Week 5: Eisner & Thompson

Excerpt from a Naked Man comic. Very old. 

This is a little embarrassing, but when I was in high school my friend and I drew this comic called "Naked Man". Basically it was just some dumb text message story we had made up about a naked dude that runs around having sexual adventures with a boy at a Catholic school. We posted it on the internet and had a small following. One day, while showing a family member my work, my mom came across the webcomic. She approached me that night, in tears, asking me why I would ever want to "lead people astray" by writing a story that lets people think homosexuality is okay. And how did I know enough about sex to draw pictures of it? Why did I have to use swear words and take His name in vain? How did I think this makes God feel? I told her that we were just messing around, and it doesn't mean anything. As punishment she took away my tablet, keyboard, mouse, and watched me delete it from every site it was on. 

My mom is super Christian and I was raised that way too. But as with most kids that are pushed into a religion, I soon quietly rebelled. I'm not sure if I'm at the point where I can say I'm an atheist, but like Thompson, I think the part of me that used to believe is gone, or at least damaged. 

Reading Blankets is a really personal experience for me, because I can relate to much of what happens to Thompson. His upbringing especially. I went to church camp, I memorized bible verses, I sang the songs. The people were fake and the environment was cliquish and hostile. And a good deal of that contributed to my disdain for organized religion, and Thompson's as well. However, I didn't have the traumatic childhood that Thompson had, and so didn't have a fervent need for God in my life. Its rare to see someone that still holds on tightly to Christianity during their teenage years, and lets other people see it.

When I first read this story, I couldn't put it down. I thought Craig and Raina's relationship was so passionate and even thought they were good for each other. I remember being disappointed when he told her it was over. Upon my 5th or 6th reading of the book, I can see now that there was nothing there in the first place. She needed him for moral support and he needed to experience her. I think a lot of what he portrayed about Raina was idealized, like she was some beautiful, unknowable creature to be worshipped. When really, she was just a girl with a messed up family life that needed a shoulder to cry on. A friend. 

I could go on for a while about Blankets and Thompson's other work, but I'm going to stop here before I write and essay.