Rating: 
Summary: Deceptively simplistic, devilishly exquisite...
Review: ...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.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Nape-Tickling, Head-Bending Graphic Parables!
Review: 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.)
Rating:
Summary: My new favorite comic
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Comix Like You've Never Seen
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Complete Compendium of Comic Critter
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: incredible visionary antics
Review: Jim Woodring's 'Frank' comics put him in the cartoon visionary company of such luminaries as Crumb,Bode,Bosch,Alex Grey,and Rick Griffin. His colorful psychedelic landscapes give way to cautionary tales of human nature,and often as act as dialogue-less parables ranging from the very pithy to the very oblique. Frank, the blandly inquisitive catlike/rodent-like critter is often accompanied by the bizarre but fiercely loyal and protective 'Pupshaw", a creature looking like a cross between a raccoon and a birdhouse.
Some adventures involve 'Manhog', the loathsome creature that embodies the worst traits of both species. And,mysteriously, floating through space and out of dying creatures mouths(!) are the Jivas, ornate spinning-top like entities representing the Tibetan Buddhist concept of souls inbetween incarnations. Woodring presents an absolutely timeless and original vision , meticulously and lovingly rendered,in turns spiritual,brutal,and always fascinating. Essential stuff!!
Rating:
Summary: Spellbinding...
Review: Nothing can be said to describe the experience of reading this book. The only way to understand is to read it yourself -which I cannot recommend enough.
Just buy this book.
Rating:
Summary: A small correction to the review from Publisher's Review
Review: Pushpaw is not the name of Frank's pet/familiar. The milkbox-shaped companion and protector of Frank is Pupshaw. Pushpaw is the slightly larger, heart-shaped. undomesticated critter that is Pupshaw's romantic interest. A simple and minor mistake to be sure, but I love these comics with all my heart mind and jiva, which will occassionally drive me to pedantry. In any case, no home is complete without FRANK! Buy two, so you can keep one in your car. Or three, so your desk at work won't lack.
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