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Blankets

4.07 of 5 stars 4.07 · rating details · 32,458 ratings · 2,394 reviews

Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith.

Paperback, 582 pages

Published August 5th 2003 by Top Shelf Productions (first published 2003)

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Sep 27, 2011 Seth Hahne rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, bookclub

Craig Thompson, for all the lack of works in his bibliography, is one of the best creators working in comics today. Apart from Blankets, he has only released one other major work of fiction. (His third, Habibi , will be released this Fall.)

Blankets by Craig Thompson

[The cutest of meet-cutes.]

There are any number of reasons that Thompson's work should be lauded. His art is gorgeous and his brushline expressive. He treats personal topics with a sense of both whimsy and honesty. He writes true experiences, even when they'r...more

65 likes · like · see review

Mar 28, 2012 oriana rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-with-pix, read-2011

book #12 for Jugs & Capes!
review #8 for CCLaP!

***

I joke about this a lot, but it’s true that in some ways, in the squishiest little corner of my mushy little heart, I am still a teenage girl. My favorite TV show, ever and still, is My So-Called Life. I have read Margaret Atwood’s Cat’s Eye probably thirty times. I still listen to Fall Out Boy, for fuck’s sake. I listen to other music too, obviously, hipster fabulous bands you’ve never heard of (I live in Brooklyn, after all), but something...more

23 likes · like · see review

Mar 11, 2008 Jace rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics

Having produced this illustrated autobiography of his formative years, Thompson certainly deserves credit for an ambitious undertaking. His illustrations are the shining accomplishment of this book; cartoony, yet humanly realistic, they exude a youthful enthusiasm. Definitely a memorable drawing style, it almost makes Blankets worth a read in-and-of-itself.

Though well intentioned, I felt that the "plot" of Blankets fell short of what it promised. The bulk of the story revolves around the author...more Having produced this illustrated autobiography of his formative years, Thompson certainly deserves credit for an ambitious undertaking. His illustrations are the shining accomplishment of this book; cartoony, yet humanly realistic, they exude a youthful enthusiasm. Definitely a memorable drawing style, it almost makes Blankets worth a read in-and-of-itself.

Though well intentioned, I felt that the "plot" of Blankets fell short of what it promised. The bulk of the story revolves around the author's hokey two-week-long love affair with a girl he met at church camp. Though his first encounter with love may have been earth-shaking for the author, he fails to convey this. It reads more like 400 [illustrated] pages of masturbatory teen-angst. At times I had to check the title page to make sure I wasn't accidentally reading Dawson's Creek: The Graphic Novel. To make matters even more cliche, he has one character invoke the lines from The Cure's "Just Like Heaven". Yes, it's a great song, but it feeds right into the sappiness I felt mired in for most of the story. I also felt assaulted by the religious overtones in the book. For 500-some pages of his childhood, Thompson is a Jesus-freak, but in the last 5 pages we learn that by his early twenties he has abandoned Christianity. It would have been nice if the author would have shared more of his transformation with the reader. I'm sure it was a momentous change for the author, but the lack of explanation makes it seem almost arbitrary.

Blankets has a few redeeming qualities, such as Thompson's flashbacks to his childhood in the room he shared with his little brother. They build forts, sail pirate ships, explore haunted caves, etc. These scenes really showcase his humor, creativity, and flair for storytelling. Though light and emotionally unburdoned, they conveyed more personality than the love story he focused on for most of the book. Additionally, the author introduces a few "darker" moments, such as a babysitter who sexually abused him and his brother. It's a testament to the uncensored honesty in his storytelling.

