From the Beanworld Archives!

This drawing is dated 1993--and was created around the time of Beanworld #21. That issue sported a similar design for its cover. It might have even been a study for the cover--I seem to have left space up top for the logo. The drawing is 8 1/2" x 11" on a blue card stock. It's rendered with color markers and color pencils.

I'm Going To Be At Stumptown Comics Fest In April!

THIS JUST IN!

From the Stumptown Comics Fest home page:

The Stumptown Comics Fest is moving to Spring! Hot on the heels of our successful 2007 show, the Stumptown Comics Fest organizers are moving the 2008 show to the early spring months. The date for this Fifth Annual Stumptown Comics Fest is set for April 26th & 27th, and we will be returning to the Lloyd Center Doubletree Hotel for our second year.

We are also pleased to announce several Special Guests for the 2008 Fest, including:

Nicholas Gurewitch, The Perry Bible Fellowship
Larry Marder, Tales of the Beanworld
Craig Thompson, Blankets, Good-bye Chunky Rice
Raina Telgemeier, The Babysitters Club
Dave Roman, Astronaut Elementary, Agnes Quill
Derek Kirk Kim, Good As Lily

Additional Guests will be announced in the coming weeks, and registration forms for exhibitors will be posted by January first. We'll also be posting links to other comics-related events going on in Portland leading up to the 2008 Fest, including parties and gallery shows around town.
See you all in April!

I'm already working on a few special things for this--I'll keep everyone informed as details develop!

Merry Christmas From The Beanworld!

Vintage Dutch Advertising Graphics!

Once again, Peacay @ BibliOdyssey has posted some striking advertising materials that I recommend taking a moment for a look-see. The post is "Dutch Advertising Graphics" and quite a few of the pieces on display reflect my taste in typography, iconography and vintage graphic design in general--like the Ranja en Rojo example up above.

I also like Pope Globes and Jago Shawls but all of the pieces are excellent and worth checking out.

Do YOU Remember Beanworld Action Figures?

I'm preparing a "History of the Beanworld Action Figure" and I can use your assistance.
If you have a tale about your first encounter with a Beanworld Action Figure --I'd really like to hear it.

Also, I keep hearing that many of you still have ancient Beanworld Action Figures in your possession.

Can this possibly be true?

Send any stories, memories, or anecdotes you're willing to share with the Beanworld Community to: larrymarder@gmail.com.

I'm going to post right after the New Year.

More From The Beanworld Archives!

Ink and colored pencil on cheap 8 1/2" x 11" photocopy paper.

This drawing is from the late '70's while I was still struggling with finding the right aesthetic for Beanworld. I made a lot of drawings using rapidograph and Prismacolor pencils. This is a rather typical piece from that time. The paper hasn't aged particularly well, that is if one desires a crisp white color under the pencils. However, because the drawing has been kept in a cool, dry place for the last thirty some years--the paper has a very subtle peachy cast to it that really brings out the shading of the pencils.

My wife, Cory, displaying the actual drawing.

A Timely Tuesday Tantalizing Teaser!

Another layout drawing!

Looks like Professor Garbanzo might have overslept.
Or perhaps Mr. Spook is an early riser this morning.

And don't forget:
Tomorrow night I'll be making an appearance
@ Golden Apple in Los Angeles
@ the CBLDF Holiday Appreciation Party.

Four Beanworld Orphan Drawings Up For Auction!

These are matted drawings that I created exclusively
for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund
over the past several years.

Each drawing is 2 3/4" x 4 1/2" in a 5" x 7" colored mat.

Happy Dancing Bean!

Bean and Pod'l'pool Cutie Practicing Balance!

Mr Spook and Mystery Pods!

Professor Garbanzo Gone Over The Legendary Edge!

The funds raised in this auction help support the First Amendment legal work the CBLDF performs on behalf of the comics community. Proceeds from this auction will directly benefit the ongoing defense of Gordon Lee in Rome, GA. There are lots of other great things up for auction too--check 'em all out here.

My Favorite Christmas Commercial!

I always got a big charge out of this Norelco commercial showcasing a jolly ol' Santa sledding down the hills, and then launching into the air--showcasing the triple shaving heads. The jingle-bell-y music perfectly meshes with the simple storytelling.

I suppose the point of this ad was to get us kids to buy this razor for Dad or Grandpa.

I always laughed at the lame pun "Noelco. Even our name says 'Merry Christmas.'"

I figure the ad tracked quite well because they ran it for many, many years.

This Week's Teaser Is Tardy!

Sorry about the delay.

I was on the road looking into some tantalizing opportunities that I can't talk about yet!

The drawing above will be part of the same piece as the drawing below.
It will be in an issue of Comic Book Artist.
Not sure which issue and I'm not sure when it will hit the stands.

As soon as they let me know--I'll pass it right along.

But it is part of the piece that was a teaser back in October.

Oh....and thanks so much to everyone who bid on the Beanworld Action Figure Frame for the CBLDF.

