Milkin’ Honey

Boy, does Frank Cho know how to milk his art for everything it’s worth or what? But if anyone’s going to milk his own art, it might as well be the guy best known for drawing breasts. I love the man’s art, and I readily admit that I purchase anything with his name attached, even if it’s just a hardcover reprinting previously published work, as is the case in the recently solicited Liberty Meadows: Cover Girl.

Just like Frank Cho Women: Selected Drawings and Illustrations, you won’t be finding anything in this new hardcover that you haven’t seen before. And that’s fine by me. I like the idea of being able to flip through his work without having to dig through my boxes of comics.

A couple of nights ago, I was doing just that, perusing Women while Stephanie updated the checkbook. She turned to me and asked what I was looking at. I held up the cover.

"Who’s Frank Cho?” she asked, genuinely interested.

“One of the best pinup artists in comics,” I said, studying another image of Dejah Thoris. “I like the way he draws women. They’re sexy, but they’re real.”

"Let me see,” she said, turning her chair around and reaching out her hands greedily. I handed the book to her but obviously wasn’t able to mask my hesitation. “Just give it to me. I won’t hurt it.”

With reluctance I let her take it and watched as she flipped through the pages, saying things like “Oooh, jungle girl.” It didn’t take long for her to notice one of Cho’s trademarks: big boobs.

“They’re huge,” she said.

“Yeah, but they’re real,” I countered, pointing out how they moved with the action instead of just standing perky and perfect like in most depictions of women found in comics.

“They’re huge,” she said again.

“But proportionate,” I said, pointing out that these women are larger than most comic heroines, with larger legs and arms and butts, too.

“Why do they have to be so big?” she asked. “I mean, you don’t see Spider-Man running around with a giant [expletive deleted].”

“But no one wants to see Spider-Man with a bunch of junk swinging through New York,” I said. “Everyone can appreciate an attractive woman.”

Or so it seems. If not, then Cho wouldn’t be able to sell his art over and over again in different formats. But as it is, there’s definitely a market. And I’m the first in line each time. As a matter of fact, I’ve already placed my order for Cover Girl. It just remains to be seen if this new book will keep me from buying back issues of Liberty Meadows…issues I’m collecting for the sole purpose of having those beautiful covers.