Джим Вудринг — новинки

Фрэнк родился 17 июля 1997 года в облаке паров пропонала, бутанола и алкоголя Его первыми пеленками стало долговое извещение. В те далекие времена он выглядел точь-в-точь, как сейчас, разве что хвост у него был подлиннее, голова - побольше, а ноги - поменьше. После поистине устрашающего появления на обложке 4-го номера "Джима" он отправился бродить по холмам и долам Унифактора и, наверное, занимался бы этим и по сей день, если бы художник и издатель Марк Лэндман не придумал ему новую форму самовыражения. Любовь к комиксам захлестнула Фрэнка с головой. Он целиком и полностью отдавался ей на протяжении 1990-х, однако в середине 2000-х по соображениям личного характера, а также ввиду смены философских приоритетов слегка поумерил свой пыл, оставаясь, впрочем, одной из самых востребованных икон мира комиксов. Кстати, он просил передать читателям, что умеет и любит говорить, а то, что о нем снимают немое кино, это уж не его забота.

The first graphic novel from a master of the form, co-starring his beloved “Frank” character.

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.

As it happens, Frank has only a brief supporting appearance in Weathercraft, which actually stars Manhog, Woodring’s pathetic, brutish everyman (or everyhog), who had previously made several appearances in “Frank” stories (as well as a stunning solo turn in the short story “Gentlemanhog”).

After enduring 32 pages of almost incomprehensible suffering, Manhog 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...

Weathercraft also co-stars Frank’s cast of beloved supporting characters, including Frank’s Faux Pa and the diminutive, mailbox-like Pupshaw and Pushpaw; it is both a fully independent story that is a great introduction to Woodring’s world, and a sublime addition to, and extension of, the Frank stories.

Frank is a unique, visionary comic, exquisitely drawn and so fully realized that adults and children alike find themselves drawn deeply into Woodring’s hallucinatory mindscape. The stories, almost entirely wordless, unravel like a good puzzle, rewarding re-reading, providing an experience as immersive as that first love affair, that first samadhi, or that first breath. Simply put, the world of Frank must be experienced to be understood.

The old saying "You can't unbreak an egg" holds true, especially when that egg unleashes an interstellar scourge, the dreaded Alien. But as dangerous and lethal as this species has proven itself time and time again, some men cannot resist the awful gravity of the creatures' potential when merged with human science . . . and arrogance . . . and lust for power. But the cold contracts of these deals with the Devil also bring out the best in humanity, and the awful crucible of struggle against this interstellar cancer brings Man closer to his neighbors . . . and to his God. Dark Horse Comics' critically acclaimed Aliens series set the bar for how the universe of a popular film could be expended through graphic fiction. Aliens Omnibus Volume 3 collects more of these exciting series in a value-priced, quality-format omnibus, featuring nearly 400 story pages in full color. Includes the complete story arcs of Rogue by Ian Edginton and Will Simpson, and Labryinth by Jim Woodring and Kilian Plunkett, and the acclaimed tale Salvation, written by Dave Gibbons and illustrated by the incomparable Mike Mignola.

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На самом краю вселенной находится планета Селеста — искусственный рай, место воплощения запретных фантазий и сомнительных желаний сильных мира сего. А для трех наивных контрабандистов это всего лишь идеальный рынок сбыта особого товара, дорогого и смертельно опасного: это яйцо Чужих! Но именно в его кожистом интерьере затаилось нечто более ужасное, чем те монстры, которые обычно откладывают такие яйца. Если занавес скорлупы поднимется — кошмар может не закончится никогда!

Woodring, a modern master of hallucinatory cartoon fables, specializes in comics that look normal but aren't. Woodring's hallmarks are inventive, often bizarre creatures who inhabit otherworldly landscapes and dreamlike narratives. This book's hero, Frank, is a catlike anthropomorph who lives in a surreal, exotic world. Woodring uses cartoon grammar brilliantly: within a single panel, he captures the round, loose style of classic animated cartoons and conjures the best of early Disney, while simultaneously acting as master engraver, with a quality of line work and elegant shading reminiscent of Gustave Dore. Many of the stories are in b&w, but when color appears, the palette is a cheerful kaleidoscope. For director Coppola, Woodring's work is magical and "maliciously oblique." While innocent Frank is principally defined by his curiosity, he isn't without guile. The mostly wordless vignettes chronicling his misadventures are actually meditations on friendship, fear, consequence and cruelty, with a mixture of pathos, humor and gore that is often disquieting. His escapades also include a recurring parade of characters: Pushpaw, Frank's faithful pet; the repulsive Manhog, perennially unlucky liege of Whim (a sinister figure with a devilish barbed tail); Faux Pa and Real Pa; and the Jerry Chickens, geometrically shaped fowl who play cards. Woodring's talent is finally captured in a definitive collection that lives up to his genius. The production and design make it an outstanding gift for enthusiasts, and it assembles all the Frank material since the 1991 debut, including covers, illustrations, trading cards and ephemera for the completist.

Deep in outer space, Colonel Doctor Paul Church is conducting experiments on Aliens within a warren of tunnels in an immense space station, the "Innominata." When a man dies under mysterious circumstances aboard the "Innominata, " the Company sends Colonel Doctor Anthony Crespi to investigate. Inside the labyrinth, Crespi is about to find the true meaning of Church's experiments. With a chamber of all-too-human horrors at its dark heart, the labyrinth is a death trap - designed by a man who is attempting what no other person in the universe would dare: to bring human and alien together as one!

Aliens may be virtually impossible to control, but what if man could anticipate their actions? In a deep space research station, Dr.Paul Church studies Alien behavioral responses. How does an Alien track its prey? Can an Alien distinguish whether a human is armed? Will an Alien ever retreat from an attack? Test after test, patterns of behavior are revealed to Church... patterns which are predictable.
The station is carefully supervised; every precaution is taken, but everyone knows the risks. When an apparent saboteur is killed by an escaped Alien, the site of scientific research gives way to a homicide investigation. Col.Dr.Anthony Crespi, the stalwart survivor of Aliens: Backsplash (featured in Dark Horse Comics №12 and 13), suspects that the Alien subject may not have escaped on its own, and is determined to uncover the truth.

Frank is, as everyone knows, Jim Woodring s best-selling cartoon character. Jim, on the other hand, is Woodring s cartoon alter ego, the fictional doppelganger who has for 30 years inhabited Woodring s alternate universe where shifting, phantasmagoric landscapes, abrupt, hallucinatory visual revelations, and unexpected eruptions of uninhibited verbal self-flagellation are commonplace. 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 you choose to see them and naked self-disclosure if you don t, this volume of comics, prose, and images collected here for the first time is a bounty of Woodring s inspired artistry."