66 BLANKETS
fantasy author Richard K. Morgan penned two miniseries featuring her, 2004’s Black
Widow: Homecoming and 2006’s Black Widow: Th e Th ings Th ey Say About Her. Since
becoming writer of the Captain America series, Ed Brubaker has utilized her as a major
supporting player in the life of Steve Rogers and as a supporter of the newest Captain
America, Bucky Barnes, during his acclimation to the role.
A. David Lewis
BLANKETS. At nearly 600 pages, Craig Th ompson’s semi-autobiographical illustrated
novel made a huge splash when it was fi rst published by Top Shelf Productions in 2003.
Blankets won Harvey , Eisner , and Ignatz Awards, as well as a top spot on many critics’
lists of 2003’s best graphic novels; it even inspired a CD soundtrack of nine instru-
mental songs to match the book’s nine chapters. Th e novel progresses chronologically,
fi rst depicting Craig and his younger brother’s close relationship, their shared love for
drawing, and their upbringing in a sheltered, devout Christian household in the Wis-
consin countryside. Th in, artsy, self-conscious Craig does not fi t in with the farm boys
and jocks at school or at winter church camp, where, when he’s a senior, he meets the
spirited, soulful Raina, his fi rst love. Th ey spend a magical, intimate two weeks together
with her family when he visits her in Michigan, but the relationship thaws when they’re
not together. A few fl ashbacks connect their relationship to Craig’s childhood and his
relationship with his family. By the end of the novel, he has moved to the city and quietly
lost his faith in Christianity.
Th ompson is wonderfully adept at portraying Craig and Raina’s deep but short-lived
relationship. When Craig fi rst arrives for his visit, they greet each other with a long hug
depicted across two pages; the background becomes empty, the panel borders disap-
pear, and readers sense the focused joy of the couple’s reunion. In another scene, as they
cuddle together inside, the couple is depicted as hovering in the snowy night woods:
“Pressed against her I can hear ETERNITY—hollow, lonely spaces and currents that
churn ceaselessly” (312). Sometimes Raina is depicted as celestial, with wings and a
halo, the object of Craig’s worship. A recurring visual metaphor sometimes appears in
the backgrounds of Raina’s scenes—a stylized, lily pad-shaped design deployed like a
halo or a heart, perhaps symbolizing true love, purity, or heaven on Earth. At times,
background lines swirl around Raina or the couple, as if these characters are at the
center of the world. Th rough these and other fi gurative representations of their rela-
tionship, readers gain a rich understanding of Craig’s feelings for Raina, for his idea of
Raina. In less talented hands, such attention to love’s magic would likely seem cloying
or excessively emotive. But Th ompson’s visuals off er a crucial layer of sophistication;
inarguably, Blankets is a beautiful story about falling deeply in love.
Religion is the novel’s other dominant theme. In his youth, Craig is a philosophical
Christian, devout and questioning in order to understand the mysteries of God. His
devotion, however, is tempered by his fear-mongering Sunday school teacher and his
guilt-mongering parents. His church community promotes conformity rather than
acceptance. When Craig reads his Bible, readers see depictions of Biblical stories.
