Blankets, AKA Craig Thompson's Wet Dream

Craig Thompson claims that Blankets, his autobiographical graphic novel, is meant to describe "what it feels like to sleep next to someone for the first time". Having read Blankets, I can say with a fair amount of confidence that I never want to sleep next to Craig Thompson. In fact, it's hard for me to imagine someone that would.

Blankets focuses primarily on Thompson's Evangelical Christian upbringing and his struggle with faith and a girl. Although his difficulty finding a place in his community is somewhat compelling and his difficulty establishing and maintaining a relationship with a girl is certainly relatable, I found that his complete detachment from the world around him had a similar affect on me: I felt wholly detached from this character.

Personally, I found Thompson's brother to be more compelling than the protagonist. He similarly seemed to exist in a world detached from reality but somehow seeemed to find contentment. The way he is obscured and only appears at somewhat sporadic intervals allowed for glimpses into Thompson's foil: someone who was in his shoes, but coping.

The art in this story was intriguing, specifically Thompson's linework. His adherence to black and white and use of strong and often wavy lines created a style that complimented the book's sentiment of transience and listlessness nicely. Of particular note were Thompson's panel work and transitions. This is where I think that he truly exhibited his artistic skill, especially in his use of surreal motion and monsters that often broke free of the rigid panels and sprawled across this page.

This book seems to fit the bill perfectly for the angsty teen's required reading list, but for anyone with even the slightest bit of contentment, Blankets may be hard to stomach.