Overall, it was a quick read and worth the time. It was nice change of pace from sci-fi and superhero graphic novels. But pick it up from the local library or borrow it from a friend. I wouldn't advise anyone to spend $29.95 for this bible-sized comic book. (less)

44 likes · like · see review

Nov 08, 2010 Dave Russell rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, autobiography

"Desire is sad."
--W. Somerset Maugham, "Rain"

When I was a kid one of my friends invited to go to some church event retreat thingy. My dad, a mildly avowed, atheist wouldn't let me go. I've often wondered what he thought would have happened and what would have actually happened had I gone. Would it have been the opposite of one of those memoirs that get published with alarming frequency, about the person who suffers under the pressure of a strict religious upbringing and later discovers atheism o...more

25 likes · like · see review

Mar 19, 2008 The Fza rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels, favorites

A few years ago I was lent a book called "Blankets" which I read on the 5 hour trip back from New York City on a Sunday. Now to say the 600 pages just few by would not be an exaggeration. I was done with the book before we hit the Massachusetts border. I knew very little about the book, save for the blurbs on the cover, nor had I heard of it's writer/artist, Craig Thompson, before. But my friend, a struggling journalist living in Queens, told me that 'Blankets' was a semi-autobiographical graphi...more A few years ago I was lent a book called "Blankets" which I read on the 5 hour trip back from New York City on a Sunday. Now to say the 600 pages just few by would not be an exaggeration. I was done with the book before we hit the Massachusetts border. I knew very little about the book, save for the blurbs on the cover, nor had I heard of it's writer/artist, Craig Thompson, before. But my friend, a struggling journalist living in Queens, told me that 'Blankets' was a semi-autobiographical graphic novel well worth the read.

And so being a bit of a junkie when it comes to reading (especially on these long trips) and impressed by some of the supposed 'comic books' that I have run across in my time (Mister X, From Hell, Maus, Blue Monday, etc...) reading something like this seemed an interesting diversion. Little did I know that before long I would be entangled in a fluid and focused work tracing the path of three of the author's closest relationships; his brother Phil, first love Raina, and Christianity.

What I found within these pages was a lonely and isolated young man groping around, trying find an identity. It was clear and yet emotional. It was a whirlwind, and yet structured. Like thoughts, or growing up, can be. But most importantly it was honest.

Craig's struggles with identity, love and religion are shown with no malice or mocking. The characters that populate "Blankets" reflect the emotional realities of Craig's world, while his art lets us move through his life with an intimacy that reminds us how it was, or can be, growing up. We join Craig as he begin to discover the world outside his everyday life in rural Wisconsin and how his relationships sharpen his reality and thereby his identity.

Craig was born in the mid 70's into a very Christian central Wisconsin family, and the events covered here deal with the emotional shrapnel, which results from his emerging adulthood. It's a strong work, by a new talent. In an interview for the Portland Tribune, Craig tells of his influences and goes on to tell how he drew the book on Vellum Bristol Board using a number two watercolor brush and Speedball Super Black India Ink.

But it seems to me that the best part of the interview is when he bared a bit of his soul regarding his conclusions to the questions he struggled with as young man (and shared with us in the pages of "Blankets") by saying, "There's a bitter cynicism, a nihilist attitude, about (Art) Spiegelman and (Dan) Clowes (work). I think my generation is a bit sweeter, but the sweetness is not ironic; it's sincere. I just think our attitude toward some things is more optimistic."

"Blankets" was written and drawn at night while Craig worked a full-time day job, this weighty work took nearly four years to complete. Craig has illustrated for Nickelodeon and Owl magazine, DC and Dark Horse comics. His debut graphic novel 'Goodbye, Chunky Rice' won the comics industry's esteemed Harvey award for Best New Talent, and was named by The Comics Journal as one of the Top Five Comics of 1999.

-The Following are BLURBS for "Blankets"-

The New York Times Book Review "beautifully rendered memories of small brutalities"
Publishers Weekly "sincerity, pictorial lyricism, and taste"
Time magazine "best comic of 2003"

and the Library Journal has "Blankets" on their year-end "best of list" for 2003(less)

13 likes · like · see review

Nov 22, 2011 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, graphic-novels, good-grief, gorgeous-prose

“How satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement…no matter how temporary.”

and because I couldn’t decide between the two….

