| Character Name: | Frank | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Debut: | JIM #4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Creators: | Jim Woodring | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Frank is a cartoon character created by American cartoonist Jim Woodring. Frank is a bipedal, bucktoothed animal of uncertain species whom Woodring described as a "generic anthropomorph". The stories and supporting characters appear in a world called the Unifactor.
Frank is a bipedal anthropomorphic animal character of uncertain species—what his creator Jim Woodring describes as a "generic anthropomorph". The surreal, symbolic, and pantomimic stories take place in an idyllic world of mysterious forces called the Unifactor. Woodring describes Frank as "11 years old ... covered with short, dense fur like a mole's ... innocent but not noble ... mortal and must someday die". His pets and protectors Pupshaw and Pushpaw accompany him on his wanderings through the Unifactor, where he encounters colorful, top-shaped jivas, geometrically shaped Jerry Chickens, the diabolic moon-faced Whim, his "Faux Pa" (or "false father"), and the avaricious Manhog. Frank is prey to his temptations and subverts expectations by not always triumphing; despite the consequences he undergoes, he never learns from his experiences.
The first published drawing of Frank was the cover of Jim #4, and the first comic story featuring the character was in Buzz #2, the Kitchen Sink Press-published comics anthology. Frank was a regular feature in the Tantalizing Stories series by Woodring and Mark Martin, and dominated that comic's inaugural special issue, Tantalizing Stories Presents Frank in the River. When Tantalizing Stories ended Frank became a recurring feature in Jim Volume II; in 1996 he got his own self-titled comic series which ran for four issues. A long Frank story titled Frank's Real Pa also appeared in 1994's The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog and was later released as a comic book. Two book collections of the Frank stories were released in 1994 and 1997. In 2003 The Frank Book collected nearly all of the previously published Frank stories as well as the conclusion of "Frank's High Horse", a serialized story that had been left unfinished at the end of the Frank comic book. In 2005 a standalone, limited-release comic The Lute String was released, and beginning in 2010 two full-length graphic novels featuring Frank were published.
From 1996 to 2001 Fantagraphics put out four issues of Woodring's series Frank. All but the first issue included one color story. The ending to "Frank's High Horse"—the first two installments of which appeared in the last two issues of Frank—was only published when Fantagraphics put out the deluxe The Frank Book in 2003 (it was later included in The Portable Frank as well).
| Issues of Frank | |||
| Date | Stories | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sept 1996 |
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| 2 | Dec 1997 |
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| 3 | March 2000 |
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| 4 | Feb 2001 |
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| Frank Graphic Novels | |||
| Title | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Weathercraft | June 2010 | ||
| Congress of the Animals | June 2011 | ||
The stories involving these characters occur in the surreal world Woodring calls the Unifactor.
While the Frank stories have never been a mainstream success, they have attracted an avid cult following and have been extensively merchandised as t-shirts, action figures and other things. Many alternative cartoonists (Dave Cooper, for example) have cited the Frank stories as an inspiration, and mainstream comic book creators have also expressed their admiration, with Alan Moore including an image of Frank as part of an alternate universe in the pages of his superhero series 1963. Various artists have created short Frank animations based on Woodring's original tales, nine of which were collected on the 2007 DVD release, Visions of Frank: Short Films by Japan's Most Audacious Animators.
Woodring has won multiple Harvey Awards for his Frank stories, including the Best Single Issue or Story award for "Frank in the River" in 1993.[2] In 1999 The Comics Journal ranked the Frank stories #55 in its list of the 100 best comics of the century.[3]
Frank is also referenced on the Channel 4 sitcom The IT Crowd. A color poster of Frank is prominently displayed on the wall behind the desk of main character Roy.
Yo La Tengo bassist James McNew has a tattoo of the characters Pupshaw and Pushpaw on his arm.[4]
| Year | Title | Publisher | ISBN | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Frank Vol. 1 | Fantagraphics Books | ||
| 1997 | Frank Vol. 2 | |||
| 2002 | Trosper | with music by Bill Frisell | ||
| 2003 | The Frank Book | foreword by Francis Ford Coppola | ||
| 2008 | The Portable Frank | foreword by Justin Green | ||
| 2010 | Weathercraft | |||
| 2011 | Congress of the Animals | |||
| 2013 | Fran | |||
| 2018 | Poochytown | |||
| 2020 | And Now, Sir… Is This Your Missing Gonad? |
| Translations | ||||
| Language | Title | Publisher | Year | ISBN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| French | Frank | l'Association | 1998 | |
| Frank, Tome 1 | 2001-07-13 | |||
| Frank, Tome 2 | 2006-09-11 | |||
| Frank's Real Pa: Suivi de Frank et la corde de luth | 2007-01-20 | |||
| Japanese | Pupshaw and Pushpaw | Press Pop | 2004 | |
| The Lute String リュートの弦 | Presspop Gallery | 2005 | ||
| The Frank color stories | 2006 | |||
| Black & White Frank | Press Pop | 2011 | ||
| Weathercraft | ||||
| Dutch | Weersomstandigheden[5] | De Bezige Bij | 2009–11 | |
| Norwegian | Værverk[6] | Jippi Comics | 2009–11 | |
| French | Weathercraft | l'Association | 2010-01-09 | |
| Italian | Weathercraft | Coconino Press | 2010-07 | |
| Congress of the Animals | ||||
| French | Frank et le congrès des bêtes | l'Association | 2011-04-29 | |
| Norwegian | Dei samlar seg, dyra[7] | Jippi Comics | 2011-05 | |