Craig Thompson
Encyclopedia
Craig Matthew Thompson (born September 21, 1975) is a graphic novel
ist best known for his books Good-Bye, Chunky Rice (1999), Blankets
(2003), Carnet de Voyage (2004) and Habibi
(2011). Thompson has received four Harvey Award
s, two Eisner Award
s, and two Ignatz Awards
. In 2007, his cover design for the Menomena
album Friend and Foe
received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package
.
in 1975. He and his brother grew up in rural Marathon, Wisconsin
, in a fundamentalist Christian
family. His father was a plumber, and his mother alternated between working as a stay-at-home mom and a visiting-nurse assistant for the disabled. Media such as films and televisions shows were screened or altogether censored by their parents, and the only music allowed was Christian music
. Thompson's only access to the arts were the Sunday funnies
and comics, since they were assumed to be for children, to which Thompson attributes his early affinity for the medium. Thompson and his brother were particularly enamored of black and white independent comics in the 1980s, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
, and the do-it-yourself ethic that they embodied.
In high school Thompson entertained dreams of becoming either a small-town artist or a film animator. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Marathon County for three semesters, during which he began writing a comic strip for the college newspaper and "just kind of fell in love with [comics], suddenly. It filled all my needs -- I was able to draw cartoons, to tell a story; but I also had total control, and I wasn't just a cog in some machine somewhere." After spending a semester at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
, Thompson left his hometown in 1997 and settled in Portland
, Oregon
.
, drawing ads, logos, and toy packaging for the company while working on personal projects at night. After developing tendinitis, Thompson left Dark Horse and devoted his time to his own work.
His debut graphic novel was the semi-autobiographical Good-bye, Chunky Rice
(1999), which was inspired by his move to Portland and "cute cartoony stuff" from his childhood such as the work of Jim Henson
, Dr. Seuss
, and Tim Burton
. As a result of Chunky Rice, Thompson won a 2000 Harvey Award
for Best New Talent and received a 2000 Ignatz Award
nomination for Outstanding Artist. Thompson followed Chunky Rice with the mini-comics Bible Doodles (2000) and Doot Doot Garden (2001).
In late 1999, Thompson began work on a 600-page autobiographical graphic novel Blankets, which was published three and a half years later in 2003 to critical acclaim. Time
magazine named Blankets its #1 graphic novel for 2003, and Thompson won two 2004 Eisner Award
s, for Best Graphic Album-New and Best Writer/Artist, three Harvey Awards, for Best Artist, Best Cartoonist, and Best Graphic Album of Original Work, and two Ignatz Awards, for Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection and Outstanding Artist.
Thompson said that he believes Blankets was a success because he was "reacting against all of the over-the-top, explosive action genre [in alternative comics, and] I also didn’t want to do anything cynical and nihilistic, which is the standard for a lot of alternative comics." As a result of Blankets, he rose quickly to the top ranks of American cartoonists in both popularity and critical esteem. Pulitzer Prize
-winning comic artist Art Spiegelman
sent him a long letter of praise for Blankets, and in mock-jealousy, Eddie Campbell
expressed a temptation to break Thompson's fingers. Time
magazine dubbed Blankets the year's best graphic novel. Despite the praise, the book, which was Thompson's way of coming out to his parents about no longer being a Christian, resulted in tension between him and his parents for a couple of years after they read it.
Thompson followed Blankets with 2004's travelogue
Carnet de Voyage
, which received Ignatz Award nominations for Outstanding Graphic Novel and Outstanding Artist. He also contributed numerous short works to Nickelodeon Magazine, as "Craigory Thompson."
In 2007, Thompson created the artwork for the Menomena
album Friend and Foe
, which was released on January 23 from Barsuk Records
. Thompson's design received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package
, to which he responded, "I wanna get it! I think it would be very funny to be a cartoonist with a Grammy...if nothing else it helps bring attention to the band."
