Cover of Blankets

Blankets is a 600-page black-and-white graphic novel by Craig Thompson, published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productions. A memoir, 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. Image File history File links This image is a book cover, and the copyright is owned by the publisher of the book. ... Image File history File links This image is a book cover, and the copyright is owned by the publisher of the book. ... Black-and-white (or variations including Black and White) can refer to a general term used in photography, film, and other media (see black-and-white). ... Jump to: navigation, search Graphic novel is a term for a long-form comic book, usually with lengthy and complex storylines, and often aimed at more mature audiences. ... Jump to: navigation, search Craig Thompson: a 2003 self-portrait. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2003 (MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Top Shelf Productions is an American publishing company started in 1997. ... A memoir, as a literary genre, forms a sub-class of autobiography. ... Evangelicalism, in a strictly lexical, but rarely used sense, refers to all things that are implied in belief that Jesus is the savior. ...

Plot synopsis

In Blankets there are nine chapters that describe the different intervals and events that went on in the main characters' life. The chapters as a whole follow a fairly stable chronological order. Sometimes the chapters focus on childhood events while still keeping to the current storyline, this produces a flashback effect in the story line. The story in itself is a narration of Craig Thompson's early years which include events that happened in his childhood, adolescent years, and later a look into his adult life. Craig deals with many issues concerning the coming-of-age genre and that of his religion Christianity which he would later abandon. In literature and film, a flashback takes the narrative back in time from the point the story has reached, to recount events that happened before and give the back-story. ... Jump to: navigation, search Coming of age is a young persons formal transition from adolescence to adulthood. ... Jump to: navigation, search Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ...

Chapter 1: Cubby Hole

The name of this chapter comes from the special type of discipline Craig's parents would employ on his brother and himself. In this first chapter the main character, Craig Thompson, describes to us the turmoil of his early childhood years. The chapter relates the negative experiences he had at home, mainly the aspect of having to share a bed with his younger brother, Phil. Because of this we see that any problem caused by Phil was answered with the discipline of the Cubby Hole. The Cubby Hole is basically a reclused area of the house that was used for storage but in times of discipline turned into a type of 'time out' room. The chapter also relates negative experiences encountered in school, mainly the aspect of having to deal with bullies that picked on him because of his appearance and personality. Craig describes to us that he was always "escaping" reality. This escapism came in the form of Craig's drawing. Drawing was Craig's favorite past time, either alone or with his brother. Craig realises that in order to fully grasp reality once more he must destroy that which he held so dearly: his artwork.

Chapter 2: Stirring Furnace

The "Stirring Furnace" chapter gets its name from the furnace at the Christian snow camp that Craig would attend throughout his childhood and into his adolescent years. At the beginning of the chapter Craig relates how his house was always inadequate in the form of heating and cooling. Summers were always too hot due to poor ventilation/cooling and winters always too cold due to poor insulation/heating. Craig then relates his early years at the Christian snow camp as those in which he found himself isolated from his peers. In his later years Craig has learned to find those of his "own kind." In one particular year, Craig meets a girl named Raina. Raina and Craig quickly develop a liking for each other and become close by the end of the retreat.