And extra special thanks to the winning bidder. I appreciate it and so does the Fund.

I'm told that some Beanworld Orphans will be going up maybe this weekend. I'll let'cha know that too.

Also, speaking of the Fund....I'll be participating in the Los Angeles Holiday Appreciation Party.

Wednesday, December 19, the party moves to Los Angeles, CA at Golden Apple Comics, where Percy "MF Grimm" Carey, Marc Andreyko, Larry Marder, and more will be on hand to sign autographs and create sketches to benefit the CBLDF. The event will also boast door prizes, a special gift bag for the first 50 card carrying or new members, plus 10% off purchases made during the party by current or new CBLDF members, with Golden Apple matching those purchases with a 10% donation to the Fund! The Golden Apple party will begin at 6:00 PM and end at 9:00 PM

The Latest Beanworld Fan Art!

Caelyn--age 8

Sari--age 6

My ol' pal, and fellow comics creator, Rantz Hoseley's daughters recently gave Beanworld a try.
I got the following note from Rantz over the weekend:

So the daughters are buried in the land of Beanworld and loving it.
I came home last night whereupon they presented me with the following drawings and that I had to send them to you.

So I'm thinking that maybe they liked it! Thanks, Sari and Caelyn! Cory and I have always loved receiving fan mail from Beanworld's youngest fans the very best.

A Holiday Tradition!

It's the holiday season and with it comes a plethora of holiday rituals, superstitions, and traditions.

Chicagoland's local television giant, WGN, had three great Christmas animation shorts that they ran continuously from Thanksgiving through the season.

Every kid that grew up in the area in the 60s and 70s has the content of these shorts seared into their memory.

The most powerful was this one--The Three Little Dwarves.

If you grew up in that part of the midwest, in that time frame, you can go up to virtually anyone and sing "I'm Hardrock. I'm Coco." And it is almost impossible that the other person won't respond by singing "I'm Joe" in the deepest bass voice they can muster.

Teachers used to be totally stymied with all the "I'm Joe" laughter that would roll around with every season.

Once Christmas vacation was over, the animation went back in the film library and out of one's daily thought process. But every year, the film would reappear to every kid's delight.

I have found that if you didn't grow up in the midwest and have access to WGN, there is a good chance you've never seen (or even heard of) this bizarre holiday classic.

The animation is quirky, jerky and the puppets look , well, weird, particularly Santa.

But it is the season and so it is time to watch Hardrock, Coco, and Joe.

If It's Teasesday--Then It Must Be Tantalizing!

Another pencil breakdown featuring Mr. Spook and Professor Garbanzo
having a bit of a debate about the late, great Goofy Service Jerks.

The Secret Origin of the Chowdown Pool!

A couple of weeks ago jja asked me if the inspiration for the Chowdown Pool had been based on bean dip.


I answered that it wasn't and that I'd get around to revealing a bit about how the Chowdown Pool evolved into its existence.

There were two influences--the more famous and well known would be the wonderful m&m ads that ran when I was a kid.

The one I found on YouTube has a bit of a silly Tarzan theme but the animation in the middle was most definitely a big springboard for my imagination about how the Beans found nourishment.

For a long, long time every m&m commercial featured the dipping in the pool of chocolate followed by the shower of candy coating. This imagery definitely stuck in my mind and tumbled out as the Chowdown Pool much later.

The second, and far less famous influence, was the Ross Root Feeder. I worked on this account for close to a decade working on package design and print ads.

The Ross Root Feeder was a perforated spike that had a reservoir that you put plant food into and attached to a garden hose. The theory was that the nutrients and trace minerals would seep out of the spike and feed the tree's deep roots. The product still exists after 60 years so I'm pretty sure it actually worked quite well.

But did you catch the phrase that I just used?
"Nutrients and trace minerals." I can't begin to tell you how many times I had to lay out or keyline stuff that included that phrase.

In the late '70s/early '80s I drew a storyboard for a potential television commercial that showed dancing, happy, sparkling nutrients and trace minerals going from the device, into the roots of the tree and and up into the healthy shimmering leaves.

The client hated it.
As far as I know that artwork is completely lost.
But I took some of the ideas from those storyboards and incorporated them into the emerging Beanworld.

And now you know!

CBLDF Holiday Auction Is Up & Running!

Here is the information I promised!

You can bid on the Beanworld Action Figure Frame with illustration at the CBLDF Auction Site.

Also...there are lots of other really good works of at up for auction there too!

Crazy People 1932

Crazy People 1932
Video sent by sirarnold

Still no word on the CBLDF Auction but as soon as I hear...you'll be the first to know!

In the meanwhile, I'm in the mood to share a Boswell Sister clip. This is the Bozzies at the peak of their act.

Connee on the left, Vet in the middle, and Martha on the right playing the piano.

Although they were trained as classical musicians, while growing up in New Orleans in the early 1920's in New Orleans, they were drawn under the influence of the Jazz sounds emerging all around them. "The call of the beat got us." said Connee.