In late 2004, Thompson began working on Habibi
, a graphic novel published by Pantheon Books
, in September 2011
. The book is influenced by Arabic
calligraphy
and Islamic mythology
: "I'm playing with Islam
in the same way I was playing with Christianity
in Blankets," as he said in a 2005 interview. The book was praised by Time
magazine, Elle
magazine, Financial Times
, Salon
, The Independent
, NPR
, The Millions
, Graphic Novel Reporter, and The Harvard Crimson
. Other reviewers, such as Michael Faber of The Guardian
, and a six-person roundtable discussion of the book conducted by Charles Hatfield of The Comics Journal
, while lauding the quality of Thompson's visuals and his use of various Eastern motifs, narrative parallels and intertwining plots and subplots, had negative reactions to the book's length, or the degree of sexual cruelty inflicted upon the main characters.
, Daniel Clowes
, Chris Ware
, and Joe Sacco
. Thompson has said that, in his composition process, pages are initially composed "in a very illegible form, a shorthand where words and pictures blur into alien scribbles...I'm working with words and pictures right from the beginning, but the picture might not look any different from a letter, because they're just a bunch of scribbles on a page." Then he rewrites those sketches into "a detailed thumbnail with clear handwriting, and that way I can go back and edit." Even on his long works, Thompson drafts the entire book in ballpoint pen before beginning the final brush-inked version.
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
ist best known for his books Good-Bye, Chunky Rice (1999), Blankets
Blankets (graphic novel)
Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel by Craig Thompson, published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productions. As a coming-of-age autobiography, the book tells the story of Thompson's childhood in an Evangelical Christian family, his first love, and his early adulthood...
(2003), Carnet de Voyage (2004) and Habibi
Habibi
Habibi is an Arabic word whose literal meaning is my beloved and that originates from the adjective habib...
(2011). Thompson has received four Harvey Award
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
s, two Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s, and two Ignatz Awards
Ignatz Awards
The Ignatz Awards are intended to recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year since 1997, but skipped a year in 2001 due to the show's cancellation after the September...
. In 2007, his cover design for the Menomena
Menomena
Menomena are an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States; currently made up of Justin Harris, Danny Seim and more recently Joe Haege of 31Knots and Tu Fawning...
album Friend and Foe
Friend and Foe
Friend and Foe is the third release from the Portland, Oregon-based band Menomena. It was released January 23, 2007 by Barsuk Records. The cover art is designed by Craig Thompson, writer and illustrator of the award-winning graphic novel Blankets....
received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer, except if the performer is also the art director....
.
Early life
Craig Thompson was born in Traverse City, MichiganTraverse City, Michigan
Traverse City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was 14,674 at the 2010 census, with 143,372 in the Traverse...
in 1975. He and his brother grew up in rural Marathon, Wisconsin
Marathon, Wisconsin
Marathon is a town in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Wausau, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,085 at the 2000 census...
, in a fundamentalist Christian
Fundamentalist Christianity
Christian fundamentalism, also known as Fundamentalist Christianity, or Fundamentalism, arose out of British and American Protestantism in the late 19th century and early 20th century among evangelical Christians...
family. His father was a plumber, and his mother alternated between working as a stay-at-home mom and a visiting-nurse assistant for the disabled. Media such as films and televisions shows were screened or altogether censored by their parents, and the only music allowed was Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
. Thompson's only access to the arts were the Sunday funnies
Sunday comics
Sunday comics is the commonly accepted term for the full-color comic strip section carried in most American newspapers. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, the funny papers or simply the funnies....
and comics, since they were assumed to be for children, to which Thompson attributes his early affinity for the medium. Thompson and his brother were particularly enamored of black and white independent comics in the 1980s, such as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
, and the do-it-yourself ethic that they embodied.
In high school Thompson entertained dreams of becoming either a small-town artist or a film animator. He attended the University of Wisconsin–Marathon County for three semesters, during which he began writing a comic strip for the college newspaper and "just kind of fell in love with [comics], suddenly. It filled all my needs -- I was able to draw cartoons, to tell a story; but I also had total control, and I wasn't just a cog in some machine somewhere." After spending a semester at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design
The Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design is a four-year, professional college of art and design, founded in 1974. It offers a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in 11 majors and is considered the successor to the Layton School of Art....
, Thompson left his hometown in 1997 and settled in Portland
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
.
Career
Thompson worked briefly at Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics
Dark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book and manga publisher.Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukie, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book...
