Vaughn Bodé
Encyclopedia
Vaughn Bodē was an artist involved in underground comics, graphic design
and graffiti
. He is perhaps best known for his comic strip
character Cheech Wizard
and artwork depicting voluptuous women. His works are noted for their psychedelic
look and feel. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame for comics artists in 2006.
, and started drawing as a way of escaping a less-than-happy childhood.
, attending classes at Syracuse University
and contributing to The Sword of Damocles, a student-run but not university sanctioned humor magazine similar to The Harvard Lampoon
. In 1968, he moved to Manhattan
and joined the staff of the underground newspaper the East Village Other
. It was here that Bodē met Spain Rodriguez
, Robert Crumb
and other founders of the quickly expanding underground comics world. At EVO, he introduced Gothic Blimp Works, a comics supplement to the magazine, which ran for eight issues, the first two edited by Bodē.
Bodē’s most famous comic creation is the character Cheech Wizard
. Episodes of Cheech Wizard ran in the "Funny Pages" of National Lampoon magazine in almost every issue from 1970 to 1975.
Cheech Wizard is a wizard whose large yellow hat (decorated with black and red stars) covers his entire body except his legs and his big red feet. He is usually depicted without arms. Cheech Wizard is constantly in search of a good party, cold beer, and attractive women. It is never actually revealed what Cheech Wizard looks like under the hat, or exactly what kind of creature he is. Characters pressing the issue generally are rewarded with a swift kick to the groin by Cheech.
In an early comic, Captured by Morton Frog, 1967, Cheech takes off his hat for a police officer, a priest and a political leader. You can clearly see him holding his hat in his hands, away from the rest of his body. The face is hidden by the speech balloon, but you can see glimpses of hair on top. All three persons witnessing his face fall into cataleptic states forever. Cheech walks away from their fortress claiming that "Their primitive minds couldn't accept da truth". In a later comic, Who is C.W.? (1974), one of Cheech's lovers insists on seeing his true face. Cheech claims that she will die instantly, or go insane. After having her sign a waiver freeing him of legal responsibilities, he agrees to take off his hat. The comic ends abruptly at mid-page with Cheech saying "Okay! Here goes, but I bet you go blind!", followed by a blank (white-out) panel.
The post-apocalyptic sci-fi action series Cobalt 60 presented an anti-hero named Cobalt 60 who wandered in a devastated post-nuclear land, seeking to avenge the murder of his parents.
Other Bodē creations include Deadbone (the first testament of Cheech Wizard, the cartoon messiah), the adventures of the inhabitants of a solitary mountain a billion years in the past; and War Lizards, a look at the Vietnam War
reflecting the hostile stance of the period's counterculture
. It is told with anthropomorphic reptiles instead of people.
's convention on the July 4th weekend at the N.Y.C. Comic Con in 1972. Observing the crowd reaction, The Bantam Lecture Company immediately signed him on. This show became very popular on the college lecture circuit, beginning with his debut at the Bowling Green University, in Ohio. He eventually performed his Cartoon Concert at several Comic book coventions, culminating in a show at The Louvre, in Paris. At this time, Bodē's career was managed by David Ferguson
. Ferguson was represented in his client's cartoons as Rumplebucks, Cheech Wizard's manager, a lizard with an ever-present dollar sign above his head. Bodē dedicated his final cartoon, which appeared in National Lampoon, to Ferguson.
, and warned him against working with Robert Crumb on the animated film adaptation
of Crumb's strip Fritz the Cat
. Bodé has been credited as an influence on Bakshi's films Wizards
and The Lord of the Rings
.
His son Mark Bodé
(born 1963) is also an artist, often producing works similar to the elder Bodē’s style. Recently Mark completed one of his father’s unfinished works, The Lizard of Oz, a send-up of The Wizard of Oz
, starring Cheech Wizard one more time.
was bestowed upon him in 1969, and he was nominated for Best Professional Artist
the following year. He also won the Yellow Kid Award, awarded at the Italian Lucca comics festival
, in 1974. He was a finalist for induction into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 1998 and 2002.
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
and graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
. He is perhaps best known for his comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
character Cheech Wizard
Cheech Wizard
Cheech Wizard was a cartoon character created by artist Vaughn Bodé and appearing in various works, including the National Lampoon, from 1967 until Bodé's death in 1975...
and artwork depicting voluptuous women. His works are noted for their psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
look and feel. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame for comics artists in 2006.
