Larry Marder is a firm believer in Marcel Duchamp's observation that it is the viewer that makes the picture.
Shortly after his difficult birth, his mother took one look at his lopsided head and exclaimed, "Why does he look like a bean!" So is it any wonder he's devoted his creative life to exploring the relationships and adventures that make up Larry Marder's Beanworld?
Marder was born in Chicago in 1951 and grew up in Highland Park, Illinois. He spent the first third of his life pursuing art. His interests in comic books and Native American mythology started at an early age. He was educated at Hartford Art School where he became engrossed in conceptual art and underground comix. It was in this period that his iconic Bean shaped characters were first developed. Marder earned a bachelor of fine arts degree in 1973.
After college, Marder went to work as an advertising executive in Chicago by day, and by night created the most peculiar comic book experience Tales of the Beanworld, first released in 1985 by Eclipse Comics. 21 issues were published until 1993. It was in that year that Marder went off to "join the comic book circus" full time, as the Executive Director of Image Comics and later President of McFarlane Toys. What he intended as a short sabbatical from Beanworld, ended up stretching into fifteen years.
To the delight of his fans all over the world, Marder left the business world and returned to making Beanworld full time in 2007. There are three hardover Beanworld graphic novels in print from Dark Horse Books.
Marder lives in Orange County, California, with his wife, Cory, and their two cats, Olive and Chipper
Marder currently serves as President of the Board of Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the First Amendment rights of the comic book community. The First Amendment guarantees the right to Free Expression. It ensures that no American can be persecuted for speaking their political, religious, social, or artistic beliefs. It protects controversial ideas, and has been the subject of many hotly contested battles. The CBLDF fights the battles where comics are challenged.
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