Bendy/novel
"We've not seen one like this before."
The article's subject originates from the Bendy novel series' continuity, which is not deemed as canonically part of the main series' lore. See Bendy Wiki:Canon for more information.
- This article is about a cartoon character. For other uses, see Bendy (disambiguation).
Bendy is a cartoon demon character originally created by Henry Stein as Joey Drew Studios' first character in 1928. He became the animation studio's official mascot and he starred in a multimedia of cartoons and comic strips, often alongside the studio's other characters such as Boris the Wolf and Alice Angel.
Overview
Creation
Bendy was originally created in 1928[1][2] by Henry Stein by Joey's request prior to the opening of Joey Drew Studios in the following year, but the record book of Joey Drew Studios states that Joey Drew was the person who created him. This was apparently done so Joey could glorify himself and take all the credit for Bendy's creation.
Henry first drew a cartoon character based off of Abby Lambert's drawing that Joey disproves.[1] It appeared to be a smiling young boy wearing overalls with the addition of devil horns and a tail just like the original drawing, only in a cartoon form and lacking a nose. Joey wanted a full new approach for the character, so Henry redrew the character to have devil-based traits while using the demon goat creature drawing as a reference, drawn with a bean-shaped body and wears a pair of shorts, boots, and a shirt. After the second attempt by Joey's demand, Henry removed the clothes—mainly because animals are essentially naked anyway—except for the boots while adding the gloves, but the head was still too goat-like and has a small beard. Therefore, the head was drawn to have more cartoon shapes and less life-looking, while making the character look younger, completed with a white face for the black circular horned head, classic pie-cut eyes, and a big toothy grin. For the finishing touch, the character was added with a bowtie.[2] Joey decided to name the character "Bendy." as an allusion to him always bending the rules.
Physical appearance
Bendy is a small demon-like imp creature colored entirely in black apart from his face, which is white while bearing a large toothy grin and large pie-cut eyes as his only facial features. He wears shiny black shoes, a white bowtie, and a pair of large white gloves, each with two black dots. Bendy's head is shaped like an oval, with the top of it being curved inwards to create the appearance of horns, which are always present in his silhouette regardless of which direction he is looking. Bendy lacks a neck, meaning that he is usually depicted with a floating head. However, this detail is inconsistent, and his head will occasionally be attached to his body.
Bendy is the shortest of the three main characters of the studios' cartoons, being only about half the height of Boris and Alice.
Personality
Bendy, while he is playful, fun-loving, and loves getting people's attention, he can get up to mischievous antics to almost always get himself into trouble.[3]
Despite his troublemaking, Bendy does have a good heart. When he receives a magical trident in the comics, his first order of business is granting Boris and Alice their respective wishes. Bendy is also shown to have a desire to help others, such as building a birdhouse for the pigeons in the Construction Corruption comic adaptation. Bendy is also has an adventurous side, which often gets him and his friends into trouble.
Appearances
Cartoon appearances
Cartoons in 1929
Bendy, as Joey Drew Studios' mascot, appeared in all cartoons except for few cases such as Alice Angel's Siren Serenade cartoon.
- Little Devil Darlin' - Bendy's first official cartoon debut.
- Sheep Songs! - Bendy's cartoon where Boris first appeared.
- Tombstone Picnic - Bendy walks out to the graveyard for a picnic. At the end of the cartoon's first half, he sees the shadow of an unknown character. With the second half seemingly lost, what happens next is currently unknown.
Cartoons in 1930s
- Haunted Hijinx (1931) - Bendy goes out for trick-or-treating and visits Boris' house for candies.
- Cookie Cookin (1931) - Bendy bakes a gingerbread man, which later ends up eaten by Boris under mysterious circumstances.
- Sent From Above (1933) - Bendy's role in Alice's first cartoon is not revealed.
- Hellfire Fighter (1933) - Bendy works at a firehouse with Boris.
- Snow Sillies (1934) - Bendy builds a snowman. However, the completed snowman melts at the end of the cartoon, much to Bendy's sorrow.
- The Butcher Gang (1935) - Bendy meets the villainous Butcher Gang members at a restaurant.
- Tasty Trio Troubles (1935) - Bendy visits the restaurant now owned by the Butcher Gang, where he will later fight over a hamburger with Charley. The cartoon ends up with Bendy getting chased by the gang out of their anger.
- Nightmare Faire (1937) - Bendy performs his talent in the circus.
Cartoons in unknown period
- The Dancing Demon- Full plot yet to be revealed, but it involves Bendy coming out as a dancer and includes a scene of him dancing in a hula skirt
Comic appearances
Syndicated comic strips
TBA
Dime-store comics
TBA
Promotional comics
TBA
Behind the Scenes
"Look pal, if you think I'm doing my job AND yours, I'm outta here!" - Wally Franks
Gallery
"Look pal, if you think I'm doing my job AND yours, I'm outta here!" - Wally Franks
See also
- Ink Demon, the failed experiment based on the character.
- Bendy (ink realm), the physical manifestation of the cartoon character
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bendy: The Illusion of Living. Part IV: Actualizing the Dream. Chapter 3: An Art Show. Written by Adrienne Kress and published by Scholastic Inc on February 2, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bendy: The Illusion of Living. Part IV: Actualizing the Dream. Chapter 4: The Birth of Bendy. Written by Adrienne Kress and published by Scholastic Inc on February 2, 2021.
- ↑ Joey Drew Studios Employee Handbook. Written by Cala Spinner and published by Scholastic on July 30, 2019.