Jim Woodring (1) (1952–)

It's been a few years since Jim Woodring has delivered any substantial new content in his Unifactor oeuvre, known best for the anthropomorphic anti-hero Frank. But to my mind, the pig-human hybrid known as Manhog has always been the most intriguing character in this universe, and with Weathercraft, Woodring finally moves Manhog to center stage. Like so much of Woodring's previous work, Weathercraft is initially baffling and inscrutable, but visually splendid and narratively sophisticated show more (which is not the same thing as being easily comprehensible). After a first reading, I can't say for sure what Weathercraft is really all about, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating it as a tour de force of comics art. When Jim Woodring is working at the top of his game, he's one of the most important creators in the world of comics today, and with Weathercraft, he is very definitely working at the top of his game. show less

There's a feeling I get sometimes, mostly when viewing art, rarely when watching movies, of the top of my skull coming off. This isn't a metaphor; that's exactly what I feel. I felt it more often as a kid, reading MAD Magazine -- especially the art of Basil Wolverton -- or at the volumes of Man, Myth & Magic my parents inexplicably kept. There's some quality to the artwork I've always found found both compelling and repulsive. With my skull opened, my brain exposed, what might be poured in show more there?

This book from Fantagraphics bmBooks, gives me that feeling. Seeing Things by Jim Woodring is a collection of his stand alone paintings and drawings. Best known for his cartoon cat, Frank, Woodring's art always feels like an explorarion of the common man, or cat, experiencing the divine. Though it can tend toward the grotesque, there is always that hint of a higher order at play. His artwork here is beautiful, and engrossing, and sometimes horrifying. show less

Poochytown has more of all the stuff I love about the Frank comics. I laughed out loud.

But if I hadn't already known Frank, I don't think Poochytown would have won me over. The art doesn't quite meet the earlier books' standard of insane perfectionism, and although it's plenty weird and funny, it doesn't usually rise to the eerily prophetic sensation I associate with Frank.

I can't really review or describe this book in very useful detail, I'm too much of a fan... but if you've read any Jim Woodring comics that are not Frank, you probably know whether you would like a large volume of them. I love Frank but I've always had a special weakness for his other stuff, partly because he's one of a very small number of cartoonists who can make emotionally engaging narratives out of dreams, and partly because he writes sharp and hilarious dialogue. I'm partial to the show more longer stories that originally appeared in the Jim vol. 2 series, especially "Quarry Story" and "The Hindu Marriage Game", so it makes me really happy that those are collected here. The only problem with the completeness(*) of this collection is that if the stream-of-consciousness text pieces from his early zines aren't really your thing, well, there are a fair number of them. Also, I would've liked to see more cover art. Whatever, it's a beautiful book.

(* The only thing that's missing as far as I can tell is one of the "Big Red" stories, where Jim's cat gleefully murders a boastful cat named Tuffy. Except now I can't find that story in any of my old Jims; maybe it was just one of those tiny zines that he sent out through the mail? Or did I dream it??) show less