Marder-ography – Rip Off Comix #17 [1987]

Rip Off Comix #17 [1987]

“My Covenant With The Hawk” is a short story, published in RIP OFF COMIX #17 (look for the Reagan-as-Dick-Tracy cover). The theme of the issue was true arrest stories, and Larry Marder provides a four-page autobiographical story illustrated by Don (Megaton Man) Simpson.

Yes, this is Marder’s brush with the law. Or something very much like it. Definitely one of the more innocent stories in the issue. Marder’s criminal reign of terror consists of shoplifting, in particular the time he got caught shoplifting two comic books (we’re not shown what comic books they are. From the comics we are shown on the rack, this story would be 1966 (go-go checks on the SEA DEVILS comic. There’s a FANTASTIC FOUR shown, I wonder if I can match it to an actual cover…). I’m guessing some Marvel books by Jack Kirby, maybe a Superman. Also on the racks are some ARCHIE comics, DANIEL BOONE, MAGNUS ROBOT FIGHTER, SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON, SPIDER-MAN and BATMAN).

Of course he promptly gets caught, by some big scary guy with a scar across one eye known only as the Hawk. The rest of the story follows Marder’s subsequent fear of the Hawk and reluctance to go near the dime store, and how he was scared out of a life of crime. And the comic world is so much the better for it. Three cheers for the Hawk!

It’s a cute story, and quite a change from the hard-time, low-life scum story you get from the other underground artists in here.

I was less enamoured with the artwork. I’m not a huge fan of Don Simpson, especially on stuff he didn’t also write. He starts off pretty strong on the opening scene with Marder and the Hawk, does okay on the next page with just Marder, and then absolutely falls down on the last page with Marder and his friends. That last page is sketchy and lifeless compared to the earlier pages

Still, an interesting experiment, the only thing I’ve seen that Marder wrote for another artist. It certainly would be hard to imagine this being done in his own style.

Marder-ography – Grimjack #42 [1988]

Grimjack #42 [1988]

One of the oddest entries in the Larry Marder checklist is the back-up story in this issue of GRIMJACK, where Marder draws and letters a 6-page story written by John Ostrander and Del Close titled “Closed Set”.

GRIMJACK was a science fiction adventure series created by Ostrander and Tim Truman, featuring a city called Cynosure at the nexus of all dimensions. “Munden’s Bar” was a regular back-up for the series (and even had two spinoff specials), featuring the wacky hi-jinks in a tavern owned by Grimjack in the Cynosure, with a wide variety of guest artists contributing stories.

I previously wrote about the story here.

Last time I looked at one of the few stories you’ll ever see written by Marder to be drawn by another artist. This time something equally unusual, Marder drawing a story by someone else. “Someone else” being John Ostrander and Del Close, the story being the backup in GRIMJACK #42. It’s a “Munden’s Bar” story, which means a short story set in a bar which is at a meeting point of all realities (so various guest creators are free to bring in their own creations if they want). Usually fun stuff. I’ve got about two dozen issues of GRIMJACK, and I haven’t yet read the main story in any but this one, but have read all the backups. So I’m not sure if this issue is also good as an introduction to GRIMJACK. The main story is a standalone, but it’s really just a fairly uninspired sci-fi update on a cliche sports story. I preferred most old “Strange Sports Stories” from DC to this.

Getting to the important part, this is a pretty decent story, maybe just slightly above average for “Munden’s Bar” (the best ones I read are by Phil Foglio). No regular Beanworld characters show up in here, although there are a lot of bugs that could be related to Der Stinkle. I suspect that Marder may have had a hand in plotting it, since in addition to various jokes about the movie business, there’s a lot of jokes on advertising, which of course it what he used to work at.

The story is also in colour, and actually doesn’t look bad (especially compared to the over rendered colour Marder got in ASYLUM). Except that one page is =way= out of register.

Overall this was pretty enjoyable, showing a different side of Marder than TOTB usually allows. Worth picking up, and even if I didn’t like the main story much, at least it’s a complete story and not just a chapter of a long serial.

Updating that a bit a decade later, I will say that the Grimjack story does work better when you’ve read more of the series. Also, I cant believe I missed this, but regarding Beanworld characters, there is a brief cameo of a Hoi Polloi and what looks like Dreamishness (maybe one of her Windy Songsterino siblings?).

I still highly recommend it to anyone looking for a different side of Marder.

John Ostrander is still active in comics, even working on a new GRIMJACK series recently with co-creator Tim Truman, plus reprints of the original series published by IDW (I don’t think they included the “Munden’s” stories in the reprint books). Del Close passed away in 1999.

