Liberty Meadows Book One Eden by Frank Cho

 

From the Back Cover

Liberty Meadows is an animal sanctuary where the animals run the show! There's Leslie, the hypochondriac bullfrog, Ralph the midget circus bear, Dean the male chauvinist pig (who really is a pig), and the beautiful animal psychologist, Brandy, among others. Liberty Meadows is a bit Bloom County mixed with pop culture satire and sometimes (but never salacious) humor. It's life and love as usual in Liberty Meadows animal sanctuary, where anything and everything can happen. See how it all began in a new widescreen landscape format with completely remastered and uncensored comic strips.

About the Creator - Frank Cho 

Know more at -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Cho 

Frank Cho  is a Korean-American comic strip and comic book writer and illustrator, known for his series Liberty Meadows, as well as for books such as Shanna the She-Devil, Mighty Avengers and Hulk for Marvel Comics, and Jungle Girl for Dynamite Entertainment. Cho is noted for his figure drawing, precise lines, and depiction of well-endowed women. 

Liberty Meadows Book One Eden

I got my first exposure to Cho's handiwork in the superior "Jungle Girl" series which I have reviewed earlier in my blog which you can check out here https://sanjibsblogreads.blogspot.com/2022/06/hrefhttpswww.html

While going through his works I landed up with this book which brings together the syndication run strips on 1997-98 which places it about 25 years ago.

The name comes from the Liberty Meadows Animal Sanctuary where all the action happens and which houses a strange assortment of animals and the sanctuary looks and feels like a asylum for animals.

The storyline is wacky for lack of a better word and strangely grows on you. The start seems weak but as you progress you are pulled into their world and start identifying with the characters all of whom mirror people in society.

We have a duck called Truman who cannot fly, his favorite pal Oscar the dachshund who's a frequent guest in the sanctuary, a midget circus bear, a hypochondriac bullfrog with issues, a pig who's an addict and considers himself something of a ladies man, we also have a villainous cow, among others and we also have the human components led by Brandy the beautiful animal psychologist and Fran the nerdy vet, Julius the owner of the place who's constantly at loggerheads with Khan the catfish, Tony the accident prone maintenance person, etc.

There is a lot of slapstick and genuine laughs all around as the denizens play and spoof each other and Frank Cho gets in his ode's to popular culture motifs ranging from Xena to Star Wars. The laughs continuously hit the ceiling and we also see a seemingly one sided love story to book with our lovelorn and smitten vet constantly procrastinating about pronouncing his love or even asking the lady out.

The art work is great despite the predominant black and whites. Brandy as Frank's muse is gorgeous and her beauty is on display with all her varied expressions.

The book is a crazy laugh riot in its whole run and probably did not find enough takers when it ran as a syndication but reaches its potential as a comic book. The start and jitters on occasion makes this book sometimes an indifferent reading but never boring.

I recommend this book as a no holds barred comic relief sometimes bordering on the controversial especially with its animal character's opinion about life.

3 stars all the way.

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