Craig Thompson

“Most of my Muslim friends are politically liberal in a lot of senses. They are far more open-minded than the Christian circles I grew up in, which are, you know, actually scarier. That said, too, I still identify with the teachings of Jesus. I don't think they resemble or relate to modern-day Christianity.”

“I'm really interested in making a mark on a paper and letting that be cursive shorthand for an idea - that's the origin of cartooning.”

“Christianity and Islam, they have the same morals, same lifestyle, some of the same stories that shaped them.”

“Underwater, we're drowning victims, struggling over and under each others' bodies. But above, we bob with the tide,undercurrents pulling us just far enough apart ,so that we're drifting parallel but not together.”

“I don't know Arabic. I can't speak or write it.”

“I think with 'Chunky Rice,' it felt novel to me to give this emo twist on these funny animals.”

“Foreign-language books are sometimes more beautiful when you can't tell what's being said. It's like you ruin it by reading.”

“It's actually easier to do autobiographical stories. The story is already there. It's a matter of carving away what doesn't fit rather than building up from nothing.”

“After 'Blankets,' I was sick of drawing myself and doing this autobiographical, mundane, Midwestern sort of comics. I wanted to create something bigger than myself and outside myself.”

“I'm still down with Jesus. I like to think of him mostly as a social revolutionary who mixed with bad crowds and hated the rich.”

“How satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement - no matter how temporary.”

“What does the breathtaking view of the ocean mean without you?”

“Except heaven is a hope , and eden is a memory .”

“I grew up in a very working-class family and also a very fundamentalist Christian family. So, we didn't have access to the arts in the house in any form other than the Sunday funnies.”

“In 2005, I did a lot on 'Habibi' and a lot of business stuff. I got an agent that year.”

“I think you can still look to Jesus' word for guidance in your life. It's just not the guidance that it seems like most Christians are applying to their own lives.”

“I think there is some overlap in terms of artistic desires and Christian desires.”

“I grew up in a very fundamentalist, evangelical Christian household. Both my parents were born-again - their faith infused every aspect of my childhood. I'll probably spend most of my life working through that.”

“Something about being rejected at Church Camp felt so much more awful than being rejected at school.”

“I wanted a heaven. And I grew up striving for that world-- an eternal world- that would wash away my temporary misery.”