“At night, lying on your back and staring at the falling snow, it’s easy to imagine oneself soaring through the stars.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Those last 3 pages, wow.

High Points.
Craig.Snow. Brothers. Church camp. Patchwork. Under the pool table. Cubby holes. Identity. Faith. The future. First loves. Doubt (“It’s reassuring”).
And,...more

20 likes · like · see review

Jan 18, 2009 Greg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novels

A few years ago when part of this book was in the McSweeney's Graphic Novel issue I really liked it. I remember it being on of the stories that made me want to go out and by the book. I didn't go out and buy it though because it was just too damn expensive for me, sure the book looked nice but spending thirty bucks on a graphic novel that I'd read in an hour or so didn't seem worth it.

Now I have finally read it. If I had rated Blankets as soon as I finished it I would have given it four stars....more A few years ago when part of this book was in the McSweeney's Graphic Novel issue I really liked it. I remember it being on of the stories that made me want to go out and by the book. I didn't go out and buy it though because it was just too damn expensive for me, sure the book looked nice but spending thirty bucks on a graphic novel that I'd read in an hour or so didn't seem worth it.

Now I have finally read it. If I had rated Blankets as soon as I finished it I would have given it four stars. Instead I went for a walk to go buy coffee, and thought about it on my short walk and realized that there are some big problems with the book. Coming home I decided to read other reviews of the book before writing this, something I don't usually do, but felt I'd see if other people had some of the problems I had. Some did, and some had some really weird problems with the book, like the guy who gave it one star because it believed it was a fundamentalist Christian comic book in disguise. I have a feeling this person didn't make it to the end of the book, or else is seeing something I didn't see in the book.

The book captures the confusion of being a teenager who is out of place with his surroundings. The main part of the story revolving around his short lived long distance relationship with a girl he meets at Church Camp is sort of on the heartbreaking side, and pushes all of the melancholy romantic buttons for me, maybe even a little unfairly. On my walk I couldn't help thinking that I have to stop identifying with my own doomed relationships of my younger days, and not just give it stars because it allows me to wallow in past where everything good always seemed to exist too far outside of the immediate surroundings to be feasible. Maybe if the book just stuck to doomed young love I'd be giving this a higher rating.

My big problem with the book is the sexual abuse part, which sort of comes out of left field, is used as a juxtaposition between the way the main character and the love interest show responsibility towards their siblings, but is then sort of just left sitting there. Maybe if it had only been alluded to I would be able to let it be passed off, but Thompson returns to it, gives no inkling of any kind of effects the abuse had but instead it just kind of hangs over the rest of the story doing nothing after it's second appearance. Now, if it had been a book dwelling on sexual abuse I probably would have disliked it, a part of me is tired of the survivor genre of memoirs, but I just don't understand why it is there in the story (except of course that it happened, which is ok, but lots of things I'm sure happened that aren't in the story, and I'm sure lots of things happened that have turned Thompson into the person he is today that aren't in the story). Now I'm feeling a little like a dick for attacking this point, I just think it should have been integrated into the story a little better.

I liked this book but more on my immediate feelings for it then when I think about it. I probably have more to say about it, but I'm feeling tired of working on this review. So this is all there is. (less)

25 likes · like · see review

Aug 01, 2007 Damecatoe rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics-graphic_novels

I can’t recall where I heard about this graphic novel, but I put it on my Amazon wishlist and dad got it for me for Christmas.

I took it with me to my prenatal checkup on Tuesday, and I’m glad I did, cause I sat in the waiting room for 40 minutes. During that time, I got so far along in the story that I decided to finish it in one day. I wish I hadn’t. If I hadn’t taken it to bed with me, I could have gone to sleep at least one day loving the story. Instead, I went to sleep saddened.

The main char...more

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Feb 19, 2013 Peter rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone Everywhere

I would like to run up to your face screaming about how you must read Blankets, but would become embarrassed as I approached and in the end merely whisper.

