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Frank Cho, Illustrator

7/10

By Frank Cho & friends

Frank Cho, IllustratorFrank Cho is the creator of Liberty Meadows, a syndicated comic strip, which he writes and draws. No, make that draws and writes, since his failing is that his artwork is far superior to his writing. Not that his writing is horrible, but the rigors of a daily strip seem too much; the comics are beautifully drawn but his humor tends to miss the mark or be predictable. His strip has been compared to Calvin & Hobbes in its juxtaposition of real humans and funny animals and due to his superb draftsmanship, but the strip lacks Calvin's sharp wit and refreshing sincerity and originality.

Which makes this book, a collection of Cho's best artwork, much more enjoyable than Liberty Meadows itself. Collected are some of Cho's strips as well as his other comics works, and promotional art for Liberty Meadows. But what really shines are his illustrations, many of them done purely out of love for the golden age of fantasy and adventure illustration. If you want to see cavewomen battling giant monkeys, Cho is your man. Several paintings are included in the book, but Cho's forte is his amazing pen and ink linework.

My favorite sections of the book are his illustrations of "From Africa to Mars" and his drawings based on the works of Edgar Rice Borroughs. The chapter introductions are extra bonuses in the book, penned by some of comics' best artists, including Adam Hughes and Budd Root.

 

 

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