Ernest P. Worrell has saved Christmas, scared stupid and gone to camp. And now he is heading to the world of graphic novels. Worrell – famously played by Jim Varney – will ride again as the star of his own book titled Ernest & the Dream Stone, provided there is enough crowdfunded backing.
From September 17th – October 17th, Kickstarter will host the campaign for the graphic novel, which has been “created in direct collaboration with the owners of the franchise and with the heartfelt support of Jim Varney’s nephew and biographer, Justin Lloyd.” The work clocks in at an impressive 150+ pages.
In a promo video for the graphic novel – which offers tons of easter eggs for fans – writer Corey Perkins stated, “We are so excited to announce that for the first time in over 25 years, Ernest P. Worrell is back for his first adventure, in comic book form…We worked on this script for probably over a year and a half, really fine-tuning it, trying to make sure it’s as on-brand and Ernest-y as possible so that when you open the book, you’re really transported back to the original world of Ernest.”
As Varney was a comic book collector himself and the cult character is ripe for rediscovery, this looks to be a fitting and admirable effort to get Ernest back in the spotlight. I don’t normally buy graphic novels or comics, but as someone who grew up with the Ernest movies – yes, Saves Christmas and Scared Stupid are annual watches in my house – but I am absolutely contributing to this campaign. And just as a fun fact, did you know that the “P.” stands for Powertools?
A documentary on Jim Varney titled The Importance of Being Ernest is also in early stages of development, having secured funding also through crowdfunding. Varney’s story – and that of his counterpart – is one worth exploring, so hopefully this also sees the light of day. First appearing in commercials, the character quickly received his own show titled Hey Vern, It’s Ernest!, which earned Varney the Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Series, even beating out Mr. Rogers! From there came a series of movies which, as Ernest’ popularity waned, would eventually be DTV fare. The most recent movie was Ernest in the Army, which came out two years before Varney’s death in 2000.
What do you think of an Ernest graphic novel? What was your favorite Ernest movie growing up?