Blankets is not the most original of stories. No story about a romance between two teenagers can be. The sad fact that art has tried to capture this part of life so often is that, no matter the specific horrors of Craig Thompson's experience, it reads as art about life trying to imitate art. If it were a movie, it would bomb. If it were a book...more

5 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2010 Rauf rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: The melancholics

Shelves: 2010-list, fiction, big_expensive_comics, imaginary-library

Here are seven lines from Blankets that pretty much sums up the story:

1. I couldn't fathom that the soul trapped in my child body would be transplanted to its grotesque adolescent counterpart.

2. But in that little pathetic clump of blankets there was comfort.

3. We both knew that nothing existed for us outside of the moment.

4. Maybe I'm sad about wanting you. I'm not too comfortable with wanting someone.

5. Shame is always easier to handle if you have someone to share it with.

6. How satisfying it...more

19 likes · like · see review

May 09, 2012 Conrad rated it 5 of 5 stars

Being able to relate to something is the most boring reason to like it, but it's just as true and honest as any other, and this reminded me of my own childhood so intensely that I fell in love with it within the first three pages and loved it until the last one. It is not a great book. It is not terrifically well-written. I don't care, though, because it's like someone transcribed a few moments that I thought I was the only observer of. Of course, there are millions out there who agree with me.

C...more Being able to relate to something is the most boring reason to like it, but it's just as true and honest as any other, and this reminded me of my own childhood so intensely that I fell in love with it within the first three pages and loved it until the last one. It is not a great book. It is not terrifically well-written. I don't care, though, because it's like someone transcribed a few moments that I thought I was the only observer of. Of course, there are millions out there who agree with me.

Craig Thompson was born in the same town in Michigan as I was, probably the same hospital (because there's really just the one in Traverse City, Michigan). I took part in the same religious hysteria as both an active participant and later as a tortured doubter. Thompson gets the brutal winters that roll in off the Great Lakes and the muffled silence - most of the story takes place in winter. The art here is interesting in that it's a bit Art Spiegelman-like, except more fantastical - he's not an allegorist, but he's also unafraid of deforming reality a bit in a way that reflects memory's vagaries - and he does that a lot more than Spiegelman.

My own health is not excellent, it's a funny thing to admit at 32 but it's nonetheless true, and although it's similarly mawkish to admit it, I spend more time thinking about my childhood now than I used to. You get to a point where you realize that these things matter only to yourself, that you were always effectively the only participant, and once I arrived at that realization, remembering became more precious somehow. I had my own Raina - a girl who I went to great lengths to visit in the faraway city in which she lived, whose irksomely brilliant whitebread family were unfailingly kind to me despite the pretentious, presumptuous, irritating wannabe Camusian permafunk in which I spent my teens. We talked on the phone all the time. We even had phone sex once. I told her the accent in "Aquinas" was on the final syllable and she patiently told me I was wrong but stopped bothering when I insisted. I made her read John Berryman and she said she didn't get it so of course I pretended to grasp every reference. She dumped me over the phone, too, after a relationship that lasted about nine months, and I never really found out why, though when you're 18 it's really a question that answers itself. We tried to rekindle it once but I was so angry three years later that I would only tease her. We're Facebook friends now, kind of the ultimate in perverse insults, though she seems happy, which makes me glad. When I was cleaning toilets on a golf course in Indiana to fund trips to see her I would've said the same thing, that I just wanted her happiness - and it's only now when that whole time is so far away that I can actually muster the generosity of spirit to be glad about it again. That kind of generosity maybe has more to do with forgetting the slight than it does with any actual comfort or joy.

Anyway, Thompson remembers very clearly what it was like to see a whole hopeful world in someone you're with. It's a lesson that gets beaten out of most people, and that's what Blankets is about. There's not much story to it - boy meets girl, boy loses girl, with a little bit of fraternal alienation and Dostoevskian questioning and high school cliquishness mixed in. It's not a masterpiece. But you would still have to pry this book from my possession with a heavy fucking crowbar.(less)

10 likes · like · see review

Apr 06, 2008 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: contemplative types who had to go to church camp

Recommended to Leslie by: Kateri

Shelves: graphic-novels

This is a beautiful and true depiction of first love. One of the best of its kind, I think.

