History of the Beanworld Action Figure

Chapter Ten

Battle Damaged!

With all the Stumptown hoopla I've recorded here: Dark Horse, Beanworld animation, and a bunch of photos--I totally forgot to mention something else of great Beanworld importance--the premiere of Battle Damaged FREE Beanworld Action Figures.

I wrote about The Return of the Beanworld Action Figure in an earlier post. But that wasn't the only thing worth recording that happened that Sunday at WonderCon.

Something really cool happened that day.

I was doing my normal pitch as folks strolled by:
"Have a FREE Beanworld Action Figure" I'd say.

And people would generally smile in recognition of the concept, and choose the face (or faces) that most pleased them.

But one kid came back. I don't think he was more than 12 or 13.

I recall he was wearing a dark knit cap.

Anyway, he said "My brother didn't like the one I gave him. He wants a battle-damaged figure like mine." And between thumb and forefinger he held up a Beanworld Action Figure with some of its skin flaked off.

The light bulb of IMMEDIATE recognition went off over my head. I can't begin to tell you how many meetings I was in at McFarlane Toys discussing battle damage on RoboCop figures and HALO and the like. My brain just said "Yeahhhhhhhh!"and I helped the kid dig through until he found one.

Out of the mouths of babes, huh?

For years, when a bean came out of the bag and its skin was cracked or chipped, I didn't use them. They seemed, quite frankly, less than "mint" and I figured they wouldn't be taken. And that was true. People always put the "chipped" ones back.

But that was then and this is now.

Putting "battle damage" on an REAL action figure is a relatively inexpensive way to stretch out the life of a specific pose. A few well placed cracks and bullet holes and the collectors go wild!

Battle Damaged FREE Beanworld Action Figures seemed like a natural line extension.
So now there are seven figures to collect.

A final very unscientific observation:
Adult males seemed to prefer the Original/Brite Eyes and Angry/Fightin' Mad.
Adult females seemed to prefer Sleepy/Snoozy and Happy/Tee hee.
Boys seemed to prefer Angry/Fightin' Mad and Battle Damaged.
Girls seemed to prefer Crazy and Dead.

When it comes to FREE Beanworld Action Figures--
there is something for everyone!

History Of The Beanworld Action Figure!

Shield Albright sent this photo with the following comment:
"These are a mix of authentic 1996 and 1997 San Diego Comic Con beanworld action figures."

Chapter 9

I can't even imagine how many Beanworld Action Figures I made and distributed between 1985 and 1999, when Beanworld retired from the convention scene.

In 1993, I became Executive Director of Image Comics. (The who/what/where/whens/ and whys of that particular change in my life are a different story for a different time.) But part of my deal with the Image Partners was that I could still maintain a Beanworld presence at comic book conventions. So, yes, for six years I would somehow talk to Beanworld fans and conduct Beanworld business simultaneously out of the Independent Artists Pavilion at Comic Con.

Okay...that's not quite true. I DO know how I managed to do that juggling act. My first table mate at Comic Con had been Scott McCloud, but the year that Winter McCloud was born, the McClouds were unable to attend Comic Con. I needed someone to share a table with and Cory suggested Charles Brownstein--editor of Feature magazine.

In my Beanworld creator craziness, I always insisted on making my own Beanworld Action Figures. I always believed I could tell any Beanworld Action Figure that I had made apart from ones that had been made by anyone else. Charles studied how I made them, the positions of the eyes, the length and width of the pen stroke. Charles was very capable of making a Beanworld Action Figure that looked exactly like one of mine. So I caved into his pragmatism and allowed him to start making replacement Beanworld Action Figures as they day's supply would start running short. Sometimes Charles Brownstein, Cory, and I would be making them as fast as we could to keep up with the demand. Some years at a show like San Diego Comic-Con we would go through 7 or 8 bags of Great Northern Limas. Luckily for us there was a Ralph's supermarket close to the convention center.

Taking a look at the Beanworld Action Figures in the photo above--all of those figures sure look like I made them all!

So, imagine my surprise when in 1999 I found myself the President of a genuine action figure company! \

What an ironic turn of events that was.

After all those years of thumbing my nose at the action figure craze with my silly little Beanworld figures--I was smack dab in the middle of the toy maelstrom!

I was in the eye of that hurricane for eight years.
Then I wasn't.

After eight years of being immersed in the milieu of two-ups, tooling patterns, paint masters, test shots, debugging, testing, slow boats from China, and damages--I'm glad to recognize that the only thing I have to worry about next convention is the current price of a bag of dried lima beans!

