Customer Reviews

The Frank Book

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Jim Woodring has been drawing FRANK adventures for over a decade. They've appeared in many places, including his own comic book and an edition of the Whole Earth Catalog. This nicely produced hardcover collects all two-dozen-odd FRANK adventures, with a few new pieces, an afterward by Woodring, and an introduction by (!) Francis Ford Coppola (!).

FRANK is an odd little fellow: A generic funny animal, a bit like a cat, a bit like a bear, a bit like a chipmunk. He's usually mild mannered and curious, but is capable of great compassion and fits of violent temper.

Frank's world is rich and strange: A wilderness dotted with exotic buildings and very odd creatures, such as the id-driven Manhog, the Jivas (spirit-creatures that look as though they were cut on a lathe), and the menacing, demon-like Whim. It's all very dream-like; sometimes nightmarish, sometimes charming, always intriguing.

Frank's adventures are entirely pantomime, with written words confined to an occasional sign or letter (or ransom note...). They range from one page vignettes ("In the Mood") to epics like "Frank's High Horse" and "Frank's Real Pa." Some ("Frank in the River") are interesting little adventures; some are humorous; a few are terribly disturbing ("The Palace of Horrors").

Most of the strips are in wonderfully elaborate and evocative black-and-white. The color strips appear shockingly lurid in contrast.

I adore FRANK and had no trouble paying for this volume despite owning two previous (and now redundant) collections. But I suspect his adventures may not appeal to everyone. The easily freaked-out may find them positively creepy. A few sample FRANK strips are available on Woodring's website (dub-dub-dub dot jimwoodring dot com); I suggest checking them out before leaping in.

After turning just a few pages of this book I was lost in the world of Frank. Frank's world has its own form of logic that seems startling at first. The character's define themselves through their actions since there are is no dialogue. Recurring, repetitive images and patterns abound. Jim Woodring's artwork here is truly amazing. The forward by Francis Ford Coppola is somewhat enlightening but gives the reader no idea what to really expect. This collection of comics is definitely not one for the kids; it is rather cruel and gruesome at times. There is also a very twisted sense of humor at work here. This book made me laugh, gasp, and wonder. All in all a brilliant collection of work with extras in the back such as cover artwork. Definitely a treat for the eyes as well as the soul. Bonus: This is also a much better deal than buying both the Frank #1 and Frank #2 books.

I was just recently pulled from the dregs of mainstream superhero comics in the last 2 years. It was a slow and painful operation, but eventaully my eyes were opened to how stupid they really are. So, of course, i got into indy comics, where the art is not only categorically better but the stories are...god, don't even get me started. We're not talking about me or indy comics in general here. We're talking about the remarkable Jim Woodring's FRANK. Woodring is a master artist who pulls tricks out of his hat that no one's ever even thought of before; his inventive use of pressure on his pen to create the effects of light and dark, not mention every texture imaginable, is absolutely astonishing. Every panel of every page looks so finished you'd think there was an assembly line working on this. Nope; it's just Woodring. If his original black and white pages weren't enough, his full-painted comics and covers convey a measure of patience and diligence unheard of even in most fine art. His expressive characters are all wonderful to look at, because nothing like any of them has ever been seen before. Now, Woodring's art could be praised so many times in so many different ways that Amazon would collapse, but his stories deserve just as much recognition. Every issue is breathtakingly creative, and the plots are completely oringinal. Somehow, despite the fact that they're all silent, a connection is made with the characters on a deep, intense level. Frank, curious and innocent (but not noble), Pupshaw, dependent and loyal, Whim, vindictive and conniving, and every other character within are perfectly fleshed out. Woodring is subtly and bombastically brilliant; you barely even notice that the book is silent or that you're reading about a cat-ferret-beaver. Thing. Frank is a generic anthropomorph, resembling a lot of things but being none of them. FRANK is as surreal as any Dali piece, and in some ways, on par with them in sheer originality and quality. the stories are bizzare, fluid, funny, disturbing, unsettling, lively and like nothing i've ever seen before. Collected in this handsome hardcover volume (which means no more scrabbling for individual issues), Frank is a dream-come-true in so many ways. The book the favorite of all the comics i own, because it cannot be called similar to anything else. Thank god for Jim Woodring; the comics world will be barren and lonely without him.