Thompson has said that he wrote and illustrated this - the longest graphic novel to date - in order to describe what it feels like to sleep next to someone for the first time ... a simple goal that he accomplishes with almost heart-breaking tenderness.

The novel's structure seems to me very important. After the first chapter establishes his isolated, rural, fundamentalist childhood, Thompson crafts all of t...more

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Nov 19, 2007 Jeff rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: People who like pretty smells.

So I used to collect comics, the capes kind. Every week, every Wednesday afternoon, I’d find myself at some comics shop buying Iron Man, and The Fantastic Four, and Superman, and Batman, and other kinds of men, all wearing tights and capes, and it took me a few years, but eventually I realized superhero comics are generally boring. I once read an interview with Brian Bendis (current comics scribe wunderkind) and he said, “Comics are all second act.” Meaning there is no third act. No one ever die...more

9 likes · like · see review

Jan 06, 2013 Tressa rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, 2013

The 582-page autobiographical graphic novel Blankets by artist Craig Thompson is heavy on the hands and heart. It's about a young boy named Craig who lives in Wisconsin with his Christian fundamentalist parents and his younger brother; both brothers are subjected to harsh discipline by their parents and sexual molestation by a male babysitter. But what Blankets is about above all is life: the seedy things you deal with alone; the complicated things you ignore; the regrets you have; a first love...more

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May 02, 2011 Teresa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Teresa by: Nick Kives, rhea mac

I was set to give this 3 stars, but then the final chapter, especially the last few pages (which satisfied my writing heart) turned it into a 4 for me. Early on, while reading, I was reminded of Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, and I was craving some of that book's humor (even if it is dark), which there is really none of here, until the lightness near the end that had me smiling. The illustrations are well-done in advancing the story, but I wondered while reading if the book, though a very quick...more

6 likes · like · see review

Jul 11, 2012 Tara rated it 3 of 5 stars

I really did enjoy this book. This story was a memoir about his coming of age; his taste of first love, wrestling with his religious beliefs, and his struggles with gaining independence while still being a part of his family.
Through rather beautiful pictures he shares what it was like growing up in a small town. He shares how he was able to make it through bullying, sharing a bed with his brother, and believing in himself to follow his dreams and become the person he is.
Sometimes the pictures...more

3 likes · like · see review

Nov 07, 2011 JG (The Introverted Reader) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to JG (The Introverted Reader) by: Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day)

Shelves: 4_stars, author_american, biography_memoir, covers_i_like, graphic_novels, non-fiction, read_in_2011, reviewed, setting_us, titles_i_like, young_adult, banned-challenged

In this autobiographical graphic novel, Craig Thompson describes his first love, his childhood relationship with his brother, and his loss of faith.

I think there's something in this graphic novel that everyone can relate to. Whether it's the rush of falling in love for the first time, the bullies at school, or the tangled relationship with a sibling, Craig's experiences, while unique, are also universal. I know that doesn't make sense, but there you go. It was a bit cathartic for me to watch him...more

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Jul 06, 2008 Shannon rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: sentimental religious teenagers with stars in their eyes who burn things dramatically

Shelves: graphic-novels

It started out so cutely and well drawn.. and I guess it remained both of those things. But the cuteness, at a certain point (the point of teenager-hood) was no longer cute to me. (All the stuff that took place in childhood, however, I thought was well done- especially the portrayal of adults). The lack of me finding it cute was largely because I couldn't relate (I WAS NEVER THAT CUTE OR INNOCENT). Also, I lack the ability to empathize with the main guy's struggle with his relationship with "god...more

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Mar 06, 2008 Theresa rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who loves art or anyone who wants to read a good love story.

