Frank (comic)

Frank
Frank, from the cover of Frank in the River (Fantagraphics, 1992)
Publication information
Publisher	Fantagraphics Books Tundra Publishing
First appearance	JIM #4
Created by	Jim Woodring
Frank
	Cover to Frank #2 (Fantagraphics, 1996)
Series publication information
Schedule	irregular
Format	comic book
Genre	Alternative comics, Fantasy comics, Pantomime comics
Publication date	September 1996 – February 2001
Number of issues	4

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 funny 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.