My Leguminous Comic-Con Wrap Up 2010!

This was my first time as a Guest of Honor at Comic-Con and I have to say--everything I ever heard about the GoH experience is true. They take superb care of you every step of the way. Cory and I send along our great thanks to all the members of the Con Committee and the army of volunteers who make Comic-Con work with amazing efficiency on the ground. Particular thanks to my GRT: Tiff Hudson who made sure I showed up at all my obligations in plenty of time.

A few observations regarding the con itself.
Yes, it's gotten so big you can't begin to take it all in.

The sensory overload of crowds and displays and attendees in costumes and giant bags and swag and thundering noise put Comic-Con in a class of events up there with Mardi Gras and Super Bowl. Doesn't bother me a bit. The idea that there are one-way halls and entrances/exits is something that I've become accustomed to now--a few years ago it drove me nuts. Now it's just part of the way things are.

I have to admit, I've never set foot in Hall H in my entire life and I reckons there is a good chance I never will. That part of the convention is off my radar completely except for hearing anecdotes from friends and fans.

I really liked the placement of Artist's Alley all the way at the end in Hall G this year. Clydene placed me in a great spot. The aisles were wider and the noise level wasn't anything that bothered me where I was. Some folks thought the Alley was too far away from the larger artists tables and although that was probably true--I don't think it had a lot of impact on my fans. I think because Hall G is next to the fabled Hall H...it's possible we had foot traffic because it was the closest set of doors downstairs. Don't know but it felt like it.

As far as a metric for measuring foot traffic, I do know this--I broke a personal record in the amount of FREE Beanworld Action Figures I gave away. 3 1/2 pounds. I don't think I ever gave away more than 2 1/2 before. Zombie, Crazy, Battle Damaged, and Dead remain the most sought after of the lot. But Tee-Hee is definitely making a surge.

I received an Ink Pot from the Convention for Achievements in Comic Arts. This means a lot to me. People assume I've won all sorts of awards. But I haven't. I've only been nominated for one (a Kirby) once and that was in 1987. As I said in my dazed acceptance bit of babble "I've spent a lot of my career working for and with folks who have enough awards to crack the foundation of their homes. But this is one of the only times where my work has been recognized."

Scott McCloud immediately turned it into a FLEECE Beanworld Action figure merchandise display and I had the little fella working for on the table the rest of the show.

I'm a New York Times certified geezer!

I got a terrific write-up in by Peter Larson in The Orange County Register: Now our neighbors can see what Cory's husband actually does all day.

Some really nice words about the indescribable Beanworld experience from kli.
"It is the kind of book where you generally recommend it to someone by shoving it into their hands so it can be experienced directly."

I had a good time on all of my panels--as far as I know the only one that has turned up as a public documentation is “Graphic Novels: The Personal Touch” that featured Gabrielle Bell, Howard Cruse, Vanessa Davis, Jillian Tamaki, Carol Tyler and me--moderated by Shaenon Garrity. I'm rather quiet in that one--I was far more interested in what my fellow panelists had to say that hearing myself speak but I did mange to get in some pithy observations here and there particularly about the quality of printing reproduction these days.

The "Indy Writers Unite" panel was an odd collection of mostly writer/artists and it's reported on here.

In a lot of ways, the most remarkable panel I did was "The Funny Stuff: Humor in Comics and Graphic Novels." I more or less dropped out of it in the middle as I had front row seats to one of the most bizarre and surreal panels I've ever had the honor of sitting on in my quarter century of panel participation. As far as I know, it wasn't written up anywhere in depth. All I can say is: it was a classic example of funny-weird not funny-ha ha. However, I did get a chance to make one of my favorite points that I consider Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q to be the greatest satirical gesture of the entire 20th century.

Image comics/Shadowline Fractured Fables hardcover was launched at Comic-Con. My contribution isn't Beanworld but it's very Larry Marder just the same.




I did two Sketch-a-Thon stints at the Cartoon Art Museum table. One was with Scott Shaw! I think I laughed more in that hour than any other hour the entire run of the show. Lot's of cartooning fun

Well, that's as much time as I can steal for a blog post today.
More stuff as I remember it.

