Joe Frank: Ascent

by Joe Frank, Jason Novak (Illustrator)

Joe Frank is one of the greatest radio dramatists who ever worked in the medium. His programs, which he wrote and voiced, ran from 1978 to 2018, attracting a huge following, including Francis Coppola (“I couldn’t believe the originality and sheer brilliance of what I was hearing”) and Charlie Kaufman (“His shows were hypnotic, psychotic, neurotic, sad, terrifying, and some of the funniest stuff I have ever heard anywhere.”) Jason Novak, author of Et Tu, Brute, has lovingly adapted six of Frank’s most memorable stories into comics form, as an introduction to those who have never heard Frank, and an aesthetic accompaniment to those who have.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels

232 pages, Paperback

Published March 2, 2021

About the author

Joe Frank is a Pushcart Prize nominated writer and illustrator.

His short stories have been published in Canada and the United States.

Arthur Garber the Harber Barber (Firefly Books 2019) is his debut children's book, of which he is writer and illustrator.

Reviews

[Jason]

It was a dream come true to illustrate the work of a childhood hero.

[Robert]

Comix rendering of Joe Frank stories (story?). Has many of the things I expect to find in a Joe Frank episode: dreams, Israel/Palestine, lovers, the phrase “make love”, absurdity, existentialism, etc. Kind of felt like the stories were all dictated to Novak as he was drawing the pictures, with the purpose of tripping him up. Most of the stories felt like every line changed the direction & feel of the story, like it was trying to shake me off & disorient me, which is really what I’m looking for from Joe Frank. I should have read this while listening to some Jon Hassell, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, & Brian Eno (ambient Brian Eno).

[Hannah Ross]

"Still, they considered the expedition a success, because they all agree that their experience was an ascent, albeit horizontal, and Fielding is still angry that the academy didn't accept their claim that they'd ascended K-2, without literally ascending it, in the sense that they'd risen above the concept of ascent."
heaven sent- I would like to live in this spiral-y parataxis world except I think I already do

[Jay Amari]

Funny and touching. The illustrations and stories blend to deliver a fascinating narrative. The addendum which includes biography of Joe Frank is enlightening, as is the final word from illustrator Jason Novak.

[Aurora]

Not to my liking. Too absurdist.

[Hand of the Grieving Star]

'' tattoo''

[Simon Sweetman]

Amazing storytelling- winningly combined with graphic novel illustrations.

[Paul]

A radio monologuist who veered into surreality has some of his works adapted for comics. The stories themselves are involving, but beyond exposing them to a wider audience (I know I wouldn’t have otherwise discovered them) I don’t know what the adaptation does to add to it. Jason Novak’s raw art style—evocative of Liana Finck—isn’t particularly evocative and merely helps to adorn the text as each story as it drifts from a staid beginning into into stranger and stranger environs, an effect that I’m sure works better on the radio as that “wait, that’s not right” feeling dawns on the listener.

I’m glad I read it, even if I’m unsure of how well it stands on its own. It leaves me eager to seek out some of Joe Frank’s radio work.