Stephan Franck

Stephan Franck is a Franco-American animator, writer, director, and comics creator. In 2013, he received an Annie Award nomination for Best Director for a direct to video or TV broadcast for The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow.^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Franck supervised the animation of the first season of the Disney+ Marvel Animation series What If...?.^[6][7] He directed the season two episode "What If... Nebula Joined the Nova Corps?",^[8] as well as the season three episodes "What If... the Hulk Fought the Mech Avengers?", "What If... Howard the Duck Got Hitched?","What If... the Emergence Destroyed the Earth?", "What If... 1872?" (co-directed with Bryan Andrews), and "What If... the Watcher Disappeared?".^[9]

Stephan Franck
Franck at the 2024 WonderCon
Nationality	French – American
Occupation(s)	Animator, writer, director, comics creator
Notable work	Corneil & Bernie The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow Silver What If...?

In 2014, Franck was nominated for the Russ Manning Award^[10] for the first volume of the graphic novel series Silver which he writes and illustrates.^[11][12][13] In 2017, it was announced that writer Andrew Cosby was attached to write a movie adaptation of the Silver series.^[14] In 2022, the publishing of Silver moved from Dark Planet ^[15] to Abrams Books's ComicArts Imprint. ^[16] Franck's neo-noir graphic novel series Palomino debuted in 2020,^[17][18] with 2 more volumes released in 2023, earning Franck a 2024 Ringo Award nomination.

Franck is also the co-creator of the animated TV show Corneil & Bernie.

Award nominations

• Russ Manning Award Nomination – 2014 "Silver Volume 1" (Dark Planet)
• Annie Award Nomination – 2014 Outstanding Achievement, Directing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production – The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow (Sony Pictures Animation)
• Ringo Award Nomination – 2024 "Palomino Volume 2 and 3" (Dark Planet)

References

1. Hill, Jim (September 17, 2013). "Why Stephan Franck Was Drawn to Use Hand-drawn Animation on The Legend of Smurfy Hollow". HuffPost.
2. "Stephan Franck talks 'The Legend of Smurfy Hollow'". Animation World Network.
3. "Director Stephan Franck Returns 'The Smurfs' To Their Hand-Drawn Roots". Cartoon Brew. September 19, 2013.
4. "Classic Smurfs Return in 'Legend of Smurfy Hollow'". Entertainment Tonight. September 10, 2013.
5. Zahed, Ramin (September 14, 2013). "Rising Stars of Animation".
6. Arrant, Chris (April 15, 2020). "Work on Marvel Studios' What If...? Continues During Coronavirus Pandemic". Newsarama. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
7. "What If 2 production brief Final with cast" (PDF). The Walt Disney Studios. December 21, 2023. p. 9. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 23, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
8. Milligan, Mercedes (December 22, 2023). "Tune In: Marvel's 'What If...?' Returns with Jeffrey Wright Boarding Roster of MCU Stars".
9. "What If Season 3 Final Production Brief". Walt Disney Studios. December 18, 2024. pp. 3–5. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
10. "Nominees announced for 2014 Russ Manning Award – CBR". cbr.com. May 30, 2014.
11. "Best Shots Comic Reviews: ALL-NEW CAPTAIN AMERICA #1, BATMAN #36, More". Newsarama. March 31, 2021.
12. "You Need to Read This Crowdfunded Comic About the Plot to Steal Dracula's Silver". Nerdist.
13. "Free Comic Book Day 2018: A Guide to the Best Bets and the Best Avoided". NPR.
14. Fleming, Mike Jr. (October 5, 2017). "'Silver' Mettle For 'Hellboy' Scribe Andrew Cosby".
15. "FCBD18 Interview: Gothic Drama Frames Dark Planet's Silver". www.freecomicbookday.com.
16. https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-1-4197-5859-1
17. "The Plan To Bring North Hollywood's 'Palomino' Country Music Club Back To Life -- In Comic Form". LAist. April 17, 2020.
18. McMillan, Graeme (April 13, 2020). "Cowboy Comic 'Palomino' Launches Crowdfunding Campaign".