My thoughts on Habibi

Recently I read Habibi by Craig Thompson. I’ve been reading a lot of Craig of late—hey, you can never go wrong with Craig—and it’s fascinating content. A lot of my friends who read Graphic Novels on the regular will almost always bring up Craig Thompson at some point in the discussion. Whether it’s about his ability to create seamless flow within his narrative, or the eye candy that is his artwork. People seem to adore him. It’s rather easy to see why.

However, my peers like to toss around sayings like, “Habibi is waaaaayyyyy better.” Or. “No it’s not. Blankets is Craig at his best.” When I hear these things it always strikes me as odd.

You can’t compare these two Graphic Novels and I’m not particularly convinced that one is better than the other. Here’s why:

            Both of these Graphic Novels have great flow and a very cinematic feel to them. But they are covering very different themes. Habibi is a love story and Blankets is more of a confessional coming of age story. I think to say that one is better than the other is a purely objective. (Personally, I enjoyed the themes in Blankets, and I think that Thompson nailed his illustrations in Habibi. Honing the technique he used in Blankets.) They’re both great and have lives of their own. What I’m trying to say is that they stand out, even from each other.

I read somewhere that Craig Thompson thinks it’s completely possible to create 100 pages a year. I find that effing impressive. Look at his art. Especially the detailed patterns you’ll find Habibi. Keep in mind that Habibi and Blankets is roughly 1,300 pages combined. That’s thirteen years of his life. Dayyymmmm.

In terms of narrative, I found Habibi to be a classic love story in a unique Arabian Nights/Modern day Middle Eastern city setting a funky, unique, and fantastic story.  I definitely recommend this Graphic Novel to anyone interested in great storytelling or wonderful art. It’s a heart wrencher and it’s worth the read.