-Link- Short Marder on Image interview

Over at this site put up to promote the Image 10th Anniversary book (which I think was only slightly late for their 13th anniversary) there’s a short interview with Larry Marder about how he got involved with the company and what his role was.

Bean Spotting – Understanding Comics [1993]

Understanding Comics [1993]
by Scott McCloud

Larry Marder is among those credited with “Editorial advice and selective ego-trimming” for Scott McCloud’s breakout 1993 treatise on the comics form, with some elaboration on that in the acknowledgements. McCloud also managed to get two little figures of Beanish in among the large samples of the varied world of comics.

On page 4 it’s literally a world, with a globe representing about a hundred or so samples of comic characters. Beanish is up there on the right edge.

Later in the book, on pages 52 and 53, McCloud presents a more formal study of the world of comics, placing over 100 samples in his triangular plane of reality, meaning and design. Beanish is #6, high and to the right.

LARRY MARDER’s Beanish from TALES OF THE BEANWORLD. “Resembling” nothing ever seen (hence all the way to the right) Marder’s beans walk the line from design to meaning.

UNDERSTANDING COMICS has seen multiple printings from at least four different publishers and should still be readily available, and is well worth picking up.

-Link- Marder sketch – Dancing Beanish

Here’s a quick convention sketchbook image of Beanish in green by Larry Marder.

Bean Spotting – Zot #34 [1990]

Zot #34 [1990]
By E. Yarber and Matt Feazell

The ultimate Beanworld crossover comes in the form of a six-page backup story in this issue featuring the “Dimension 10 1/2″ form of Zot.*

[*ZOT #10 1/2 was a stick-figure mini-comic collaboration by Feazell and Scott McCloud published in the hiatus between ZOT #10 and #11. Feazell continued it as a back-up in ZOT after that, including a full sized special ZOT #14 1/2]

A great little story, a real treat for fans of the two worlds that are colliding. Zot, Jenny and Woody are sailing in a boat with a star on it when they get surrounded by Mystery Pods, which at mid-day is apparently enough to activate some Float Force and transport them to the Thin Lake. They arrive at the Beanworld, which is suffering from Reality Rot, warping the perception of the Beans and everything else. After Zot and friends help by conducting a Chow Raid against some confused Hoi Polloi they take Mr. Spook, Proffy and Beanish back to their world to find a cure. There we get such spectacles as Mr. Spook playing role-playing games (a real problem with his legendary lack of imagination), Proffy encountering junk food (including “Twinks”, “Chips”, “Bars” and “Butts”) and Beanish painting in watercolour, attracting the ire of Jesse Helms (?) before some Goofy Jerks arrive to take them home, explaining that Earth is a Reality Rot magnet so that the Beanworld will now be cured. Enigmatic ways to heal itself, indeed. All of this accompanied with copious footnotes by Beanworld and Zot editor Cat Yronwode.

Brilliant stuff, lots of clever jokes playing off each group of characters, and the artwork is spot on almost to the point that I’m not certain Marder didn’t draw his own characters. If you’re a Beanworld fan this is probably the one outside guest bit that you have to read.

-Link- Marder, Kitchen, Sienkiewicz etc Jam

Auctioned a while back, the original art to a story called “Turn Left at the Light”, a jam effort by Larry Marder, David Tosh, Denis Kitchen, Don Simpson, Bill Sienkiewicz, Mark Stokes and Mark David Dietz at the the 1988 Dallas Fantasy Fair and published in the small-press minicomic digest HEY! #7.

Check the link for the full page, although you’ll probably have to register and verify your age, as there’s adult material on the page.

And if anyone has a lead on where to get HEY! #7…

-Link- Bone Zone website

Here’s an interesting small Beanworld website called the Bone Zone with two interesting bits of content. There’s an extensive glossary of characters and items, not just the big ones that everyone knows but even some obscure bits like Limelight and the Bitester. Also a timeline that gathers together the events of the series along with some stuff in the past and future referred to in a few stories or in letter columns.