Early life
Bodē was born in Utica, New YorkUtica, New York
Utica is a city in and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The population was 62,235 at the 2010 census, an increase of 2.6% from the 2000 census....
, and started drawing as a way of escaping a less-than-happy childhood.
Career
In the mid 1960's Bodē was living in Syracuse, New YorkSyracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, attending classes at Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
and contributing to The Sword of Damocles, a student-run but not university sanctioned humor magazine similar to The Harvard Lampoon
Harvard Lampoon
The Harvard Lampoon is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.-Overview:Published since 1876, The Harvard Lampoon is the world's longest continually published humor magazine. It is also the second longest-running English-language humor...
. In 1968, he moved to Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and joined the staff of the underground newspaper the East Village Other
East Village Other
The East Village Other , was an American underground newspaper in New York City, New York, published biweekly during the 1960s. EVO was among the first countercultural newspapers to emerge, following the Los Angeles Free Press, which had begun publishing a few months earlier...
. It was here that Bodē met Spain Rodriguez
Spain Rodriguez
Manuel Rodriguez , better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, is an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the biker gang, the Road Vultures, provided inspiration for his work, as did his left-wing politics.-Biography:Born in Buffalo, New...
, Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
and other founders of the quickly expanding underground comics world. At EVO, he introduced Gothic Blimp Works, a comics supplement to the magazine, which ran for eight issues, the first two edited by Bodē.
Bodē’s most famous comic creation is the character Cheech Wizard
Cheech Wizard
Cheech Wizard was a cartoon character created by artist Vaughn Bodé and appearing in various works, including the National Lampoon, from 1967 until Bodé's death in 1975...
. Episodes of Cheech Wizard ran in the "Funny Pages" of National Lampoon magazine in almost every issue from 1970 to 1975.
Cheech Wizard is a wizard whose large yellow hat (decorated with black and red stars) covers his entire body except his legs and his big red feet. He is usually depicted without arms. Cheech Wizard is constantly in search of a good party, cold beer, and attractive women. It is never actually revealed what Cheech Wizard looks like under the hat, or exactly what kind of creature he is. Characters pressing the issue generally are rewarded with a swift kick to the groin by Cheech.
In an early comic, Captured by Morton Frog, 1967, Cheech takes off his hat for a police officer, a priest and a political leader. You can clearly see him holding his hat in his hands, away from the rest of his body. The face is hidden by the speech balloon, but you can see glimpses of hair on top. All three persons witnessing his face fall into cataleptic states forever. Cheech walks away from their fortress claiming that "Their primitive minds couldn't accept da truth". In a later comic, Who is C.W.? (1974), one of Cheech's lovers insists on seeing his true face. Cheech claims that she will die instantly, or go insane. After having her sign a waiver freeing him of legal responsibilities, he agrees to take off his hat. The comic ends abruptly at mid-page with Cheech saying "Okay! Here goes, but I bet you go blind!", followed by a blank (white-out) panel.
The post-apocalyptic sci-fi action series Cobalt 60 presented an anti-hero named Cobalt 60 who wandered in a devastated post-nuclear land, seeking to avenge the murder of his parents.
Other Bodē creations include Deadbone (the first testament of Cheech Wizard, the cartoon messiah), the adventures of the inhabitants of a solitary mountain a billion years in the past; and War Lizards, a look at the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
reflecting the hostile stance of the period's counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
. It is told with anthropomorphic reptiles instead of people.
Tour
Towards the end of his life, Vaughn Bodē toured with a show called the Cartoon Concert, that featured him vocalizing his characters while their depictions were presented on a screen behind him via a slide projector. The first of these was presented at Phil SeulingPhil Seuling
Philip Nicholas Seuling was a comic book fan convention organizer and comics distributor primarily active in the 1970s. Seuling was the organizer of the annual New York Comic Art Convention, originally held in New York City every July 4 weekend throughout the 1970s...
's convention on the July 4th weekend at the N.Y.C. Comic Con in 1972. Observing the crowd reaction, The Bantam Lecture Company immediately signed him on. This show became very popular on the college lecture circuit, beginning with his debut at the Bowling Green University, in Ohio. He eventually performed his Cartoon Concert at several Comic book coventions, culminating in a show at The Louvre, in Paris. At this time, Bodē's career was managed by David Ferguson
David Ferguson (impresario)
David Ferguson is an international outsider-culture impresario, activist, music producer and concert promoter. Over his career – most of which has been spent on the West Coast—he has worked with musical acts such as The Avengers, John Lydon David Ferguson is an international outsider-culture...