I'll say.

Zoe's Beanish

Zoe drew this for me last summer at Comic-Con and I just found it.

Thanks, Zoe!

Tuesday's Tantalizing Teaser Time!

Our friends at the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund are launching
their Annual Year End Fund Raising auction this week
and I created this piece for it.

Beanworld Action Figure Frame!

It's 7 1/2" x 7 1/2" x 1"
and can be displayed on a table top with its easel stand or hung on the wall.

The matte black frame is decorated with:
2 colors of handcrafted polymer clay Beanworld Action Figures
5 colors of handcrafted colored Chow dots.

The drawing inside the frame is 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"
on light tan Strathmore Series 500 paper
100% cotton fiber paper with traditional laid pattern finish
Colored pencils and marker

Also, a nice selection of Beanworld Orphan drawings will be auctioned. This is the first time that these drawings have been made available to the public without attending a comic book show.

For those of you have been longing for an opportunity to "adopt" one of these drawings--this will be your chance.

The CBLDF has had a financially challenging year in a large part due to the Gordon Lee case in Georgia. This is a heavy duty first amendment battle and CBLDF needs your help in this ongoing struggle.

I've donated some of the fruits of my time and energy and I hope you will do the same by bidding on my drawings and/or the artwork of the other creators who have generously donated art and artifacts to this very worthy cause. I'm proud to join folks like Frank Miller, Jeff Smith, Brian K Vaughan, Brad Meltzer, Robert Kirkman, Mike Mignola, Matt Wagner, Jack Davis,Terry Moore, Frank Cho, and many more in assisting the CBLDF in these challenging times.

As soon CBLDF sends me the details as to when and where-online-to-go-to-bid--I'll pass it along to you immediately!

The Peanut Vendor!

Or how I stumbled across Len Lye!

The other night I was drawing while listening to my favorite online music stream Radio Dismuke. One of the songs that floated by was a snappy rumba tune that I knew I'd heard a gazillion times but was unsure of what the song actually was. It turned out to be The Peanut Vendor (El Manisero) by Debroy Somers And His Band. That sent me immediately to Google to learn more about the song and the artists who performed it.

In my search however...I came across this film clip from 1933. The person who posted it tagged it as "the creepiest puppet film ever made." I'm not sure THAT is true--even though it IS a bit ragged.

The artist who created this wonderful amalgamation of music and puppetry was a fellow named Len Lye--who quite frankly I don't recall hearing anything about in the past. But he is clearly a significant personage in the history of both film art and painting. His original theories regarding art were encapsulated in his philosophy of INH: Individual Happiness Now

"The three words that make up Individual Happiness Now! represent positive, interconnected values that Len Lye believed could form the basis of a human society transcending nationalism, political ideology and religious difference. This exhibition weaves four decades of Lye's work around this theory of art, life, and happiness," wrote Tyler Cann curator of the Len Lye collection, Tyler Cann.

Sure sounds like someone worth following up on!
Any of you folks know anything more about this seemingly fine fellow?
Stumbling across something like this while looking for something else--this is definitely one of my favorite activities on the Internet!

It's Official--Chia Season Opens!

Yes, my friends, once again it is that curious season of the Chia Pet. Between now and the dawn of the new year, the nations airwaves will be flooded with seemingly endless commercials for America's favorite bizarre Holiday Gift--the Chia Pet and it's unique Chia cousins.

This year, Garfield and the characters from Scooby Doo will be joining the regular cast of pottery farm animals! Unfortunately, another year will have to pass without the Amazing Chia Beanworld Action Figure.

Well...there is always next year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hey, Kids! It's Time For Tuesday's Tanatalizing Teaser!

A mystery slice...of what?

Mr Whipple--Squeezin' The Charmin In The Big Grocery Aisle In The Sky.

Charles Brownstein just wrote to tell me that Dick Wilson, the actor/pitchman who portrayed Mr. Whipple for Charmin passed away.

I have no doubt whatsoever that the media will be all over this one. Mr. Whipple was one very well known advertising icon. At one time, eight out of every 10 Americans could identify who Mr. Whipple was. In fact, in 1978, Mr. Whipple was named the third best-known American—just behind former President Nixon and Billy Graham. He edged out both then-President Carter AND Ronald McDonald--that's some serious presence!

Charmin actually was a superior product. First introduced in 1928 by the Hoberg Paper Company of Green Bay WI, Charmin was marketed to women by emphasizing its softness. The familiar four roll package was launched in 1932. In the 1950's, Charmin added photography of ladies and babies onto the packaging along with the slogan "Charmin babies your skin." In 1957, Proctor & Gamble purchased the brand. Later, P&G added a scent to the product making it the first nationally distributed perfumed toilet tissue.

