Week 5- Eisner and Thompson-(6 pts.)

From reading Craig Thompson's "Blankets"and Will Eisner's "Life Force", I see a theme of survival for the main characters in both stories. Even though the stories come from different eras, the main characters have to deal with their troublesome lives. For example, Craig had parents who were abusive, and took him to an ultra-conservative church that scared him into faith. Every day, he dealt with bullies from elementary to high school (even at church camp). His only escape was through art and his relationship with Raina. In Eisner's comic, Jacob deals with losing his job during the Great Depression. His faith is also an important part of this story, he feels so doubtful, he compares himself to cockroach who seemed to be dying at the same time when Jacob almost had a heart attack. But both ended up surviving. 

The art style for both comics are downright beautiful despite the stories being melancholy. Their use of black and white gives a bold feeling , adds strong contrast, and accents the light sources. For example, Eisner drew the Rabbi standing before the boys with thin black lines drawn at an angle coming out from behind him to give him a God-like appearance to the boys. Both stories ooze with style and mood. I love how Thompson creatively depicts key moments in Craig's life. One example includes Craig burning down his childhood drawings, and depicting it as if they are spewing out of his mouth. The background was black, the doodles out of his mouth were stark white. In contrast, one scene involves Raina giving Craig a quilt she made from squares of fabric that remind her of him. This panel fills up the entire page, as if you're zooming in on specific squares, and memories are embedded on it, as it shows their love. Both are literally drawn inside the art or the quilt as they talk to each other.