. Ferguson was represented in his client's cartoons as Rumplebucks, Cheech Wizard's manager, a lizard with an ever-present dollar sign above his head. Bodē dedicated his final cartoon, which appeared in National Lampoon, to Ferguson.
Death
Bodē's death was due to autoerotic asphyxiation, or perhaps the use of asphyxia as a meditation aid: his last words (to his son) were, "Mark, I've seen God four times, and I'm going to see him again soon. That's No. 1 to me, and you're No. 2." He left behind a library of sketchbooks, journals, finished and unfinished works, paintings, and comic strips. Most of his art has since been published in a variety of collections, most from Fantagraphics.Influence
Bodē was a friend of animator Ralph BakshiRalph Bakshi
Ralph Bakshi is an Israeli-American director of animated and live-action films. In the 1970s, he established an alternative to mainstream animation through independent and adult-oriented productions. Between 1972 and 1992, he directed nine theatrically released feature films, five of which he wrote...
, and warned him against working with Robert Crumb on the animated film adaptation
Fritz the Cat (film)
Fritz the Cat is a 1972 American animated comedy film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi as his feature film debut. Based on the comic strip of the same name by Robert Crumb, the film was the first animated feature film to receive an X rating in the United States...
of Crumb's strip Fritz the Cat
Fritz the Cat
Fritz the Cat is a comic strip created by Robert Crumb. Set in a "supercity" of anthropomorphic animals, the strip focuses on Fritz, a feline con artist who frequently goes on wild adventures that sometimes involve sexcapades. Crumb began drawing this character in homemade comic books when he was a...
. Bodé has been credited as an influence on Bakshi's films Wizards
Wizards (film)
Wizards is a 1977 American animated post-apocalyptic science fantasy film about the battle between two wizards, one representing the forces of magic and one representing the forces of industrial technology. It was written, produced, and directed by Ralph Bakshi...
and The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings (1978 film)
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a 1978 American fantasy film directed by Ralph Bakshi. It contains both animation and live action footage which is rotoscoped to give it a more consistent look throughout the length of the movie. It is an adaptation of the first half of the high fantasy...
.
His son Mark Bodé
Mark Bodé
Mark Bodé is an American comic book author and artist. Bodé is best known for his work on Cobalt-60, Miami Mice and The Lizard of Oz. Bodé has also worked on Heavy Metal Magazine, and on The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles...
(born 1963) is also an artist, often producing works similar to the elder Bodē’s style. Recently Mark completed one of his father’s unfinished works, The Lizard of Oz, a send-up of The Wizard of Oz
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)
The Wizard of Oz is a 1939 American musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed primarily by Victor Fleming. Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson and Edgar Allan Woolf received credit for the screenplay, but there were uncredited contributions by others. The lyrics for the songs...
, starring Cheech Wizard one more time.
Reissue - The Complete Collection
Assorted collected stories, artwork and sketches republished by Fantagraphics, including volumes as:- Deadbone
- Erotica Vol. 1
- Erotica Vol. 2
- Erotica Vol. 3
- Erotica Vol. 4
- Cheech Wizard Vol. 1
- Cheech Wizard Vol. 2
- JunkWaffel Vol. 1
- JunkWaffel Vol. 2
- Lizard Zen
- Poem-Toons
- Schizophrenia
- Sketchbook Vol. 1
- Sketchbook Vol. 2
- Sketchbook Vol. 3
Awards
The Hugo Award for Best Fan ArtistHugo Award for Best Fan Artist
The Hugo Awards are presented every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
was bestowed upon him in 1969, and he was nominated for Best Professional Artist
Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
the following year. He also won the Yellow Kid Award, awarded at the Italian Lucca comics festival
Lucca Comics and Games
Lucca Comics and Games is an annual comic book and gaming convention in Lucca, Italy. It takes place, usually, at the end of October.Launched in 1966, the event grew in importance years after years; but it's only in 2006, for the 40th anniversary, that fair has been moved to the city center: from...
, in 1974. He was a finalist for induction into the Eisner Hall of Fame in 1998 and 2002.