In a beautiful, comprehensive hardback edition, Jim Woodring collects 344 mind-bending pages of crystal clear color and black and white comic strips. The book itself is a beautiful object- lovingly designed by Woodring himself, it features a glossy color wraparound dustjacket, fanatastic new art on the endpages, a sewn in purple ribbon bookmark, and a short preface by Godfather director Francis Coppola.
Woodring's "Frank" and "Jim" comics are surreal fables, with the theme of each fable springing directly from Woodring's unconscious. He admits he often doesn't know what he is writing about until after a story is completed, and he gives us few clues in his author's introduction.
Frank, the main character, also leaves us with many questions. Is he a cat? Dog? Beaver? The peripheral characters are strange, often colorful beasts which seem to have tumbled from outer space, another dimension, an insane toy store, or perhaps simply an acid trip. These unheard-of creatures are also largely unheard; the comics are often wordless, adding to the bizarre sense of timelessness and obscure location. One advantage to this is international accessibilty, regardless of the reader's language.
The wonderful thing about this book is it's completeness. Comics from The Seattle Stranger, Jim, Frank, Heavy Metal, Tantalizing Stories, World Art and more are included. Woodring also includes his seldom-seen trading card art toward the end, which gives some background and the names of the characters. This is useful to fans, who know and love the characters on sight but may not know the names, as they are never spoken. There are also panels which were removed from some original stories and have been restored, giving fans a chance to read these stories in their entirety for the first time.
The artwork is incredible, the stories puzzling and thought-provoking, and the message is clear as pea soup. But you'll laugh, scratch your head and like these stories. There is some limited violence, so this might not make the best bedtime reading for very young ones.
Highly recommended for fans of comix, bizarre art, and pulsing jivas. Woodring is a luminary on par with Robert Crumb, Dan Clowes and Robert Williams, and his work will be celebrated for years to come.

...or something like that. How else to describe beautiful art like this? It is an art that goes well beyond simply capturing our dreams and nightmares. Rather, it brings them back to us along with the whole pieces and scattered fragments that we'd forgotten we'd experienced. Absurd and thought-provoking, it brings joy to our hearts with one moment and shocking fear to our brains with the next. It is as grotesque and sublime as life, but at first glance it looks nothing like it. But once you immerse yourself into it, you will see it and you will enjoy it. I promise you will.

Harrowing, eerie, densely suggestive, handsomely rendered, bizarrely world-wise and funny as hell! These are symbolic fables, mostly mute, starring a vaguely cat-like cartoon critter, Frank, and his friends, neighbors, antagonists, nightmares, perhaps chief among them the loathsome yet pitiable, more-or-less anthropomorphic swine, Manhog. Placed in a lushly drawn worldscape that must have come out of the author's dream diary. Scalp-prickling stuff from Jim Woodring, a writer/artist who has clearly learned from underground comix masters R. Crumb and Justin Green, yet brings his own searching, sometimes scary, yet fundamentally affirmative and humane perspective to the mix. Plus dig those hynoptically wavy lines! (As a plus, these tales, though evasive in a way, are highly accessible to young and old - my own sons have read some of them with pleasure.)

I read The Frank Book, and my eyeballs fell out.

First, let me point out that at 11.4 x 8.7 x 1.2 inches, and 344 pages, Jim Woodring's fabulously illustrated masterpiece, "Frank," contains more than three-and-a-half pounds of peculiar, and at a relative pittance, ta' boot. Frank, the character for whom this book is named, is a apparently colorless, somewhat staid, Disney-esque critter of indefinable origin, whose sanity and composure seems enormously unhinged when set against the exquisitely bizarre landscape (itself a second key character of this book) and the wonderfully inexplicable behavior of the supporting cast. Not quite a cat, or mouse, or puppy dog, Frank is a charmingly generic anthropomorph, although not necessarily always charming in that super-sucrose, "your pal" manner that a Mickey or a Spongebob is or has to be. Mainly, Frank is intensely curious, even punishingly so.