And my next post will be about this.

Isn't quite this and isn't quite that is about as Beanworld as you can get--don't you think?

I wrote about my 2010 CBLDF/TFAW contribution a few weeks ago and here is the rest of the story. The email sent to solicit the art community's participation will help explain it to you:

Hi Larry,

Last year, Things From Another World and the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund teamed up with you and other fantastic comics professionals to help raise more than $30,000 for the CBLDF’s annual auction at San Diego Comic-Con. Now we would like to ask you to participate in our Second Annual SDCC Autograph Card/CBLDF Auction event by generously donating an original piece of art to this effort.

We’re already off to an excellent start this year! We are thrilled to announce the participation of our flagship partner, Image Comics, one of the premier comic book publishers in the nation. The stellar folks at Image Comics are serious about supporting the CBLDF, and they are kicking things off with donations of art from many of their colossally talented creators!

However, we are determined to pack this event with every one of our favorite creators, and we hope that will include you! It's a wonderful way to support the First Amendment rights of the comics community while promoting your signings in San Diego.

As with last year, we are asking artists to create original works of art to donate to the CBLDF auction at San Diego Comic-Con. In exchange, you will receive 500 free limited-edition autograph cards of your sketch to distribute in San Diego, and we will also give out additional copies of your autograph cards at our booth during the Con.

I think this idea of TFAW's is sheer genius.
Under the guidance of Andrew McIntire, Elisabeth Forsythe, and the TFAW crew this project ended up making a substantial contribution to CBLDF though the auctioning of our original art.

Blank card

I hate to admit that I totally forgot about this until Saturday at noon when I was signing copies of Fractured Fables at the Image booth and saw a stack of someone else's cards sitting on the table next to me and realized I had not received my stack of cards.


No worries.
A quick flurry of texts uncovered the mystery--my cards had been mis-delivered to the Dark Horse booth.


Soon I had the cards in hand along with a nifty new CBLDF donation box with the "Look! I'm customized!" card tucked into it.



Folks started dropping their contributions into the slot and I started whipping out cards--each modified and personalized according the the contributors wishes. Often I'd ask for an emotion and was glad to serve up whatever came into my mind.



During slow times, I'd prepare a few in advance so Cory could keep the ball rolling when I was away from the table doing panels and the like. they are showcased in a new gallery you can find here.



Lots of fun.
Simple to do.

Each card is something that isn't quite an original drawing and isn't quite a print.
Isn't quite this and isn't quite that is about as Beanworld as you can get--don't you think?

Customized card tweeted by Chris Blanchard
" My Comic Con gift from @larrymarder via my brother."

Kids draw the darndest Beans!

One of my greatest joys since the Beanworld reboot has been just how popular the book has become with the kids of the 21st century.

I get reports from parents and teachers all the time--a boy or a girl sits down with a Beanworld book and something starts zapping back and forth from the printed page directly into the child's mind back to the page and so on.

Is it the deceptive simplicity of the iconic art?
Can it be the intertwined concepts that make up the rules and laws of the Beanworld?
Maybe it's the maps and glossary.
Maybe it's just that this generation is totally poised to grok what I mean when I say: Beanworld isn't a place; it's a process.

This is all rather remarkable to me because I've never actually had a target audience in mind as I've written and drawn Beanworld tales over the decades. As I say all the time: Beanworld more or less writes itself and I often feel like a glorified scribe getting it all down on paper as fast as I can once it starts to emerge and flow.

Who the Beanworld audience/readership is really has little to do with whatever I (or my publisher) wants it to be.

It's a contract between Beanworld and its readers of all ages.

Beanworld has been around long enough now that folks that read it when they were kids can now share it with their own children and Beanworld appreciation becomes a shared family activity. This is something I could never have imagined when the first Beanworld stories came together in a comic book stories I genuinely believed no one would ever read.

But those stories are in fact the first few chapters of Wahoolazuma! and are the entry point for kids into the Beanworld.

Interaction with Beanworld fans (of all ages) is why I go to comic book conventions.I love the questions and observations.I like to talk about my influences.I like to talk about whatever a Beanworld fan wants to talk about.