Next chapter--the Triumphant Return of the Beanworld Action Figures at Wonder Con!

History Of The Beanworld Action Figure

Chapter Eight

For some reason, the years 1989 to 1991 are a bit foggy in my memory. I wrote, drew, and published eight issues of Tales of the Beanworld over those three years, which doesn't sound like very many, but it was the most productive period I had as the creator of Beanworld.

I attended the San Diego and Chicago conventions each year and hung out at the monthly Chicago mini-cons with the rest of the Chicago comics community. It was a tough era for alternative comics. The distributors most friendly to alternative comics were either going out of business or being absorbed into larger nation distribution companies.

Beanworld Action Figures remained a staple of all my convention appearances. As you can see from the 1990 example above, my fliers got a bit slicker.

I decided that those four "faces" were the permanent Beanworld Action Figure line-up. But it was right during this time that elements of the sports card indusry started to influence the comic book marketplace. I hadn't had a bit of interest in any cards since collecting Topps Beatles photo cards during the first wave of the British invasion in middle school.

But I always had my ear to the ground, paying attention to trends, and one phrase I kept hearing over and over was "chase card." A chase card is a nominally rare card that is randomly inserted into individual card packs in a low ratio to the rest of the series. The general idea was that collectors would purchase extra sets while "chasing" after the scarce cards. And of course the chase cards were traded at a higher price than the regular cards. (Not a bad marketing idea, but the general scheme eventually spiraled out of control. )

It became apparent to me that to continue their function as a parody of the industry that Beanworld Action Figures HAD to have chase figures too. Thus entered the last two Beanworld Action Figures. "Crazy" and "Dead."

Each morning as I banged out the days quota of Beanworld Action Figures, I'd sprinkle in a few spiral eyed "Crazies." And most bags of lima beans would have a few broken or shattered beans. I'd slide them over to the side and eventually toss 'em in the trash. One day a fan asked me, "What do you do with the dead ones?"

And the proverbial light bulb went off over my head and I drew two crosses for eyes and gave it to him (or her, I'm sorry to say I can't remember who this was) and said, "Here you go. The very first super-chase Beanworld Action Figure." And from that day forward, all the busted beans found their way into the little dish with the others.

History of the Beanworld Action Figure!

Chapter Seven

In 1988, "FREE Beanworld Action Figures" were were joined by "FREE Beanworld Comics" at conventions as a give-away after a trial run at that spring's WonderCon in Oakland, CA. Eclipse had a few extra boxes of TOTB #9 gathering dust, and they suggested that I try giving away copies as free samples. The entire idea of "Hey kid, the first one's FREE!" totally appealed to my marketing sensibilities.

It was an unorthodox approach for the era. Comic collectibility at the time was based on the title being "scarce" or "rare." A comic being given away for free ran the risk of being percieved that "Gee, that comic is sooooo bad--they have to give 'em away."

A high percentage of folks took their gratis copy and came back later to say "Wow. I didn't know what to expect but I really liked that!" Well that was good enough for me, I decided to make handing out surplus issues the backbone of Beanworld's marketing efforts. I eventually settled in on TOTB #8 as the best introductory issue. Not only did I have a good supply on hand in storage, but the story was a good one for newbies.

So, I thought, "Well, FREE comics are a far better program than Beanworld Action Figures, and because of the mail-in program, every Beanworld fan on the planet must have his or her own figures by now, so I'm going to pack in the program. No one will notice."

Wrong, Larry Marder, wrong!

I can't recall which show it it might have been when I decided to curtail giving away Beanworld Action Figures--but I sure do remember the fan reaction.

It ranged from disappointment to indignation.

Fans pleaded with me to continue the program. It was now so much part of their convention experience to get new Beans at each year's show.

Who am I to fight an argument like that?

So, I not only brought them back--I added yet another face. A "happy" faced bean that I named "Tee Hee." Now I was cranking out four faces each and every morning at conventions. But I was reinvigorated by the knowledge that Beanworld fans really treasured these silly little objects.

The History of the Beanworld Action Figure

Chapter Six

In TOTB #11, this blurb appeared:

I blacked out the address number to protect the innocent folks living at that address nowadays.
We haven't lived there since 1992.
The "Dept. AF" was a bit of an inside joke--thumbing my nose at direct marketing.

I can't recall how many requests came in, but it was like being hit by a tsunami of self-addressed stamped envelopes.

Small envelopes.
Big envelopes.
Huge envelopes.

And boxes.

Little boxes.
Big boxes.
Huge boxes.

Often with jaw-dropping amounts of postage attached.

