Ernest Goes to Comics: Kickstarting Ernest & the Dream Stone With Writer Corey Perkins

The graphic novel, featuring Ernest P. Worrell, has already earned almost $30,000 since this morning.

By Russ Burlingame

Ernest P. Worrell is taking on his first adventure in 25 years with Ernest & the Dream Stone, the first original graphic novel to feature the beloved character originally played by actor and comedian Jim Varney. In the comic, which hails from writer Corey Perkins and artist M. Arief Russanto, Ernest will face off against Dr. Otto -- a character originally played by Varney as well, in the movie Dr. Otto and the Riddle of the Gloom Beam. In the story, Ernest comes across a "Dream Stone" that brings his dreams to life. Since he's such a fundamentally decent character, you would think that's a good thing -- but it also brings his nightmares to life, which means it's not safe with a guy whose imagination can run wild. That's proven when he inadvertently conjures Dr. Otto into existence.

Perkins, a college professor and lifelong Ernest fan, has put together an official comic, working directly with Josh Cherry (the Ernest IP owner) and endorsed by Justin Lloyd (Jim Varney's nephew and author of Jim's biography, The Importance of Being Ernest). That makes this the first canon Ernest story since Varney passed away in 2000.

Perkins is funding the project via Kickstarter, and in the first 30 or so hours of fundraising, has already made more than $40,000, already surpassing the project's $35,000 goal and guaranteeing that it will go forward.

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"How did I end up being the guy bringing back Ernest? No effing clue," Perkins joked. "I've been a huge fan of Ernest my whole life. I grew up watching those films. My first friend when I was five years old, Eric Jones, showed me Ernest Goes to Camp, and I fell in love with the Ernest movies. I started writing graphic novels and screenplays, and then the owner of the Ernest franchise and I sat down together and we just had some talks."

"The idea for Ernest & the Dreamstone probably started in 2021, and then I ended up writing the script," Perkins added. "We worked really hard to make sure it's as authentic and Ernest-y as possible. We didn't just throw something together, because I really love these movies. It was really important for me that if anyone saw a new Ernest piece of media, they'd really feel like it was Ernest. We took time to make sure the jokes and the vocal rhythms all felt, right, so that when you read it, you can hear Ernest's voice in your head. As you read through, I worked with the illustrator to make sure the facial expressions that we draw are really like Ernest. So, we've taken a lot of time to make sure it feels authentic." 

The crowdfunding falls in the spooky season, and that isn't by accident: Perkins sees the graphic novel as something of a spiritual sequel to Ernest Scared Stupid, the classic Halloween comedy in which the jean vest-wearing hero squares off against an evil troll. As in The Dreamstone, that movie centers around a threat that Ernest unwittingly sets loose.

"This story is my love letter to Ernest Scared Stupid, which has become one of my favorite movies. Not my favorite Ernest movies, my favorite movies," Perkins told ComicBook. "You'll see a lot of influence from that movie, but Ernest has some new challenges to face in this story. It's not just pure horror -- there's also a heartfelt story arc going on behind it. I got that from the pathos of Ernest Goes to Camp.I know a lot of people might think, 'Pathos? Ernest Goes to Camp?' Go back and watch it. Yes, it's a zany comedy. Yes, it's funny. Yes, it's slapstick. But there are some really touching moments that are almost magical in the way Jim Varney, as Ernest, gets people to emote."

The project was first written in screenplay format, since Perkins has written those before, and comics are a new form for him. From there, he and Cherry started developing it -- but there's an important piece of comics that wasn't represented in those early talks: the art. Perkins explained that it was a lengthy ordeal finding the ideal fit for his vision.

"I scoured the internet from countries all across the world looking for the right artist, and we did trials with different artists," Perkins said. "We found some really cool artists out there, and I found Arief Russanto."

Russanto is from Indonesia, and he was so passionate about the project that Perkins told us that they would get image after image from Russanto, trying to fine tune the expressions and the likeness, while they were trying out artists for the book.

"Arief is bringing Ernest back, it's not me," Perkins said. "I may have written the story, but Arief is the guy who's physically in the trenches, bringing us back. It's magical what he's doing. We're just really happy to have him."

The colors come from Mariam Yasser, and the rest of the creative team are just as engaged as Perkins and Russanto: the book is edited by Erin Natal, creator of Ernest Goes to Podcast, with graphic design and marketing by Maureen (Mo) Edwards of #ErnestWatchParty.

There are likely those who would argue that any Ernest project without Jim Varney is doomed to the same fate as the 2012 The Three Stooges movie, but while Varney was certainly key to the character's appeal, he was never the only person behind Ernest. Cherry's father, ad executive John Cherry, had conceived of the Ernest character and brought it to Varney, whose work he knew. After a series of regional advertisements blew up, the character finally got the first of his many film adventures in film.

Ernest went on to become a bona fide movie star and pop culture phenomenon. After having done hundreds of commercials as Ernest, Varney appeared in a series of shorts, followed by nine -- yes, nine! -- feature films.

He made his non-commercial debut in a Saturday morning sketch comedy series, Hey Vern, It's Ernest!, for which Varney earned a Daytime Emmy Award. The movies started in 1987 with Ernest Goes to Camp. The movie, which starred Varney alongside a cast of mostly-unknowns that included future Supernatural standout Richard Speight Jr. and beloved character actors Iron Eyes Cody and John Vernon. The movie, made for a reported budget of $3.5 million, made $23.5 million at the domestic box office and became a staple of the video rental market, where it would continue to make a profit for years to come.

"There was a lot of consideration on how to approach it without Jim Varney," Perkins admitted. "A graphic novel is never going to be the same as Jim Varney as Ernest in a film. You will never capture the magic of that group of fantastic writers and director and creators that actually oftentimes don't get credit when you look back on the Ernest films. But anyone that is interested in this can rest assured: we really worked our butts off to make sure that the product felt as authentic as it possibly can in a graphic novel form. You're never going to open it up and feel the magic of watching Ernest Scared Stupid when you're a kid, but I do believe and do hope that people will open the book and feel the magic of Ernest. Jim Varney's nephew and biographer, Justin Lloyd, has been very, very supportive and endorsing the product. If you go to our Kickstarter, you can watch our trailer and he makes a guest appearance in there. It's just been amazing to have the support of all these different pivotal people to really bring back Ernest."

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The 150-page graphic novel is set to release to backers in December 2025, just over a year after the crowdfunding campaign wraps up.

The Kickstarter campaign for Ernest & the Dream Stone will run from September 17th until October 17th, ending just in time for spooky season. You can sign up for notifications here.

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