I'm glad they did, as it opened up another realm of storytelling I didn't know existed. I'm a bit new to the graphic novel scene, so when asking around about what to buy, my friends immediately recommended Craig Thompson's Blankets. I can't do it justice, suffice to say it's a wonderful, realistic, honest read that I'd recommend to anyone. And some great allegories to snow, how it come and goes and its presence and absence being a reflection of our lives and relationships we define throughout. It's a personal story, and it's easy to connect with for anyone that has experienced the joy and loss of a relationship that felt like the world, but couldn't last or be - the loss and picking up the pieces to remember, forget and move on and then maybe remember again some day. So a good portion of the story is devoted to the eventual onset of meeting someone to connect with and the first feelings of love and need and awkwardness of forming a relationship and the frailty of it when forced to bend to the rigors of life and responsibilities that eventually prove stronger or at least take hold. It also reflects back to the author's relationships as a child and teenager with his brother, strict religious parents and eventual first love and it's loss. It deals not only with struggling to find one's identity, but particularly trying to live by the grace of God and true to one's faith, especially when struggling with feelings of isolation, love, guilt, fear etc.

The graphic novel itself is just another vehicle of delivery for delivering a good story and I hate to see anyone cast it aside solely due to pre-notions that it's adolescent or low-bro or anything less than a good written story that can be just as poignant and from the heart as anything else.Īnyway, the story deals with the author's adolescent upbringing and devotion to christianity through to his young adulthood and the trial and tribulations we all face growing up and fitting in with our surroundings. It's a graphic novel that is raved and revered by many in and out of the business of digesting works of literature with panels, word balloons and artistic renderings (of which I'm far from a stranger to). This wonderful piece of sentimental, personal and introspective literature was one Blankets by Craig Thompson. And it was so rewarding and evoked such a great feeling I feel the need to let it out so I can get to sleep (12:03) even if it fails to interest anyone or illicit a response.