So, where did I disappear to?

It's hard to believe that Hoka Hoka Burb'l Burb'l is out in the world after all these years.
In the Afterword I explain some of the reasons why it took me so long.

After a lot of personal ups and downs, in the spring of 2016, I finally settled down and started acting like a serious comic-book creator again. After last year's San Diego Comic-Con, I promised any one who was listening that I couldn't dare show up at Comic-Con 2017 unless I had a finished book in hand. (It was kinda close, y'know?)

In order to accomplish this I had to shut out the world and be totally immersed in Beanworld. That meant ignoring almost everyone I know, and stop looking at Twitter, Facebook and all comics related news sites.I reached a point that the seemingly endless crawl of things in my feeds were either people squabbling over politics or ranting about corporate comics stuff I'd stopped caring about.

I recognized that after 30+ years I didn't have to know everything about the business anymore because no one was paying me to know all that stuff anymore. (I'm not even sure it is possible anymore.) It was liberating in a way only a few former colleagues can really understand.

The only social media I participated in was Vine and to a lesser extent Tumblr.
I loved Vine.
Exploring the endless visual and sound possibilities of a six second video loop was seductive.
Vine was the perfect distraction.
Over time, I fell into the company of a ragtag bunch of visual artists, writers, photographers, and people that are just really funny.

The best part was, with very few exceptions ( Hello,TheMisterBumboShow.), hardly anyone on Vine knew anything about me beyond the stuff I was regularly posting. I participated in a few local Vine meet-ups and I didn't try to hide Beanworld or anything, I talked about it as much as anyone wanted to. Being a comic book creator just wasn't that big a deal. Going to Comic-Con was though. People were often very impressed that I could get into Comic-Con because it was all but impossible for them to go. That I went was for more impressive then the fact that I was an exhibitor.

It was in the digital company of these folks for three years that I mostly interacted with as I worked on Beanworld. Twitter shut down Vine right about the time I was really digging into The Battle to Finish Book Four. It was a very sad time for Vine folks. But the truth was, most people didn't "get" Vine beyond it being a temporary novelty. Twitter shut it down because there just weren't enough people there anymore.

I took my act over to Instagram where a whole lot of people do know me. Instagram can't handle a perfect loop but it's close enough for me. In the process I taught myself the fundamentals of iMovie and settled in there.

I make little collages of pictures and sound.
I find the pictures randomly.
I open my Tumblr feed and start scrawling down.
I choose an image or bit of film and I start chopping it up and blending it in with others bits of stuff into a very fast animation that soon has a sort of life of its own.

Then I add music from my library and give it a title.
Those are the three pieces--movement, music, title--each influencing the other.
I only use music from my own digital collection--it's music I've been listening to all my life and I "just know" what song to use and what part of a song to use.

Then I post it and that's that.
It usually takes me about 10 to 30 minutes.
I generally make  'em at night and in bed.

They have absolutely nothing to do with Beanworld--not directly anyway.
It's the same brain that channels Beanworld but some different part of it.
To me the process of selecting and combining the various elements are part of an act of creation made out of "found objects" like any collage.

When I start I don't know what will be on my feed.
I don't know what things will be near each other on my feed.
It's not 100% random but it sure feels like it.

And that is the kind of thing that I like.

Here is one.
And another.
And so on.

My old stuff is in the museum that is all that remains of Vine.

Ramblings of a Third Grader?

This is an unabashed plug for the Kickstarter drive of a great little illustrated book called Ramblings of a Third Grader.

It was written by one of my best friends, Suzy Kuperschmidt--when she was in third grade!

I'll quote Suzy from her Kickstarter pitch:

Explore the world through the eyes of a third grader that didn't have access to an iPhone, XBOX, laptop or some other mode of information-gathering system. This third grader actually had to write legibly with a #2 pencil.

In 1964, I remember riding my bike to the library (without a helmet) and the excitement I felt when I found the perfect book to check out. My quirky little stories in RaMbLiNgS bring that sense of nostalgia to the pages of this book from a third grader's innocence of awe and wonder. I also created My RaMbLiNgS spiral notebook for kids to write their own quirky stories and create art masterpieces.Nothing makes me smile more than seeing a child reading an actual book with dog-eared pages. It takes me back to a simpler time.For a brief moment, sit back, relax and stroll down memory lane with me and see if you can spot the misspelled words and bad grammar! 

Here is the inside scoop: Suzy’s primary school teacher, Mrs. Sewell, encouraged her young students to keep a journal and to write in it as much and as often as possible. The stories our little Suzy wrote are filled with the pure awe, wonder, and written with the innocence of a child. And yet, there are so many hints and clues foreshadowing the person Suzy would become as an adult.

Our little Suzy then

Suzy now

Yes, it's true, as you see when you hit the link, I wrote the introduction to the book--I was delighted to--Suzy and I worked together closely for 8 years during my tenure at McFarlane Toys (actually she was Suzy Thomas then) and she is one of the kindest, zaniest, most trustworthy human beings I've ever known. I'd trust her with with my life.

Ever since her third grade spiral journals in the Beatles notebooks resurfaced, Suzy has had a driving desire to have the books illustrated and published. Thanks to the wonder of Kickstarter she has a the pathway to do it. 

But she needs your help.

She's getting closer to her goal but if you can take a look at her page and toss in a few bucks--you will not be disappointed. 

Larry Marder cosplay: LOTR Ent!

Angry young man
 at  Greenleaf Beach
Lake Michigan

Chicago IL

  in the late '70s. 