In 1964, P&G rolled out its first of reportedly 504 Mr. Whipple ad spots. Mr. Whipple represented Charmin for over 20 years. Every ad was essentially the same in a Krazy Kat-ish sort of way. Mr. Whipple steadfastly patrolled the aisles of his store to prevent housewives from squeezing the packages of Charmin bathroom tissue. He had the determination of Offisa Pup but the compulsive behavior of Ignatz Mouse. He could not resist the temptations of breaking the rules and succumbing to forbidden behavior. By the end of the commercial--Mr. Whipple would always be caught sheepishly squeezing a package of Charmin with the same look on his face as Krazy Kat would have right after taking a brick to the head.

But the message was clear. Charmin is soft. And it smells good.

Harold J. Berman And The Joy Of Reading The Newspaper.

More than a year ago, when he was still anchoring the CBS Evening News, Bob Schieiffer broadcast a segment called "A Case For Newspapers." In that opinion piece. Mr. Sheiffer quotes Jill Abramson, of The New York Times, who observed that folks tend to go to the Internet in search for specific information. "But the joy of reading a newspaper comes from finding information we weren't looking for."

I greatly enjoy reading a newspaper every day for the reasons extolled by Mr. Schieiffer and Ms. Abramson. And I had one of those occurrences today.

Until this morning, I'd never heard of Harold J. Berman. Then I saw the headline to his obituary in the New York Times: "Harold J. Berman, 89, Who Altered Beliefs About Origins of Western Law, Dies."

Altered beliefs about the origins of Western law, huh?

Well, I had to read that alright. And if you click through on the link above you will see that he indeed had an illustrious career. Clearly a great man had passed away.

Often in any business, but particularly the comic book business, we stumble over issues pertaining to the law. Sometimes we find ourselves wondering--what KIND of legal problem are we actually looking at. The following little primer that was printed in Mr. Berman's obituary is a wonderfully concise ditty that really packs a powerful punch in the simplicity of its analysis.

“A child says, ‘It’s my toy.’
That’s property law,”

“A child says, ‘You promised me.’
That’s contract law."

"A child says, ‘He hit me first.’
That’s criminal law."

"A child says, ‘Daddy said I could.’
That’s constitutional law.”

To paraphrase Bob Schieiffer, I won't quickly forget who Mr. Berman was after reading that gem of wisdom.

Dude...That's So Cosmic, Like, Uh, Y'know??

While I was looking for something else...I came across "No Magic At All"--a very amusing demonstration video of the most peculiar properties of a Mobius strip. Thought I'd share it.

BozoDogMutation!

FROM OUT OF THE BEANWORLD ARCHIVES!

This is a very Chicago-centric drawing.

At the top of every broadcast of Bozo's Circus, Ringmaster Ned would proclaim:
"Give me a loud answer to this question.
Who's your favorite clown?"

And the kids would squeal "Bozoooooo!"

And Bozo would inevitably respond with:
"That's meeeeeeeeeee!"
And that meant that Bozo's Circus was on the air.

Bozo's Circus was a Chicagoland institution. It ran on WGN for something like 40 years and went through a lot of incarnations.
I was there from the get-go.
I grew up in an idylic 50's suburban environment where we all went home from school every day for lunch.
That meant we could watch Lunchtime Little Theater featuring Aunt Dody, Uncle Ned, and Uncle Bucky.
In my neighborhood there was little doubt who the star of the noontime broadcast was--we called the show "Uncle Bucky.

After Lunchtime Little Theater went off the air it was eventually replaced by Bozo's Circus. The former Uncle Ned, was now Ringmaster Ned and he was the only sane and stable character in the entire circus. Ned Locke Bozo was portrayed for over 20 years by the incredible Bob Bell. As any Google search will reveal--there were many actors who portrayed Bozo the Clown over the years, but by virtually all accounts, none of them could hold a candle to Bob Bell.

Bell commented upon his retirement,
"I was always somewhat calloused about broadcasting, but this Circus is the doggonedest phenomenon I have ever seen. There's always the satisfaction that you have done something for somebody that goes beyond the commercial aspects of the show. I love my work and enjoy making children laugh. Laughter cannot be imitated. It comes from the heart."

He was replaced with a new Bozo, the citizens of Chicgo got quite upset.
Bozo's Circus was never quite the same.

Anyway, this drawing is from the late 70's. As I recall, there had been an announcement in ADWEEK of an new product--BozoDogs. I haven't a clue if the product ever actually managed to grace grocery shelves. But I do remember drawing this almost immediately after reading the article. I particularly enjoy the drip of coffee right above the letters "UTA."

And I was most certainly was waxing nostalgic about THIS!

Mickey Mouse Once Sold Super Hard Gloss-Glo Coat!

You gotta see this clip! It's the original opening sequence from the hour long Mickey Mouse Club. If your experience with the Mickey Mouse Club was from the syndicated half hour reruns and whatever they might show on the Disney Channel--this is going to be an eye-opener.

It is really long--and features a highly stylized sequence that is very much like the Disney animation of the 50s--stuff like "Toot, Whistle, Plunk, and Boom." --a very "moderne" style.

