When Craig Thompson (Habibi) first published his autobiographical Blankets in 2003, few anticipated the tremendous boom in the graphic format or the ways comics would transcend the superhero genre so strongly associated with it. But Thompson knew the storytelling power of comics, and now--with the 20th-anniversary reissue of Blankets--a new generation can rediscover one of the books that helped launch the graphic revolution. The anniversary edition features new cover art and an afterword by the author with behind-the-scenes sketches and plenty of "making of" material, but the tender and beautifully drawn coming-of-age narrative remains the same. In the afterword, Thompson explains his process of moving the comics format into this personal space: "In contrast to the explosive fantasies comic books were known for, I wished to craft a spacious book that was quiet, intimate, even mundane." Blankets describes Thompson's upbringing in a fundamentalist Christian home and details his first experience with falling in love as well as his later experience with falling out of the faith.
Blankets, tenderly written and drawn with a naked vulnerability, captures the essence of being young, when everything feels urgent, and every heartache and hope consumes like fire. Though some of the language may feel dated, the universal story of love and loss is still likely to charm. Whether revisiting a favorite classic or discovering the narrative for the very first time, readers will fall in love with Blankets. --Sara Beth West, freelance reviewer and librarian