Wikipedia

Frank Cho

Frank Cho,bornDuk Hyun Cho(born 1971), is aKorean-Americancomic stripandcomic bookwriter and illustrator, known for his seriesLiberty Meadows,as well as for books such asShanna the She-Devil,Mighty AvengersandHulkforMarvel Comics,andJungle GirlforDynamite Entertainment.Cho is noted for hisfigure drawing,precise lines, and depictions of curvaceous women.[1]

Frank Cho
Cho smiling
Cho at the 2018 Phoenix Comic Fest
BornDuk Hyun Cho
1971 (age 53–54)
Seoul,South Korea
NationalityAmerican
Area(s)Cartoonist,Writer,Penciller,Inker
Notable works
Liberty Meadows
Awards2006Haxtur Awardfor Best Artist
2006 Haxtur Award for Best In Show
2001National Cartoonists Society's Award for Best Comic Book
2001 National Cartoonists Society's Award for Best Book Illustration
Charles M. Schulz Award for Excellence in Cartooning
Max & Moritz Medalfor Best International Comic Strip
Official website

Early life

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Frank Cho was born nearSeoul,South Korea in 1971[2]to Kyu Hyuk Cho and Bok Hee Cho. He has two brothers, Rino and Austin. The family moved to theUnited Stateswhen he was six[3]in search of better economic opportunities.[3]Cho was raised inBeltsville, Maryland.[1][2]

His parents had college degrees, but because they did not speak English well, they took whatever jobs they could to support the family. His mother worked in a shoe factory, and his father was a carpenter during the day and a janitor at aGreyhound Busstation at night. Because money was scarce, Cho, who describes hislatchkey childhoodas "rough", was relegated to finding his own extracurricular entertainment. When Cho was ten, his older brother, Rino, brought somecomic bookshome, and Cho started copying the art. When a friend saw that Cho could reproduce the artwork without tracing it, he urged Cho to illustrate comics for a living. Cho refined his abilities without formal training beyond some basic art classes.[3][4]He found inspiration inDepression-eracomics such asPrince ValiantandLi'l Abner,and in the work of artists such asNorman Rockwell,N.C. Wyeth,Andrew Loomis,Al WilliamsonandFrank Frazetta.[3]

After graduating fromHigh Point High Schoolin 1990,[5]he attendedPrince George's Community Collegeand was offered a scholarship to theMaryland Institute College of Artin Baltimore, which he declined because he disliked the school's academic focus.[4]Cho's parents were not particularly supportive of Cho's interest in art, so he placated them by transferring to theUniversity of Maryland School of Nursing,which he says was his parents' idea.[5][6]Cho graduated with aB.S.in Nursing in 1996.[4][7]

Career

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1990s

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Cho wrote and drew a cartoon strip calledEverything but the Kitchen Sinkin the weeklyPrince George's Community CollegenewspaperThe Owl,where he was also comics editor. At theUniversity of Maryland, College Park,he drew the daily stripUniversity2forThe Diamondback,the student newspaper.[5]

During his final year in college, in 1994 or 1995, Cho received his first professional comic book assignment, doing short stories forPenthouse Comixwith Al Gross andMark Wheatley.The trio conceived of a six-part "raunchy sci-fi fantasy romp" calledThe Body,centering on an intergalactic female merchant, Katy Wyndon, who can transfer her mind into any of her "wardrobe bodies", empty mindless vessels that she occupies to best suit her negotiations with the local alien races that she encounters while traveling the galaxy trading and seeking riches. The story was never published for a number of reasons.[8]

After graduation, Cho adapted elements ofUniversity2for use in a professionally syndicated strip,Liberty Meadows.Cho signed a 15-year contract withCreators Syndicate,[5]which he later realized was unusually long and, perhaps jokingly, blamed on having a bad lawyer.[4]After five years of doingLiberty Meadows,Cho grew weary of the arguments with his editor over the censorship of the strip, as well as the pressure of the daily deadlines, and pulled the strip from syndication in December 2001, though he continued to print it uncensored in book form.[6]

