Beautifully rendered in pen and ink, Thompson has created a love story that lasts. This groundbreaking graphic novel, winner of two Eisner and three Harvey Awards, is an eloquent portrait of adolescent yearning first love (and first heartache) faith in crisis and the process of moving beyond all of that. 'Blankets chronicles Craigs adolescence and young adulthood, his childhood relationship with his younger brother, and the conflicts he experiences regarding Christianity and his first love. This groundbreaking graphic novel, winner of two Eisner and three Harvey Awards, is an eloquent portrait of adolescent yearning first love (and first heartache) faith in crisis and the process of moving beyond all of that. It's a universal story, and Thompson's vibrant brushstrokes and unique page designs make the familiar heartbreaking all over again. What impresses me most about blankets is how much compassion it has. One color, sometimes low on details, yet it carries so much.

It also changed how I view 'beautiful art' for a graphic novel. Over time though, their personal demons resurface and their relationship falls apart. Reading blankets was the moment I decided I will now focus on grphic novels instead of novels. Under an engulfing blanket of snow, Craig and Raina fall in love at winter church camp, revealing to one another their struggles with faith and their dreams of escape. This is an incredibly well told, honest story that has stayed with me in the couple of years since I read it.

I've read thousands of comics and graphic novels over the last 35+ years, and every year something comes along that blows me away. Craig Thompson's poignant graphic memoir plays out against the backdrop of a Midwestern winterscape: finely-hewn linework draws together a portrait of small town life, a rigorously fundamentalist Christian childhood, and a lonely, emotionally mixed-up adolescence. Blankets by Craig Thompson is simply the best graphic novel memoir I've ever read. 'Quaint, meditative and sometimes dreamy, blankets will take you straight back to your first kiss.' -The Guardian Blankets is the story of a young man coming of age and finding the confidence to express his creative voice.

Blankets graphic novel