Shelves: art, fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

3 likes · like · see review

Feb 27, 2008 Dyana rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: romance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

1 like · like · see review

Jun 24, 2007 marissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started reading Blankets huddled up in bed while I was stuck at a friend's apartment, snowed in; it was really the perfect circumstance given that the story starts with Craig (the character) and his younger brother Phil in bed. And frankly, those were the best parts of the book in my opinion, Craig's recollections of his childhood.

Because once he grew to teenagerhood and met the love of his life, Raina, the book became all about their True Love Completely Unlike Love Anybody Else Ever Has Ever...more

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Sep 30, 2011 Kaion rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, memoir

Another day, another entry in the graphic-memoir genre. Craig Thompson relates growing up: his shared early childhood with his brother, being terrorized by their angry father and preachy mother, and his adolescence struggling with a Christian faith that made drawing and feeling a sin (while he fell in love for the first time). The first half* of the equation is really much more interesting than the second, which gets too drippy and repetitive for my liking, particularly in its limp critiques of...more

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Sep 07, 2012 Adman rated it 5 of 5 stars

when i think about this book i feel like a marketing blurb: "breathtaking, heartbreaking, sensuous, earnest." _blankets_ is a work of art, and for those of us who have accidentally forgotten the pins and needles charge of youth, or who happen to have ambivalent relationships to religious upbringings, it strikes a particularly soulful chord.

so much of thompson's story feels minute - marginal - even while indispensable. he invests each moment with unbearable levels of meaning simply by virtue of h...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Frank Hestvik rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphic-novel, gay, love, male-author, relationships, first-person

This book is terrible and it sucks. If you find yourself drawn to the story for personal reasons, then you shouldn't read it, because it will be terrible and it will suck. The ending, for example, is complete bullshit. The way it should have ended was with fires where everyone is burned alive and die in total agony. But that is not how it ends. You know how it ends. In your heart and in your genitalia and in your brain and in your past: you know how it ends. I really hope the author of this book...more

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Nov 27, 2011 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-and-repeat

Do you ever have those moments where you read a book, hear a song, watch a scene, or see a picture that draws you in, washes over you, and leaves you wondering what just happened? Something that pulls at you, makes it difficult to swallow, brings tears to your eyes, sends a little shiver down your spine, and you don’t even really know why? It doesn’t even have to be “good” art per se, but for some reason it resonates just right with your own frequency. It’s like a bit like falling in love — that...more Do you ever have those moments where you read a book, hear a song, watch a scene, or see a picture that draws you in, washes over you, and leaves you wondering what just happened? Something that pulls at you, makes it difficult to swallow, brings tears to your eyes, sends a little shiver down your spine, and you don’t even really know why? It doesn’t even have to be “good” art per se, but for some reason it resonates just right with your own frequency. It’s like a bit like falling in love — that dizzy, giddy feeling of realizing that someone, maybe just a little, understands you, the real you.

Most often I find this in books: Elizabeth Wein’s “The Winter Prince,” Robin McKinley’s “Deerskin,” Madeleine L’Engle’s “Ring of Endless Light,” Juliet Marillier’s “Wolfskin;” sometimes with songs: Eric Whitacre’s “Sleep,” Howard Shore’s “Breaking of the Fellowship,” the Fray’s “Happiness,” among others. When I find them, I want to read or listen to them over and over; it’s so good that I can’t help wanting to repeat that first “oomph” where it reaches in and grabs my heartstrings. It’s part of the reason why I am constantly reading Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings.” At the same time there is a little trepidation at leaving them — perhaps the magic of them will disappear after having marred their memory with some other novel or song. And it’s true — you come back to them a different person each time. And sometimes it does fade after time — the words or melodies are no longer exactly what you need now, because they were what you needed then.

