Page 164

Page 164 is one of the more successful pages in "Blankets:" Thompson draws a system of panels that represent a single moment, as the two lead characters terminate a telephone conversation. The panels are associative rather than strictly linear, and the "palimpsest" panel overlap effect creates twin contexts for Thompson's characters, themselves united by a telephonic "click." Obviously, the predecessor here is Chris Ware's much more complicated single-page story structure in "The Acme Novelty Library" #1. In this case, Thompson has pared down Ware's more ambitious structure to meet his needs; all of the panels in his page structure communicate something useful, and a greater perspective is gained through their non-linear juxtaposition. The structure does not read like a solution to a problem nor as a melodramatic effect; like the previously-referenced "Chunky Rice" page, the page seems just right. The drama of the moment emerges from the expertly framed situation. The formal design does not need to enhance; it merely shows.

Thompson deserves credit for his appreciation of unconventional structures, but "Blankets" reads like a senseless battery of superficial technique, more like a repertoire than a palette. Disconnected from a larger formal context, the devices lose meaning. They are each tips of different icebergs. Taken individually, Thompson's own formal solutions are sometimes clever, but taken as a whole they become impossible for an attentive reader to "read" as any kind of formal articulation. The inconsistent, piecemal formalism is frustrating, and the text begs the question: what makes these formal structures appropriate to a given moment? According to "Blankets," formal innovation is apparently appropriate whenever Thompson wants to heighten the drama of a moment. Through unique forms, Thompson attempts to make his situations unique, but the marriage is false.  continue...