Jim Woodring – författare

Jim Woodring has been drawing the otherworldly, allegorical adventures of his cartoon Everycreature, Frank, for three and a half decades. These stories are a singular rarity in the comics form - both bone-chillingly physical in their depictions of Frank's travails and profoundly metaphysical at the same time. Not since George Herriman's Krazy Kat has the comics language been so exquisitely distilled into pure, revelatory aesthetic expression. With Quacky, Woodring adopts the format of 1930s Big Little Books to deliver a text story with illustrations, in which the typically nonplussed Frank's reactions are told to us explicitly, through narration and his own thoughts. Frank is buffeted by generosity, anguished to see how loving friends perceive him, distraught by the process of ageing and physical transformation in a beloved pet, delighted by nature and physical experiences shared with others, and ultimately sees a path toward radical acceptance in the face of trauma. Frank cast regulars Pupshaw, Pushpaw and Manhog are here, along with new entries to Frank's world of the Unifactor. And, in a backup feature, we meet a cast of toontown pigs in a story that undercuts the kiddie book format: 'Hoggy Goes Hogwild.' Cunningham, the clever pig who helps all his friends, and his confirmed fiancee, Porceline, are called on to assist local pal Hoggy - who turns out to have gone on a violent crime spree, presaging a possible psychotic break. Jim Woodring is back, and no two worlds wouldn't be the same without him.

In honour of Frank's 20th anniversary, Fantagraphics is releasing the massive, long out of print Frank Book omnibus, which collects all the Frank material up to the mid-noughties, including several jaw-droppingly beautiful full-colour stories, literally dozens of lushly-delineated b/w stories and a treasure trove of covers and illustrations - both in a new printing of the hardback and the first edition of a new paperback.

Jim is a mind-bending collection of all of Woodring's best non-Frank creative work - comics stories, prose stories, drawings and paintings, with a new introduction and afterword by the man himself. Abounding in metaphors (if readers choose to see them) and naked self-disclosure (if they don't), this volume of comics, prose and images - collected here for the first time and including an all-new 24-page story - is a bounty of Woodring's inspired artistry.

Weathercraft stars Manhog, who, after 32 pages of almost incomprehensible suffering, embarks upon a transformative journey and attains enlightenment. He wants to go to celestial realms but instead altruistically returns to the Unifactor to undo a wrong he has inadvertently brought about: the transformation of the evil politician Whim into a mind-destroying plant-demon who distorts and enslaves Frank and his friends. The new and metaphysically expanded Manhog sets out for a final battle with Whim

Jim Woodring has been chronicling the adventures of his cartoon Everyman, Frank, for almost 30 years. These stories are a singular rarity in the comics form - both bone-chillingly physical in their depictions of Frank's travails and profoundly metaphysical at the same time. Not since George Herriman's Krazy Kat has the comics language been so exquisitely distilled into pure, revelatory aesthetic expression. Designed as a luxe paperback with vellum jacket, One Beautiful Spring Day combines three previously published volumes -Congress of the Animals, where Frank embarked upon a life-changing voyage of discovery, Fran, where he learned, then forgot, that things are not always what they seem, and Poochytown in which Frank demonstrated his dizzying capacity for both nobility and ignominy - along with 100 dazzling new pages conceived and drawn by the author. The result is a seamless, 400 page graphic narrative that forges a new and even more poignantly realized single story that takes readers deep into the hidden meanings of the previous stories and offers the most full, complete, astonishing exposition of Frank and his supercharged world to date. Frank's curiosity and risk-taking mixed with a dose of, let's face it, wanton recklessness, takes him on a series of terrifying peregrinations that often leave his soul and body shattered, and the reader in a state of creative exaltation. Suffice to say that if you are a friend to Frank you will find One Beautiful Spring Day to be a thousand-course feast of agonizing bliss, soul-stirring mystery and luminous depth. This is undoubtedly one of the great novels of the 21st century, graphic or otherwise.

The omnibus series collecting the Legends continuity of Star Wars continues, this time featuring the greatest villains of the original Star Wars trilogy! Darth Vader and Boba Fett: enemies and allies! The Empire rules the galaxy, but Vader schemes for even greater power - and strikes a deal with the deadly bounty hunter that will have unexpected consequences for them both! But Boba Fett is more than a means to an end: Whether becoming an enemy of the Empire, being framed for murder or dealing with sins of his past, every mission will be dealt with - on his own terms! Plus: Meet Starkiller, Vader's secret apprentice! Young Leia Organa joins her father in the formation of a rebellion! And crimelord Jabba the Hutt deals with bartering, backstabbing, betrayal... and Han Solo! Collecting: Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt - The Gaar Suppoon Hit (1995) 1, Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt - The Hunger of Princess Nampi (1995) 1, Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt - The Dynasty Trap (1995) 1, Star Wars: Jabba the Hutt - Betrayal (1996) 1, Free Comic Book Day 2012: Star Wars, Star Wars: Boba Fett - Enemy of the Empire (1999) 1-4, Star Wars: Agent of the Empire - Iron Eclipse (2011) 1-5, Star Wars: Agent of the Empire - Hard Targets (2012) 1-5, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008), Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II (2010), Star Wars: Blood Ties (2010) 1-4, Star Wars: Blood Ties - Boba Fett Is Dead (2012) 1-4, Star Wars: Empire (2002) 1-4; material from Star Wars Tales (1999) 7, 11, 15-16, 18-20; A Decade of Dark Horse (1996) 2