The "Frank" book contains 37 almost completely wordless stories, most of which are just 'acouple-few' pages in length, with the exception of the very long "FRANK'S REAL PA" (pages 59-107) which clocks in at 48 pages, and three other long-ish pieces; "FRANK IN THE RIVER" (pages 9-33,) "PUSHPAW" (pages 175-193,) and "GENTLEMANHOG" (pages 215-234) which consume twenty-four, eighteen, and nineteen pages, respectively. However, just because it is nearly wordless, do not expect this book to be a quick read. Because the panels are so beautifully illustrated and the storylines are so precise, expect to become deeply involved and engrossed within the pages. This book is a bona fide time-shifting machine, so don't be frightened if you decide to drink your morning cup of coffee while you "read just a few more pages" and lift your nose from the book to see that somehow, its become dark outside and everyone else has gone to bed. "Frank" is hauntingly beautiful. With landscapes that are vaguely reminiscent of a bad Peter Maxx acid trip in downtown Moscow, and characters that interact with Frank in ways that suggest they are aware of some magic principles or rules of the game that he is completely oblivious to, it is entirely too easy to spend way too much time immersed and engrossed. (Its okay, we forgive you. Now go turn on the oven, your dinner will need re-heating...)

"Frank" has storylines, images, and characters that seem strangely familiar in an almost Jungian sense, and will remind many readers of....something...Repeated readings suggest very simple riddles or jokes, or maybe nursery rhymes, and it is amazing and odd how often certain scenes will pop into mind at the most opportune times. With characters such as the Manhog and Whim, these stories are certainly aimed at an adult audience, but most children should be able to safely read this book, provided they aren't already possessed of some sort of psychiatric trauma (although they may have questions when they are done.)

I would absolutely recommend "Frank" to anyone who wants a book that is capable of stirring some sublime instinct within themselves, to anyone who hungers for remarkable illustration and potent, luminous storylines, and most of all, to anyone who needs a bit of strangely familiar mystery in their everyday life. Heck, I'd recommend this book to anyone who has an afternoon to spare and a few book-bound dollars in their pocket. Such a petty price to pay to pry a petite peek into the psyche of a genius. (For a larger peek, perhaps a PEEK.[...]

Sitting in front of a computer screen, trying to think of a title that would truly encompass the spirit of Jim Woodring's insane little fables, only the word "Wow" came to mind. Wow. Regardless of whom you are, what walk of life you come from, even what language you speak, "Frank" will floor you, simple as that.

On first glance these stories look like the drug-fueled dreams of a madman, simultaneously evoking a sense of awe and horror from the reader. The world of Frank, an anamorphic creature that looks like a combination of several different animals, is one that's utterly alien to our own yet oddly familiar. Frank himself is an enigma, at times innocently curious, while other times cruel and vengeful. The creatures, if you could call them that, which share this world with Frank are just as odd: from Frank's faithful companion Pupshaw to the vile and conniving Manhog.

The stories that occur within this world are equally bizarre and seemingly nonsensical, yet underneath the surreal nature of these stories lurks meaning. I won't even attempt to analyze the themes of these tales, as I seriously doubt there is a single concrete message to any of the stories contained in this volume. Every person probably has different interpretations for Frank's world: biblical metaphor, morality tale, apocalyptic fable or just insane fun. You can look as deep as you want into these stories, or just read them for hallucinogenic kicks.

I've never read, seen or imagined anything quite like the world of Frank, and I doubt I ever will. It manages to tap into a universal subconscious, screw around with it, and spit out a couple dozen of insane little stories for your reading pleasure. It's a staggering work of a demented genius and needs to be experienced by anyone who calls themselves a comic fan.

Simply a must have for any Frank fan, Jim Woodring produces a psychedelic journey, classic.