 by
Benjamin Ong Pang Kean
Nobody could draw Mary Jane, Shanna the
She-Devil, Spider-Woman or Wolverine drinking from the friggin’
jug the way Frank Cho draws them. And
for those of you who can’t get enough of Cho’s
version of the scrappy Canadian mutant making the milk bad for everyone
else, there’s good news – Frank just saved a lot…wait…Cho’s
not going to be drawing any other company’s characters chugging
milk any time soon.
The writer/artist has informed Newsarama that he has renewed his
exclusive contract with Marvel. It will now run through March 2008.
One question, however, begs to be answered: What’s going to happen
to Liberty Meadows? After all, his fans (you know who you
are) want more of Brandy, Jen, Oscar and co. “Liberty Meadows
is still alive,” Cho told Newsarama. “I'm
craving it more than the fans. It's so frustrating. I literally
have 17 more strips to do for Liberty Meadows #37. I have my Liberty Meadows art board
just sitting next to my drawing table. I stare at them every day.
But every time I think I have some free time, Marvel deadline or
family matter pops up.”
Cravings aside, why did he decide to re-up
his exclusive with Marvel then? “I have few long-term projects being
set in motion now and I want to make sure that I will finish them
before my contract is up. Also, Marvel is such a great company to
work for,” Cho said.
Previously, as part of his exclusive deal with Marvel, he had worked
on Shanna the She-Devil, Marvel Knights Spider-Man,
New Avengers and covers for Marvel Knights 4 and Trouble.
This time around, on the creative side of things, he hopes to do
“more mainstream stuff with core Marvel superheroes. Female
superheroes. That's all I can say at this time.”
 With
his earlier exclusive deal, he still did projects for other publishers
and projects such as an entire issue of Zombie King and covers
for Wizard, Witchblade, Even More Fund Comics,
Invincible (#14), the Baltimore Comic-Con Program Book,
Black Panther (#8), Uncanny
X-Men (#461). What non-Marvel projects does he have on his plate
right now? “I'm doing comic book/movie pitch called Voodoo Dolls
with David Tischman which will be released in spring. (Knock on wood)
Liberty Meadows statues and Christmas ornaments with Clayburn
Moore, and another Liberty Meadows-related project I can't talk
about right now because I don't want to jinx it. Plus a brand new
art book of my illustrations and paintings for Image Comics.”
On the Marvel side of things, his next work will be seen in the
upcoming New Avengers two-parter
that stars Spider-Woman. Some say a picture says a thousand words
and he’s teased us with two more pages. Story-wise? “To be honest, I have no idea where the story is
going,” he admitted. “Brian Bendis is such a brilliant writer. He
has crafted such a fine tale full of twists and turns, I have no
idea what's going to happen next. My two-parter
is actually a set-up for a bigger story, and I'm just as anxious
to see how the story will unfold.”
For more Frank Cho goodness,
head on over to www.libertymeadows.com.
Related articles:
A QUICK SPIDER-WOMAN WORD WITH FRANK CHO
CHO PREVIEWS SHANNA
FRANK CHO ON MARVEL EXCLUSIVITY
CHATTING UP CHO: FRANK CHO ON SPIDEY, LIBERTY MEADOWS, AND SHANNA
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