The continuing comic strip adventures of the denizens of Liberty Meadows, an animal sanctuary headed by Frank Mellish, a nebbish veterinarian who is in love with the beauteous Brandy Carter, animal psychiatrist. Here, Frank's attempts to get closer to Brandy are waylaid by the coldly manipulative Jen, Brandy's roommate, and Brandy's mother, who certainly does not see Frank as son-in-law material. The eventual result is that Brandy has accepted the marriage proposal of her handsomely arrogant ex-boyfriend, Neither Brandy or Frank are happy with this development, but both are too scared and emotionally incomplete to express their true feelings. Actually, the strip is often a good deal lighter and more slap-sticky than this implies. That's one flaw of the strip, sort of. It veers from pathos to physical humor with little in between. That's not what I get the books for, anyway. Frank Cho may be a mediocre comic strip writer, but his women characters are among the most drop-dead gorgeously drawn I have ever seen. ( )