Chapter 3: Blank Sheet

"Blank Sheet" starts off with a short description of an activity both Craig and Phil did in the winter time. It involved the careful traversing of the snow that had melted, iced over again, and finally snowed upon one more time to produce an ice/snow effect that required extra careful walking. Craig also portrays the way his Sunday School teacher at his church would impose her ideas onto the children without letting them express themselves. This is a common theme seen throughout the book. Craig views this type of oppression as one of the primary factors for him leaving his faith. The relationship between Craig and Raina starts to develop further and is seen now as a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Not announcing this to his parents one day Raina drives into Craig's home state Wisconsin and calls him while he is sick. She tells him that her parents are getting a divorce. Somewhat stunned by the news but more awestruck by the call, Craig decides that he must now do something in return to show he cares. He decided to tell his parents that he wants to visit his "friend" Raina. His parents allow him to go on the terms that he goes to school, studies, gets good grades, and eats his meat (Craig is a vegetarian). Craig accomplishes all of these things and is allowed to visit Raina. Since Raina lives in Michigan the parents of the two decide to meet halfway at what seems to be a border dinner named Kountry Kitschen. Raina's father drives them home and the two are ecstatic about the two week stay. At home, Craig meets Laura, 19, and Ben, 26; Raina's other siblings, both of which are mentally handicapped. Laura automatically takes a liking to Craig while Ben shies away. Later when Raina's father leaves, Raina's mother arrives and she is pleased to see Craig. During the stay, Craig and Raina become more romantically involved with each other. Craig also has significant flashbacks about his youth, most involving shameful acts that still depress him to that day. Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: Badger State State motto: Forward Other U.S. States Capital Madison Largest city Milwaukee Governor Jim Doyle (D) Senators Herb Kohl (D) Russ Feingold (D) Official languages None Area 169,790 km² (23rd)  - Land 140,787 km²  - Water 28,006 km² (17%) Population (2000... Jump to: navigation, search State nickname: The Wolverine State, The Great Lakes State Other U.S. States Capital Lansing Largest city Detroit Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) Senators Carl Levin (D) Debbie Stabenow (D) Official language(s) English de-facto Area 96,889 mi² / 250,941 km² (11th)  - Land 56,855...

Chapter 4: Static

The chapter "Static" was dubbed that title because of a time when Craig and Phil were young they would witness the static buildup in their beds discharge in little energy orbs around them. They would think those static orbs were fairies or some other magical phenomena. Upon telling their parents they explained to them how it was not magic rather just static electricity. This brings about the point that whenever you are a child you imagine and fantasize about things like that but it takes one simple explanation of what it really is to eliminate the "magic" behind it. The chapter emphasizes this throughout the narration. Static electricity is a class of phenomena involving the net charge present on an object; typically referring to charged object with voltages of sufficient magnitude to produce visible attraction, repulsion, and sparks. ...

Chapter 5: I Don't Wanna Grow Up

Throughout this chapter the concept of not growing up comes into play with the different happenings that occur. At the beginning of the chapter we meet Julie, Raina's older and much snobbier sister, along with her husband Dave, an equally snobbish and egotistical character as his wife. Raina describes the trouble they had with Julie when she was a child, how she was the rebel of the family and always the one to cause trouble. Julie and Dave have a child named Sarah but both take their responsibility as parents very lightly. During this chapter Craig explores the different concepts of growing up. Whether it is physical or mental, it means moving on to a different phase of your life that is denoted through different characteristics and "needs." Raina wants Craig to sleep with her that one night. Craig knows that this is not correct because his mind has been trained as a good Christian, however, temptation takes a hold of Craig and he sleeps with Raina. In the morning Craig wakes up to sneak back into his room so Raina's parents are not suspicious, although he was nervous the night before about his "sin", it does not bother him in the morning.

Chapter 6: Teen Spirit

The chapter begins with one of the childhood stories that still haunt Craig to that day. Craig only reminisces about it with such awkward feelings not because he was ashamed but because he made his parents feel ashamed. This seems to be the only thing that makes Craig so critical of his parents: the thought of embarrassing them and himself and thus bringing about shame. In this chapter Craig confesses his now developed love for Raina. Raina reacts differently than what Craig expected but does reflect upon them and also acknowledges her love for him as well. After that even Craig begins to think about the actual relationship he has with Raina. He dwells upon the fact that at night Raina is a completely different person with him than she is in the morning. At night, Raina wants to be close, but in the morning they keep each other at "arms length" as if they were only just friends.

Chapter 7: Just Like Heaven

Throughout the whole story, Craig emphasizes on the aspect of what exactly Heaven is and what it means to him. Julie and Dave come back to leave the care of their child to their relatives while they go off on a vacation to Hawaii. The rest of this chapter focuses on the still escalating relationship of Raina and Craig. At night, Craig is in Raina's room and he tells her the story about him and his brother playing boat with the bed. How they would pretend that the sheets, pillows, and other articles were part of a ship and that once assembled there would be a great storm that would rip the boat apart thus causing chaos to spread in the bedroom. Raina also shares her story about how she used her parent’s bed for tea parties with her brother Ben and a pet monkey named Snowball. After some tender exchanges the two become somewhat intimate before they fall asleep. Raina's father arrives at home to ask Ben to help him outside, but Ben has been angry with his father because of the divorce. He has pleaded to his father to stop the divorce but this has had no avail. Raina's father proceeds to look around for everyone and notices an empty house. He then looks into Raina's room where he sees his daughter asleep in the same bed as Craig (who apparently did not get up in time to go back to his own room). Astonished and saddened by all that has happened to his family Raina's father sits in the living room looking at the picture album Raina and Craig had seen earlier on and weeps. Craig and everyone else are completely unaware of this. Jump to: navigation, search Michelangelos interpretation of Heaven Heaven is an afterlife concept found in many religions or spiritual philosophies. ...

