''Weathercraft'' is a 2010

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

by American cartoonist

Jim Woodring James William Woodring (born October 11, 1952) is an American cartoonist, fine artist, writer and toy designer. He is best known for the dream-based comics he published in his magazine '' Jim'', and as the creator of the anthropomorphic cartoo ...

, featuring his best-known characters

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

, Manhog and Whim. While Frank stars in most of Woodring's stories set in the fictional universe of the Unifactor, this book stars Manhog, with Frank making only a brief appearance. Manhog, after trials and tribulations, sets out on a transformative journey, returning to face off against the devilish Whim, who has enslaved and transformed his friends. Like all other stories set in the Unifactor, ''Weathercraft'' unfolds entirely in pictures, with no dialogue balloons or captions. ''Weathercraft'' was Woodring's first book-length work.

Publication history

''Weathercraft'' was published in book form without previously being serialized, a first for Woodring. Some panels of the book were previewed on Woodring's blog leading up to publication. When asked in an interview with ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' why, after 30 years of doing comics, he had now decided to produce his first graphic novel, he replied: The

dust jacket The dust jacket (sometimes book jacket, dust wrapper or dust cover) of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back boo ...

was quite verbose, in contrast with the

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

of the book itself. On this he said, "I thought it would be funny to have a book that was almost word-free and a dust jacket that was slathered in copy."

Overview

Weathercraft, like all of the works set in Woodring's Unifactor (the world in which Frank and associated characters appear), is executed in wordless

, with no

word balloons Speech balloons (also speech bubbles, dialogue balloons, or word balloons) are a graphic convention used most commonly in comic books, comics, and cartoons to allow words (and much less often, pictures) to be understood as representing a charac ...

or captions of any kind. In contrast, the

is quite verbose, and provides clues to the interpretation of the story. " cyclical telling of Manhog's suffering, punishment and enlightenment", the book actually stars Manhog, with Frank only appearing briefly. Another recurring character, the

devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

ish Whim, also features. The book is dense and intricate. It rewards (or requires) re-readings, and "blends oodring'sunderstanding of Vedantic beliefs with stylized,

Max Fleischer Max Fleischer (born Majer Fleischer ; July 19, 1883 – September 25, 1972) was an American animator, inventor, film director and producer, and studio founder and owner. Born in Kraków, Fleischer immigrated to the United States where he became ...

nightmares to explore ideas about the evolution of

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

. As if to hammer home this

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

, Woodring notes that the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

symbol for the sacred syllable Aum [] is hidden on each page." Every detail of the book has meaning to Woodring, although he accepts and encourages "reader participation" and further or alternate Aesthetic interpretation, interpretations.

Plot

After merging with a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive plant known as '' Salvia divinorum'', Whim proceeds to "distort and enslave Frank and his friends". After much suffering, Manhog sets out on a transformative journey, attaining enlightenment. Manhog then returns for a final encounter with Whim.

Characters

; Manhog : " freakish creature that is often depicted as hedonistic villain whenever he isn't being forced to suffer." With some notable exceptions like the short story ''Gentlemanhog'', Manhog is normally a secondary character in the stories set in the Unifactor, where

is normally the star.
The significant thing for Manhog in ''Weathercraft'', according to Woodring, "is that anhogfeels morally obligated to clean up after himself" after being "responsible for Whim's acquiring a hallucinogenic plant-body...a first for him. He passes up a chance to enter paradise in order to do the right thing." ;Whim : As in so many other stories, this

ish, perpetually smiling, moon-headed character spends his time tantalizing and torturing the inhabitants of the Unifactor. " one point emerges with a psychoactive plant called Salvia divinorum" and "distorts and enslaves Frank and his friends." ;

: Normally the main character of the stories set in the Unifactor, Frank plays a small but important role in this book, distorted and enslaved by Whim early in the book. ;Pupshaw and Pushpaw : Companions and protectors of Frank, they are distorted and enslaved along with him by the now super powerful Whim. ;Frank's Faux Paw : Quadrupedal "bad conscience" of Frank, he plays a minor but critical role in the book. When participating in a

forced marriage Forced marriage is a marriage in which one or more of the parties is married without their consent or against their will. A marriage can also become a forced marriage even if both parties enter with full consent if one or both are later force ...

that is interrupted by Manhog, he reveals the location of the transformed Whim. ;''"Betty and Veronica"'' : Described on the dust jacket as "our grossly inappropriate pet names for the unchristened hags" who "seem to have elemental control over anhog'slife". They are "two bird-like hags that mysteriously propel the story from the sidelines through rituals that alter the weather and, in turn, alter Manhog’s course". The pet names are taken from the characters

Betty Betty or Bettie is a name, a common diminutive for the names Bethany and Elizabeth. In Latin America, it is also a common diminutive for the given name Beatriz, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the Latin name Beatrix and the English name Beat ...

and Veronica from '' Archie'' comic books.

Reception

The book was included on numerous "Best of 2010" lists, including: * The 2010

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

Book Prize for Graphic Novels (as ''Finalist'') *

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

's Best Books of 2010 *

Douglas Wolk Douglas Wolk (born 1970) is a Portland, Oregon-based author and critic. He has written about comics and popular music for publications including ''The New York Times'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Nation'', ''The New Republi ...

's Best Graphic Novels of 2010 at TIME.com – Techland (ranked #6)

Foreign editions

References

External links

Weathercraft by Jim Woodring - Video PreviewJim Woodring talks about ''Weathercraft''Interview
at

Review
at

Comics Alliance ComicsAlliance was an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the catego ...

{{Fantagraphics comics 2010 graphic novels 2010 comics debuts American graphic novels Comics by Jim Woodring Books by Jim Woodring Fantagraphics titles