In 1999, Cho attracted controversy when, while serving as one of the jurors for the third annualIgnatz Awards,which are awarded to small press creators or creator-owned projects published by larger publishers, he nominated his own bookLiberty Meadows.WriterEd Brubaker,one of the original jurors and developers of the award, criticized that year's jury for their lack of support and acknowledgment of independent works, and for allowing self-nomination. Brubaker also questioned whether the guidelines he and Expo board member Chris Oarr had developed for the Awards were provided to that year's judges.The Comics Journalreacted to this by saying that this revealed some flaws in the Ignatz nomination system, but Cho defended his decision, stating that in his opinion few of the submissions he received as a judge were deserving of nomination, and that the Ignatz coordinator he consulted instructed him to use his own judgment, as there were no rules against self-nomination.[9]Cho eventually won two Ignatz Awards that year for Outstanding Artist and Outstanding Comic, and although he did not cast the winning vote, he called his self-nomination a mistake he would not repeat.[10]

2000s

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As he worked onLiberty Meadows,he also did occasional cover work or anthology work for other publishers. These includedUltimate Spider-Man Super SpecialforMarvel Comicsin 2000,The Savage Dragon#100 andThe Amazing Spider-Man#46 in 2002,Hellboy: Weird Tales#6 in 2003 andInvincible#14 in 2004. he then began doing full interior work on otherSpider-Manbooks for Marvel, including issues #5 and 8 ofMarvel Knights Spider-Manin 2004 and 2005, respectively, andThe Astonishing Spider-Man#123, also in 2005.

Marvel Comics' then-senior editorAxel Alonso,who had been impressed byLiberty Meadows,approached Cho about revamping the third-string characterShanna the She-Devil,a scantily clad jungle lady who first appeared in the early 1970s, as a college-educated defender of wildlife and opponent of firearms. Cho, seeing possibilities, recast Shanna in a seven-issue, 2005 miniseries as an Amazonian naïf, the product of a Nazi experiment with the power to kill dinosaurs with her bare hands but an unpredictable lack of morality.[6]The miniseries was originally meant to feature uncensored nude drawings of the heroine, but Marvel later decided against this, and had Cho censor his already completed pages for the first five issues. However, Cho has indicated on his website that Marvel plans to release a hardcover collection under its MAX imprint which will contain the uncensored artwork.[11]

Cho then penciled issues 14 and 15 of Marvel'sNew Avengersin 2006, and illustrated the first six issues ofMarvel Comics' 2007 relaunch ofMighty Avengerswith writerBrian Bendis.He is the plotter and cover artist ofDynamite Entertainment'sJungle Girl.Cho drew issues 7–9 ofHulk,which were published in 2009. In 2010–2011, Cho illustrated writerJeph Loeb's run onNew Ultimatesfor Marvel Comics. In 2011 he worked on the miniseriesX-Men: Schismwith writerJason Aaron.

2010s

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In January 2013, as an expansion of theMarvel NOW!initiative, Marvel premieredSavage Wolverine,a series written and illustrated by Cho that stars bothWolverineand co-stars Shanna the She-Devil andAmadeus Cho.The "Lost World"–type story that comprises the first five issues is intended to evoke a" classic adventure feel ", and is inspired by theIndiana Jonesfilms and the pulp horror ofH.P. Lovecraft'sCthulhu mythos.[12]

In April 2015, Cho posted on his website an image he had drawn on a sketch cover ofSpider-Gwenof that character on all fours, with her rear end pointing upward, which mirrored aSpider-Womancover byMilo Manarathat had caused a controversy the previous November.[13]The Cho image drew criticism fromSpider-GwenwriterRobbi Rodriguez,who, while expressing appreciation of Manara's work, feared that such an image might drive away prospective female readers. Sam Maggs ofThe Mary Suealso criticized Cho because the character Spider-Gwen is a teenager. Other artists likeJ. Scott CampbellandRob Liefelddefended Cho. Cho parodied the controversy by drawing the characterHarley Quinnin the same pose on a sketch cover of that character's series.[14][15]In April the following year, Cho revisited the controversy by illustrating the characterCammyin the same type of pose on the cover ofUdon Studios'Street Fighter Legends#1.[16]When asked if these controversies hurt his career, Cho replied that the publicity tripled the traffic on his website, increased attention given to him by convention organizers and convention attendees, and led to an increase in job offers.[17]

