Habibi
October 5th, 2011
Habibi by Craig Thompson is probably one of the most enjoyable comics I’ve read in my life. I had two long flights over the past week, and luckily I had this book to escape the stress and time of flying.
If I could only use one word to describe this book, it would be beautiful.
The art is beautiful. The story is beautiful. The language is beautiful. The symbolism is beautiful. The design is beautiful. The layouts are beautiful. The calligraphy is beautiful. The narrative is beautiful.
The way it all comes together is beautiful.
November 18th, 2011 at 6:09 pm
If I have a problem with Habibi, it’s a minor one: Ever notice that in a Craig Thompson comic, any adult male character who’s sexually active usually ranges from “kind of a jerk” to “completely evil jerk”?
I’m beginning to wonder if he has some unresolved issue.
Otherwise, yes, add it to the shelf by Chunky Rice and Blankets.
November 18th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
In interviews, Thompson has said he does explore his own male guilt and sexual ideals in his works.
Here is a good interview by Nadim Damluji, a critic of Thompsons’s uses of Orientalism in Habibi, in which Thompson talks also talks about his views of male desire.
http://hoodedutilitarian.com/2011/11/a-conversation-about-habibis-orientalism-with-craig-thompson/
November 21st, 2011 at 4:08 pm
I’m quite disappointed that he went the “And if any part of my work seems like it’s sleazy or exploitive, just keep in mind that comics are automatically and innately a sleazy and exploitive medium” route.