Franken Fran, Horror Manga and the Uncanny Grotesque

“Everybody is a book of blood; everywhere we’re opened, we’re red.”
- Clive Barker

Many months have passed since the last update of Franken Fran.  That’s a shame, because for a while it was my favorite manga series.  Against my own expectations, I enjoyed reading about the life and times of Fran Madaraki, living dead girl and surgical genius.  I say it was against my expectations because I’m usually not very good with horror, and the subject matter of Franken Fran is often truly horrifying.

Body horror is an interesting subject.  Whether it’s an alien bursting out of a man’s chest or torture and disembowelment, people are scared by the notion that they’re not in control of their bodies.  It’s hard enough when modern medicine is both disturbingly clear and utterly arcane about the horrible ways we can die:  Will it be cancer, or will it be gangrene and pneumonia caught from the hospital bed?  I think most folks would like to assume that humans exist in some kind of fully solid Gumby state, with no intestines or nasty beating hearts.  It’s just too real.

The brilliant thing about horror manga is that it uses visuals to tap into this sense of dread.  Just as cartoons are inherently lovable, the opposite is also true:  According to roboticist Masahiro Mori, humans respond favorably to things that look human, but only up to a point.  A too-realistic image risks falling into the “uncanny valley,” when it is SO human that its inhuman qualities become all the more noticeable and horrifying.  In the case of horror manga, stark realism will suddenly send us screaming into the uncanny valley when we least expect it, rendering twisted bodies and gore with terrible detail.

In the case of Junji Itou's "Uzumaki," the twisting is quite literal.

Franken Fran uses this technique to excellent effect, to the point where some readers have wondered if the author is a medical student.  But more importantly, it’s clear that the artist delights in the human body: Bodies are broken, ripped to pieces and put under Fran’s gentle knife a myriad of ways, but it never fails to be a visual treat, even if we have to fight disgust and fear to see it.  With the right perspective, the horrors of mad science are even considerably erotic.

I also see a connection to the literary concept of the grotesque body, in which disturbing, gross human flesh is supposed to reflect the dysfunctional nature of society.  Fran will work on literally anyone who pays or who piques her interest, which means that all sorts of people go through her operating table.  The results are nauseating, funny and sometimes even sweet, but they’re rarely meaningless.  Physical transformation brings out petty weaknesses and gives them life in flesh and blood.  Sometimes virtues, too.

It’s fascinating stuff.  I just wish there were more to read.  If you have the time, I recommend it.