Blankets, 20th Anniversary Edition

By Craig Thompson. Published by Faber & Faber (Drawn & Quarterly in the US)

Softcover, 640 pages, B&W, 2023 (originally released 2003) 

“Quaint, meditative and sometimes dreamy, Blankets will take you straight back to your first kiss.” –The Guardian

Blankets: 20th Anniversary Edition is the story of a young man coming of age and finding the confidence to express his creative voice. Craig Thompson’s poignant graphic memoir plays out against the backdrop of a Midwestern winterscape: finely-hewn linework draws together a portrait of small town life, a rigorously fundamentalist Christian childhood, and a lonely, emotionally mixed-up adolescence.

Under an engulfing blanket of snow, Craig and Raina fall in love at winter church camp, revealing to one another their struggles with faith and their dreams of escape. Over time though, their personal demons resurface and their relationship falls apart. It’s a universal story, and Thompson’s vibrant brushstrokes and unique page designs make the familiar heartbreaking all over again.

This groundbreaking graphic novel, winner of two Eisner and three Harvey Awards, is an eloquent portrait of adolescent yearning; first love (and first heartache); faith in crisis; and the process of moving beyond all of that. Beautifully rendered in pen and ink, Thompson has created a love story that lasts.

"Blankets is a great American novel." —Time

"Craig Thompson infus[es] his bittersweet tale . . . with a lyricism so engaging, the pages fly right by . . . It's virtual poetry." —Entertainment Weekly

"Blankets [shares] the compelling, heartbreaking story of Thompson's childhood and first love." —USA Today Pop Candy