, drawing ads, logos, and toy packaging for the company while working on personal projects at night. After developing tendinitis, Thompson left Dark Horse and devoted his time to his own work.
Good-bye, Chunky Rice
Good-bye, Chunky Rice is a 1999 graphic novel written by Craig Thompson. It was originally published by Top Shelf Productions.-Publication history:...
(1999), which was inspired by his move to Portland and "cute cartoony stuff" from his childhood such as the work of Jim Henson
Jim Henson
James Maury "Jim" Henson was an American puppeteer best known as the creator of The Muppets. As a puppeteer, Henson performed in various television programs, such as Sesame Street and The Muppet Show, films such as The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, and created advanced puppets for...
, Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
Theodor Seuss Geisel was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist most widely known for his children's books written under the pen names Dr. Seuss, Theo LeSieg and, in one case, Rosetta Stone....
, and Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
. As a result of Chunky Rice, Thompson won a 2000 Harvey Award
Harvey Award
The Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for Best New Talent and received a 2000 Ignatz Award
Ignatz Awards
The Ignatz Awards are intended to recognize outstanding achievements in comics and cartooning by small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers. They have been awarded each year since 1997, but skipped a year in 2001 due to the show's cancellation after the September...
nomination for Outstanding Artist. Thompson followed Chunky Rice with the mini-comics Bible Doodles (2000) and Doot Doot Garden (2001).
In late 1999, Thompson began work on a 600-page autobiographical graphic novel Blankets, which was published three and a half years later in 2003 to critical acclaim. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine named Blankets its #1 graphic novel for 2003, and Thompson won two 2004 Eisner Award
Eisner Award
The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
s, for Best Graphic Album-New and Best Writer/Artist, three Harvey Awards, for Best Artist, Best Cartoonist, and Best Graphic Album of Original Work, and two Ignatz Awards, for Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection and Outstanding Artist.
Thompson said that he believes Blankets was a success because he was "reacting against all of the over-the-top, explosive action genre [in alternative comics, and] I also didn’t want to do anything cynical and nihilistic, which is the standard for a lot of alternative comics." As a result of Blankets, he rose quickly to the top ranks of American cartoonists in both popularity and critical esteem. Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning comic artist Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman
Art Spiegelman is an American comics artist, editor, and advocate for the medium of comics, best known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning comic book memoir, Maus. His works are published with his name in lowercase: art spiegelman.-Biography:Spiegelman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Polish Jews...
sent him a long letter of praise for Blankets, and in mock-jealousy, Eddie Campbell
Eddie Campbell
Eddie Campbell is a Scottish comics artist and cartoonist who now lives in Australia. Probably best known as the illustrator and publisher of From Hell , Campbell is also the creator of the semi-autobiographical Alec stories collected in Alec: The Years Have Pants, and Bacchus , a wry adventure...
expressed a temptation to break Thompson's fingers. Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine dubbed Blankets the year's best graphic novel. Despite the praise, the book, which was Thompson's way of coming out to his parents about no longer being a Christian, resulted in tension between him and his parents for a couple of years after they read it.
Thompson followed Blankets with 2004's travelogue
Travel literature
Travel literature is travel writing of literary value. Travel literature typically records the experiences of an author touring a place for the pleasure of travel. An individual work is sometimes called a travelogue or itinerary. Travel literature may be cross-cultural or transnational in focus, or...
Carnet de Voyage
Carnet de Voyage
Carnet de Voyage is a 2004 graphic novel by cartoonist Craig Thompson. The book is a combination of a travelogue and sketches that Thompson compiled while traveling through France, Barcelona, the Alps and Morocco, during a promotional tour for his earlier graphic novel Blankets. Thompson also...
, which received Ignatz Award nominations for Outstanding Graphic Novel and Outstanding Artist. He also contributed numerous short works to Nickelodeon Magazine, as "Craigory Thompson."
In 2007, Thompson created the artwork for the Menomena
Menomena
Menomena are an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States; currently made up of Justin Harris, Danny Seim and more recently Joe Haege of 31Knots and Tu Fawning...
album Friend and Foe
Friend and Foe
Friend and Foe is the third release from the Portland, Oregon-based band Menomena. It was released January 23, 2007 by Barsuk Records. The cover art is designed by Craig Thompson, writer and illustrator of the award-winning graphic novel Blankets....
