JANK

Jank Words & Pictures Partners Jamie Lees & Frank D'Angelo are storytellers. Together they imagine. Storytelling is at the heart of what we do.

Jank Words & Pictures is built on over 30 years of experience in design, writing, and storytelling. It’s how we bring ideas to life, connect with audiences, and create impactful narratives that resonate. Whether it’s through graphic novels, exhibition picture books, zines, games, or even surface and swag design, we pride ourselves on turning creative visions into reality with precision and passion

. We recently completed a transatlantic exhibition, a collaboration between Canada and Scotland, Left at the Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith, and are currently working on a picture book set to release in spring 2025. Following that, we’ll be turning the story into a theatrical production. Our projects reflect our commitment to high-quality, innovative storytelling. Our first graphic novel Blood Sucking Lawyers, a parody of the legal system, uses a groundbreaking photo illustration style. We’re excited to share this labour of love soon! In 2024, we're excited to release Synopsis: The Storytelling Game on Kickstarter! This fast-paced, table-top game, perfect for storytellers of all kinds. With a mix of plot twists, wild characters, and unexpected settings, players have two minutes to craft their part of an entertaining, outlandish, or heartfelt story. Whether you’re a budding author or just love a good laugh, Synopsis turns game night into a creative adventure. If you have a creative project in mind—whether it involves writing, design, or concept development—Jank can help you bring it to life. Check out our portfolio on our Jank Media & Design www.jank.ca/mediaanddesign we can discuss how we can collaborate on your next creative venture. Let's tell your story. Thank you for your interest and support! Jamie & Frank,
Jank Words & Pictures

08/15/2025

BIG JANK thanks to Storytellers Bookstore on Ottawa Street in Windsor for stocking our tabletop game, SYNOPSIS: The Storytelling Game! It’s fast, fun, and easy to play—perfect for ages 8 and up!

Just in local publisher Jamie Lees with their new board game Synopsis. Please support LOCAL. Stay tuned for game launch date !!!!

08/06/2025

Bagpipes in the Burg:
Final Parade of the Season 🎶

Join us this Friday for the final parade of the season with Bagpipes in the Burg. The March begins in Navy Yard Park and continues into the Town Square. Don’t miss this proud and stirring tradition in the heart of Amherstburg.

We’re pleased to share that Jamie Lees, a director on the board of the Scottish Studies Foundation, recently wrote an article celebrating the band’s efforts in keeping Scottish heritage alive in Canada. The Foundation proudly supports the Scottish Studies program at the University of Guelph, the only one of its kind in North America.

Scroll down and Read Jamie’s article here: https://www.jank.ca/communitity-affiliations

We’d also like to recognize another local Amherstburg business, that provided 100% financial support to the pipe band this season. Their quiet generosity helped ensure this musical tradition could thrive right here in our town.

Let’s give the band a strong send-off this Friday—and show our appreciation for the music, the heritage, and the community that makes it all possible.

08/04/2025

Happy Family Day! 🇨🇦 🧛🏻‍♂️

Imagine having the same parents for 500 years. Our lead vampire lawyer, GORE, can. His relationship with Mom and Dad? Let’s just say… eternal dysfunction.

As we get closer to launch, we’re unlocking sneak peeks of the book, including Page 108, which just slipped out of the vault.

Want it in your inbox? Subscribe to our JANK & FILE newsletter and we’ll send it over, along with subscriber-only perks for Blood Sucking Lawyers fans.

www.jank.ca/sign-up

New to this hilarious parody of the legal system? Visit:
www.bloodsuckinglawyers.com

07/22/2025

Fringe Windsor begins on Friday. Check out the schedule and explore some great theatre. 🎭

https://www.fringewindsor.com/team-1

07/11/2025

Happy World Fringe Day!

🌍🎭 Happy World Fringe Day! 🎭🌍
Today, we’re celebrating the wild, weird, and wonderful world of Fringe!