It honestly never occurred to Cory and me that anyone really thought we were giving away a free full-sized action figure like a He-Man or GI Joe. But the size of the return packages and the amount of postage included indicated that at least some folks thought we might be--and they weren't taking any chances!

Mikedaimon sent along the above scan of a paper insert he received from me in 1988. No matter the size of the package sent to us, we wrapped up the three little beans in this paper insert and popped it in the mail.


Now, the sheet looks like an ancient relic from another age--a simple photocopy of a hand-drawn pencil layout.
And in a way it was.
1988 was several years before I got my first computer aand started creating all Beanworld advertising and marketing materials in QuarkXpress. Even though I had access to slick typeset materials through my advertising career, I'm pretty sure I wanted the sheet to reflect the spirit of the individually handcrafted Beanworld Action Figures.

The envelopes with requests actually continued to come for many years as people collected back issues of Beanworld. We always honored every request.

The History of the Beanworld Action Figure

Chapter Four

The little action figures became a Beanworld institution. Every public appearance I made promoting Beanworld featured a bowl full of the beans with eyes.
Before I would board the plane to fly to a con, I would go to the grocery store and buy a one pound bag of Great Northern Lima Beans.

When I arrived at the show and set up, I spilled the beans onto my table, got out my technical pen, and began the simple process of transmuting a bit of dried food into "something-else" with two wee strokes of ink. Into the dish they went!

As convention attendees walked by, I'd say "Have a FREE Beanworld Action Figure!" The moment that followed such a greeting led to an immediate recognition of the joke or a complete blank stare. Fortunately for me--9 out of 10 people got the joke and took one.
The joke, of course, was that these non-articulated, non-posable action figures didn't actually do anything.

Ahhhh, but often they did.

Folks would put them in their pockets and if the weather was hot and humid and beans got warm and moist enough--they would sprout! Real LIVE action!

Even after it has been dried, bagged, transported hither and yon, add a bit of heat and humidity and Mother Nature kicked in and did her thing transforming the seed into the beginnings of a genuine leguminous plant! The pulse of life!

The other part of the joke, of course, was that as the 80's progressed, action figures began to permeate the atmosphere of the comics industry. Action figures were no longer about He-Man, GI Joe, and Star Wars. Playmate's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Toy Biz's Marvel action figures raised the bar.

Quite simply, the comic book world went merchandisingly mad.

My silly little Beanworld Action Figures seemed to make a satirical statement in direct opposition to the industry trends.

From 1985 to 1988 Beanworld Action Figures were my primary marketing tool. Somewhere along the line I extended the "line" to include an "angry" so that folks already owning an "original" would have something new to add to their "collection." Because most people misplaced their bean or it cracked in the low humidity of the wintertime--they would come seeking them out at conventions.

The History of the Beanworld Action Figure

Larry Marder and Paul Fricke sometime in the '80s
behind an early Beanworld Action Figure display and signage.

Chapter Three

The little-beans-with-eyes-that-are-for-thinking-not-eating were an immediate hit.
People really seemed to like them and I had them on my table for a mini-con or two.

Mike Gold, who was then the Edtor-In-Chief of First Comics, invited Cory and me to a holiday party at his place. A large contingent of the Chicagoland comic book community was there.

Hilary Barta said something to us like,"I saw your action figures. They are great."
I blinked and said, "Uhhhh, Hilary, you got me mixed up with someone else. Believe me,
I don't have any sort of action figure deal."

And he laughed and said, "Sure you do. I meant those little beans with eyes on them. Those are the Beanworld action figures."

I was floored by the absolute genius of this simple name for the little-beans-with-eyes-that-are-for-thinking-not-eating.

I said, "Oh. I gotta use that. Can I steal that?"

And Hilary laughed and said, "Of course you can. Just promise to give me credit for it."

I agreed and we probably shook on it.

And so, at the first possible opportunity, in TOTB #5, I kept my word.
They were now official FREE Beanworld Action Figures.

The picture of me and Paul Fricke at the top is probably from a Chicago mini-con.
The dish itself and the sign are pretty washed out--so I whipped up a little illustration to demonstrate, more or less, what the crude set-up looked like.
My signage got better when I got my first computer.

One small addendum to this story--years later, Hilary Barta confessed that he hadn't made up the name "Beanworld Action Figure" at all. Our mutual friend and fellow Chicagoan, Doug Rice had.

But my thanks always to Hillary and Doug for playing their part in the History of the Beanworld Action Figure!

My thank you to Hilary in TOTB #5

My thank you to Hilary in TOTB #5--close up.