Beanworld: Remember Here When You Are There!

After a 15-year hiatus, Marder returns to finish the springtime arc of his acclaimed Beanworld graphic novel series, a deceivingly simple fable—told in cartoony black-and-white drawings—of human culture acted out by a race of magical beans. Artist Beanish finds himself forced to explore the unfamiliar world of music when his muse Dreamish orders him to present her not with a love song but with “the” love song. At the same time, a determined and somewhat paranoid tribal hero, Mr. Spook, endeavors to feed and defend his fellow beans, despite the loss of his Trusty Fork; the Pod'l'pool Cuties and the Elusive Notworm quietly explore the mystery of the Float Factor; contrary Heyoka struggles to return home for the first time since she Broke Out; and Professor Garbanzo ponders what it all means. Where other fantasy authors are happy to mirror our present or past in their secondary worlds, embellishing their borrowed settings with a patina of imaginary magic and invented legend, Marder's Beanworld is its own highly original realm, with its own natural laws and mythology. Aside from a short glossary and simple map, Marder eschews explicit explanations, trusting his audience to unravel his intensely personal vision from context. (Dec.)