MikeC » 20 Jan 2012 » Reply

I love your art, all the details you put in each panel; your characters, approachable and (some of them) lovable; and the adventure, not too grandiose, nor at all mundane. The whole package has the Goldilocks nature – it's just right.

Interestingly, this sense of character and story is conveyed by your standalone art, as well. That's especially tricky to do, you've really got some magic there.

Sure, I'd love for it to be in color. I'll let you know when I'm ready with the tricks to add enough extra time in the day to make that possible. I'd love for it to be in color, but I prefer the pace of storytelling you've set over an extended palette.

Bryan » 20 Jan 2012 » Reply

The art work is easy to escape into… I can take a look at pretty much any of your drawings and imagine the rest of the world.

glennnnnnn » 20 Jan 2012 » Reply

The drawing style serves the story admirably, but also the tiny details that can make each panel a rich little world of its own. Still, the pages are only like bricks in the construction of a great house where the tale lives. Its all interconnected. Without the story providing weight and energy to the images they are just nice drawings, but the vitality of the world makes them shine.

Mercy » 19 Jan 2012 » Reply

I like the story and the lovable characters, but what really keeps me coming back to the Bean is the artwork. The bold, vigorous ink work is very pleasing.

Also, you do transitions beautifully.

Ben » 19 Jan 2012 » Reply

My very favourite thing about the Bean is your drawing style. I love the detail you put into the mundane and the little titbits you leave for the observant eye on the way. That said, the pacing is also excellent. You know where you want to go, and you use exactly as many panels in exactly as many days as you want to get there. It's a tribute to the power you put in the artwork of even the "boring" days that no one complains when they come, and your readers keep coming back for them. Yesterday was a case in point. Keep creating, please!

Karyl » 19 Jan 2012 » Reply

I enjoy the characters, the scenery, and the above/below ground changing views, where you get reminders how much is out of sight at all times, no matter what seems to be going on in the opposite realm. This is of course true in our world too, but often goes unnoticed and unconsidered, so I am glad to see it brought out here.
I will be happy to see color when you finally do that, because the comics/renderings/commissions you've done let me see how well you utilize color and I'll enjoy that–but meanwhile, I guess my favorite Bean element is its mutability, which seems to be both author and character driven, and gives me the feeling that Bean is "writing itself".

rainycity1 » 19 Jan 2012 » Reply

Just picked up the webcomic last night (and read through *all* the archives when I was supposed to be doing something else.) The thing that strikes me is the drawing style. Although there have been a few pages that have looked rushed and lost the 'feel' it reminds me very much of a story being told in wood-cut. Several of the webcomics that I've read have started with a similar feel, but lost it along the way. I hope you'll keep it up. The detail and depth that it adds to the story is wonderful.

And, as an aside, I *particularly* like the fact that it is not colored. I've read other artist blogs who stay the reason that they switched to color (or switched drawing styles, for that matter) was for marketing appeal, so I understand that there are other constraints driving things. But I thought I'd mention that I *do* like it very much the way it is.

sfbell09 » 19 Jan 2012 » Reply

I like the storytelling. It is grandiose without being unreachable to a variety of ages. The characters are very well realized and full of life. They are also fallable, heroic and can be expendable should it serve to drive the story onward. But what I like the most is the emotional connection your tale and characters make. Each time I flip through the books or read the latest post, I do so knowing that at anytime I could experience any number of emotions. Well done!

Dormin » 19 Jan 2012 » Reply

From who is the exclamation sign?

Grey Matter » 19 Jan 2012 » Reply

This is the saddest way to start a morning…. *sniff*