BIOGRAPHY:
"There's a bitter cynicism, a nihilist attitude, about Spiegelman and Clowes. I think my generation is a bit sweeter,
but the sweetness is not ironic; it's sincere. I just think our
attitude toward some things is more optimistic."
Craig Thompson
Craig Thompson (1975- ) was born in Traverse City, Michigan
and grew up in an isolated farming community in central Wisconsin.
He received his diploma from the Christian Liberty Academy and
attended community college for a year, along with one semester
of art school.
His first graphic novel, Good-Bye, Chunky
Rice, won Craig the 1999 Harvey
Award for Best New Talent. In 2004, Blankets won
Craig three Harvey
Awards and two Eisner
Awards.
He has also produced comics
and illustrations for Nickelodeon,
National Geographic Kids,
and a myriad of other publications. He currently resides in Portland,
Oregon.
Interviews:
Powells (2006)
Following Cerebus #5 (2005)
The Comics Journal #268 (2005)
All
Too Flat (2004)
Book
Slut (2004)
Fear
Of Speed (2004)
Mars
Import (2004)
Suicide
Girls (2004)
The
Comics Journal #258 (2004)
WNYC:
Spinning On Air (2004)
Resources:
Doot Doot
Garden
Reviews:
Indy
Magazine: Blankets
Time.com:
Blankets
Time.com: Carnet de Voyage
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ESSENTIAL READING: |
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Top Shelf, 2003
Blankets is a
tale of first love, the questioning of a religious up bringing and the diminishing
power of parents over their children as they grow up. Wrapped in the landscape
of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores
the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the
budding romance of two teenage lovers. Craig
Thompson tackles these weighty issues in a confident display of storytelling
skills in this subtle and engaging book.
"It's a book about what it's like to sleep next to someone for
the first time."
Craig Thompson
"I thought it was moving, tender, beautifully drawn, painfully honest,
and probably the most important graphic novel since Jimmy
Corrigan."
Neil Gaiman
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Top Shelf, 2004
Carnet de Voyage is the travelogue diary of the three months Craig Thompson spent
in France, Spain and Morocco where he embarked on a Blankets book signing tour
and spent time researching his next book, Habibi.
It contains his spontaneous thoughts and impressions of alien cultures, documenting
the sights and sounds of his adventures and quite moments, creating a raw and
intimate portrait of countries, culture and the wandering artist. Carnet has
a relaxed, lyrical quality which allows the reader to share Craig's experiences
and confusion as he struggles to shake of the tourist label and blend in with
the locals, while highlighting the loneliness of traveling alone in a strange
and foreign land.
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Top Shelf, 1999
"Craig Thompson has drawn us a generous gift: a book which explores
the ways people love, hurt and struggle to heal themselves and
each other. Sure, Chunky Rice is a superb
piece of cartooning - in a single bound, Thompson has joined the
front rank of American cartoonists. But more importantly, it is
profoundly human, heartbreakingly moving and utterly utterly loveable.
Even if he never draws another line, this book has earned him a
place in my personal top ten. But if, as I hope, this proves to
be the first in a long line of Craig Thompson masterpieces, the
world of comics will be a more beautiful place."
Dylan Horrocks, creator of Hicksville
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| SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY: |
Books:
Carnet de Voyage (2004)
Conversations #1 (2004) with James
Kochalka
Blankets (2003)
Goodbye, Chunky Rice (1999)
Short Stories In:
Rosetta Vol 2 (2004)
Happy Endings (2002)
Reveal (2002)
Scatterbrain (2001)
Bizzaro Comics (2001)
Expo 2000 (2000)
The Big Book of Seventies (2000)
Top Shelf: Under the Big Top (1999)
Top Shelf #6 (1998)
Mini-Comics
Doot Doot Garden (2000)
Bible Doodles (2000)
Kissy Poo Garden (1997)
Two-Way Cartoon Machine (1996)
My Friend Joey's Legs (1996)
CD's:
Blankets Soundtrack (2004) with Tracker |
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Blankets 
Good-Bye Chunky Rice