Even though I clearly remember the first broadcast of Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, at the age of four, I really don't remember this intro at all. But it does answer one of the silly little questions I've been wondering about for many a moon.

When all the characters are tossing Mickey in the air--why are there four bears hanging onto the far end of the hoop?

Even in those days Disney had a stable of hundreds of characters--the presence of four bunched up bears always sort of mystified me. Well, now I have my answer. They are part of a continuity of a parade of bears that was more or less edited out when the show was repackaged with an abridged intro.

As you will see, Mickey Mouse Club, in the business model of 1950's television was sponsored by Johnson's Wax. Think about that--a show intended for post-war baby boom children sponsored by a floor wax. Guess it's safe to say, that everyone agreed that children were not watching television with out homemakers also in the room chaperoning.

The bouncy musical commercial interlude for Super Hard Gloss-Glo Coat seems like it would bore a kid to death. It features three young mothers rhapsodizing about the time and effort saved using this miracle product. More time to dress up in hat and gloves and perambulate the little ones around the neighborhood.

The headquarters for the Johnson's Company in Racine, WI were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. One of the most progressive work spaces in the world at that time.

Yet, look at the product itself.
Looks like a can of turpentine!
The packaging revolution was still lurking very much in the future, wasn't it?

Yes! Yes! It's Tantalizing Teaser Tuesday Again!

Run! Run!
Corn Critter
on the LOOSE!

Rice-A-Roni--The San Francisco Treat!

Vincent M. DeDomenico Sr., one of the co-creators of Rice-A-Roni passed away last month at the age of 92. Mr. DeDomenico was a brilliant marketer who was the driving force behind three rather significant contributions to American culture.

First and foremost, he brought Rice-A-Roni, an easy to prepare side dish to the American dinner table. Introduced regionally in 1958, Rice-A-Roni concluded its national roll-out during the Kennedy era. The dish is a simple one--a combination of rice, vermicelli, and a chicken soup stock. The marketing of Rice-A-Roni transformed a sleepy little family business, Golden Grain Macaroni Company into a prepared food powerhouse that was purchased by Quaker Oats in 1986 for $275 million dollars.

One of the brands that made Golden Grain so desirable was the second contribution Mr. DeDomenico made to the American palate was in 1964 when he purchased Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, founded in 1852 by Domingo Ghirardelli. Under Mr. DeDomenico's guidance Ghirardelli Chocolate went from being a local delicacy to a world-class brand.

His third contribution was a more modest effort. In 1987, Mr. DeDomenico purchased 21 miles of Southern Pacific Railroad track in the Napa Valley. He then restored and refurbished vintage Pullman cars. He started a business known as the Napa Valley Wine Train. It features fine dining on the way to Napa Valley wineries. Although the Wine Train was a controversial entity with the local population, the American public loved it. Cory and I have been on it and it is a lot of fun--but I'm biased, I love luxury rail travel.

So, yeah, Vincent M. DeDomenico Sr's efforts definitely made an impression on post-war America. And, I think in the end, what he will be remembered for above all else is his insistence that Rice-A-Roni be advertised by a strong jingle.

Jingles had been the foundation of American advertising since the mid-19th century. Even before music was twined to it, jingles in the form of catchy printed rhymes were all pervasive in American life. With the establishment of radio and NBC's curious policy of forbidding direct selling to the consumer--the radio jingle flourished. It was argued at the time, that product jingles were more in the category of product theme songs as opposed to hard, direct selling.
Uh huh.
Suuuure.

With the introduction of television, jingles linked up with visual imagery. The Golden Age of TV ad jingles was the 1950's and it was at the tail end of that decade that Mr. DeDomenico's new product Rice-A-Roni was launched in American supermarkets.

Mr. DeDomenico's daughter said her father insisted that his new product be driven by a strong jingle. "He said if there is a jingle, people will say it over and over in their heads," she recalled.

And what a jingle it was.
Check out these vintage commercials:

Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco Treat
Rice-A-Roni, the flavor can't be beat
One pan, no boiling, cooking ease
A Flavor that is sure to please
Rice-A-Roni, the San Francisco treat!
(Ding, Ding)

In five simple lines, the idea is conveyed that Rice-A-Roni is some sort of regional delicacy.
(It was not.)
Rice-A-Roni has a unique new taste.
(It did.)
Rice-A-Roni promises to be far easier to prepare than either rice or macaroni.
(It was.)
And then top it off with the novelty of a ringing street car bell!

Finally, the announcer in a voice over delivers the killing blow:
"Rice-A-Roni, the delicious break from potatoes!"

Did it work?
We know the answer to that.

Whether or not you personally like the product or not--one must acknowledge how incredibly intertwined San Francisco cable cars and Rice-A-Roni are in the American popular culture.
I can think of no higher tribute to Mr. DeDomenico's marketing skills than this his video clip I found on YouTube.

