Above: A nice Sterankoesque two-page spread from New Avengers #14. Next Page Left: Ms. Marvel sporting one of the best costumes in comics. Next Page Right: Not only does Frank get his best buddy Mike McSwiggin’s name on the page from Marvel Knights Spider-Man #8, but he has Truman run out into the action. Not to worry though, Spidey saves him on the next page. Madame Hydra, Nick Fury, Spider-Man, Spider-Woman, Tigra, Venom, Wolverine ™ and ©2007 Marvel Characters, Inc. Truman ™ and ©2007 Frank Cho.
FRANK: No, I don’t recall. Spider-Woman is a visually fun character to draw, but beyond that I don’t have any nostalgic fondness for that character like Brian Bendis does. I did a big Spider-Woman pin-up for Wizard magazine, and Brian saw that and absolutely loved it. That’s how I got the New Avengers fill-in gig. He just wanted to see me draw Spider-Woman in my zaftig style. MM: Besides that big two-page spread, she wasn’t really in costume all that much. There isn’t a whole lot of action going on, there. FRANK: Right. I mean, there was some action on the operating table. Don’t forget the boob implants. [laughter] MM: You also snuck in a cameo of Jen in the office of the Daily Bugle. FRANK: Yeah. In every issue I draw, I try to sneak in a Liberty Meadows character, or 62
my best friend’s name, Mike McSwiggin. It’s kind of like Al Hirschfeld and Nina, he put the his niece’s name “Nina” in all of his illustrations. So that’s what I’m trying to do. My buddy Mike gets a big thrill out of it. MM: The next issue has a little more action with Ms. Marvel. I think the current Ms. Marvel costume is one of the best costumes in comics. What do you think of the costume? FRANK: I think it’s a beautiful costume. Is it Dave Cockrum’s design? MM: I think he came up with the original concept, but it’s been tweaked a bit over the years. FRANK: I think it’s one of the most iconic costumes in the Marvel Universe. If Marvel plays their cards right, I think Ms. Marvel can become the female icon character for