, which was released on January 23 from Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records
Barsuk Records is an independent record label based in Seattle, Washington, started and still managed by the members of the band This Busy Monster, Christopher Possanza and Josh Rosenfeld, who created the label in 1994 to release their band's material. Its logo is a drawing of a dog holding a...
. Thompson's design received a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package
Grammy Award for Best Recording Package
The Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer, except if the performer is also the art director....
, to which he responded, "I wanna get it! I think it would be very funny to be a cartoonist with a Grammy...if nothing else it helps bring attention to the band."
In late 2004, Thompson began working on Habibi
Habibi (graphic novel)
Habibi is a graphic novel by Craig Thompson published by Pantheon in September 2011. The 672-page book is set in a fictional Islamic fairytale landscape, and depicts the relationship between Dodola and Zam, two escaped child slaves, who are torn apart and undergo many transformations as they grow...
, a graphic novel published by Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books
Pantheon Books is an American imprint with editorial independence that is part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.The current editor-in-chief at Pantheon Books is Dan Frank.-Overview:...
, in September 2011
2011 in literature
The year 2011 will involve some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tomas Tranströmer wins the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.*Jennifer Egan wins the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel A Visit From the Goon Squad.-Literature:*T.C...
. The book is influenced by Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
calligraphy
Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of fancy lettering . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
and Islamic mythology
Islamic mythology
Islamic mythology is the body of traditional narratives associated with Islam from a mythographical perspective. Many Muslims believe that these narratives are historical and sacred and contain profound truths...
: "I'm playing with Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
in the same way I was playing with Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
in Blankets," as he said in a 2005 interview. The book was praised by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine, Elle
Elle (magazine)
Elle is a worldwide magazine of French origin that focuses on women's fashion, beauty, health, and entertainment. Elle is also the world's largest fashion magazine. It was founded by Pierre Lazareff and his wife Hélène Gordon in 1945. The title, in French, means "she".-History:Elle was founded in...
magazine, Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
, Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
, The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, The Millions
The Millions
The Millions is an online literary magazine created by C. Max Magee in 2003. It contains articles about literary topics and book reviews.The Millions has several regular contributors as well as frequent guest appearances by literary notables, including Rosecrans Baldwin, Josh Bazell, Mark Binelli,...
, Graphic Novel Reporter, and The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
. Other reviewers, such as Michael Faber of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, and a six-person roundtable discussion of the book conducted by Charles Hatfield of The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal
The Comics Journal, often abbreviated TCJ, is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels...
, while lauding the quality of Thompson's visuals and his use of various Eastern motifs, narrative parallels and intertwining plots and subplots, had negative reactions to the book's length, or the degree of sexual cruelty inflicted upon the main characters.
Style and influences
Thompson has acknowledged the influence of graphic artists Taro YashimaTaro Yashima
was the pseudonym of , a Japanese artist.He was born in Nejime, Kagoshima in 1908. After studying for three years at the Imperial Art Academy in Tokyo, he became a successful illustrator and cartoonist before going to jail because of his opposition to the militaristic government...
, Daniel Clowes
Daniel Clowes
Daniel Gillespie Clowes is an American author, screenwriter and cartoonist of alternative comic books....
, Chris Ware
Chris Ware
Franklin Christenson Ware , is an American comic book artist and cartoonist, widely known for his Acme Novelty Library series and the graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth. Born in Omaha, Nebraska, he resides in the Chicago area, Illinois...
, and Joe Sacco
Joe Sacco
Joe Sacco is a Maltese-American comics artist and journalist. He achieved international fame through the 1996 American Book Award-winning Palestine, and his graphic novel on the Bosnian War, Safe Area Goražde.- Biography :...
. Thompson has said that, in his composition process, pages are initially composed "in a very illegible form, a shorthand where words and pictures blur into alien scribbles...I'm working with words and pictures right from the beginning, but the picture might not look any different from a letter, because they're just a bunch of scribbles on a page." Then he rewrites those sketches into "a detailed thumbnail with clear handwriting, and that way I can go back and edit." Even on his long works, Thompson drafts the entire book in ballpoint pen before beginning the final brush-inked version.
