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I'd buy a "top x comics you should read" type of publication. I have. It's a bit out of date.

I'd buy a "top x comics you should read" type of publication. I have. It's a bit out of date.

Ohhhh do you mean this one I must crack that out again one day to see where we crossover. Mind Paul Gravett knows about things like impressionistic German woodcut comics so I'm not expecting too much of a crossover!

Oh and I will also say I am a creature of ego and don't want to pretend that I've not day dreamed about taking these and starting a podcast or even YouTube channel that will cast me into the comicssphere in a big way BUT there's no way I've got time to learn all that if I can't even imagine how to find the time to turn these into a blog yet.

One day, one day...

You so need to mirror all these posts on a blog somewhere. A Substack or Medium thing, if you don't have your own domain. They deserve wider attention than the few of us old farts doddering about on the forum.

Second InidgoPrime's call to get all these excellent thoughts and recommendations out into the wider world!

That's very kind but I'm not sure I could write these the way I do (which is not to say I think these are well written, far from it!) if I thought they would have a wider audience. This really was just a way to get these thoughts out my noggin in a way I could relax and enjoy doing. I genuinely wasn't sure anyone would read them here, let alone in the wider world and I'm super chuffed with the comments and thoughts this thread generates on the forum. I just enjoy playing here.

Now all that said when the issues started with posting these here and now I have to break them down into three or more chunks a go, I did think about switching these to a blog, or similar just for the fun formating things I reckoned I could do. That still noodles away at the back of my mind and I reckon I might get to it at some point.

The thing is to do that would kill my momentum and for the time being at least I just like writing these. Its fun and this is self-absorbed after all. So I kinda want to keep the pace up, finish up here before I start even thinking about the rewrites I'd need to do to post these elsewhere. This is NaNoWriMo is my comics thoughts!

[Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 4]

Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 4

Learn more

Obligatory Wikipedia page but who needs that as quite rightly Beanworld has its own Wiki.

Beanworld Wiki is a resource I've only discovered in my research for this piece but will be an inspensible companion on my next re-read, which is flying up my too read spreadsheet.

TV tropes has a fun Beanworld page. I love how they find 'tropes' in such a unique piece of fiction.

Total Eclipse has an interesting page on the series.

There's quite a few bits and pieces out there. The normal places have a mix of reviews and what not but I'll pull this one out as the final one here just cos Philadelphia Comics.

Go exploring and you'll find plenty more.

What is all this?

Conscious that this is becoming a long thread and if you're wondering what the heck you've just read and can't be arsed (quite sensibly) to search back to find out I'll link to my opening posts that try to explain all this.

What this all came from

And of course a nerd won't do a list like this without setting 'Rules' / guidelines

Some thoughts on what will not be on the list.

[Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 3]

Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 3


Copyright - Them what created it

The mere fact that something as unique and utterly original isn't quite enough of an explanation as to why I returned to these comics. I mean things can be absolutely original and different and utterly terrible. To be honest that is more often the case. After all there's likely to be a reason there is nothing like something utterly original out there!

With Tales of Beanworld there isn't any truth in that, these are brilliant comics. The simplistic art style gives these a charm and naive honesty that means they have the imagination and look of a child's unfettered imagination. It was as if Larry Marder, a man able to be an executive in a major comics company, was still able to release his imagination in a way that more often than not the rest of us lose as the adult world grabs hold of us.

He is able though to bring a level of guile and craft to this imagination that adds so much more to them than the fever dreams of a child. As I've alluded to the simple iconism of the images, this series also has a feel of ancient legends and traditional myths. Marder taps into this and in exploring history really gives the tales a sense of mythical world building. It has a magical sense of scale. Yet at the same time as I've also suggested this world building has an almost ecological element to it. All the entities, creatures and resources in Beanworld interconnect and have coevolved together. The world building has the air of a microscopic ecosystem and the world detailing provides the details and specifics of how that world works.

Of course the two things have always been connected. Myths and legends have always been used to help cultures try to explain the world around them and how its wonders work. Before science adds detail to understanding to help us grasp the majesty of the world in all its scale, societies use story to craft their own understanding. Larry Marder synthesises this to perfection and with the tales of myth, he peels away the mystery with understanding while keeping the grandiose wonder of legends.

Oh and he uses wonderful characters and genuinely compelling stories to do this. Like the art they may be deceptively simple, almost childlike, but there is depth here. Characters change and grow, stories have real intrigue and tension. Of course not in the traditional sense of more grounded stories but it is there. Captured in this childlike simplicity is complexity. The possibility of this imaginative playground isn't tied down however. These open myths, the child-like qualities leave these solid, well crafted, well told stories open to the reader to interrupt and draw what they want from. I can imagine a child just wrapped in glee as they dive into this story and world that must speak to their most fantastic dreams. Any adult reader can enjoy them at this level too. Just enjoy great stories and characters that enchant you and ask you to joyfully explore their world with them. You can look for deeper meaning and insights into the Process that Larry Marder suggests Beanworld is. You can break it down and analyse, try to find your meaning and value in what is being presented to you. You can do that, but you really don't have to. You see while Beanworld is

"A most peculiar comic book experience."

