It’s life. Why be upset with Craig ditching Christianity? It’s inevitable when the seeds of doubt fester. Remember Plato’s cave? Once the prisoner is let out, he sees the world differently. This book left out one detail though. What happens when he comes back to tell fellow prisoners about it. Anyway, excellent story. Strongly recommended. To hell what the bookburners say.

If Will Eisner had been born in the 1970's and grew up listening to The Pixies, he may have been Craig Thompson. That's jumbo praise, and it's not given lightly. Barely a half a decade into his career, Thompson is already a fully fleshed writer and artist, a genius of the artform of cartooning. BLANKETS, published by Top Shelf Productions (bless `em) is a mammoth undertaking, a near-600 page graphic novel about first love (and its loss), faith (and its loss), growing up (and away) from both nature and nurture, finding oneself and figuring out one's place in the universe. Sounds heavy, right? Well, it is, but it's also poetic and gentle, more about how subtle nuances can shake and shape foundations. Thompson's previous book, 1999's GOODBYE, CHUNKY RICE dealt with similar subjects, but on a much smaller scale and in a more allegorical, cartoony style. BLANKETS is a far more realistic (but impressionistic), semi autobiographical tale. As good as CHUNKY RICE is (and it's great), it only hinted at the abilities of this artist. Actually, the 2000 Top Shelf Small Batch book, BIBLE DOODLES (now out of print, but well worth tracking down) had more of the swooping richness that defines BLANKETS. Where some cartoonists would use (and have used) sexual child abuse as the sole theme of a book, Thompson merely uses it (in only a handful of pages) as one of many defining elements of a complex adolescence. The harrowing experience is not trivialized nor exploited, but given a resonance that colors the protagonists feelings and actions as he grows older. It's rare that comics can color life with its inherent shades of gray rather than the usual stark black and white to which we're used (even in color comics). BLANKETS has already received much praise, often compared to the works of Chris Ware, which I think does Thompson a disservice. His work is so much more organic and vital, far from the mechanical sterility and precision of Ware's work, which frankly leaves me cold more often than not. While Ware keeps the reader at arm's length, a passive observer removed from the story, Thompson creates a warm, inviting environment. His lush brush strokes, swirling sense of design, masterful characterization and peerless pacing make BLANKETS a completely sensual experience. I know, I know, I'm heaping superlative upon superlative, but this is not something I often do. The fact is, this is one of the best examples of the comics medium I've ever read. If I were one of those nutty zen masters with only ten books to my name, BLANKETS would be one of them.

This is a lovely book. I keep buying this for friends and family

Zamanında teslimat, titiz şekilde paketleme, çok teşekkürler, memnun kaldığım bir alışveriş daha oldu

I cannot recommend this enough. I tell everyone I know to read it. It is my favourite graphic novel to date and I don't think it will change anytime soon. It's a great story about finding yourself and discovering your path in life. It is a love story about one self more than it is a love story between two people. I strongly connect with the main character as someone who grew up in the church community and was defined by that as who I was supposed to be. Until I had to separate myself from that and go on my own to discover who I truly was when I wasn't bound by all that ordinance and control. It's a coming of age novel and no one will ever be too old for reading it.

A great book that is beautiful and bittersweet. Don't want to spoil it by giving away important details; but I would describe it as a John Hughes movie, accept in a book form.

Second book of Craig Thompson that I've read. Blankets is far superior to his Habibi. In fact I feel his best! Independently it's one of the very good graphic novels in it's own right - good illustrations, author's own experience with love, obsession, relationship equations & surfacing up to gasp for fresh air, after the related ups & downs. Realistic - too much so as this is drawn from life - lot of subtle relationship/mind lessons in there too. Recommended read.

En väldigt fin bok. Jättefint tecknad och en bra berättelse. Ett bra köp.