Frank Cho is an American cartoonist, illustrator, and writer best known for his blend of expressive characters, detailed anatomy, and humorous storytelling. He began his career in the 1990s, creating the college strips Everything but the Kitchen Sink and University², the latter evolving into his most notable work, Liberty Meadows. Originally a syndicated comic strip, it gained a cult following for its mix of satire, pop culture references, and anthropomorphic characters. Frustrated with editorial censorship, Cho ended syndication in 2001 and continued publishing the strip in uncensored book form.
Cho’s early professional comic work included short stories for Penthouse Comix and cover art for various publishers. In 1999, he sparked controversy by nominating his own work for the Ignatz Awards while serving as a juror. Although criticized by peers, Cho defended his decision, later calling it a mistake he wouldn’t repeat. Despite the backlash, he won two Ignatz Awards that year for Outstanding Artist and Outstanding Comic.
Throughout the 2000s, Cho worked on major titles at Marvel, including Ultimate Spider-Man, Marvel Knights Spider-Man, and Mighty Avengers. His 2005 reboot of Shanna the She-Devil portrayed her as a powerful, genetically modified jungle warrior. Originally planned as a mature MAX title, the series was censored for general publication, though Cho indicated that an uncensored version was in the works.
Cho continued expanding his influence with work on New Avengers, Hulk, and X-Men: Schism. In 2013, he launched Savage Wolverine, a pulp-inspired series co-starring Shanna and Amadeus Cho, filled with Lovecraftian creatures and Indiana Jones–style adventure. He often worked on both writing and illustration, showcasing his ability to handle full creative control.
In 2015, Cho drew criticism for a sketch cover of Spider-Gwen in a provocative pose, a parody of a previously controversial Spider-Woman cover by Milo Manara. The image reignited debates about sexualization in comics, but Cho defended it as satire. He later repeated the pose with other characters like Harley Quinn and Cammy, stating that the controversy actually boosted his visibility and career.
By 2016, Cho co-created Totally Awesome Hulk, introducing Amadeus Cho as the new Hulk. His run concluded his 14-year exclusivity with Marvel. He briefly joined DC to illustrate Wonder Woman variant covers but exited after six issues due to disagreements with writer Greg Rucka over the portrayal of the character. That year, he also released Skybourne, a creator-owned fantasy action series about immortals and mythical weapons, and began work on World of Payne, a hybrid prose-comic occult detective story co-created with Tom Sniegoski.
Frank Cho was born near Seoul, South Korea in 1971 to Kyu Hyuk Cho and Bok Hee Cho. He has two brothers, Rino and Austin. The family moved to the United States when he was six in search of better economic opportunities. Cho was raised in Beltsville, Maryland.
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 a Greyhound Bus station at night. Because money was scarce, Cho, who describes his latchkey childhood as “rough”, was relegated to finding his own extracurricular entertainment. When Cho was ten, his older brother, Rino, brought some comic books home, 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. He found inspiration in Depression-era comics such as Prince Valiant and Li’l Abner, and in the work of artists such as Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Loomis, Al Williamson and Frank Frazetta.
After graduating from High Point High School in 1990, he attended Prince George’s Community College and was offered a scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, which he declined because he disliked the school’s academic focus. Cho’s parents were not particularly supportive of Cho’s interest in art, so he placated them by transferring to the University of Maryland School of Nursing, which he says was his parents’ idea. Cho graduated with a B.S. in Nursing in 1996.
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. They lived in Ellicott City, Maryland. 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.
Cho identifies as a “life-long liberal Democrat and advocate for free speech and equal rights.”
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