Weathercraft h/c back

Such a classy cover: four frogs, legs linked, peer into the shiny colour portal where the loathsome Manhog is about to undergo quite the transformation.

Metamorphosis lies at the heart of most FRANK fables, usually through assimilation or straightforward ingestion and often catalysed by destruction. He's a genuine visionary, Jim Woodring, and a master craftsman to boot. Instead of crosshatching his textures are formed from wavy lines, closer in effect to a carved lino print. Almost everything in his landscapes is or could be alive, and rituals abound. I always call Woodring's silent Frank fables "mind-altering yet legal". What you get out often depends on what you bring to the table - even what mood you're in at the time.

For once the carelessly curious Frank takes a back seat, although of course he's there to provide the inevitable helping hand at a key moment (helping and meddling are two sides of the same coin to Frank; I often find it useful to glance at the expressions on the face of the furiously loyal Pupshaw - she's usually quite dubious!).

Journeys too are important and here it's the long-suffering but brutal, begrudging and really quite stupid Manhog who goes all bipedal on us and - a bit of a shocker - noble. Perhaps it's a Frankenstein thing, for here Manhog allows himself to experience and even acknowledges moments of joy. How long will that last, do you think?

Anyway, I'd better shut up now for Woodring's silent sagas are always best experience first-hand, untainted by other people's input, which is why I find it very odd that Woodring has written so much copy for this on the back and inside the dustjacket.