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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 22, 2004)
Monday, March 22, 2004 AGGIELIf THE BATTALli “Blankets” by Craig Thompson Top Shelf live at Reed Arena 7 pm Thursday, April 1 ON SALE NOW! Tickets available at Reed Arena Box Office, MSC Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, including Foleys, 979.268.0414, or ticketmaster.com Show contains adult language. For Craig Thompson, love is a wonderful thing filled with pain and joy. The innocence of first love is countered at every turn by the haunting warnings of temptation that the Bible has taught since his childhood. In “Blankets,” an almost 600 page autobiographical comic book, Thompson recounts his first love among other memo ries of his childhood. “Blankets” begins plainly, with a simple panel that reads: “When we were young, my little brother Phil and I shared the same bed.” The simplicity of this panel is a good indication of what comes next in Thompson’s touching rendition of his youth. Throughout the graphic novel, the reader is introduced to a wide variety of characters that orbit around young Thompson. From his wild brother Phil to his sometimes cruel father, Thompson reflects upon the past with enough sincerity that read ers will be tempted to take everything he says for granted, no ques tions asked. When Craig and his brother would fight over who was hogging the sheets at night, his father’s solution was to throw lit tle Phil into a hole in the wall for the night. Craig and Phil's babysitter once took each of them aside and exposed himself. Whether these events actually took place is never questioned as one reads “Blankets.” Thompson utilizes such an honest nar rative voice, readers will not bother to question what is being pre sented to them. “Blankets’” main story surrounds Thompson’s emotionally tur bulent first love. Thompson meets Raina at church camp and togeth er each finds in the other comfort and peace that they had been lack ing. Thompson had always been an outside, and in Raina he discc v- ers a friend who makes any other person obsolete. Raina comes from an emotionally-distant family in which she was given an over load of responsibility at a young age. From their first encounter, each finds a serenity that they embrace along with each other. Thompson details his descent into love with a poetic meter that will remind readers of a love song. Not all things are rosy for the young lovers, though. Thompson is constantly at odds with his upbringings and battles with the dual nature of love, striving to find a balance between worship and lust. The use of beautifully symbolic illustrations helps to tie together his love with the undertones of his faith. The story' of Thompson and Raina’s love is bookmarked with reflections about growingupij his brother and their adventures and misadventures. Thompson’s illustrations perfectly convey the innocence childhood with almost a cartoonish atmosphere that is balanced! with the many touches of intricate detail and deftly drawn emotiin The simplicity of snow is turned into masterful artwork withcb panel layouts and creative uses of negative space. The black white nature of the illustrations actually works well tocotro black and white nature of remembrance. The past is theonlyil clear to Thompson as he looks back on his year with Raina. “Blankets” is a story of love and loss that is not only an read, but a poignant one as well. Everybody who has experienc the bitterness that comes when a relationship that once thought would last forever begins to fall apart will be touched they read Thompson’s autobiography. Fans of pop art willapp date the beauty found in the simplicity of Thompson’s “Blankets” is, in short, an excellent read that manages to oft incredible insight into the life of a normal teenager experience life, in all its wonderful pain. nn Robert Sana l "Bi I’ f # f f f n n Use this as firestarter Read only when insomnia hits Buy it at a used bookstore Buy it in hardback n nt Buy a copy for your coffee table, nightstand, and bookshelf PEOPLE IN THE NEWS presented by Clooney raises funds for father’s congressional bid FORT MITCHELL. Ky. (AP) - Actor George Clooney helped raise about $140,000 Saturday at private fund-raisers for his father's congressional campaign. Nick Clooney, a longtime Cincinnati televi sion personality, is the lone Democratic can didate for the 4th District seat of retiring U.S. Rep. Ken Lucas. George Clooney spoke briefly at two events in northern Kentucky, but stayed away from making political statements. Instead, he talked about his father and how he wanted to help him with the election. “It's great having my son come in to help," Nick Clooney said. “It's family. Whennp and my daughter show up and help me. means a lot and it shows me this is morette just politics. We still matter to one anota About 150 people paid $250 each to mins with the actor at The Oriental Wok, a res- rant in Fort Mitchell. In another fund-* about 100 people paid $1,000 each to s the actor at a private home. department of health & kinesiology $ ms* MSC OPAS uu enlighten entertain | inspire Present rh, Faculty Performing An Arts Showcase Can your dance professor perform Swan Lake? Ever wondered if your Shakespeare professor longs to play Hamlet? Can your Music profs prove they can play the mandolin? Saturday, March 27 7:30 PM Rudder Auditorium Come see your professors practice what they teach! FREE - No ticket needed - FREE INVESTING ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. 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