Wrapping up blankets pt.1

I can't exactly recall what happens in the last few chapters of blankets (since I left my book in the classroom), I can tell you that it is not Garden State all over again. For one thing, in garden state the two lovers stay together, while in blankets, not so much. that's huge. Like Time comments on the back of the book, its a first-love story, but its also about one's obsessions and leaving them behind. In garden state, the girl acted as the catalyst that helped the protagonist's overcoming his obsession (depression, to be exact); in blankets, the girl is the object of obsession that the protagonist must overcome.

So....

Am I supposed to talk about both McCloud and Blankets? Probably. So here goes...

I've just read from chapter 1 to 4 of Understanding Comics, and I must say, its pretty complex. I didn't know that comics could be so complicated. I mean, "Juxtaposed pictorial and other images in deliberate sequence?" wtf does that even mean? Also, I didn't think that comics could have "vocabulary," until I read about Icons. Plus, this guy named McLuhan, who called TV and Comics "cool media," seemed pretty smart.
There was a lot to digest in this particular comic book. I guess what I got from it in a nutshell was how we (as media literate people) should learn to better respect comics as a medium, as an art form. It is a pretty kick-ass art form. So, until next time McCloud.
Blankets, as usual, was phenomenal. Chapters 6-7 continued exploring some aspects of Craig's childhood (especially the religious aspect) and his growing relationship with raina (finally climaxing in a sex scene, or so it seems; I can't be too sure). The one scene that really moved me was when the dad walks in on craig and raina sleeping together in the morning and starts to get pissed then sees raina's face, so happy. When he pulled out the family photo album, I could almost hear him let out a huge sigh. That's when I really understood how shitty it was for the members of raina's family.

blankets chapter 2-5

ok, so I don't know what I'm supposed to write here exactly. I sat down with Blankets on saturday, and after the first page, I couldn't stop reading. Chapters 2-5 were (if I remember correctly) about the author/protagonist's encounter with Raina, starting with him meeting her at bible camp and then ending with him staying over at her house.
I was also brought up in a strict christian environment, and as a young kid, I was sent to many a bible camp. During my sophomore and junior year of high school, I was sent to a boarding school in Canyonville, Oregon, called the canyonville christian academy. There, I met a girl, my own 'raina'; our relationship quickly ended just like the author's. Craig Thompson beautifully captured the emotions of the whole process. I especially liked the part where they are lying in bed and he's just looking at her, thanking god for his perfect creation, admiring her lithe, slim frame and its every subtle movement, calling it a temple; as I was reading this part, I remember thinking: 'that's exactly right, man.'
One thing that I think is amazing is how craig never lost his faith throughout this whole story. how is that even possible?