That's why I'm there.But the most fun is interaction with young readers who "get it" and immerse themselves in the whys and wherefores of the Beanworld.

One of the true highlights of my 2010 Comic-Con was when this kid kept coming back and very politely requesting the loan of some blank beans and the use of a Sharpie and proceeding to make his own personalized Beanworld Action Figures. He's show them to me and saunter off. He came back several times--both alone and with his older brother.

Some one carried this drawing all the way from Tallahassee FL on behalf of Fiona Grace Jacoby-age six. Her Dad, Brian Jacoby is the proprietor of Secret Headquarters: Comics and Games for Everyone! and a very good friend of the Beanworld's. Fiona Grace's drawing skills have come a long way since her first contribution to the Leguminous Fan Art gallery in 2009.

Another repeat young Beanworld fan artist: Treasure Olson!
This year, Treasure was able to write her own letter and showcased her own Bean characters for me--plus she used a Beanworld Action Figure in a bit of multi-media collage. Really cool for age 6 if you ask me.

I had a lengthy chat with her Dad who delivered her drawings and he filled me in on all the Bean adventures Treasure is creating on her own. Her favorite character of her own is "Cookish" so that the one I drew for her in trade.

I think I was given this trade-in drawing at the LA Book fair and it hid out from me until today. The name Greg is on the back. I haven't found any other information. Thanks, Greg!

This goth Bean was a trade in from Teresa Gonsoski.

I love these trade-in drawings at conventions.
Next opportunity will be at New York Comic-Con in October.

Comic-Con is concluded!

Larry Marder and Inkpot award

Once upon a time, long long ago...starting in 1985, each summer I'd go to this oddball little conclave in San Diego called Comic-Con.

I spent all my time there in this place called Artist's Alley giving away FREE Beanworld Action Figures, and making drawings and selling my Beanworld comic books.

Larry Marder at Comic-Con in the 1980s. Photo by Cynthia Fluharty

I just got home from Comic-Con 2010.

It's no longer odd.
It's about as mainstream as Cannes or the Super Bowl gets covered in detail by all the major news and entertainment media.

It's no longer small.
It can't even be kept inside the confines of the cavernous convention center.
It spills out into the street and up the walls of the surrounding buildings.

That all said...I'm pleased to report I still spent almost all of my time sitting in this in place called Artist's Alley giving away FREE Beanworld Action Figures, and making drawings and selling my Beanworld comic books.
Although, I do have a few more things on display nowadays.

I had a great time.
Actually I had the time of my life.

I'm going to post in a sprawl over the next several days
but I want to immediately thank the Comic-Con International Board and committees that chose me to be a Guest of Honor and so professionally deployed all the operational details that made my experience so pleasant and smooth.

A particular shout-out to Tiff Hudson who was my GRT (Guest Relations Team) volunteer and made sure I was well taken care of and in time to all my obligations.

More to come!

Comic-Con 2010 Beanworld/Larry Marder things to not forget:

Larry Marder is in Artist's Alley: DD-17

Larry Marder's schedule.

Crazy Trade Ins!

I might be CRAZY but sketches
like this and this and this
will get YOU one one of these!

Here is the deal!
Come by my table in Artist's Alley (DD17) and trade-in one of your homemade Beanworld drawings for a genuine Marder-drawn, signed original sketch of the same character!

Offer open to kids of all ages!

THE DETAILS: Only one trade-in per person allowed.
If your drawing contains more than one character,
you must decide which single character you'd like as your trade-in sketch.
After the drawing exchange you agree
that I can post your sketch in theLeguminous Fan Art Gallery.
And it would be nice if I could get a snapshot of you and your art

Larry Marder will be a Guest of Honor at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con !

Comic-Con announced their Guest List for 2010.

I'm on it.
(And so are some of my favorite people in the art form.)

Next year is the 25th anniversary of the publication of Beanworld #1 and this will be part of the celebration. My thanks to the folks @ Comic-Con who decide these things and have made it so.

More about this and many more things in my New Year's State of the Beanworld posting but this news just couldn't wait.

Also....
A new Hoo●Hoo●HAs & a Hoka●Hoka●HEY! coming soon!