“All I retained was…”

A random look at panels and images from the Beanworld chronicles.

from page 18 of “The First Time Professor Garbanzo Discovered the Four Realities” – TotB #21 [1993]

Proffy uses the Action Effigies created by Beanish to tell the growing Cuties about the early days of the Beanworld. Sadly this has been the last new issue of the book to date, with only some short anthology stories, ashcans and reprints since, it definitely ended on a high note, with a lot of information coming out in this story, both directly and indirectly. I especially liked the “Action Effigies” and how the story was presented as a tale told the the Cuties, as their excitement and interpretations of what they’re hearing are no doubt a large part of the future of the Beanworld (their intrigue over Proffy’s dreams of flying are no doubt a precursor to some of the upcoming developments in Float Force research, based on the HUNGRY ashcan).

-Link- Beanworld fan art

Now this is some cute stuff. A bit of full colour Beanwold fan art by Kristina Young.

Marder-ography – Amazing Heroes #100 [1986]

Amazing Heroes #100 [1986]
Kirby tribute by Larry Marder

This entire issue is a celebration of the work of Jack Kirby, including a section where several dozen creators offer some words or images about what Kirby meant to them. Larry Marder shows up on page 29, with a few brief words and a great little image of a Beanworld version of a classic Kirby machine, with a Bean on top, labelled “Think Kirby”

This one is in the running for my favourite single Beanworld image of all time.

“To the Legendary Edge…”

 The Small Small Picture, a random look at panels and images from the Beanworld chronicles.

from page 14 of “Too Much Chow!” – TotB #2 [1985]

Having agreed that the excess of chow is a problem, Mr. Spook and Proffy decide to ask the Hoi Polloi to take it back. I love this little image of them racing to the Legendary Edge, it has a very old-school super-heroic feel to it, you can almost see Batman and Robin in those exact poses in a 1950s comic.

I’m not sure it was ever addressed, but I’ve always wondered why the Beans always go to the Four Realities by the Edge side, not the Sandy Beach side. The only time I can recall them going down the other side was when Mr. Spook fell from the sky, and the others raced to rescue him, and they seemed to have to make more of an effort to go down, so I guess there’s a gravity thing that makes it easier to go down the left side and up the right side. Or maybe some sort of current.

Bean Spotting – Zot #30 [1990]

Zot #30 [1990]
by Matt Feazell

This is one of my favourite of the non-Marder Bean cameos. At this time Matt Feazell was doing a cute little “Dimension 10 1/2” version of Zot in the back of Scott McCloud’s book. As his character Cynicalman explains Feazell had hurt his hand and was unable to do the story this issue, and this page, with guests Zot and editor Cat Yronwode, was what he did to introduce a reprint of a Cynicalman story.

What cracks me up the most about this page is the matter of fact answer that CM gives to Zot’s question about the greatest comic book of all time. I’m not sure I fully agree (I usually give the edge to TotB #7 instead of #4), but it’s hard to argue with the general idea.

Bean Spotting – Buck Godot – Zap Gun For Hire #4 [1994]

Buck Godot – Zap Gun For Hire #4 [1994]
By Phil Foglio with Barb Kaalberg

In the middle of his 8-issue adventure at the Gallimaufry, Buck Godot is suddenly attacked by ninja hordes, all working at cross purposes. For whatever reason, among those hordes it a a very determined looking Mr. Spook (just to the right of Buck’s head, if you’re looking for him on the full page).

Phil Foglio has done a bunch of great comics in the past two decades. My favourite of them is BUCK GODOT, but GIRL GENIUS, XXXENOPHILE and WHAT’S NEW are great as well. Currently his main work is GIRL GENIUS, with new material being serialized on the web before appearing in print collections. He’s also serializing old BUCK GODOT material on the web, currently the original colour graphic novels, but possibly going on the the 8-issue mini-series that this page is taken from sometime in the future.

-Link- BeanWeb New address

After more than a decade at the old address, Mark Irons’ BeanWeb has a new home, with all the same great Beanworld info that it has always held.

Marder-ography – Journey #19 [1985]

Journey #19 [1985]
Letter plus illustration by Larry Marder

Mr. Spook and a Sprout Butt take the stage in this entry from the string of letters from Marder to appear in William Messner-Loebs’ frontier adventure comic JOURNEY, which explored the era and culture that Marder clearly found quite fascinating.

Curious about JOURNEY and what Marder was so excited about back then. Check out this page for a selection of videos of Messner-Loebs talking about the series.

-Link- Marder at Museum 2006 photo

Jeff Smith of Bone fame has some photos from the opening of a comics museum in Batlimore in 2006 over on his Boneville Blog. Among them is Larry Marder admiring a George Herriman original Krazy Kat Sunday page.