Sunday Inspiration I - Craig Thompson

In these short articles I will try to present the most influential artworks which had impact on my so-called creativity process. Of course it is not easy to choose only the most important ones, as the amount of media shoved in our minds nowadays is too large to comprehend fully. Hence these texts. If you are interested from who I am stealing ideas and style – be my guest.

Part I – Craig Thompson “Blankets” and “Habibi”

Craig Thompson’s works made quite a big mark on my creativity. His art style is unusually messy, giving the impression that the brush strokes are freshly placed on every page, with amazing combination of harmonic swirls and firm, strong strokes, almost cubistic in the nature. But what is more important – the meaning. “Blankets” tells us the personal tale, some sort of autobiography, the experience of growing up in strict Christian community, with the one, special, unusual love interest and how personal needs conflict with religious ones. I must admit that this story is not strictly anti-religious, as many quotes from the bible, which author brings, are perfectly fitted with the context presented in a story. Accidentally, I’ve found a lot resemblance in this story with my own process of growing up, which gave me a positive feelings that many are struggling with same troubles. In my opinion it is a very good comic book to pick up, just to compare your own escape from the childhood into the adultery with the author’s. It gives some sort of… redemption. Also, the full-pages pictures representing the process of love and emotion’s flow are simply stunning.

“Habibi” is a different story - it is settled in the eastern world, which is strange and mysterious not only for American, but also European readers. I’ve found myself a little bit disconnected from the story at the beginning (this time it has female protagonists, so I guess female readers will find it easier) but the sheer amount of sad feelings which this book consist makes it a very personal experience. I do not want to spoil you the tale, but it is heavily influenced by the Arabic mythology and beliefs – it is amazing to discover. Also, love story is also very touching in this book – very different from the “Blankets”, but quite unique and, well… just simply fantastic, yet still realistic. In some way. Thompson amazingly connected the Arabic calligraphy with his own art style, making his book stunning once again. This is very spiritual travel, full of wonders, but also misery and death. Surprisingly, it is also a detailed study on the process of pregnancy and how it affects women during all of the stages.

Both of these books are very important – I do love this style and way of narration, but they are very personal in a core. It is impossible to just copy Craig Thompson, but through his stories, he gave me a valuable lesson – that sometimes you don’t have to hide your emotions from the others and even thought people and world around is cruel, it is you who has to find the resolution to not give up. To believe.