| Blankets | |
|---|---|
Cover art by Craig Thompson. |
|
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Top Shelf Productions |
| Genre | Autobiography Romance Drama |
| Publication date | July 23, 2003 |
| Creative team | |
| Writer(s) | Craig Thompson |
| Artist(s) | Craig Thompson |
| Collected editions | |
| Paperback | ISBN 1891830430 |
Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel by Craig Thompson, published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productions. As a coming-of-age autobiography, the book tells the story of Thompson's childhood in an Evangelical Christian family, his first love, and his early adulthood. Thompson has said that the novel grew out of a simple idea: to describe what it feels like to sleep next to someone for the first time. In 2005, Time chose it as one of the 100 best English language, graphic novels ever written.
Contents |
In late 1999, Thompson began work on the graphic novel, which was published three and a half years later in 2003.[1] Thompson produced the books as a way of coming out to his parents about no longer being a Christian.[2]
Blankets chronicles the Craig Thompson's adolescence and young adulthood, his childhood relationship with his younger brother, and the conflicts he experiences regarding his Christianity and his first love. Though written chronologically, Thompson uses flashbacks as a literary and artistic device in order to parallel young adult experience with past childhood experience. Major themes of the work include: first love, child and adult sexuality, spirituality, sibling relationships, and coming of age.
Thompson begins by describing his relationship with his brother during their childhoods in Wisconsin. Though their relationship is marked by typical sibling conflict, they are also very close, and their rapport helps them deal with verbal and physical abuse from their overly religious parents, and sexual harassment and abuse from bullies at school. During his preteen years, Thompson finds himself a misfit because of his physical appearance and home life. Through his teen years, he continues to find it hard to fit in with his peers, but at a Bible camp one winter, he comes to associate with a group of teens he feels he will fit in with, which includes Raina, a beautiful and interesting girl who captivates him. The two become inseparable and arrange to spend two weeks together at Raina’s home in Michigan. He meets Raina’s family, consisting of her separated parents, her adopted siblings Ben and Laura, her biological sister, and her infant niece Sarah. Because Laura is mentally retarded and Sarah is often ignored by her own parents, Raina feels the responsibility to take care of the both of them. Although she is extremely close to Craig while he’s staying with her, she feels she can’t handle one more person dependent on her and breaks up with him soon after he leaves. He becomes upset but they stay best friends. After deciding that Raina does have too much to handle without a relationship, and calls her and breaks up with her. He then destroys everything Raina had ever given to him, and every memento of their relationship, except for the quilt she had made for him. He stores it and other possessions in the attic in the house, and moves out to start his own life elsewhere. Thompson comes to terms with his religion and spiritual identity while away from his family. He returns to his childhood home after several years, seemingly a different person. He rekindles his old familial relationships, and the bonds between the family become stronger. The story ends with his finding peace with those he loves and himself.
Blankets received considerable attention in the comics and mainstream book press; it was extremely well received and eventually won numerous awards (see below). Most critics considered it a milestone in the progress of the American graphic novel, not only in length but also in visual grace and technique. Critics have further hailed it as one of the best graphic novels in recent years, claiming that the book will be remembered for its superb execution a decade after publication. The Bloomsbury Review called it "a superb example of the art of cartooning: the blending of word and picture to achieve an effect that neither is capable of without the other." Time stated that Thompson's work "has set new bars for the medium not just in length, but breadth" and listed it as #1 in its annual Best Comix of the Year list.[3] The book was called a "magnum opus" in the inaugural issue of (Cult)ure Magazine.[4] As a result of Blankets, he rose quickly to the top ranks of American cartoonists in both popularity and critical esteem. Pulitzer Prize-winning comic artist Art Spiegelman sent him a long letter of praise for the work,[2][5] and in mock-jealousy, Eddie Campbell expressed a temptation to break Thompson's fingers.[6]
Thompson said that he believes Blankets was a success because he was "reacting against all of the over-the-top, explosive action genre [in alternative comics, and] I also didn’t want to do anything cynical and nihilistic, which is the standard for a lot of alternative comics."[1] Despite the praise heaped upon the book, it resulted in tension between Thompson and his parents for a couple of years after they read it.[2]
In October 2006, a resident of Marshall, Missouri, attempted to have Blankets and Fun Home by Alison Bechdel removed from the city's public library.[7] Supporters of the books' removal characterized them as "pornography" and expressed concern that they would be read by children.[8] Marshall Public Library Director Amy Crump defended the books as having been well-reviewed in "reputable, professional book review journals," and characterized the removal attempt as a step towards "the slippery slope of censorship".[7][8] On October 11, 2006, the library's board appointed a committee to create a materials selection policy, and removed Blankets and Fun Home from circulation until the new policy was approved.[9][10] The committee "decided not to assign a prejudicial label or segregate [the books] by a prejudicial system",[11] and presented a materials selection policy to the board.[12] On March 14, 2007, the Marshall Public Library Board of Trustees voted to return both Blankets and Fun Home to the library's shelves.[13]
Editions are available in English, Catalan, French, Spanish, German, Danish, Dutch, Italian, Czech, Polish, Slovenian, Greek, Norwegian and Portuguese. Additionally, the English and Dutch[18] versions were available in a limited-edition hardcover volume and Polish was available with special cover jacket for those who preordered the book. There is also an accompanying soundtrack, recorded by the Portland, Oregon-based band, Tracker. The French, Spanish and Italian editions all have different cover art. The first Italian edition has a red spine, while subsequent editions have a blue one.