One thing I'm sure of is that this was taken
before I discovered Gran'Ma'Pa
and I had no idea where my life was going to take me.

Happy Halloween to all the Leguminati!

The Top Hat Tautology that was my 2013 Comic-Con

I've had Top Hats on my mind a LOT lately and I can't begin to hazard a guess why.

I've had a thing about how cool top hats are since I wore on when I was 10 years old as part of charity ball pint-sized honor guard for President Truman in 1961.

Actually I don't remember wearing the top hat at all but pictures don't lie...that' me alright.

It's all rather funny because over most of my life I rarely wore hats voluntarily.

(Now I do for health reasons)

But I sure do love drawing hats...the sillier the better.

Late last spring to start hand crafting little bits of leguminous treasure.

Pretty early on I stumbled upon these wee top hats in a crafts catalog.

I ordered them without knowing what I might do with 'em.

The main result is shown below:

I didn't really have a name for 'em--didn't matter 'cuz every kid that came to my table at Comic-Con under the age of 10 instantly called them "Magic Beans" and who am I to say differently?

So that's what they are.

Also seen in the pic are a few of the little rings I made.

The rings were an afterthought after a suggestion by Charles Brownstein

who said "Those DC Green Lantern rings are pretty popular" when he came through town in May.

He is right of course, I still have my Black Lantern ring that someone gave me years ago.

So I ordered some inexpensive blank, expandable  bases and cooked up rings.

I didn't make very many and I was happily surprised at how fast the were adopted off my table.

This one picture is worth a thousand words:

I've barely cracked the surface of what loony Leguminous Finger Loops can be.

I suspect they will be a permanent staple for a while to come.

The drawing below has nothing to do with anything except I drew it at Comic-Con.

Larry Marder Comic-Con Panel Scheduled!

Friday, July 25

6:00-7:00

Room 2

Larry Marder: The Beanworld Is Back! Legendary Beanworld creator, Larry Marder, is front and center in his first solo Comic-Con panel in 15 years. Learn how beans have been part of Marder's life since the day he was born! The rich visual presentation covers the entire history of his peculiar fantasy dimension including Marder's many influences. This is your opportunity to discover why Beanworld has captivated readers from grade school to grad school since its first publication as a series of comic books in the 1980s. Now, Dark Horse Comics is publishing Beanworld for an entire new generation of fans. Hear all the details about Marder's many up-coming Beanworld projects!

This will be an updated and expanded version of the talk I gave at Stumptown!

Larry Marder Podcast on Comic Geek Speak!

The guys at Comic Geek Speak have an extended podcast conversation
with me about a wide array of topics.
Click on the above link to hear it.

I kick in after the two minute mark of the stream after an ad for their sponsor, Team Epic. I really enjoyed this interview, including the parts about my tenures at Image Comics and McFarlane Toys. Even though I'm no longer affiliated in any way with either of those crews, I am still quite clear in what I accomplished (or fell short of) during that period of time in my life--almost 15 years.

But of course, my favorite thing to talk about is Beanworld. Of note is the behind-the-scenes, sit-com-like moment at the time marker of 22:27. I'm trying to explain the premise of Beanworld. One of my cats, Abby, decides that she is hungry and audibly meows while she was rubbing up against the phone handset. I can "hear" myself rolling my eyes and going off balance in mid-explanation as I'm shushing her away. I'm talking about Beanworld's food chain and Abby is also discussing with me her agenda of the moment which is MY participation in HER food chain!

This link takes you to the podcast feedback page of the website. The posters go off into a fascinating comparison of Beanworld with Fraggle Rock . I can not for the life of me ever remember this comparison coming up before, and obviously I was too old at the time that it ran on TV for it to have caught my notice. But I find this notion intriguing. I'm going to have to chase down the DVDs and give them a look-see.

Anyway, my thanks to the gang at Comic Geek Speak for the opportunity.

On another note: Check out this link too....for something completely different.

Saturday Nite Flier!

Here is the other flier I referred to in my last post. Looking at it today, within the context of what we know about Beanworld continuity, you might find it as odd as I do. I reprinted it in the trade paperback Larry Marder's Beanworld:Book One but really have never discussed it much before.

As you may recall, the purpose of this handbill was to pique retailer interest in a Beanworld comic that was (hopefully) coming through the distribution pipeline sometime in an ill-defined near future.

First oddity is the reference to "Saturday Nite." As we all know now, the Beans only have two designation of days--Sprout-Butt Day and Goof-Off Day. But at the time the potential reader had absolutely no idea of any of that!

Lead Guitar Boom'r is missing in action. I have no idea why. Maybe for the room.

Professor Garbanzo is there but not Mr. Spook. An odd choice because Mr. Spook always gets a lot of attention. Maybe I wasn't quite aware of that yet.

Beanish, however, is there...that's peculiar because he doesn't appear in Beanworld until issue 4!

And the joke. The lima bean with a TM next to it actually was my comic book trademark in 1984. At the time, I was a fairly well known letter hack to comic book letter columns. I always did two things: I signed all my mail with the signature Larry "Beanworld" Marder and I always adorned any and all correspondence with everyone in the comic book field with a hand drawn bean with a TM in the lower left hand corner like the one on the left here.

The joke itself--the transformation of a Bean into a bean--goes back a long way. I probably drew that the first time as early as 1973 or so. Now that I think about it, this might have actually been the last time I drew it.

It certainly prefigures Beanworld action figures and foreshadows the cover of Beanworld #1.

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!

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

Run! Run!
Corn Critter
on the LOOSE!

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!

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?