Frank Cho

Infobox Comics creator


imagesize = 250
caption = Frank Cho Self-portrait
birthname = Duk Hyun Chocite news |title=Two centuries at the heart of Baltimore |work=Examiner (Washington, D.C.) |first=Karl B. |last=Hille |date=2007-09-03 |accessdate=2008-03-21 |url=http://www.examiner.com/a-913735~Two_centuries_at_the_heart_of_Baltimore.html ]
birthdate = birth date and age|mf=yes|1971|12|2
location = Seoul, Korea
deathdate =
deathplace =
nationality = Naturalised American
(immigrated Korean)
area = writer, penciller, inker
alias =
notable works = "Liberty Meadows"
awards =

Frank Cho, born Duk Hyun Cho, is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book creator, writer, and illustrator, best known for his series "Liberty Meadows".

Biography

The second of three children, Cho was born in Seoul, Korea in 1971, but moved to the United States at the age of six and was raised in Beltsville, Maryland. After graduating from High Point High School in 1990,cite news |title=Brandy, You're a Fine Girl |first=Sean |last=Daly |work=Washington City Paper |date=1997-06-06 |accessdate=2008-03-21 |url=http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=12813 ] he attended Prince George's Community College and was offered a scholarship to attend the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, which he declined because he disliked the school's academic focus.cite news |title=Comics: Meet the Artist: With Frank Cho |last=Tobin |first=Suzanne (moderator) |work=The Washington Post |date=2002-01-04 |accessdate=2008-03-21 |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/liveonline/01/style/comics010402.htm ] Cho ended up transferring to the University of Maryland School of Nursing, which he says was his parents' idea. Cho ultimately graduated with a B.S. in Nursing in 1996.

Cho received no formal training as an artist. He got his start writing and drawing a cartoon strip called "University²" for "The Diamondback", the student newspaper at the University of Maryland, College Park. After graduation, Cho adapted elements of this work for use in a professionally syndicated strip, "Liberty Meadows". Cho signed a fifteen-year contract with Creators Syndicate, which he later realized was unusually long and, perhaps jokingly, blamed on having a bad lawyer. Growing tired of newspaper censorship, Cho severed his contract with Creators Syndicate, and ultimately converted "Liberty Meadows" to a monthly publication. He works with one assistant named Mara Rose. She consults with convention comic fans and has started recoloring Liberty Meadows Sunday strips.

Cho has also drawn a wide variety of other professional material, including a new version of "Shanna the She-Devil" in 2005 for Marvel Comics. His "Shanna" series was originally meant to feature "mature" artwork, including nude drawings of the heroine, but Marvel later decided to have Cho censor his already completed pages for the first five issues, and the 7-issue series did not feature nudity. However, Marvel plans to release in 2008 a hardcover collection, which will contain the uncensored artwork.Fact|date=September 2008

Frank Cho pencilled issues 14 and 15 of "The New Avengers" for Marvel comics. These issues include trademark Cho-isms; the character of Wolverine is depicted wearing a t-shirt that bears the logo "Beltsville", and many "Liberty Meadows" characters make cameo appearances.

His artistic style is generally detailed and realistic, but he frequently makes use of absurd or anachronistic elements in his work, such as dinosaurs, pin-up girls, and "Pogo"-style anthropomorphic animals. He also enjoys breaking the fourth wall, frequently inserting himself into his work in the guise of a talking chimpanzee, and on several occasions he has drawn strips that feature his characters interacting with other popular syndicated features (for example, a character stuck in a pipe being ejected into a nearby panel apparently taken from "Blondie"). The "Liberty Meadows" denizens have found also themselves sharing their strip with "Calvin and Hobbes", "Li'l Abner", "Hägar the Horrible", "Dilbert" and "Cathy", among others.

As of 2007, Cho lives in Elkridge, Maryland with his wife Cari and two children. He illustrated the first six issues Marvel Comics' 2007 relaunch of "Mighty Avengers" with writer Brian Bendis. He is the plotter and cover artist of Dynamite Entertainment's "Jungle Girl".

Awards

Frank Cho has won many awards, including: the prestigious National Cartoonists Society’s Awards for Best Comic Book and Book Illustration, the Eagle Award, the Charles M. Schulz Award for Excellence in Cartooning, Scripps-Howard Award for Best College Cartoonist, College Media Association for Cartooning, Max & Moritz Prize for Best International Comic Strip and the Chesley Award. He was also nominated for the coveted Harvey and Eisner Awards.

External links

* [http://www.libertymeadows.com/ Welcome to Frank Cho's "Liberty Meadows"] (official website)
* [http://www.apesandbabes.com Frank Cho forum message board] (official forum message board)

References