We’re thrilled to return to Windsor this summer, reigniting the spirit of creative freedom, bold storytelling, and artistic risk-taking that makes Fringe festivals so unique.

We’re also proud members of CAFF – the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals, part of a national network that champions:
✨ Uncensored performance
✨ 100% of ticket sales going directly to artists
✨ Access for everyone — from first-time creators to seasoned pros

Join us July 24–27 as we celebrate with 12 original shows, community vibes, and that electric, anything-can-happen Fringe energy.

🎟️ Tickets on sale now: https://www.fringewindsor.com/fringe-shows

07/07/2025

Can you billet (or share this post) for Fringe Windsor?

07/05/2025

The ingenious "vacuum fumigator...

The ingenious "vacuum fumigator" which was regularly deployed in the 1930s at the Huntington Library in California to prevent insect infestations. The librarian shown is Thomas Iiams and he treated all of the rare books in the Huntington's collection, all "foreign" books to enter its collections, as well as some of the Pope's books in the Vatican. (courtesy Thomas Marion Iiams/Kenyon Review https://kenyonreview.org/2015/11/poison-gas-and-the-origins-of-data-preservation/

06/27/2025

Writing can be a lonely business. Love this Halifax Library idea of writing in the presence of other writers. ✍️

Are you working on a novel, short story, play, or poem? Do you want to write in a quiet and collaborative (air-conditioned) atmosphere with other writers? If so, join us for our first-ever Summer Write-In at Halifax Central Library on July 5, from 1:00-5:00pm.

Simply bring a laptop or a notebook and pen, settle down at a table, and write the day away. Come for a little while, or stay for the full session.

No registration required. https://hfxpublib.org/nUnaQ

06/25/2025

For our book "Left at the Wellgate: The Untold Story of Mary Petrie Smith" we had to make a bold decision: which photo of Mary belongs on the front cover?

This is the image we chose.

Torn straight across her neck—not as a design effect, but from a real moment of family anger. Mary could be sharp, critical, relentless. Someone ripped the photo in frustration. Years later, it was glued back together with rubber cement. The scar remains.

Why this photo? Why not the more innocent passport photo—taken just before she left Scotland, before she made the unimaginable choice to leave her two young sons in their pram in front of a pub and sail to Canada alone?

We’ll share the other photo, and the full story behind this decision, in the June edition of our JANK & FILE newsletter.

Subscribe here: www.jank.ca/sign-up

“Creativity is often a conversation between what we hoped to show and what insisted on being seen.”

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http://www.jank.ca/

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Our Story

JANK Words & Pictures is about stories. Story is important to us. Narrative is how we test the waters of the future, understand the past, and make the most of the present.

So welcome to JANK. And welcome to a thoughtfully considered and proudly presented lineup of Jank's entertaining products including graphic novels, illustrated e-books, animated shorts, online games, web series, and surface design for the home decor and fashion industry. We invite you to follow along as we bring life to our creative dreams. I hope you like our page and sign up so that we can keep you in the loop with what’s happening with our Jank creative community through our monthly JANK & File Newsletter www.jank.ca/sign-up Our first project Blood Sucking Lawyers is a graphic novel. It is a parody on the legal system. Rather than using traditional illustration, we chose to instead to photograph local character models utilizing our photo illustration style. To our knowledge this has never been attempted before. Check out our CBC interview at https://www.jank.ca/media-interviews. Follow along behind the scenes and meet the over 60 local cast members involved in the project at www.facebook.com/bloodsuckinglawyers/ We have also launched a NEW comedy web series called FRANCIDENTS. Is he accident prone? absent-minded? You be the judge. As Frank always says "Extraordinary things happen at the most inopportune time." See snippets and links to the videos here on our JANK page.

As well, we have another book cooking. It is graphic memoir concentrating on emotional wellness, specifically depression and anxiety.

In 2020 we’ll be launching an exciting JANK initiative called The 10 Year Creative Legacy Project. We’re super stoked about that. Thank you so much for your continued interest and support. More to come,