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Frank (comics)

Frank is a cartoon character created by Jim Woodring. He is a bipedal, bucktoothed animal of uncertain species with a short tail, described by Woodring as a "generic anthropomorph". From context, he appears to be about the size of a cat. When shown in color, his fur is purple. He has appeared in a number of comic stories and animations.

Description

The Frank stories are almost entirely wordless (words very occasionally appear on signs or in other places, but the characters themselves never speak and there are very few sound effects), and are done either in brightly-colored paint or in a distinctively patterned black-and-white style. They follow Frank's adventures in an unusual world called "The Unifactor", which is at once idyllic and full of grotesque dangers. Some of the stories are about violent slapstick conflicts with the unscrupulous Manhog (a creature who is literally part man and part hog, typified and described by Woodring as "a lamentable father figure") or the Satan-like Whim; in others, Frank encounters a strange object, place, or creature, and tries to determine the rules governing its behavior; a few more meditative stories simply follow Frank through his daily routine as explores the countryside and observes various happenings. Except for the occasional introduction of new characters - many of which, such as Frank's loyal pet Pupshaw, became regulars - there has been no overall continuity or chronology; both Frank and Manhog have been apparently killed several times, although they always return in the next story good as new. On several occasions we have seen other, very Frank-like creatures, suggesting that we may not be following the same Frank through these stories. One creature strongly resembles Frank but travels on all fours and has long whiskers; this creature typically has sinister intent and appears in a strip entitled "Frank's Faux Pa," giving rise to the idea that it is an agent of Whim passing as Frank's father and attempting to lead him astray.

Woodring has described Frank's character as "naive but not innocent," and Frank does possess a childlike wonderment mixed with a capacity for sometimes astonishing cruelty. His demi-godling associate/pet, Pupshaw - a creature shaped like a house and sporting a striped tail - has occasionally exhibited godlike powers and her better judgment often saves Frank after he's gotten himself into trouble, but she also has a mischievous streak and, goaded on by her boyfriend Pushpaw, sometimes gets into serious trouble herself. In times of great stress Pupshaw has been known to birth a litter of smaller Pupshaw pups from her mouth, which she can then command to attack. Pupshaw has uttered the closest thing to dialogue in the strip, by growling "LLLLLL..."

The characters of the Frank stories are generally morally ambiguous (even Manhog has his good side), but Whim is a genuinely evil character. He is generally depicted as a tall, reed-thin figure with a large, ever-grinning, mask like head, though he occasionally takes other forms. Whim has a palace filled with creepy gadgets, where he entices various characters to experiment with awesome forces, often leading to their death or disfigurement. Frank has been drawn into Whim's schemes several times, generally escaping long-term ill through Pupshaw's protection. Whim forces Manhog to work in a dank dungeon, and also has a lackey called Lucky who is a human-ish creature with a very, very long face.

Other inhabitants of the Frank universe include a group of geometrically-shaped wiseguy chickens called the Jerry Chickens, as well as many large, brightly colored, multi-eyed predators and various siren-like female creatures Frank has been smitten with. Also frequently appearing are the flying, spinning, top-like, and colorful Jivas, soul-creatures that are neither vaporous nor altogether benevolent.

Woodring has written that many of Frank's attributes are inferred from feedback from his readers, such as "that he is 11 years old, covered with short, dense fur like a mole's, that he is innocent but not noble, and that he is mortal and must some day die.

Though the stories are often described as "dreamlike", Woodring has said that they are his most consciously and deliberately created work. In 2003 Woodring told The Comics Journal that comics just weren't lucrative enough to continue and he'd probably said all he needed to with the Frank stories, but while Woodring's comics output does seem to be slowing down, in 2005 he created a new Frank book called The Lute String.

It should be noted that the characters of the Frank stories are rarely named within the stories themselves, but Woodring usually reveals their names in his responses to reader letters, in interviews, and elsewhere. A relatively full listing of the characters of the Frank world are given in The Frank Book, along with brief, somewhat confounding descriptions of their personalities and backgrounds.

Shapes play an important role in Frank's world-- the reader will quickly notice how some shapes recur and often signify some kind of special rank or power. Eyes are also a ubiquitous presence.

Publishing history

The first published drawing of Frank was the cover of Jim #4, and the first comic story featuring appeared in the Kitchen Sink Press-published comics anthology Hyena in 1990. Frank was a regular feature in Tantalizing Stories series by Woodring and Mark Martin, and dominated that comic's special issue, Tantalizing Stories Presents Frank in the River. When Tantalizing Stories ended Frank became a recurring feature in Jim Volume 2; 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 self-contained comic. 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.

Influence and recognitions

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, which have been sold on DVD by the Red Rocket company.

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. In 1999 The Comics Journal ranked the Frank stories #55 in its list of the 100 best comics of the century.