Liberty Meadows Eden Summer, review

Before this I knew Frank Cho from his art featured in Spectrum Magazine. Those pieces were memorable enough for me to recall the name, ... I liked them but not enough to seek out more. Which I DID do, but it was because Liberty Meadows was included in a book titled "500 essential graphic novels " ... a compilation which I have come to prize for the good taste which it was put together. So I got it 1) to study this type of comic ( "strips" ) as I have been lately, and 2) because I knew the artist from spectrum and like the genre. I'm much more impressed by this comic strip than by anything else I've seen from Cho. Its not easy putting something together in this format: Funny animals where every four panel strip is a single comedic beat. Its hard to make that feel authentic. The audience has expectations. And second , the characters have been so thoughtfully designed. Though there may appear to be fewer lines in their construction , its clear the stroke of those lines was executed by the hand of an adept. And that gives them such a powerful sense of motion in these scenes crucial for the slapstick comedy that is so fundamental in this genre. The tone and pacing of these gags has been set with care to create the precise flavor Cho intended. This four panel comic strip is like a ship delicately crafted inside a bottle with precision tools. Liberty Meadows also wears its Bloom County influence on its sleeve, which I can respect because I love Bloom County . Now , I'm not laughing my ass off per se , but I am amused and delighted. Is it stunningly original ? No. But that's not the point - like a sonnet is not original, the execution is what is measured. And it is executed with decorum and grace.