From Out Of The Beanworld Archives!

This shaped drawing appears to be from from the late '70s.
I can guess its time frame from the appearance of the Beans and the floating triangles--they were not yet called Chips.
It was drawn in rapidograph, colored markers and pencils and was mounted on inexpensive red construction paper that has a nick in the upper left corner. The rocky ground is definitely suggestive of Ben Grimm. I'm pretty sure this drawing was up in my studio for a while because the red paper is quite faded.
I had totally forgotten this drawing until I found it. I can see that I was getting closer to what-Beanworld-would-someday-become.

Strummin' On A Bass Banjo!

Several posts back, I mentioned my fascination with the bass harmonica.
But a bass harmonica doesn't hold a candle to the bass banjo in this bit of vintage film.
I can't say that I'm familiar with the Duke Davis Banjo Band, but this footage knocked me right over.
It's divided up into four parts.
The first two segments feature the World's Biggest Banjo and it's pretty clear that no one in the band knows what to make of it. The banjo strummers in the background look like they're going to crack up any moment.
The third segment features two banjo players who seem to want to look a lot like Harold Lloyd. Watch the Harold on the left as he 's tryng to figure out what the one on the right is doing. They definitely get lost a few times. And then the Harold on the right starts bobbing his head and the song sort of frizzles out like they had no idea where to find the brakes on this runaway train.
The fourth, final and b far my favorite segment features some mighty fine plank dancing accompanied by a slew of fiddles and banjos.
Where in the world has this stuff been hiding all these years?

Can It Be? Is It Tantalizing Teaser Tuesday Again Already?

Sure is!

If you ever had the opportunity to read the rare 1999 ashcan
Professor Garbanzo's Joy Ride
then you know what this teaser might be about!

Some Thoughts About The Mistrial in Georgia

So, the Gordon Lee case ran off the rails almost immediately--resulting in a mistrial. The DA has announced he intends to try again. All of that means that the legal bills will continue to mount.
Fast.
The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund will continue to focus on this case well into the next year.

As I'm sure most of you know by now, Beanworld has been active (in its modest way) helping raise funds for CBLDF with my Beanworld Orphans. I will continue to create drawing and other art objects for CBLDF to utilize to raise funds for the defense of this trail.

The recent developments in Georgia have been just jaw-droppingly astounding to me. But I learned a long time ago, you can never really anticipate anything when you enter into a judge's courtroom.

Jeff Smith has penned an eloquent open letter to the comic book community at large and I urge you to click on the link and read it--if you haven't already read it on another site or blog.

When you get towards the end of the letter you will find my name listed along with some of the biggest names in comics:

To build up support for Gordon's trial, for a limited
time, the Fund is offering premiums previously only available at
conventions.
Signed graphic novels, comics and exclusive CBLDF prints
by creators such as Frank Miller, Jeff Smith, Brian K Vaughan, Brad Meltzer,
Robert Kirkman, Mike Mignola, Matt Wagner, Jack Davis,
Larry Marder, Terry Moore, Frank Cho and many more are available at various
donation levels.
If your premium donation exceeds $50, you will receive free
shipping on your order until December 15, just in time for the perfect gift for
that special comic fan in everyone's life. Visit www.cbldf.com to see all of what's
available.

I will keep you all up-to-date regarding my participation in this program as more information becomes available.

Vintage Japanese Toy Illustrations!

The Grandmaster of BibliOdyssey, Peacay, has done it again! This amazing post features illustrations of Japanese toy designs from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the twentieth.
As someone who has spent an inordinate amount of time over the last few years contemplating the philosophy of toy making--I found these drawings to be quite informative. As Peacay observes, there seems to be a minimum amount of western influence evident in these toys. But I can certainly see how the tide of inspiration began to flow from east to west as the century progressed.

Shakin' In My New Studio!

It's been a crazy couple of days. I'm set up and working in my new studio in California. Just not sure which pages, drawings, relics, and artifacts to put up on these walls. I'm having fun deciding though. I have a lot more wall space here than I had in my studio room in Phoenix and I'm gonna use every single inch of it. As soon as I have stuff up, I'll give you a few peeks!
Meanwhle, I'm wrapping up the project I hinted at in the last post. As I'm working on it--I've been listening to a lot of Howlin' Wolf. This filmed performance of "Shake It For Me" from 1964 captures Wolf at his peak of his career.
Am I dancing around my studio today?
You bet'cha!

Hey Kids It's Time For Today's Tuesday Tantalizing Teaser!

This drawing isn't from the next Beanworld story.
Nope.
It's a snippet of a frame from the piece I mentioned yesterday.
(In the finished piece it's only about an inch tall)
However, this drawing sorta describes my current state of mind.
Today I'm sorting through eight years of memories and possessions.
What to keep?
What to discard?
Decisions, decisions!

Mama Don't 'Low!

