Cardboard: A Review

Relationships are hard.  They take a lot of work and a lot of effort. There is no such thing as an easy relationship. It doesn’t matter if it is family, or if it is friends, or even an animal. They take effort and a whole lot of patience.  Even with all that effort they can still go south.

I am sure that I am not alone when I say that I have been hurt by some one I loved. I am not talking about fists to the face sort of hurt, but the kind that people don’t see. The sort of hurt that doesn’t leave any outside scars, but bleed from the inside.  Sometimes the people that you love and that you care about don’t mean to hurt you or even realize they hurt you by what they may have said. When that happens, a person is faced with a moment they have to decide if they want to continue with a relationship with that person.

I am not perfect. I don’t often think before I speak. I have hurt people close to me, and there are plenty of time in my life where I could have used more tact in my approach, but the older that I get the more I value the relationships in my life. And the less I have time for superficial blandness. I want to be in relationships with people that have a value for me, because I have a value for them. I do not want to be in a relationship that makes me feel used. With that said, it doesn’t make relationships any easier.

I read a graphic novel called Cardboard by Doug TenNapel. It reminded me that sometimes it isn’t easy to be in a relationship, to form a relationship and to let go of a relationship. It is a beautiful graphic novel about a father, a son and some magic cardboard and how they figure out how to communicate. 

 I would highly recommend and it made me do some thinking about the relationships that I have, and what my fears are in those relationships.Sometimes things don’t always work out the way that we would want them to, and sometimes we have to figure out what we want out of a relationship before we jump on in.  Sometimes you just need a moment of whimsy. All of this and more can be found in Cardboard.

*Every now and then I move a review over from my old blog** onto my new blog. I take the time to reread what I wrote and reflect upon it. I still believe that Cardboard is one of the best graphic novels that I have read. It is done in such a way that adults and children can enjoy it and take something away from it.  

**Original post above was published on 3/18/13 and has been revised 1/22/14