It's built on very simple foundations. Great story with great characters and you can't ask for more than that.


Copyright - Them what created it

I've tried to tell you as much as I can about Beanworld, why I think it's a fantastic comic and why I think folks should check it out. If anything I've said appeals to you and you aren't familiar with the series, my final suggestion is forget everything I've said and pick it up and enter the world with an open mind. I'm quite sure you will find things and meaning in these delightful stories that are entirely different to mine. And all power to those different takes and Beanworld is the type of brilliant comics that really shouldn't be defined in any way other than what it means to the individual reader.

[Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 2]

Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 2


Copyright - Them what created it

It could also just be simple kids stories told to entertain about weird, cute fantastical beasties. It could be none of these, it's likely all of them and more. "Beanworld isn't a place, it's a process." and what that process is depends on who is reading and enjoying it. It's not one thing or another, Larry Marder likely has his intention, but this series opens up possibly, using delightful, charming, warm and occasionally thrilling stories. It sits at the extremities of what a comic can be and the stories the medium can tell, while encapsulating all the joys and possibility of simple tales comics do so well. As it proudly (I hope) proclaims on its cover it's

"A most peculiar comic book experience."

How I came to the series is a little lost to time now. I first read it back in the day in my late teens, early twenties, possibly as it was mentioned in Cerebus, possibly just 'cos it was the type of indie comic I was devouring at the back end of my initial comics collecting phase. It was a sod to get hold of. I had issues here and there and a trade collection of the first six (I think it was) issues of the series. It was a different world back then, distribution of the 80s black white explosion comics in the UK was patchy. Just like today the direct market and back issue sellers were dominated by the mainstream superhero comics of DC and Marvel and it was a lot harder to track things down.

It's testament to this time however that a comic like Tales of Beanworld was even able to exist. The diversity of material coming out of that black and white explosion, coming off the success of self published juggernauts like Cerebus, later boosted by even more successful titles like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mean that Larry Marder was able to successfully able to self-publish the title in 1984. It was picked up for distribution by Eclipse a year later. He carried on with the title until 1993 when he became the Executive Director of Image Comics shortly after it launched. What a wonderful and bizarre thing the comics industry can be that the creator of Beanworld a comic by Marder's own admission

"Beanworld is the exact opposite of most modern comics. The artwork is really simple and the storyline's quite complex. Most comics have complicated artwork supporting very simple storylines."

can become a chief figure in the history of the company whose comics in those heady days of the 90s was everything that Beanworld was not!

Alas however at that time one assumes the demands of such a lofty position meant he simply didn't have time to continue creating his masterpiece. I don't know to be honest there could be other reasons. Whatever the situation we got nothing new for a good number of years.


Copyright - Them what created it
 
Now as it happened that didn't matter much to me as I was out of things. Hedonism, music and stuff like that became my passions and there just simply wasn't space for comics. As I've mentioned before (I think...maybe..) as I was selling comics in the early 2000s I was seeing all sorts of things on eBay that intrigued me. Comics were flying out the door in carefully wrapped cardboard casing but at the same time creeping back into my mind as I started to settle down. As I slowly got back into things, 2000ad and superhero stuff leading the way, a few other favourites snuck in as well.

A number of these will be appearing in higher positions in this list, but Beanworld is the first example of a series I that sold off in those early days of my return to comics, but in doing so pretty quickly turned my head. The world had changed and all of a sudden with a bit of patience and more disposable income meant that, whereas before I'd had to make do with snatching at the bits of Beanworld I could find, all of a sudden this time, in a year or two I had a full set. The question remains why did Beanworld claim its place back in my collection?

The answer is pretty clear, well aside from being just plain great comics, as said "A most peculiar comic book experience.". I was deep in superhero territory, I was completing runs of a few old favourites that I was now able to find relatively easily. I was slowly starting to look around me to see what else was out there, curious, if not yet dipping in too deep. So while Hicksville, discussed last time, didn't really make much of an impact in what I was picking up outside superhero stuff, however much I loved it. It was becoming clear to me that while there was nothing else like Beanworld when I was first reading comics, there appeared to be nothing else like Beanworld that came out since. The only things I'd seen that were anything like Beanworld since then is... well more Beanworld.

Larry Marder left his position at Image around the turn of the millennium (I think), not sure what he did straight after that but by the end of the 2000s he was ready to return to his masterpiece. First Dark Horse released two volumes reprinting the original material. He then produced two more similar sized original graphic novels of new material to my delight. The timing was perfect! I devoured these and waited for more. After all, as I've said to death, there is nothing quite like these tales in the comics market. Indeed in any other media. Will we get more,, I'm still waiting but hopefully one day.

[Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 1]

Number 77 - Beanworld - Part 1



Number 77 - Beanworld

Keywords: Ecosystems, unique, all ages, avant garde... I guess!

Creators:
Writer - Larry Marder
Art - Larry Marder
Colours - There is no colour in Beanworld

Publisher: Beanworld Press, reprinted by Dark Horse

No. issues: 21 in the original series - collected in 2 volumes and then Dark Horse published two similar sized volumes of new material so I guess we're up to about 40ish issues by now?
Date of Publication: Original series 1983 - 1993. Graphic novels 2009 - 2017.

Last read: 2012

Last time I talked about how Hicksville was in part a love letter to the potential for comics to tell all sorts of stories. It's funny and perfect timing therefore that the next entry is for


Copyright - Them what created it

as there is no better example of a series stretching the boundaries of what a comic can be and the types of stories the medium can be used to tell. I mean they are never making a movie of Beanworld. It really could be presented in any other form... well unless...maybe an experimental Czech cartoon from the 1960s!

It'll surprise no one that more often than not, not a great deal of planning goes into my entries. There are some that lodge in my head and when I come to write them I've already thought a great deal about what I'm going to say. Most get planned on the page. This is just me blurting the thoughts out my head as much as anything. That was certainly the case with my last entry for Hicksville. So that I discussed so much there that relates to what I think I'm about to say about Beanworld is just  a wonderful coincidence. I say 'what I think I'm about to say' as I've not really got my head into what I'm thinking about Beanworld yet. Which in this particular instance is probably very foolish. As you see

Beanworld is unique.

And brilliant.

And utterly bizarre.

What it's about is a little harder to describe. What it means to me is probably a little easier. But let's start with the tricky stuff.

Tales of the Beanworld is the story of...well beans, simply rendered creatures that live in a unique ecosystem. It details both their adventures but through them it examines the ecosystem they live in, their world and the life cycle of the beans and the creatures they live with. Their interconnections and codependency.


Copyright - Them what created it

As Larry Marder, the creator of the series says "Beanworld isn't a place, it's a process.". With the series and the ecosystem there are a number of distinct, led characters whose tales give a traditional narrative structure to our exploration of the world. Mr Spook, who while not a Bean acts as 'hero' (if such typical archetypes exist in Beanworld) and champion for the Beans, leading their adventures, hunts for resources and more. He is equipped with a fork that acts as a weapon and so much more. In many ways Mr Spook is the hero of so many ancient myths and legends. His fork is Mjolnir, Excalibur, but so much more than just a weapon.

Professor Garbanzo is an inventor and wiseman of the Beans. She uses the resources the Beans are able to gather across Beanworld to craft new inventions and helps the Beans develop and evolve how their society works. If Mr Spook fills the role of champion, she fills the role of wizard or shaman. Beanish is an artist so while Professor Garbanzo uses the resources, things like slats, hoops, twinks and chips that fill the four layers that immediately surround the Bean's island, Beanish uses them to craft art and things to inspire cultural development. They are the storyteller or bard of the society, they represent art.

Other life forms coexist with the Beans. The Hoi-Polloi larger beasts that herd into circles to protect 'chow' the Beans primary source of substance, but is also the 'currency' the Hoi-Polloi endlessly gamble with. Gran'Ma'Pa is a tree, not unlike the tree of life from Norse myth, that acts as guardian for the whole of Beanworld and has almost Godlike qualities. As is Dreamishness who hovers above Beanworld almost like a sun.

There are many more. So while I often think of Beanworld as an ecosystem, the Beans' microscopic organisms co-evolving with the other creatures of their level of reality could also be seen as characters from ancient mythology. Tales of legends told in cartoons, like Gods and heroes painted on Greek pottery, or paintings found on ancient cave walls.

(You don't have to read many books about Tintin and his creator to learn that, although he IS the genius behind the original strips and the storylines, by the time the albums were being collected in colour, it was mostly a team of other artists doing all the hard work... shades of Stan Lee et al. Not saying he's a bad dude, but not a good enough dude to paint as heroic as he is in Hicksville )

That said, I totally recommend Hicksville, and also the much later and not-really-related story 'Sammy Zabel and his Magic Pen'.

Ohhh I don't know a great deal about Herge. Tintin has never been my bag, I was much more an Asterix reader growing up. Not that the two are in any way mutually exclusive, many folks love them both. Its a comic I keep thinking I should check out as so many people who love the comics I do adore them. My childhood memories however just put me off.  One day, one day. Its interesting to hear a little more about Herge roll in there history as he is of course so singlualy associated with the character and his tales.

Sammy Zabel and his Magic Pen is however on my list for buying right now, but proving a bit of a pain to get hold of at a reasonable price. So well placd recommendation.

