Take two parts Bloom County, one part Calvin & Hobbes, one part Looney Tunes and add a pinch of gratuitous cheesecake and what do you get? Well, if you answered anything but Liberty Meadows, then you obviously didn’t read the title. Liberty Meadows is a comedy in print form that springs from the mind of a University of Maryland graduate (who received his degree from their Nursing program) named Frank Cho. And yes, the strip is as funny as the sum of its parts implies (possibly even funnier). There are enough gags and jokes in each issue to have just about anybody laughing out loud (and I’m not talking about a giggle or two, I’m talking full-blown laughter). And everyone needs a good laugh.
Originally published in strip format for the daily newspapers, Cho pulled out of syndicated press after a few years and began publishing exclusively in comic book format.
Cho’s artistic style is varied. He can draw gorgeous women and put them in the same panel as a group of cartoony looking animals and make it appear like the two groups would naturally co-exist. He also illustrates dinosaurs, apes, fantastical worlds and breath-taking galactic space-scapes with amazing detail. Occasionally in his strips, he will draw an intricately detailed Victorian style image filled with shading and cross-hatching lines just so that he can break-in his new pens. Yes, his style is that amazing.
The comic follows the adventures of the inhabitants of the Liberty Meadows Animal Sanctuary (both human and non-human). And the cast is a motley mixture of individuals. First off, there’s Frank, the introversive resident veterinarian (and Star Wars geek). Next up is Brandy, the voluptuous animal psychologist (and subject of Frank’s secret love). Then there’s Jen; Brandy’s equally voluptuous roommate and a rocket scientist who loves to toy with men’s affections. Dean is a pig. Literally. He used to be a university mascot, but was checked into Liberty Meadows for detox. Ralph (a midget circus bear) and his best friend Leslie (a hypochondriac bullfrog) are next. These two often provide Looney Tunes style laughs with their mad science experiments (which Frank usually has to fix, because something always goes wrong). After that is Truman (a mallard duckling who was a victim of an oil spill) and his best friend Oscar (a wiener dog. ‘Nuff said). They supply the innocent discoveries and humor reminiscent of the Calvin & Hobbes strips by Bill Watterson. And there’s a plethora of supporting cast members that come in from time to time depending on the needs of each story (but are too numerous to list here). Usually, Cho likes to tell stories that run for several strips (instead of just the standard one unrelated joke per day that other syndicated cartoonists use). The stories feature the cast of characters in humorous situations that become even funnier as the story progresses (often times lampooning and paying homage to various elements of pop culture along the way). One running subplot is Frank and Brandy’s will-they-or-won’t-they-get-together soap opera drama. But it never overwhelms the humor of the strip. In fact, it often becomes a source of comedy (with Frank as the butt of the joke).
Now the comic isn’t perfect (but it’s damn near close), and it does have its flaws. First off, there are times when Cho will retell a joke that he had already used in the past. I mean he’ll use the same set-up and the same punch line, the only difference will be which character is standing in the background. But this is a rare occurrence. And it’s forgivable if the joke is really good. Secondly, Liberty Meadows has been delayed from time to time, due to Cho’s busy schedule. And as of August 15, 2005 it will have been over a year since the last new issue of Liberty Meadows was released. But he has promised us (at The San Diego Comic Con earlier this summer) that he will be back on the title soon and new issues will be released. So hopefully, this problem will become non-existent in the near future.
In the mean time, he has just released the third collection of his Liberty Meadows work in trade paperback format, which is titled Summer of Love (the first two volumes are Eden and Creature Comforts). So those of you that don’t want to run around looking for back issues of the first 36 (or so) issues can pick up the trades (all of which feature hilarious bonus strips by Cho and various extra pieces of his artwork in addition to the previously released strips).
I could literally go on describing in depth how great this comic is, but I could never even begin to do the comic justice. You just have to read it. And when you do, you’ll laugh… a LOT. It’s honestly one of the funniest things around. So go enjoy it.
