This is a pleasantly (and at times, downright terrifyingly) strange book created by a weird visionary artist and creator by the name of Jim Woodring. I first heard of Jim on the Duncan Trussell Family Hour podcast a couple years ago. Their conversation went to several interesting places—art, vedanta, meditation, and of course Jim's Frank series of graphic novels. Even though I'm not necessarily a devotee of the anime/comic book/manga/graphic novel genre, I knew I had to check out this series because Jim's genuine interest in esoteric topics and Duncan's fantastic description of his artistic style really piqued my curiosity.
So I checked out three Frank books from my local library a few months ago and took them to the beach with me for a two-week vacation. My travel partners and I ended up eating a fairly large dose of psilocybin mushrooms (5 grams) in the middle of our vacation and it was during the come-up of that trip that I pulled this book out and started to enter the Frank universe.
Weathercraft seemed like the best Frank comic to start with compared to the other selections I had (The Portable Frank and Fran) because of the book's description on Goodreads:
For over 20 years now, Jim Woodring has delighted, touched, and puzzled readers around the world with his lush, wordless tales of “Frank.” Weathercraft is Woodring’s first full-length graphic novel set in this world—indeed, Woodring’s first graphic novel, period!—and it features the same hypnotically gorgeous linework and mystical iconography.
Without much knowledge about the Frank series, I thought that the "first full-length graphic novel set in this world" would be a good place to start. And I found out that although the reader can certainly jump into this universe with any of the comics, the main character in Weathercraft is merely an extra in the other books, not the protagonist of the series. This one isn't really about Frank much at all.
Even though Frank has a brief supporting appearance in this book, which actually stars Manhog (a pathetic, brutish everyman who regularly shows up in other stories), I really enjoyed reading it. Especially while I was tripping on magic mushrooms—the psychedelic art and bizarre story mixed quite well with them.
So what happens in this story? Well, after enduring a nearly unbearable amount of unfathomable suffering, Manhog sets off on a transformative journey and attains enlightenment. Along the way, he encounters the cruelest foes imaginable, mind-bending landscapes, and various flavors of truly twisted torment. Weathercraft is horrifyingly magnificent and similar to the psychedelic experience by being frustratingly ineffable. It's all very strange and beautiful and must be experienced firsthand to be understood.
Ultimately, even though I was a bit disappointed when I realized that Weathercraft was not about Frank very much at all, I did find it to be an excellent introduction to this world. If you're looking for a trippy book to spend an afternoon or evening with, you should definitely owe it to yourself to check out a Frank book, and Weathercraft would be an excellent one to start with.
4/5 stars. 104 pages.