[Future Shock]

So I'm a bit hungover today after a pretty cool late night celebrating a very good friend's 50th... now why do I mention this. Well context. I'm a bit tired and grumpy and so I'm going to do my best to behave myself... but...

If I'd have paid extra for this issue (I sub so I'm good) I might have been a bit peeved. The difference between this and a regular Prog is essentially a Future Shock and an extra lenght Terror Tale (not officially a Terror Tale but...).

The Future Shock is pretty good fun with lovely art by Stewart K Moore. Not a stunner but enjoyable enough. The Terror Tale, actually called The Lord Provides, well it has issues. It was 10 pages and I can't for the life of me understand why. There was nothing there to justify the page count and this would have been a pretty wooly 5 pager. As it is the extra space wasn't used to develop either character or atmosphere, and forget plot. It felt like the space was used just to sttrrreeettccchhhhh things but add nothing. The art felt rudamentry from a new artist to me Petite Creme. It didn't feel ready for the prog. There was little sense of the western environment this story was set in. There was little to add to the creepy atmosphere the story was going for and the character work was... just about there. I'll be brutal (see tired and grumpy above). This felt like a left over from the Regened when it was on the low eb at the end of its run. It felt like Tharg was having to use up Jargo's inventry. Who knows.

So beyond this you do have a pretty decent regular Prog. Dredd bubbles up nicely to this stories conclusion (I think) though overall I get the sense that this tale would have been better a couple of parts tighter.

Similarly Intestinauts seems to be bubbling up to it conclusion in a brisk episode.

Brink and Proteus Vex - well what's left to be said both remain wonderful.

Rogue Trooper well that's a great start to the new story and Dan Cornwell, well we know he's a bit good already huh. Good opening let's see how we go.

So we have a good regular Prog, which I of course appreciate. The rest feels a little like needless filler, which if I'd had to pay extra for I'd have been miffed about. Mind Tharg does remind folks to subscribe at in the Nervecentre and this Prog is certainly an effective, if cynical (ahem) advert for what that's actually a good idea.

Oh that's all very interesting. We now typically get less Wagner Dredd then back in the day when he'd left the Prog for the Meg. I mean its not like he's not more than earnt the break but its a shame.

On the upside I speculated in another thread that Ken Neimand had produced more pages of Dredd in the last few years than any other Dredd writer. This proves that to be true but my a mcuh wider margin that I'd even got close to thinking. Then in 2023 to have done over 50% is an astonishing feat. One I'm quite happy with but those figures do surprise me.

Yeah just finished this last night and it's excellent. Reminded me a lot of the Worlds Of Aldebaran comics with it's alien ecology building. Shame there isn't more.

Ohhh now you have me intrigued. Must check this out...

[Godzilla Minus One]

Godzilla Minus One wanted to like it...and didn't just a bit... daft (again I know big monster movie get over it) and cliche.

... I have a couple of old single issues of things like Green Lantern and Master of Kung Fu I still adore, but offloaded full runs of stuff ages ago as they no longer thrill me as they did and I can't get onboard with modern superheroic stuff at all - because my tastes have changed, and rightfully so. One's enjoyment of art, literature etc should always be in growth rather than static.

People moaning that an art medium isn't as good as when they were younger isn't confined to comics and it's SO frustrating when encountered.

Absolutely this. There's old stuff I love for all sorts of reason and its not just the craft being good, its the way they shaped what I look for. Even as that changes and grows some will hang in, but so much has served its purpose in leading me to appreciate new (to me, not necessarily modern) different stuff.

...Interestingly the cleverer a comic is the more I've found it can suffer as an 'all-time' read because the themes it deals with are deeper and so more likely to lose relevance or be viewed differently as time passes (Preacher being a good and oft-debated example!)

Ohhh interesting. I guess it depends on the specific but I think the smartest comics (and as you rightly say this is true of all media and art for, but you know me comics, comics, COMICS) grow with you. The themes and ideas I might pull out will change BUT the best comics have the depth so that

1. A single reading at given point will never get you everything. I finished Monica by Daniel Clowes last night and I literally had to resist going back and starting it again immediately as I knew I'd get so much more BUT need to give it space and time to ferment before looking at it again.

2. They have layers mean things you pull out when you are say 20, will change when you are 30 and by the time you're an old git over 50 like me will be utterly different. But those different things will be there.

3. The nostalgia value of something being so foundational will be amplified even when the flash bang wallop of magnificent moments has worn thin by rereading.

Its something I'd defo seeing as I write these. The best comics I get really inchy to read again as I write up as I start to think about what was there, and what that might bring to me now.

I've listened to this one now and as well as being a typically fun episode with the added delight of Robbie Morrison its a lovely momento of a fantastic weekend as well.

Thanks for doing this folks.