In February 2016, Marvel premieredTotally Awesome Hulk,a series written byGreg Pakand drawn by Cho which sees teenagerAmadeus Chobecome the newest incarnation of the Hulk. Cho drew the first four issues of the series, his final page of which represented the end of his 14-year exclusivity contract with Marvel. He was then hired by DC Comics to drawvariant coversof the first 24 issues ofWonder Womanas part of the company'sRebirthinitiative.[17]However, Cho quit the project in July following the completion of the sixth issue's cover, due to conflicts with series writerGreg Rucka,who objected to the sexualized manner in which Wonder Woman was depicted in Cho's illustrations.[18]

As of May 2016, Cho was writing and drawingSkybourneforBoom! Studios,a five-issue creator-owned miniseries that Cho describes as "a cross betweenHighlander,Game of Death,andCthulhu."The story focuses on a god trying to find the one weapon that can kill him, the mythical swordExcalibur,before it is found by others. At the time Cho was also writing and drawing another creator-owned book,World of Paynewith his co-creator,Tom Sniegoski,for Flesk Publications.World of Paynestars Lockwood Payne, a psychic private investigator, and modern day sorcerer from an ancient society of witches and wizards who with his urgent care expert friend Doctor Hurt, and the beautiful witch-in-training Michelle, find themselves embroiled in strange misadventures in the world of the occult.[17][19]Cho describes the book part prose novel and part comic, and "a cross betweenSherlock HolmesandHarry Potterwith a dash ofHellblazer."Skybourne#1 was published September 7,[20]whileWorld of Paynewas set to premiere in late 2016.[17]

Technique and materials

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Cho produces his artwork on Strathmore 300 Series Bristol Pad, which has avellumsurface. Topencil his artwork,Cho uses aPentelmechanical pencil with 0.7mmHB lead.To ink his work, he uses black Micron Pigma pens, sizes 01 and 08. For erasure, he uses both a Vanish eraser and akneaded eraser.[21]

Personal life

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Cho met his first wife, Cari Guthrie, when they served together on a student residence council at the University of Maryland. They were married in 1999. Their first child was born in 2001 and their second in 2004.[6]They lived inEllicott City, Maryland.[22]Cho and Cari separated in 2008 and divorced in 2009, after which Cho temporarily moved to a nearby apartment to be close to his two children, and began dating Mara Rose, a film major he first met when she cared for his kids.[23]

Cho identifies as a "life-long liberal Democrat and advocate for free speech and equal rights."[17][24]

Awards

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Nominations

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Bibliography

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Story and art

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DC

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  • Superman and Batman: World's Funnest,one-shot (among other artists) (2000)
  • The Many Worlds of Tesla Strong,one-shot (among other artists) (2003)

Marvel

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Other publishers

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  • University2(writer, artist; inThe Diamondback,University of Maryland1994–1995)
  • Liberty Meadows#1–26 (writer, artist; Insight Studios, 1999–2002)
  • Liberty Meadows#27–37 (writer, artist; Image Comics, 2002–2006)
  • Greyshirt: Indigo Sunset#6 (artist; America's Best Comics, 2001)
  • More Fund Comics:"Road to Home", graphic novel (writer, artist; Sky Dog Press, 2003)
  • Zombie King#0 (writer, artist; Image Comics, 2005)
  • 50 Girls 50#1–4 (co-writer, designer; Image, 2011)
  • Skybourne#1–5 (writer, artist; BOOM Studios, 2016–2018)
  • Fight Girls#1–5 (writer, artist; AWA/Upshot Studios, 2021)