Blankets, by Craig Thompson, is one of those books. It’s a surreal feeling to read a book and to realize as you are reading it that it is going to be something that will sink into your skin and dwell with you and quite possibly have a significant impact on who you are, how you think about things, why you think about things. “Blankets” is a five hundred eighty-two graphic novel, semi-autobiographical, written by a young man raised in a small mid-western town by a strict Christian family. It chronicles episodes from his childhood — he is a scrawny, sensitive, artistic child with a younger brother and a penchant for drawing which his parents are highly critical of — and his adolescence: dawning awareness of the hypocrisy amongst his faith-professing peers, scattered ideas of how to reconcile his love for art and the pressure to enter the ministry, an unprecedented long-distance friendship with a girl he meets at church camp. All of it is lushly, starkly, horribly, beautifully, stunningly illustrated in black and white drawings.

Many in the demographic to which it is pushed now — the young adult/senior high school student — are not ready for this book. It is painfully honest, exposing the falseness and crudeness that Craig sees and hears, the horrors of childhood punishment and abuse, the ecstasy and thrills of his relationship with Raina, the preconceived ideas and ugly assumptions expressed by the supposedly pious, the doubts and fears and questions of faith.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Dec 17, 2012 Pete rated it 1 of 5 stars

Okay, I read this quite a number of years ago. I didn't review it at all because I didn't have much good to say about it. But just recently I was asked to say a few things because this book, which has become a darling of sorts, doesn't get a lot of one-star reviews.

Like I said, it's been awhile, so I'll do my best. But everything will probably be based on how I remember FEELING more than anything.

This came out in 2003, so at that time I was just starting college. I think I would be just about th...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Natalie (Mindful Musings) rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first graphic novel that I've ever read, but it definitely won't be my last! I'd heard really great things about the book, and on my last trip to the library, I just so happened to come across a copy, so obviously, I picked it up!

Overall, I really enjoyed Blankets. Craig Thompson has managed to create a beautiful coming-of-age story that mixes together some of the most common issues all teenagers face. Divorce, family dynamics, first loves, fitting in, religion, and the difficulty in...more

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Aug 24, 2009 André rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to André by: Ricardo

Shelves: sequential-art

Blankets is as much of a graphic novel as it is a diary or an autobiography. Reading it, you will feel as if you are talking with Craig and he is telling you stuff about him and his life story. Even if he sometimes seems to want to talk about something in the present, he will consistently go back to the past and tell you about his childhood, which helps understand his options, his thoughts and his beliefs.
Once I had read a third of the book, I felt like I should just read on and finish all of it...more

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Apr 23, 2008 MAMA CIERRA rated it 5 of 5 stars

Blankets by Craig Thompson covered me with deep thoughts, this book took me away. I Wrapped myself in this story of his life, taking in every bit of warmth and understanding it could give me. I took every lesson that could be learned from this book and hid it under my pillow. Craig's illustrations are intense, with just ink you can feel the characters emotions. The pictures tell half of the story them selves. You can feel the temptation, the embarrassment, and anger just by studying a drawing. T...more

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Mar 09, 2008 Larissa rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, usa, read-by-recommendation, graphic-novels

My co-worker, an expert in the realm of comics and graphic novels, lent Blankets to me along with Watchmen and I finally got around to reading it. It's a sweet story, well-suited to a lazy-Saturday read in bed, and certainly recommended to anyone for whom the experiences of religious youth expeditions (with their faux bonding, lame gestures at hipness--read: "Contemporary Worship"--and repressed doubt) are distant enough memories to be amusing now. The art was also impressive--varied and imagin...more

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About Craig Thompson

Craig Ringwalt Thompson (b. September 21, 1975 in Traverse City, Michigan) is a graphic novelist best known for his 2003 work Blankets. Thompson has received four Harvey Awards, two Eisner Awards, and two Ignatz Awards. In 2007, his cover design for the Menomena album Friend and Foe received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package.

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Dark Horse Deluxe Journal: Craig Thompson's Angels and Demons

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Trivia About Blankets

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Quotes from Blankets

“How satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement - no matter how temporary.” — 82 people liked it

“Maybe I'm sad about wanting you. I'm not too comfortable with wanting someone.” — 30 people liked it

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avg rating	preview: Blankets Goodreads rating: 4.07 (32458 ratings)
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