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WEEK 5: GRAPHIC NOVELS


Image result for blankets comicImage result for a contract with god
This week I had the pleasure of reading Will Eisner’s Contract with God and Craig Thompson’s Blankets. Both in the form of graphic novels, they tell very different stories in very different formats. Interestingly, they had some similar reoccurring themes. I’m going to be completely honest and say that although Eisner’s graphic novel was an interesting read, it had nothing on Blankets in my opinion.

The first story in Contract with God was different because it was almost like a children’s book format, with word bubbles being replaced with third-person narrative on every page. The later three stories were more traditional comics, but the stories were not as compelling and personal as Blankets. The third person narrative definitely makes it harder to connect to Eisner’s work, whereas Blankets comes straight from the voice of the author. I think that the style of storytelling also varied drastically between the two. In Blankets, Thompson really knew how to captivate a reader with abstract illustrations and somewhat distorted looking people. The way he drew his characters and environments gave me a subtle vibe of Jamie Hewlett, the artist responsible for Gorillaz (mainly because of the distinct stylization of their line work). Thompson’s graphic novel also had more personality because of the symbolism. Contract with God felt more like I was watching these events happen, like an everyday bystander. Nothing extraordinary was present, and though the way he drew was very detailed and gestural, I couldn’t get in touch with the characters. Now with Blankets, I could feel that Thompson didn’t just want the reader to hear his story, he wanted us to relive it with him. It is so easy to empathize with him, especially when a lot of his stories resonates with you personally.

I found it interesting that both of the graphic novels had a lot of similar themes going on. Religion was the biggest one, as a good chunk of Blankets was about Craig’s relationship with God and Contract with God started out with, well, a story about a man who made a contract with God. Another parallel theme that I found was marriage. In both, marriage was seen as a struggle. The fourth story in Contract with God displayed a lot of distrust and betrayal between married couples, and in Blankets we saw the struggle between Raina’s parents’ about their upcoming divorce. Though the two comics come from very different times, it proves that the basis of society and relationships remain the same.

Overall, I really enjoyed the reading for this week. I think I may actually go and purchase a physical copy of Blankets because of how much it impacted me. Growing up Christian and having my own struggles of self-identity in a religious setting, Blankets provided me with so much more than I expected.

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