I'm in Phoenix, AZ packing up stuff to get back to CA asap including my big art table which has always been my preferred surface to work upon. Plus, I'm on a bit of a tight deadline (details later) and I'm flipping today between packing and drawing. To keep my motor running, I've been playing this vintage clip from Roy Acuff's Open House over and over again.
I love jug band music and "Mama Don't 'Low" may be my favorite jug band song--that's probably because when I was a guitar player in a jug band (gulp!) 40 years ago...this was the song we opened with and it is guaranteed to get a crowd revved up.
What a great little spot this is.
Robert Lunn on washboard and Bashful Brother Oswald plays a humorous jug.
I'm a sucker for harmonica quartets.
The entire concept of a bass harmonica has always cracked me up.
Jimmy Riddle's "eeeeph" singing at the end is a great example of a form of country scat singing.
Enjoy...I gotta get back to packing and drawing!

Bob Wills--Goodbye Liza Jane

One minute and forty seconds of vintage western swing.
I can never get enough Bob Wills and his Texas playboys!

Anacin Offers Fast! Fast! Fast! Relief!

Oh how well I remember these wacky Anacin commercials from the '60's.

Click on the link and take a look-see.

I think it was mostly because I found the animation inside the three little boxes so seductive.

Or more likely, I found the parodies of the three little boxes in places like Mad magazine so incredibly funny.

Rosser Reeves of the Ted Bates ad agency was responsible for this campaign. It followed his theories about how to create effective advertising. Reeves called it USP (Unique Selling Proposition) and it was very a very effective sales method in post-WWII America.

USP roughly translated into:
"Hey! Buy my product and you will get this whiz-bang benefit from it!"

USP had three basic rules:

1. All advertisements must make a single pitch to the consumer.

2. This pitch has to be one that the competition doesn't make, or even better, can't make.

3. The pitch has to be so overwhelmingly powerful and convincing that it persuades millions of potential consumers that this pitch is absolutely true.

In the case of Anacin, USP was simple: "Fast relief from headaches, neuralgia, and neuritis."

Now I am not too sure how many people in post-war America were actually diagnosed with neuralgia or neuritis, but if they were frightened that they might be, they knew what the sure-fire cure was: Anacin!

When the commercial begins, watch the photos in the background as official-type buildings fleetingly flicker on and off screen.
And the claim that "Three out of four doctors recommend the ingredients in Anacin" was a dodgy way of saying "Three out of four doctors recommend aspirin."

This commercial is pretty straightforward, with the narrator sounding imperious and looking straight at the camera.
We aren't really quite sure who this guy is but he seems to be an important sorta guy.
I'm so amused when he points at something that looks amazingly like a doctor's prescription pad and says "Anacin is like a doctor's prescription. A combination of ingredients."

As it turns out the most prominent ingredient in Anacin after aspirin was about as much caffeine as in a cup of coffee.

Many other Anacin commercials had little psycho-dramas as a lead in...stuff like noisy kids playing loud and making mom mad until she yells at the tykes and then is filled with shame and remorse.

"Don't worry Mom! Anacin will fix that right up! Three out of four doctors say so!"

At the time, most American consumers polled stated that they intensely disliked the Anacin television ads, however, sales shot up after the campaign was introduced. Versions of these ads played over the media for a long, long time.

Reeves' USP principle was also behind other memorable slogans such as:
Wonder Bread helps build strong bodies in eight ways.
M&M's melt in your mouth, not in your hands.
Colgate cleans your breath while it cleans your teeth.
How do you spell relief? R-O-L-A-I-D-S.

I've been affiliated with the creation of several USP driven campaigns over the last thirty years; particularly when I was active in veterinary pharmaceutical advertising.

I've never really been a devotee of the Rosser Reeves school of thought.

I am an advocate of the Chicago school of advertising as it was developed by Leo Burnett.

I'll be writing a piece about him and his theory of the Big Black Pencil sometime soon.

Sara and Maybelle Rock The Cannonball Blues!

A strange bit of synchronicity occurred last night. I finished reading the excellent Carter Family biography "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone" only to discover that yesterday happened to be the 29th anniversary of Maybelle Carter's passing.

I don't think it is much of a secret to regular readers of this blog that I have nothing but the greatest admiration for the Original Carter Family in general and Maybelle Carter in particular.

So in honor of the memory of Mother Maybelle, I'm posting this incredible clip of Maybelle and her cousin/sister-in-law, Sara Carter playing what appears to be an impromptu version of "Cannonball Blues" outside on some breezy summer day.

It's probably from 1966, the year that Johnny Cash, Maybelle's son-in-law, convinced his record company to record a Sara and Maybelle record called "Historic Reunion." They spent the summer touring and even performed at the Newport Folk Festival, allowing them to reclaim their rightful place in the history of folk music after having been absorbed into country music since the early '50s.

It's an amazing clip. The song itself, is generally attributed to AP Carter and Lesley "Esley" Riddle. It seems to have been one of the songs they found on their legendary song collecting expeditions through the rural south.

