Review by Colin Credle
Writer, illustrator Craig Thompson is invited by several European publishing houses to tour Europe to promote his well-known, well-reviewed graphic novel Blankets at bookstores, radio stations, comic festivals and to meet with fellow writers. Thompson takes time in the middle of the tour to travel to Morocco by himself for several weeks. This travelogue covers the whole exhausting trip with humorous observations, captivating illustrations, self-analysis underpinned with a sweet melancholy. Thompson uses a caricature of himself that depicts vulnerability and is often self-deprecating in a compelling, funny way.
From the outset it’s clear that Thompson is recovering from a recent break-up with his girlfriend. The reader is thankfully spared the details, but witnesses his swooning over attractive females that come along during this whirlwind tour of Europe. The isolation of travelling alone and the need for connection after a break-up set the mood at the start.
Along the way, Thompson meets luminaries in the world of “bande dessinee” or Franco-Belgian graphic novels. If they are not recognizable, this serves as a great primer to look further into their work. Thompson is careful to identify them as creators like himself. Here too we can appreciate the versatility of Thompson’s artwork. When we first meet Lewis Trondheim, we see a realistic drawing of him, but later he morphs into one of his more famous characters – a warrior duck from his series Dungeon. Trondheim’s duck is scolding Thompson to “… draw something every day!”
Thompson is hosted by families, street vendors, hucksters, linguists, artists and even finds himself babysitting, yet the illustrations remain the lynchpin of this storytelling. Thompson’s pathos, humour and talent in either capturing the moment vividly or alternately with funny artistic metaphors keeps the story moving at a pleasant pace.
In Morocco Thompson’s written thoughts on his state of mind are interrupted with full page spreads of drawings filled with detail. He battles stomach illness, he confronts aggressive hawkers, gives in to hospitable strangers, hangs out with travelling Europeans, and shows us the architecture as well as the chaos of the crowded markets. Adventures are interspersed with this quest to find quietude and time to draw without being interrupted. Then there’s the camel journey into the desert. The contemplation, emotion and expressive art meet seamlessly with sympathetic, ironic observations and great depth of feeling. Somehow Thompson successfully walks the line between intimacy without too much information. For instance, it would be surprising if any person who makes a cameo in this travelogue would be offended by what’s drawn or said, but on the other hand the book leaves you with the sense of knowing each person with a modicum of warmth and pleasant familiarity.
Carnet de Voyage lends itself well to reading more than once, with the beautiful and detailed drawings a help. The portrayals of such a broad cast of characters allows you to travel vicariously. Just pick it up and start the journey – visually, emotionally and physically.
