Richard: How did the idea for Beanworld come to you?

Larry: Not in a blinding flash, I can tell you that. Beanworld was something that slowly percolated in my imagination over the long span of many years and a lot of trial and error. The characters came pretty easily but the world; its rules, its laws, its geography was something that often felt a lot like trying to fit together a jigsaw puzzle with no picture on the box and no assurance that all the pieces were actually on the table.

Richard: Who is Professor Garbanzo?

Larry: She’s Beanworld’s thinker and inventor. She works out of her Fix-It Shop where she makes and repairs Beanworld’s tools and weapons.

Richard: How would you describe Beanish?

Larry: He’s Beanworld’s resident artist. On the days when the Chow Sol’jer Army doesn’t go off to war, he creates The Fabulous Look-See-Show, large iconic sculptures. He makes play toys called Beanworld Action Effigies for the baby beans, the Pod’l’ pool Cuties to play with. He also has a daily secret rendezvous with a beautiful creature names Dreamishness. Even though he is forbidden to tell anyone about her their relationship is the key to the future of Beanworld.

Richard: How would you describe Beanworld's world?

Larry: Thin. It exists in what I call a two-and-one-half dimensional space. It’s a bit like an old fashioned ant farm. Things can go up and down and left and right; seemingly infinitely but the distance between foreground and background is a very, very short distance.

The characters themselves, although they are simple visually, in terms of plot and emotion; they can be pretty complex. Beanworld overall has been described as being deceptively simple. That’s about right.

Richard: What did you do as President of McFarlane Toys?

Larry: For most of my tenure, I was Todd McFarlane’s consigliore, facilitator, and fixer. Over the time that I was there, Todd tended to tune in and out of his interest in the day-to-day details of his businesses. Some years he would want to micro-manage every facet and other chunks of time, he’d really only be engaged in the art direction of the toys. When he was in a period where he was calling all the shots, it was my responsibility to see that his wishes were carried out in the exact fashion that he expected. When he was more disengaged; the CFO and I would oversee the planning of where we wanted the business to go. Then we would present these ideas to Todd, get a nod, and then make sure that it progressed as closely to the plan as we anticipated. Because Todd rarely wanted to leave his family and travel, it was my job to oversee all the coordination between the various divisions.

I also spent a lot of time talking to McFarlane’s licensors, trying to make sure that the approval process went as smoothly as possible. As a result I was on the road a lot. I spent a lot of time at the R&D facilities in New Jersey. I made a lot of day trips to and from LA during the week. Towards the end of my time there, I was spending more and more time in Hong Kong and China.

Richard: How did Beanworld come to Dark Horse?

Larry: It seemed like the best fit for an odd book like Beanworld. And I really wanted, no, needed Diana Schutz to be my editor. She has done a spectacular job of making sure that final Beanworld products are incredibly well designed and produced.

Richard: What does Dark Horse have planned?

Larry: So far an online web comic and the color Holiday Special have been published. The first hardcover Beanworld collection “Wahoolazuma!” has already shipped and has been received very well. This summer the second hardcover collection “A Gift Comes!” will be published. That will conclude the collecting of the original Tales of the Beanworld stories.

And in the fall “Remember Here When You Are There!” a 200 page original hardcover graphic novel will go on sale. It is all new and it picks right up where the old Beanworld series left off. It prominently showcases not only Mr. Spook, Professor Garbanzo, Beanish and Dreamishness, but also the Boom’r Band. The Pod’l’pool Cuties learn to fly and the long awaited return of Heyoka and Big Fish too.

Richard: Would you ever like to try making a comic totally different from Beanworld?

Larry: I don’t think so. I’ve done a few things here and there over the years—written things other people drew and drew things other people wrote. Didn’t really do much for me to tell the truth. I’m so immersed in the mythos of Beanworld that that is where I expect I will stay for the foreseeable future. But I learned a long time ago to never say never.

Richard: Do you think a person's imagination plays a major role in how a person perceives Beanworld?

Larry: Absolutely.

Richard: If you had one wish what would it be and why?

Larry: Health and happiness for all the people I love.

Richard: What other comic books would you recommend?

Larry: Anything by Jack Kirby, particularly his off-beat ‘70s stuff. RASL by Jeff Smith, Essex County Trilogy by Jeff Lemire, anything by James Kochalka. Right now I’m re-reading Watchmen for the first time since I read the original run in the comics.

Richard: How can someone contact you?

Larry: larrymarder@gmail.com

Richard: What advice would you offer for your fans?

Larry: Actually what I’d like to thank them for is their extreme patience and their extraordinary loyalty to Beanworld for so many years. But I have returned from my long sojourn into the Business World and back in the Beanworld. At last.