Even though the sound quality is a bit off, you can hear Maybelle's guitar picking in the style that became known as the "Carter Scratch"--making the guitar the lead instrument by playing rhythm and melody at the same time. Previously in mountain music, the lead melodies were generally carried by by fiddles. The best fiddlers were the kings southern mountain music. Maybelle's picking on Carter Family recordings were perceived as something new and extraordinary. In her humble way, she just called it "the old thumb and finger style."

In the clip, Sara thumps along on her autoharp and as in the old days sings the lead. It's impossible for me to not tap my foot and bob my head listening to this minute and half of historic music.

When you hear a highly rhythmic song like this one--it doesn't take a lot of imagination to think about how some of the kids who's parents bought their records or listened to them on the radio during the Depression and War years grew up to invent Rock and Roll.

Hey Kids! It's Time For Tuesday's Tantalizing Teaser!

Nope. That isn't succotash in my hand.
And it's not Halloween candy either.
The stylized beans and corn in my palm are hand-crafted out of polymer clay.

Why am I making beans and corn out of polymer clay?

Well....to make art objects like this out of stuff like that.
What am I going to DO with these things?
Well...that's the tease, isn't it?

The BibliOdyssey Book!

Larry Marder's "Lizard Brain" is shrieking today. I just read about the publication of "BibliOdyssey Book" by Fuel.

Larry must have this book.
Larry must have it immediately!

BibliOdyssey is consistently one of my favorite sites as I've written on several occasions. The brainchild of a brilliant Australian curator/researcher named PK (aka peacay) BibliOdyssey is described like this on Amazon:

"BibliOdyssey's mission over the past two years has been to diligently trawl the dustier corners of the Internet and retrieve these materials for our attention. Thanks to the daily efforts of this singular blog, a myriad of long-forgotten imagery has now re-surfaced, from eighteenth-century anatomical and architectural drawing to occult and alchemical engravings and proto-Surrealist depictions of the horrors of industrialization."

The blog is highly recommended and I'm pretty darn certain the book will merit the same!

On Criticism?

It's an eerie day here in Orange County, CA. The atmosphere is smoky and dark.
Small, gritty ashes are falling from the not-so-friendly skies--but they are ashes, not burning embers.
The closest fire is in Irvine, which is alarmingly close to where we dwell.
But so far (knock on wood!) we are okay.
But, yes, we are packed and ready to run if so instructed.
Found this today while looking through the archives for things to take in an emergency.
I think it was for my first entry in "The Frying Pan" which was a professional apazine organized by Scott McCloud in the '80s.
Apazine....sounds so quaint and archaic in today's interconnected world, doesn't it?

Roy and Trigger were born to BOOM!

Happy trails to you!
Proof positive that one can find virtually anything on YouTube these days.
Roy and Trigger were born to BOOM!
Notice that Trigger almost tramples the lady on the left (Dale Evans?) as he prances into the hallway.
Hallway?
Sheeeesh!

From Out Of The Beanworld Archives...

I kinda like this drawing. It's undated...but it looks to me to be from the early to mid 80s while I was still in the advertising business.

A lot of the letters I was writing to comic book lettercols during that period looked a lot like this piece.

It's a peculiar amalgamation of influences--Crumb, Wolverton, and Native American motifs.

Carter Family--Sweet Talkin' Man

From left to right--Mother Maybelle on guitar, June dressed in white, Anita, Helen on accordion, with the amazing Chet Atkins popping in for a sweet solo on the Grand Ol' Opry in what appears to be the early 1950's.
Watch how June, always the family jester, tries to distract her sisters towards the end of the song.
This number rocks!

Oppps! I missed Tuesday's Tantalizing Teaser.

Well, yesterday I was in transit flying home from SPX.

What a great show--I had a terrific time.

In fact, I had such a fun time, I generally forgot to take pictures.

The pics I DID take can be found on the other end of this link.

(I particularly regret that I was convulsing with shock-and-awe laughter during the Nick Gurewitch and the Ape Ignatz acceptance speech and failed to document it.
As you can see from the picture in the link to Heidi's blog--I was right up front and as close an eye witness as one could have been to this incredible moment of comic book history--the bald head in the lower right hand corner of the pic is me--the guy on the right is Nick Abadzis, creator of Laika.)

As far as this week's Tantalizing Teaser goes....check out the picture of Charles Brownstein of the CBLDF up above.

See that he is reading something?

Well, what he is reading is the current draft of the next Beanworld story.

And that is how I'm gonna tease you all this week--Charles knows what happens!

Beanworld Orphans Find Happy Homes @ SPX!

Have you adopted a Beanworld Orphan and given it a happy home?

If so, send a picture of it and you to larrymarder@gmail.com and we will happily post it here.

More on all the fun we had at SPX as soon as we decompress and stop talking in the third person!

See You At SPX!

I'll be hovering around the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund booth!

And I'll have a full report as soon as I can on all my adventures there!

Also...check out my interview with Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter!