Habibi: By Craig Thompson

Where do I start when reviewing this work? Firstly I should state that I havent read Craig Thompsons' highly praised graphic novel Blankets. Although I have looked at it many times and seriously considered buying it, there have always been other options at the time. So this is my first, proper, introduction to Thompson. What an introduction this is! Habibi tells the story of two child slaves Dodola and Zam brought together by fate who take us through some of lifes most important lessons as we read their continuing stories in a fictitious Arabian landscape. This book must have been painstakingly researched by the author as its scope and breadth of storytelling is just breathtaking. It was almost too much for me, and I read lots of comics and graphic novels. Encompassing quotes from the Koran and the Bible we see the similarities of the faiths, beautiful drawings of Arabic calligraphy, chemistry, biology, philosophy and all encompassing unconditional love. Indeed it is this which keeps you coming back for more as at its core this is surely a story of love between two people(s) A beautiful 670 page hardback book it is stunningly designed and drawn from front cover to back cover. It reminds me somewhat of the manga Buddha by Osamu Tezuka which is also a work of incredible scope. Beware though, the book does not shy away from adult themes and therefore is probably not for everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Craig Thompson writes a good love story. Even to a jaded old curmudgeon like myself, both Blankets and Habibi spoke with an authentically tender and caring voice. Habibi is a joy to hold and to look at. Once you've read the story there are so many insanely detailed pages of Arabic lettering and Moorish decoration that one's eye can get lost in. The story itself spans many years and is held together by the thread of the relationship between Zam and Dodola. The story has themes of progress, of pollution and the environment, of race, gender, and of sex, but primarily and supremely it is about the supremacy of love. My only potentially negative comment is Thompson's portrayal of women. This for me is a little conflicted, in his story is a beautiful young woman who is exploited sexually but who turns that sexual exploitation to her advantage. I think Thompson walks a fine line between a joyful celebration of the female form and an uneasy obsession of the same type that fuels his leering male characters throughout the story. Thompson acknowledges this himself through the character Zam who struggles with his own male feelings towards Dodola, recognising in himself the same desire that was the cause of such pain for her. However, I like that this is held in tension in the story and causes the reader to come to his or her own conclusion. I would like to read a review by a woman though to see what she thought. Overall I think this book deserves a place amongst the absolute classic graphic novels. Certainly the artwork and the thematic scope of the book is broad enough, and in my opinion I think Thompson pulls it off.

I had this idea that this book is a sort of Arabic thousand nights type adventure comic but it is more of a book about going through some real hardships which turns it from an adventure into a sort of drama and quite frankly I think it makes one be gripped even more. The story touches on the topics of hardship, living as an outcast, overcoming the struggle, class struggle, staying strong as well as portrayals of love, sex and violence which will make it unsuitable and likely somewhat boring if one was looking to buy a cool comic for your child etc. The quality of inking is superb and it is obvious this book took a loooooong time to draw and it shows in everything from characters to the architecture to the beautiful geometrical arabic designs and mosaics.

I was drawn to this book in my local library, even though it was hard to figure out what the theme was from a perfunctory perusal. Was it a middle eastern religious tale, for example? Once I started to read it, I was fascinated by the interweaving of patterns from mathematical history, cultural wisdom tales, and a very engaging main story, that held much of relevance to our modern world, its many relationships and risky world experiences. I have very happy to have this graphic novel in my library and I look foreward to rereading it, as it has a depth that requires frequent dives to reach.

At first I was curious about this book which was in a local bookstore because of the design of the cover and how thick the book was, which resembled a Quran. After taking a little peek at the book's contents, I was very much attracted to the style of the comic and how the characters are beautifully and individually drawn. After receiving this book, it's safe to say that it's very much worth the money and the read! Absolutely loved the details and how the story progresses; it even made me tear up a little at the end. Truly an amazing book!

Habibi is a beautiful, beautiful work of art. It is absolutely stunning. But it is also disconcerting. Set in a fictitious Arab sultanate, this is the story of a young girl/woman and the toddler/boy/teenager/man she adopts. Our heroine is sold into marriage, then abducted by slavers, put in a slave market, where she adopts a black toddler. She escapes with the child, and forms a small family unit in the desert, never quite sure whether she acts as a mother or a sister to the growing boy. She tells the growing boy stories from the Qu'ran and other myths / fairy tales. But their life in the desert is not meant to last forever... The graphic novel is perhaps the most beautifully illustrated thing I've ever read / beheld. It is clearly deeply in love with its aesthetic, and its aesthetic is mesmerisingly beautiful. In terms of the story, I was never bored reading this book. But there are some things that are troubling. This book shows the Middle East through a Western prism. We get Middle Eastern aesthetic, beautiful Arabic script, myths from Arabian Nights and the Qu'ran, but we also get sultans, harems, slavery, eunuchs, beheadings, intermixed with mobile phones, dams, electricity and the modern world. The first two thirds of the book could be set in the 1800s and could have been written by a Victorian pornographer. The last third, with its hints of Dubai about it, feels like a somewhat uncomfortable add-on. As I just mentioned the word "pornographer", it's perhaps worth talking about that, too. Our heroine spends an awful lot of time being naked, and there is a lot of sex in this book (indeed, sexuality is one of the major themes). The book is in love with the sensual aesthetic of harems and silken veils, but not really the modern focus on modesty that Islam tries to stand for. This Middle East is not the Middle East of our 2012; it is the Middle East that James Bond or Lara Croft or Indiana Jones might travel through: an aesthetic, a sensual oasis of lust. It is a comic book, pulp fiction Middle East. So perhaps it is forgiveable that almost all characters are disgusting scoundrels (if male), or envious and bitchy (if female) or both (if eunuchs). Perhaps it is forgiveable that our heroine oozes sex appeal in every single picture, even the ones where she is a child (with a woman's curves, a woman's legs, and full lips and hair) or about to be raped. Except, the subtext of the book seems quite judgemental: all (Arab) men are potential rapists, all the oppressed are collaborators with their own oppression, there is no kindness without a demand for something in return. Perhaps I should some it up like this: rape is not an erotic act. Drawing rape so it looks sexy is, in my opinion, wrong. This is a story about abuse, but by choosing to draw all the abuse in the sexiest possible way, it puts the reader in the abuser's shoes, which is uncomfortable. It's a bit as if someone had taken a Todd Solondz movie script, added lots of Neil Gaiman-esque love of mythology, hired Oscar-winning arts directors to create the aesthetic, but given the result to Michael Bay to direct and cast. It's art, it's entertainment, it's rich, it's beautiful, and it's also crass, oversexed, perhaps even misogynistic.

A beautifully drawn piece of poetry mixing time, character and a mystical sense of the human experience of life and faith and love. Violent and distressing in part and hugely uplifting by equal measure it made me want to study Arabic writing and language. That religion and the religious diverge is unsurprising but that through it all faith and love can still burn brightly is perhaps romantic but no less beautiful or true for it. So glad that I encountered this book - I feel enriched by the experience.

I have never read a graphic novel before, and chose this one as a first due to the high level reviews it got. I must say I was not disappointed! The story was captivating and well told through the drawings. I would often find myself just stopping to stare at the incredible and intricate artwork that this book is littered with. Once I started reading, I found it hard to put down and finished the whole book in two days. The story really is beautiful and moving.