Cover art

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Books

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  • University Squared: The Angry Years,Insight Studios Group, 1996 (author, artist)
  • Frank Cho Illustrator,Insight Studios, 2000 (author, artist)
  • Liberty Meadows, Big Book of Love,Insight Studios, 2001 (author, artist)
  • Liberty Meadows Book 1, Eden,Image, 2003 (author, artist)
  • Liberty Meadows Book 2, Creature Comforts,Image, 2003 (author, artist)
  • Liberty Meadows Book 3, Summer of Love,Image, 2004 (author, artist)
  • Liberty Meadows Book 4, Cold, Cold Heart,Image, 2005 (author, artist)
  • Women: Selected Drawings & Illustrations,Image, 2006 (author, artist)
  • Modern Masters Volume 14: Frank Cho,TwoMorrows Publishing, 2007
  • Jungle Queens Art Book,Brand Studio Press, 2008 (author, artist)
  • Mars Maidens Art Book,Brand Studio Press, 2008 (author, artist)
  • Apes and Babes Volume 1,Image, 2009 (author, artist)
  • Liberty Meadows Sundays Book 1,Image, 2012 (author, artist)
  • Women Book 2: Selected Drawings & Illustrations,Image, 2013 (author, artist)
  • Drawing Beautiful Women: The Frank Cho Method,Flesk Publications, 2014 (author, artist)
  • Frank Cho's Savage Wolverine, Artist Edition,IDW 2018 (author, artist)
  • Ballpoint Beauties,Flesk Publications, 2019 (author, artist)
  • Marvel Monograph: The Art of Frank Cho,Marvel, 2020 (artist)
  • The Art of Frank Cho: Twenty Year Retrospective,Flesk Publications, 2020 (author, artist)
  • Outrage, Book 1,Comic Sketch Art, 2021 (author, artist)
  • Outrage, Book 2: More Outrage,Comic Sketch Art, 2022 (author, artist)
  • What Child Is This?,HarperCollins, 2022 (artist)

