Blankets Craig Thompson

While I didn't connect with the book in quite the same way as others have said they had, Thompson kept my interest up, and if not for classes in my way, I feel like I would've finished the book in one sitting. The characters were convincing, the art was beautiful, and the pacing was perfect.

Thompson's ability to let the lines flow and not to over correct them allowed Blankets to have a great energy to it. With out this style, the story could've been very boring. Even though the character rarely looks exactly the same, we could identify him with the simple shapes Thompson put together. And the same is true through out the rest of the book. I think the style is what I enjoyed the very most.

The simplicity of the characters had great power, (if we're sticking to the theory of the simpler faces being easier to project ourselves on) and I spent a lot of time marvelling at the skill it takes to get such expression out of button eyes. In particular, the bit in which the main character is faced with a pastor saying an art school made his relative "full of sin" or something, by becoming gay. The look on the character's face is the perfect description of the awkward moment, of being unwilling to debate a matter, but disagreeing so heartily. Thompson accomplishes these complex sort of expressions so easily that reading page after page wasn't trouble at all. It kept the characters interesting to follow.

In particular, I loved the girlfriend's dad. Such a real character, and exceptionally well portrayed.

Not to mention it took place in Michigan and Wisconsin, and being from Michigan, the landscapes and the people were familiar. It was my home, and so just reading it for that was a treat. The lose nature of the brush strokes really brought it to life, as well as his descriptions of the weather, and the people.