Graphic Novels: Blankets

If you want to take a bittersweet walk down childhood nostalgia lane, read Blankets. Craig Thompson illustrates in his novel what it is to look back on your memories and feel conflicted-- have your trials changed you for the better, or for the worst? Who do you love and who do you let love you? How do you move on? In using a non-linear form of storytelling with constant flashbacks and visual parallels, Thompson masterfully allowed me to step into the mindspace of the main character and slowly piece together the reasons for his hesitance and reserved nature.

We follow him throughout childhood and adolescense and watch as he finds his first love and becomes an artist, but are reminded throughout the way of his trauma with both intimacy and self-expression earlier in life. I personally found Blankets to be very relatable and have been thinking about it since I read it a week ago. The religious themes are cutting and honest, which really affected me as I grew up with much the same lifestyle. I also fell in love with Thompson's style, which I thought really adds to the story with raw drybrush strokes and skillful use of white, black, and negative space.

EDIT; I couldn't help myself, I bought a physical copy of Blankets for myself! It's too powerful of a story to forget, and I cant wait to get a closer look at the beautiful artwork.