Multiple venues
September 17-20, free – $40
www.dootdootgarden.com
www.habibibook.com
Born in Traverse City, Michigan, and based in Portland, Oregon, graphic novelist Craig Thompson redefined the genre with his 2003 smash, Blankets, which won the prestigious Eisner, Harvey, and Ignatz awards and is on nearly all lists of the greatest graphic novels ever. He has followed that massive tome with a new massive tome, Habibi (Pantheon, September 20, 2011, $35). Habibi is a gorgeously designed tour de force for Thompson, who tells the epic love story of a pair of child slave refugees seeking their place in a complex, changing world. The tale unfolds amid spectacularly detailed panels and spreads that include filigreed borders, Middle Eastern motifs, Islamic writing, and glorious illustration depicting exciting action, intimate moments, and the spiritual search for identity. Thompson will be making several appearances in New York over the next few days, beginning with tonight’s “An Evening with Craig Thompson” at Greenpoint’s WORD bookstore ($40, 8:00), a meet-and-greet bookend event of the Brooklyn Book Festival. He’ll be participating in two discussions at the festival on Sunday afternoon, “The Heart of the Matter: Stories of Epic Love” with Alan Cheuse and Julie Orringer, moderated by Jeffrey Lependorf, at 12 noon at the St. Francis Volpe Library, and the can’t-miss all-star panel “Comics Writ Large and Small” at 3:00 at St. Francis Auditorium with Anders Nilsen and Adrian Tomine, moderated by Meg Lemke (free tickets required). On Tuesday, September 20, he’ll be at Midtown Comics Downtown on Fulton St. for a signing from 12 noon to 2:00, followed that night at 7:00 by a signing and Q&A with Bill Kartalopoulos in the Strand’s Rare Book Room.