Thompson, Craig 1975-

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THOMPSON, Craig 1975-

PERSONAL: Born 1975, in Traverse City, MI.

ADDRESSES: Home—Portland, OR. Agent—P. J. Mark, Collins McCormick Literary Agency, Staff 10 Leonard Street, New York. NY 10013.

CAREER: Graphic novelist and illustrator. Worked at various jobs, including at a McDonalds restaurant and the hardware section of a department store.

AWARDS, HONORS: Harvey Award for Best New Talent, for Good-Bye Chunky Rice; named Best Comic of 2003, Time.com, and Library Journal, named among Top-Ten Young-Adult Books, Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), and Eisner Awards for Best Graphic Novel of Original Work and Best Writer/Artist, all 2004, all for Blankets.

WRITINGS:

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Good-Bye Chunky Rice, Top Shelf (Marietta, GA), 1999.

Blankets, Top Shelf (Marietta, GA), 2003.

Carnet de Voyage, Top Shelf (Marietta, GA), 2004.

Creator of comic-book series, including Two-way Cartoon Machine, My Friend Joey's Legs, Kissy Poo Garden, Bible Doodles, Doot Doot Garden, and Conversations #1, 2004. Contributor to ongoing comic-book series, including Top Shelf The Big Book of the Seventies, Star War Tales, Star War Gamer, Bizarro Comics, Scatterbrain, Dark Horse Maverick: Happy Endings, Spoutnik, Ultimate Spider-Man, Reveal, Milk Robotics, Word Squad, and Hellboy: Weird Tales. Contributor of illustrations and comics to numerous Web sites and periodicals, including Nickelodeon, Owl, Canadian Business, and National Geographic Kids.

WORK IN PROGRESS: A graphic novel titled Habibi.

SIDELIGHTS: Craig Thompson is an illustrator whose first graphic novel, Good-Bye Chunky Rice, tells the story of a small turtle, Chunky Rice, who leaves both his home his mouse friend, Dandel, to go on a high seas journey. The story revolves around the friendship between the two and the pain of separation. Thompson revealed his inspiration for this graphic novel in an interview with Karin L. Kross on the Bookslut.com. Thompson noted, "Well, I really grew up to—I was obsessed with Jim Henson and the Muppets, and Dr. Seuss, and Tim Burton—I think those influenced where Good-Bye Chunky Rice was coming from more than any comics per se."

Thompson's next graphic novel, the 592-page Blankets, gained wide-ranged recognition and several prestigious awards. The book, which may be the largest graphic novel ever published, tells the autobiographical tale of Thompson and his brother, Phil. The two grow up in the country, play pranks on each other, and compete in various ways. But the story also explores other elements of life in the stark Wisconsin winter landscape, including the sense of isolation, harsh paternal discipline, first love, and the boundaries of faith. Writing in the Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, Amy Fiske commented, "The blankets in the title are the blankets that cover Craig and his brother . . . in the bed they share as small boys. Intended to comfort and protect, the blankets do neither job adequately in much the same way the boys' family, religion, and upbringing also fail to comfort and protect." Fiske added, "Thompson has drawn us an achingly beautiful self-portrait." Francisca Goldsmith, writing in the School Library Journal, remarked that it is "the acuity for character development and dynamic sensitivity that makes the author so compulsively readable."

Carnet de Voyage contains sketches and a travelogue diary that documents Thompson's time traveling through Barcelona, the Alps, and France, as part of a book promotion tour for Blankets. He also made a side trip to Morocco. Through his illustrations and diary, Thompson discusses such things as travel diarrhea and camel aerodynamics and provides numerous images of both the places he visited and the people he encountered along the way. He also explores the emotional ups and downs he experienced during the trip, especially concerning an arthritis problem that threatens his drawing career.

Writing in the School Library Journal, Christine C. Menefee noted, "Combined with telegraphic captions, the art captures to perfection and with a great sense of immediacy what it's like to be young and on one's own on a foreign adventure. By turns lighthearted and profound, Carnet is an illuminating and charming experience." Booklist contributor Gordon Flagg felt that, at times, the author's "moments of self-pity are a bit self-indulgent" but noted that Thompson's drawings are "wonderfully expressive and evocative." George Galuschak, writing in Kliatt, commented, "This is not polished material; some of the drawings are raw, hurried and downright crude. . . . but the journey is as important as the destination." A Publishers Weekly contributor noted that the people encountered by Thompson are "captured with a keen eye and a lively brush" and called the writings "thought provoking and touching."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, November 15, 2001, Gordon Flagg, review of Carnet de Voyage, p. 572.

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, October, 2004, Amy Fiske, review of Blankets, p. 178.

Kliatt, November, 2004, George Galuschak, review of Carnet de Voyage, p. 38.

Publishers Weekly, September 20, 2004, review of Carnet de Voyage,, p. 58.

School Library Journal, April, 2004, Francisca Goldsmith, review of Blankets, p. 186; December, 2004, Christine C. Menefee, review of Carnet de Voyage, p. 177.