Readers who havent discovered Jim Woodrings Frank stories have a colossal treat waiting for them. Since 1991, these lusciously rendered, hypnotic fables have dazzled comics readers the world over. Now, for the first time, Fantagraphics will collect all the Frank stories in one massive and deluxe tome, The Frank Book. Between its handsome cloth covers are 344 pages of Frank comics, drawings and oddities. A fancy dustjacket, swoon-inducing endpapers and ribbon bookmark make this book a decorative object as well as a repository of storytelling genius. Frank is a unique, visionary comic, exquisitely drawn and so fully realized that readers find themselves drawn deeply into Woodrings hallucinatory mindscape. The stories, almost entirely wordless, are told with brilliant, candy colors that people of all ages find alluring. Is The Frank Book a book for children? For some children, certainly: smart, secure children who enjoy a good puzzle and arent too upset by a little grim mayhem. This is strong stuff, in places. What are the stories about? Its impossible to say... clued-in readers all agree they are about something, but the world of Frank must be experienced to be understood.
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