GUNK'L'DUNK e-mail newsletter for fans of _Tales_of_the_Beanworld_ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue 02, 5 October 1991 Gunk'l'dunk is here to provide a forum for fans of Larry Marder's _Tales of the Beanworld_ (TOTB), and to promote wider readership of this unique comic. Compiled by Jeremy York, jeremy@stat.washington.edu Submissions, and comments on content and/or format gladly accepted! Please, send me more ASCII Beanworld art for the header!!! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INFORMATION AND ADMINISTRIVIA Hello again folks. I now count around 50 subscribers to this newsletter, which is good. However, my general exam (an oral defense of my thesis before it is written) and other constraints on my time mean that I won't be taking the time to say a whole lot in these newsletters. Unless some of you folks begin to step in, we'll have lots of interested readers, but nothing much to read. Some may feel that there's not much to say until #20 comes out, but I disagree. I'm sure people who've only read a few issues will have some questions, which would be gladly answered by those who've read more. There are plenty of mysteries, and lots of different opinions/interpretations regarding them (what/why is Mr. Spook? How did he come to be? Is the fork-quest over? If so, will Proffy continue experimenting with float factor, and for what purpose? How does the Beanworld fit into the Big Big Picture? What are the Goofy Jerks, and what do they get out of delivering reproductive propellant? etc etc). I think we can get some good threads started, so either mail me your submissions, or mail something out to the comix list. The comix mailing list is a complimentary forum to Gunk'l'dunk (send subscription requests to comix-request@world.std.com). That list is devoted to alternative, non-superhero comics, and TOTB discussions are welcome. The comix list allows for fast, spontaneous discussion which is impossible with a newsletter. If you don't feel like subscribing to the comix list, I will be including all the Beanworld discussion there in each Gunk'l'dunk. As of now, I'll only send the latest Gunk'l'dunk to new subscribers. Previous issues have : #00 - written by me, just a sketch of what the newsletter might look like, with a couple of pieces of real information scattered around; #01 - several list members introduce themselves, a description of some important players for new readers, news about the second Beanworld trade paperback, and a guide on how to find TOTB backissues; supplement to #01 is Tim Tjark's Beanworld index, with plot synopses and cover descriptions for each issue through #16 or #17. All of the above are available on request, just send me e-mail. WANTED : More subscribers! Feel free to advertise this newsletter through any local means, and give my e-mail address out. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INTRODUCTIONS Don't be shy folks! Only a fraction of you have stepped forward to introduce yourselves! From HOBBKD@morekypr.BITNET (Kenny Hobbs) : Hot patootie, bless my soul! This is exactly what I have been looking for. A Beanworld newsletter! I have been a fan for a few years now, collecting one issue at a time at conventions (just think of how rare it is to get one of those early ones here in KY without ordering it from Mile High or something!) Finally I have all the issues, and the first TPB, as well as the Scout crossover, one of the Total Eclipse issues, and the stuff in Giant Size Mini Comics that Marder did. [Kenny also informed me that he was a winner of the DIYB -see issue #17. Congrats! Any other brushes with Beanworld greatness? Also, we'd *love* to hear more about the Scout appearance, the Giant Size Mini Comics, etc. - jeremy] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BEAN NEWS All I can say is this -- the last TOTB published was #19, and it will probably be at least a month until #20 hits the stands. The second Beanworld trade paperback is supposed to ship in November. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TALES FROM THE MARDERWORLD I'm continuing to send each issue of Gunk'l'dunk directly to Larry; with this issue, I'm going to request a telephone interview. There will probably be a considerable lagtime before this really happens, so there's time for you to send me ideas for questions. Also, should you want to write a letter to the lettercolumn, one way to do it would be to type it in and send it to me. I'll include it in the next Gunk'l'dunk, and I'll make sure Larry sees it in the copy that I send to him. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESSAYS, STORIES, INFORMATION FILES, ETC Nothing this time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MISCELLANEOUS DISCUSSION From: Danny Horn The newsletter is great; I really enjoy it. Keep up the good work. -- There are two Forbidden Planet stores in New York City. One is at 227 E. 59th St., and the other is at 821 Broadway (in the heart of historic Greenwich Village). I don't know if they have Beanworld back issues but they're big and worth a shot. I know they get the new issues when they come out, and probably have the last couple still on the racks. [thanks for the store info. I'll add any info people send me on good comics stores to the backissue guide, and eventually send out an updated version - jeremy] -- The three students [the Mr.'s in training] from #19 were: Charlie Brown, Krazy Kat (from the 30s comic strip of the same name), and Megaton Man (a late-80s superhero parody comic). If you're interested in looking up Megaton Man, an issue was just re-printed about a week ago, and it was called something like "The Uncategorizable X-Thems." It's pretty funny. It looked like the Krazy Kat student was made of bricks-- if you're at all familiar with the strip, Ignatz Mouse was famous for throwing bricks at Krazy, which Krazy interpreted as a symbol of love. I don't remember what the other two students were made of, but perhaps their body shapes are also related to the comic characters they represent. [Charlie Brown's body was the jagged stripe from the shirt he always wears - jeremy] ******gunk'l'dunk****** From: "Bill Kaufman" Regarding places to buy TOTB -- I can verify that the following comic stores carry said obscurity (listed in decreasing order of personal preference): Forbidden Planet in NYC (12th St. & B'way, and 59th St. near 1st Ave) Probably as good as London, as reff'ed in #01 Comic Relief in Berkeley, CA (as of two years back...) Lee's Comics in Palo Alto, CA and San Mateo, CA Penninsula Comics, Belmont, CA Comics & Comix, all over CA Re "Planiverse": Yeah, it's like "Flatland" by Abbot, except it's better written, and it goes more into the life and lifestyles there. And, while "Flatland" is *fiction*, "Planiverse" is *real*. Random thought: Some of what we've learned about the Big*Big*Picture is how the Beanworld we're seeing isn't conforming to norms: Neither Mr. Spook nor his fork is supposed to be there (according to the Jerks); Heyokas aren't supposed to float--or maybe, just not supposed to do it *that* much? (according to Mr. Teach'm). And, I get the feeling Dreamishness doesn't appear to that many artists. Y'think there's something special about this place? Is it just one of those comic coincidences we're all supposed to accept--like, Peter Parker always being nearby a crime? Or maybe there's a EVEN*BIGGER*PICTURE that the cast we've seen so far doesn't even know about,...? [What I wonder is would the Beanworld be better off if it were a normal Pod'l'pool world, where everything had gone according to plan? Mr. Teach'm seems to think that Mr. Spook is out of the ordinary as far as Heroes go, perhaps because of the mysterious problems with his birth described in the Goofy Jerks part of #15 - seems right out of the Peter Parker standard superhero origin, don't it? Anyway, with less adversity, Proffy might not have been quite so clever, and Beanish not quite so creative. Would the life that Gran'Ma'Pa provides be perfect if nothing had ever gone wrong? Or would it have been too static and, well, boring? - jeremy] ******gunk'l'dunk****** From: Ronald Hale-Evans Yes, the Planiverse is similar to Flatland in certain ways, the most prominent being its two-dimensionality. Certainly the author has read *Flatland*. There are