Larry Marder's Beanworld returns for a whole new generation!

So said the official email from Dark Horse. Here is a transcript of the PR release:

Dark Horse Comics proudly announces the arrival of a most peculiar graphic novel experience -- Larry Marder's Beanworld!

Beanworld has captivated readers from grade school to grad school since its first publication as a series of comic books in the 1980s. Starting in early 2009, Dark Horse will present Beanworld as a series of affordable graphic novels collecting all existing Beanworld stories, with new material to follow in the same format, beginning with the all new graphic novel Remember Here When You Are There! To whet the appetite of new and loyal fans alike, Dark Horse will also release an all new Beanworld webcomic this Fall, with a full color Beanworld comic book to follow in time for the holidays!

Series creator Larry Marder explains, "Beanworld is about the affinity of life. It's like A Bugs Life meets Mutts, as told by Dr. Seuss & Joseph Campbell. It's a weird fantasy dimension that operates under its own rules and laws, but also reflects deep truths about our world in doing so. All the characters, whether they are friends or adversaries, understand that ultimately they depend on each other for survival. Beanworld isn't a place, it's a process, and I can't wait to share that process with a new generation of readers!"

"I couldn't be happier to welcome Larry Marder's wonderful stories home here at Dark Horse! I've always felt this is where they belonged, and I'm thrilled to be bringing them to today's readers," says Dark Horse President, Mike Richardson.

"Wahoolazuma! Larry Marder's personal Look-See Show is back on the boards! Beanworld is simply a joyous experience," said editor Diana Schutz, "total eye-candy, and it's good for you, too!"

"When Beanworld was first published, many people said it was ahead of its time," Marder says. "Looking at today's world raised on Pixar, Cartoon Network, and manga, I think it's fair to say that Beanworld's time has come. I'm looking forward to working closely with the team at Dark Horse to introduce the Beanworld to this comics-literate world!"

Look for Beanworld adventures, new and old, in the coming year!

So that is the news!

Beanworld is totally rebooting. It's not an archival project. It's being presented to a new generation in a modern format--a series of affordable graphic novels.

There is going to be a free online comic on MySpace Dark Horse Presents in the autumn.

And there is more!

A real live, full color Beanworld comic book in time for the holidays!

And in 2009--the graphic novel we've all been waiting for (yes me too!): Remember here when you are there!"

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!

A find from 1999!

I just posted this archaeological discovery on Flickr.

As I wrote in the intro:

"Recently, while looking for something else, I found this transcript on the bottom of a pile of stuff that was stuffed in a box that had been in a file in my desk at McFarlane Toys.
I'm almost certain that the questioner was Roarin' Rick Veitch and it was intended for his column on comicon.com/.
As a snapshot of my mindset, from a time I can't recall particularly well, I thought I'd post it for you before it got lost again."

I'm quite certain that it never ran. As far as I can tell, I just gave up editing it and never sent it in. I think some of the things I said at the time are quite solid and true and some of the stuff (particularly about Beanworld) sounds loony tunes to me now!

Stumptown Badge Art

In a long post about a whole lotta stuff, that he accrued on his most recent travels, The Spurge featured a picture of his Stumptown badge as seen above.

In all the rush leading up to (and during Stumptown) I'm not sure I remembered to mention that I did the artwork for the badges.

Well, all I did was the line art. The colorwork and typography was all superbly rendered by Jenn Manley Lee.

I have absolutely zero idea of exactly where and when I first met Jenn and her husband, Kip. But it was a very long time ago and almost certainly through Ivy and Scott McCloud. They were part of Scott and Ivy's first group of "Kids" as Ivy recently wrote about.

And just so you can see how much elegance Jenn contributed to the embellishment of my simple drawing--here it is!