Chapter 8: Vanishing Cave

Probably one of the more "self discovery" chapters in the book, the Vanishing Cave was a cave that Craig and Phil discovered when they were small that changed sizes throughout the year. It would start out as a gigantic cave which they could both stand inside of, then shrink into a small hole which they could only crawl into, and finally it would just be a small hole in the ground in which only one person could stand in. The chapter begins with Craig reminiscing about the day they each got their own beds and bedrooms. At first they missed having each other but as time went by they became stable in their own places. It was now time for Craig to leave Raina. Once again they drive to the halfway point and they say goodbye. On their way home Craig lets his mom know that they were originally more than "just friends" when he went to visit but this is all he shares. Craig and Raina are now far apart and Craig begins to have certain realizations about things. He brings about the argument Plato had with Glaucon about how if prisoners would be tied up and forced to look at some shadows moving and talking that they would believe the "illusion." He then asked him to think about what would happen if the prisoners were allowed to see that what they had been shown was all just an illusion, certainly they would feel deceived. This is now how Craig feels about Raina. Craig proceeds to sever contact with Raina saying "I have to say goodbye to you." Craig practically erases (burns) everything that had to with Raina: letters, items, photos, etc. save for the quilt which she made him, that he stored in the cubby hole along with some other items he would now forget. Jump to: navigation, search Statue of a philosopher, presumably Plato, in Delphi. ...

Chapter 9: Foot Notes

The last chapter of the book, here Craig explains the aftermath of what his life now is. In the first part of the chapter Craig explains how and why he abandoned his faith. He then tells how he moved out of his parent’s house and was able to now feel free and not wary of what his parents thought. Craig remains single while Phil gets married. Craig still visits his family during holidays and other occasions. Craig shares some words of thought and closure and the story ends.

Critical reception

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."

Awards

• 2004 Harvey Awards: Best Artist, Best Graphic Album of Original Work and Best Cartoonist
• 2004 Eisner Awards: Best Graphic Album and Best Writer/Artist
• 2004 Ignatz Awards: Outstanding Artist and Oustanding Graphic Novel or Collection
• 2005 Prix de la critique

Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Eisner Awards are given for achievement in comic books. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Ignatz Awards, named after Ignatz Mouse from George Herrimans landmark comic strip Krazy Kat, are awarded each year at the Small Press Expo (SPX), to recognize outstanding achievement in comics and cartooning. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Prix de la critique is a prize awarded by the Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée to the best comic album released for a year in France. ...

Editions

Covers of the French, Spanish and Italian editions of Blankets (from left to right)

Editions are available in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, and Italian. Additionally, the English version was available in a limited-edition hardcover volume. 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. Image File history File links Blankets_foreign_editions. ... Image File history File links Blankets_foreign_editions. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) book is bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth or heavy paper) and a stitched spine. ... Soundtrack refers to the recorded sound accompanying a visual medium such as a motion picture, television show, or video game. ... Jump to: navigation, search Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon, and county seat of Multnomah County. ...

• Blankets (English paperback edition) ISBN 1891830430, Top Shelf Productions

• Blankets - Manteau de Neige (French edition) ISBN 2203396083, Casterman, March 2004
• Blankets (Spanish edition) ISBN 8495825635, Astiberri Ediciones, April 2004
• Blankets (German edition) ISBN 3936068968, Speed Comics, May 2004
• Een Deken Van Sneeuw (Dutch edition) ISBN 9054921196, Oog & Blik, May 2004
• Blankets (Italian edition) ISBN 8888063978, Coconino Press, November 2004