Ernerst P. Worrell was a character developed in 1980 by an agency owned by two Nashville, Tennessee ad men named Jerry Carden and John Cherry. Played by actor Jim Varney, over the next seven years Ernest would shuck products for everyone from local Purity ice cream to national Coca Cola. Then, in 1983, Ernest moved on to the movies and television. Now, Corey Perkins, a Murfreesboro native, has brought Ernest to the graphic novel.
Initially announced on Ernest Day on June 8, 2024 with a Kickstarter campaign, the graphic novel is named Ernest and the Dream Stone. As Perkins told Murfreesboro Pulse, “Overall, the comic is meant to be somewhat of a love letter to Ernest Scared Stupid with its spooky atmosphere and darker undertone. Ernest will be going on a wacky adventure to defeat the graphic novel’s main villain, Dr. Otto. This refers back to Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam, created by John Cherry and Coke Sams, the duo responsible for creating Ernest’s character.”
According to the Kickstarter campaign, Ernest and the Dream Stone was “created in direct collaboration with the owners of the Ernest franchise [Josh Cherry the son of the late John Cherry] and with the heartfelt support of Jim Varney’s nephew and biographer, Justin Lloyd, this project is a true labor of love.”
The initial month-long campaign closed on October 17, 2024, quickly passing their initial goal of $35,000. Now, they are offering special bonuses as part of their “stretch goals.”
With a script written by Perkins, the 150-page graphic novel was illustrated by M. Arief Russanto, colored by Mariam Yasser, with cover art by Erwin J. Arroza. Originally written as a screenplay, Perkins worked hard to capture the humor of the 1980s and 1990s, the cadence of Ernest’s pattern of speech, and a strong story line. The story is about a magical stone that Ernest comes across that turns dreams into reality and the “mad scientist” Dr. Otto.
Between 1987 and 1993, John Cherry and Coke Sams made five Ernest feature films and four direct to video films that were made on a low budget and were very profitable, if critical failures. Ernest Goes to Camp was filmed at Montgomery Bell Park in Dickson County and Ernest Goes to Jail was filmed in Nashville’s old penitentiary.
All of the characters were folksy and goofball, defiantly naive, as well as positive and forgiving. Ernest was a good soul always trying to help others and do the right thing. Something that Perkins thinks is needed these days, according to an article in Murfreesboro Pulse. There was also a Saturday morning sketch comedy show noted on Wikipedia, that won him a Daytime Emmy Award.
Ernest came to an end in 2000 when Jim Varney passed away from cancer at the age of 50. But Ernest was only one of many characters Varney created. He played everything from Shakespeare to standup comedy. Having an eidetic memory, he could read a page of dialogue and remember it immediately. It was his mother who put him into acting classes after he began reinterpreting Shakespeare with funny voices as a child to entertain friends and family in his rural hometown. But, the character who put him on the map was the beloved Ernest P. Worrell who, through regional advertising and the movies, won the hearts of many from coast to coast.
This comic book brings back a touch of his magic. Know what I mean?
Subscribe to our Newsletter!