significant differences, however. *Flatland* seems to have been written at least partly as political satire. *The Planiverse* seems to have been written for the joy of it. It is much more detailed than *Flatland*, down to biology, illustrations of the Planies' tools, physical laws (including the periodic table of the elements), and so on. In this sense, I think many people on the list would enjoy it. Again, the author is A.K. Dewdney. I think it's out of print, so check your library. ******gunk'l'dunk****** From: Richard L. Corcoran Greetings! Thus far Gunk'l'dunk looks good. I just wanted to throw in some comments about Beanworld. Richmond Comix (Richmond, VA (804) 745-0401) will get Beanworld in, but I think they only get 4-5 copies/issue & I doubt they have back issues. TOTB is one of the reasons I shop there, both the owner & I have the entire series. Unfortunately I hadn't the foresight then to buy extra copies, nor did he (I've asked). Tidbits: - Beanish functions not only as the artist of Beanworld, but also as their shaman. His relation to the other beans is similar to that of some native american indian tribes where art and magic where very interrelated and intune with THE*BIG*BIGPICTURE than the others, proffy included. -The guy with the BIG chin [in #19] was Megaton Man, now defunct spoof done by Kitchen Sink that parodied just about every Superhero cliche' that existed. Ran for 10 or so bimonthly issues which are worth checking out. I believe they ceased regular publicastion because of threats from MARVEL over a lawsuit over KS's spoof of the FF. Liquidman, See-thru Girl, The Human mMeltdown, and Yarnman were hilarious, but not for innocent minds. See-thru girl (L-man's wife) slept around, et cetera. But I digress. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CONTRIBUTERS/SUBSCRIBERS (folks, do ya think it's worth it for me to tack this onto the end of each issue?) eda@persoft.com (Ed Almasy) avera@astrosun.tn.cornell.edu (Eric Avera) barger@aristotle.ils.nwu.edu (Jorn Barger) braden@math.mit.edu (Tom Braden) mkb@mica.berkeley.edu (Mike Brodhead) jacob@taitastigon.tcs.com (Jacob Butcher) bc@last.cac.washington.edu (Brian Chin) chryses@xurilka.uucp (Phong T. Co) bam8rlc@cabell.vcu.edu (Richard L. Corcoran) vicka@wrq.com (Vicka Corey) DCOSTA%DREW.BITNET@bitnet.cc.cmu.edu (Dave Costa) cro6@midway.uchicago.edu (John Crocker) pdc@prg.ox.ac.uk (Damian Cugley) paul@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Paul Dworkin) tiktok@milton.u.washington.edu (Steve Feldon) jf2z+@andrew.cmu.edu (John Charles Fiala) WUGCRC@wums2.wustl.edu (Dan Flasar) am110@cleveland.freenet.edu (Philip J. Flores) GRF101@psuvm.psu.edu (Glenn Frantz) GIRARDOT@DICKINSN.BITNET (David Girardot) goldfarb@ocf.berkeley.edu (David Goldfarb) EVANS@binah.cc.brandeis.edu (Ronald Hale-Evans) HOBBKD@MOREKYPR.BITNET (Kenny Hobbs) ST701134@brownvm.brown.edu (Danny Horn) rick@cstr.edinburgh.ac.edu (Rick Innis) jeffrey@cs.chalmers.se (Alan Jeffrey) autodesk\!unreal\!robertj@fernwood.mpk.ca.us (Young Rob Jellinghaus) rjohnson@vela.acs.oakland.edu (Rod Johnson) kenj@kambo.asd.sgi.com (Ken Jones) yummyfur@jhunix.hcf.jhu.edu (Stephen K Jusick) wkaufman@us.oracle.com (Bill Kaufman) jamesc@eng.sun.com (James Langdell) Andrew.Machan@AtlantaGA.NCR.COM (Andrew Machan) don@tse.UUCP (Don Marks) warden@triton.unm.edu (Scott Micheel) gt0831c@prism.gatech.edu (William Moss) otten@quark.umd.edu (Neil Ottenstein) pautler@mimir.ils.nwu.edu (David Pautler) s8919747@spectrum.cs.unsw.oz.au (Warwick Pulley) samr@gargoyle.uchicago.edu (Samuel A. Rebelsky) nestene@css.itd.umich.edu (Peter Waard Riley) rons@midway.uchicago.edu (Josh Ronsen) sadoyama@argon.berkeley.edu (Eric Sadoyama) rsalz@bbn.com (Rich Salz) schlatt@math.berkeley.edu (Mark Schlatter) sievert@corp.hp.com (Lisa Sieverts) ST403104@brownvm.brown.edu (Evan Simpson) uc112_424960@emunix.emich.edu (Stewart Tame) tjarks@iedit1.att.com (Tim Tjarks) mike@b.cambridge.ibm.com (Mike Wojcik) tim@theory.lcs.mit.edu (Timothy M. Wright) jeremy@stat.washington.edu (Jeremy York) karl@tiger1.prime.com (Karl E. Zimmerman) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- End, Gunk'l'dunk #02