Book · 2003
Blankets
by Craig Thompson
A boy's strict evangelical childhood and first love, drawn across six hundred pages that are mostly snow and white space.
What does Reddit think of Blankets?
Every one of Blankets' 378 tracked mentions comes from a single subreddit, r/graphicnovels, with no crossover into horror, fantasy, or general recommendation threads the way some of this catalogue's other books manage. Within that one sub, it functions as connective tissue for canon-building: it turns up in a 2001-specific best-of list next to Jimmy Corrigan and From Hell (↑37), gets paired directly with Maus in a two-book answer (↑116), and shows up alongside On a Sunbeam as a slice-of-life alternative (↑33). One commenter traces their own reading history through it, calling themselves "a big fan of Thompson after Blankets" before describing disappointment with a later, unnamed Thompson work they found Orientalist (↑26); that critique is aimed at the other book, not this one.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Coming-of-age memoir told through evangelical guilt and first love
- · Autobiographical graphic-novel canon-building
- · Visual minimalism, white space as a storytelling tool
- · Craig Thompson's later, more contested work casting a shadow backward
Common praise
- + Gets paired directly with Maus as a two-book answer to "best graphic novels" (↑116).
- + Anchors a 2001-specific canon list alongside Jimmy Corrigan and From Hell (↑37).
- + Named as the entry point that made at least one reader "a big fan of Thompson" before anything else of his (↑26).
Common criticism
- − The corpus shows zero crossover outside r/graphicnovels; no horror, fantasy, or general-suggestion threads reach for it the way they do for other books in this batch.
Who it's for
If your read of graphic novels stops at superhero trades, start here; r/graphicnovels treats it as one of the entry points into the medium's literary side, alongside Maus and Persepolis. Readers drawn to autobiographical coming-of-age stories will recognize the shape immediately: religious upbringing, first love, the slow work of leaving both behind. Don't confuse the goodwill toward this book with a blank check for everything Thompson made afterward; one commenter here is explicit that a later work of his soured them in a way Blankets never did (↑26).
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for Blankets?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“Welp, time to go buy some Blankets
“Maus by Art Spiegelman and Blankets by Craig Thompson.
“A growing library collection is such a fun project. Here's where I might start. I've roughly categorized by sections. I've tried to list only items that … Ethics of Immigration * March (3 vols) * Glenn Gould, A Life Off Tempo * What Is Obscenity * Tetris: The Games People Play * The Photographer * G…
“I literally do this for a living. I teach comics as Lit. I’ll assert that many many works are worthy of study in some way, but if we’re looking for some sort of artistic merit. I could probably list 100, but I’ll start with some basics. Fun Home Watchmen The Best We Could Do Maus American Born Chine…
“I love it; the book is sprawling and takes risks that may not work for you. I'm glad Thompson takes the narrative chances he does. It's very divisive, though. If you're sensitive when it comes to religious issues, I'd try one of his other books (Blankets is a staple in graphic novels and a damn mast…
“There's a lot of good stuff on that shelf. Here is this sub's top 100 graphic novels list … earlier this year by /u/MakeWayForTomorrow you can use to reference and s…
“I've personally really been affected by \- Daytripper \- My Favorite Thing is Monsters \- Blankets I think MFTM is especially notable for being so creative with the imagery and art style. The fact that Blankets was also banned somewhere in the US also makes me smile a bit, a bit too accurate and on …
“Asterios Polyp Blankets Monsters Berlin From Hell
“Blankets or Daytripper
“My all-time favorites. Only Fables is still going. 1. From Hell (self-contained) 2. Daredevil by Bendis/Maleev (series) 3. Fables (series) 4. Blankets (self-contained) 5. Maus (self-contained)
“For something in the literary fiction/slice-of-life space that's relatively long and substantial but still pretty accessible, I suggest: - __"Asterios Polyp" by David Mazzucchelli__ (an absolute classic: a great midlife crisis story told with absolutely stellar use of the comic medium) - __"Blood o…
“Good write up. I was a big fan of Thompson after Blankets and read this in my teens when I wasn’t as aware. But after I got a bit older and read some reviews I was disappointed to realize how Orientalist a lot of it is. And his response was along the lines of, “it’s supposed to evoke the old movies,…
“Not fans of schmaltzy memoir, then? First they came for Thompson, then they came for Eisner... (I'm kidding!! Blankets is great and this is obvs terrible)
“Blankets by Craig Thompson is an autobiographical coming-of-age story about the author growing up and falling in love while grappling with his strict religious upbringing. Just that brief description doesn’t do the book justice, it’s very beautifully drawn and packs an emotional punch. It’s very hi…
“Just finished Blankets by Craig Thompson recently and it’s very beautiful.
Convinced? Pick up Blankets
What else does r/graphicnovels read?
Other books mentioned in the same sub, ranked. Shared-sub overlap with this title breaks ties.
Guides featuring Blankets
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
Blankets — frequently asked
Is Blankets considered essential reading in r/graphicnovels?+
It shows up that way. Blankets gets grouped with Maus as a direct two-book answer to "best graphic novels" (↑116) and anchors a 2001-specific canon list next to Jimmy Corrigan and From Hell (↑37). All 378 tracked mentions come from that one subreddit, which reads as canonical status within it rather than broad crossover.
Does Reddit criticize Blankets for the same Orientalism issues as Thompson's later work?+
No. The one relevant excerpt (↑26) is explicit that the Orientalism complaint targets a different, unnamed Thompson book the commenter read after being won over by Blankets first. Nothing in the displayed data levels that specific criticism at Blankets itself.
What should I read after Blankets?+
r/graphicnovels excerpts pair it most often with Maus (↑116) and, in a separate comment, with On a Sunbeam as a slice-of-life alternative (↑33). Both comparisons come from the same subreddit that supplies literally all of this book's tracked mentions.