References

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  1. ^abShin, Annys (August 29, 2010)."Personal Liberties: Comic book artist Frank Cho has made a career of being bawdy and bold".The Washington Post.p. 1.Archivedfrom the original on November 11, 2012.Retrieved2013-12-03.
  2. ^abcNolen-Weathington, Eric.Modern Masters Volume 14: Frank ChoTwoMorrows Publishing; 2007
  3. ^abcdShin, (2010).Page 2.
  4. ^abcdTobin, Suzanne (moderator) (January 4, 2002)."Comics: Meet the Artist: With Frank Cho".The Washington Post.RetrievedMay 28,2015.
  5. ^abcdeDaly, Sean (June 6, 1997)."Brandy, You're a Fine Girl".Washington City Paper.Archived fromthe originalon May 3, 2008.
  6. ^abcdShin (2010).Page 3.
  7. ^"About Frank Cho, the author"ArchivedAugust 10, 2015, at theWayback Machine.Apes and Babes: The Official Frank Cho Website. Retrieved September 29, 2015.
  8. ^Cho, Frank (January 8, 2012)."Frank Cho's First Professional Comic Work".Apes and Babes.
  9. ^McKenney, Craig (October 22, 1999)."Ignatz Under Fire: Cho Defends Self-Nomination".The Comics Journal.No. 217. pp.23–24. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-24.
  10. ^Carter, R. J. (January 1, 2002)."Interview: Frank Cho: Taking Liberties".The Trades.Archived fromthe originalon 2012-06-14.
  11. ^Cho, Frank."Shanna the She-Devil: uncensored MAX edition news".Apes and Babes. March 24, 2010
  12. ^Richards, Dave (November 5, 2012)."Frank Cho Unleashes A 'Savage Wolverine'".Comic Book Resources.
  13. ^Dockterman, Eliana (November 19, 2014)."Marvel Is Actually Going to Publish That Sexist Spider-Woman Cover".Time.
  14. ^Asselin, Janelle (April 15, 2015)."Outrage and Complacency: Responses to Frank Cho's Spider-Gwen Cover"Archived2016-11-14 at theWayback Machine.ComicsAlliance.
  15. ^Maggs, Sam (April 6, 2015)."Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should".The Mary Sue.
  16. ^Johnston, Rich (April 26, 2016)."Frank Cho Officially Homages Manara Spider-Woman Cover For Street-Fighter Comic".Bleeding Cool.
  17. ^abcdeJohnston, Rich(May 3, 2016)."Talking To Frank Cho, Man Of Outrage, About Attracting Women".Bleeding Cool.
  18. ^Johnston, Rich (July 14, 2016)."Frank Cho Walks Off Wonder Woman After Sixth Cover".Bleeding Cool.
  19. ^Johnston, Rich (February 29, 2016)."The Upcoming Choices Of Frank Cho".Bleeding Cool.
  20. ^Johnton, Rich (September 7, 2016)."Frank Cho's Skybourne #1 Is Out Today From Boom! – Here's All The Covers".Bleeding Cool.
  21. ^Cho, Frank (January 10, 2023)."Drawing Tools".Instagram.Archived from the original on January 10, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 10,2023.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  22. ^Cho, Frank (2002).Liberty Meadows Book 1: EdenImage Comics.
  23. ^Shin, Annys (August 29, 2010)."Personal Liberties: Comic book artist Frank Cho has made a career of being bawdy and bold".The Washington Post.p. 4.Archivedfrom the original on July 22, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 10,2023.
  24. ^"Tra Liberty Meadows e la censura: intervista a Frank Cho".Fumettologica.Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  25. ^Gardner, Alan (March 10, 2007)."ERIN RUSSELL WINS CHARLES M. SCHULZ AWARD FOR TOP COLLEGE CARTOONIST".The Daily Cartoonist. Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2007.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  26. ^abcdYergen, Debra (November 6, 2006)."Comic Creator Frank Cho Wins Top Spain Comic Convention Award: 30th Annual Asturias Convention Well Attended by Comic Creators and Fans".Cision PRWeb. Archived fromthe originalon October 18, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  27. ^Gardner, Alan (Apr 12, 2012)."Scripps Howard discontinues Charles Schulz Award".The Daily Cartoonist.1994 Duk Cho
  28. ^ab"Ignatz Awards (1997–1999)".The Comics Journal.c. 2000. Archived fromthe originalon May 13, 2012.
  29. ^ab"1999 Ignatz Award Recipients".Small Press Expo.Archived fromthe originalon August 10, 2011.
  30. ^ab"National Cartoonists Society Awards".Hahnlibrary.net.RetrievedMay 28,2015.
  31. ^abcdSpurgeon, Tom(November 7, 2006)."More 2006 Comics And Art Awards".The Comics Reporter.Archived fromthe originalon October 26, 2007.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  32. ^abMacDonald, Heidi(November 6, 2006)."Cartooners winning awards: Jean, Cho".Comics Beat.Archived fromthe originalon March 14, 2021.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  33. ^Gardner, Alan (March 15, 2008)."CHO WINS EAGLE AWARD FOR FAVORITE COMIC ARTIST".The Daily Cartoonist. Archived fromthe originalon October 1, 2020.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  34. ^Cavna, Michael (June 28, 2011)."Post's 'FRANK CHO'S WORLD' video wins regional Emmy".The Washington Post.Archived fromthe originalon May 13, 2015.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  35. ^"2011 Influential Marylanders".Daily Record.2011. Archived fromthe originalon March 14, 2021.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  36. ^MacDonald, Heidi(September 25, 2017)."The 2017 Ringo Award winners: March wins two".Comics Beat.Archived fromthe originalon December 26, 2017.RetrievedMarch 14,2021.
  37. ^"The 2023 Doylean Honorees".ACD Society. January 5, 2023.Archivedfrom the original on January 12, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 16,2023.
  38. ^"2000 Will Eisner Comic Industry Award Nominees and Winners".Hahnlibrary.net.RetrievedMay 28,2015.
  39. ^abc"2006 Harvey Award Nominees".Harvey Awards.Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2010.
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