Personal life
Thompson has explained that he is no longer a Christian, a status that evolved gradually beginning with his high school years, during which he became disenchanted with the church and its dogma, though he still agrees with Jesus' teachings.Awards
- 2000 Harvey AwardHarvey AwardThe Harvey Awards, named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman and founded by Gary Groth, President of the publisher Fantagraphics, are given for achievement in comic books. The Harveys were created as part of a successor to the Kirby Awards which were discontinued after 1987.The Harvey Awards are...
for Best New Talent for Good-bye, Chunky RiceGood-bye, Chunky RiceGood-bye, Chunky Rice is a 1999 graphic novel written by Craig Thompson. It was originally published by Top Shelf Productions.-Publication history:... - 2004 Eisner AwardEisner AwardThe Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...
for Best Graphic Album for Blankets - 2004 Eisner Award for Best Writer/Artist for Blankets
- 2004 Harvey Award for Best Artist for Blankets
- 2004 Harvey Award for Best Cartoonist for Blankets
- 2004 Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Original Work for Blankets
- 2004 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist for Blankets
- 2004 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel or Collection for Blankets
- 2005 Prix de la critiquePrix de la critiqueThe Prix de la critique is a prize awarded by the Association des Critiques et des journalistes de Bande Dessinée to the best comic album released for a year in France. Previously, from 1984 to 2003, it was called Prix Bloody Mary and awarded at the Angoulême International Comics Festival...
Nominations
- 1999 Harvey Award for Best New Talent for Top Shelf, Doot Doot Garden, et al.
- 2000 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist for Good-bye, Chunky Rice
- 2000 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Artist for Carnet de VoyageCarnet de VoyageCarnet de Voyage is a 2004 graphic novel by cartoonist Craig Thompson. The book is a combination of a travelogue and sketches that Thompson compiled while traveling through France, Barcelona, the Alps and Morocco, during a promotional tour for his earlier graphic novel Blankets. Thompson also...
- 2000 Ignatz Award for Outstanding Graphic Novel for Carnet de Voyage
- 2007 Grammy Award for Best Recording PackageGrammy Award for Best Recording PackageThe Grammy Award for Best Recording Package is one of a series of Grammy Awards presented for the visual look of an album. It is presented to the art director of the winning album, not to the performer, except if the performer is also the art director....
for Friend and FoeFriend and FoeFriend and Foe is the third release from the Portland, Oregon-based band Menomena. It was released January 23, 2007 by Barsuk Records. The cover art is designed by Craig Thompson, writer and illustrator of the award-winning graphic novel Blankets....
Graphic novels
- Good-bye, Chunky RiceGood-bye, Chunky RiceGood-bye, Chunky Rice is a 1999 graphic novel written by Craig Thompson. It was originally published by Top Shelf Productions.-Publication history:...
(1999) - BlanketsBlankets (graphic novel)Blankets is an autobiographical graphic novel by Craig Thompson, published in 2003 by Top Shelf Productions. As a coming-of-age autobiography, the book tells the story of Thompson's childhood in an Evangelical Christian family, his first love, and his early adulthood...
(2003) - Carnet de VoyageCarnet de VoyageCarnet de Voyage is a 2004 graphic novel by cartoonist Craig Thompson. The book is a combination of a travelogue and sketches that Thompson compiled while traveling through France, Barcelona, the Alps and Morocco, during a promotional tour for his earlier graphic novel Blankets. Thompson also...
(2004) - HabibiHabibi (graphic novel)Habibi is a graphic novel by Craig Thompson published by Pantheon in September 2011. The 672-page book is set in a fictional Islamic fairytale landscape, and depicts the relationship between Dodola and Zam, two escaped child slaves, who are torn apart and undergo many transformations as they grow...
(2011)
External links
- Doot Doot Garden Blog Craig Thompson's official website
- Interview with Craig Thompson for "Habibi"
- Excerpt from "Habibi" in Guernica
- Top Shelf Catalog for Craig Thompson