Cheech Wizard

Cheech Wizard

Cheech Wizard, in a characteristic discussion of the search for God. Art by Vaughn Bodé.
Publication information
Publisher National Lampoon, Last Gasp, Fantagraphics
First appearance 1967
Created by Vaughn Bodé
In-story information
Alter ego unknown
Partnerships Razzberry

Cheech Wizard is an American underground comics character created by artist Vaughn Bodé and appearing in various works, including the National Lampoon, from 1967 until Bodé's death in 1975. A mysterious character of unknown origins, The Wizard is constantly in search of a good party, cold beer, and attractive women. The Cheech Wizard is often drawn in graffiti murals and street art,[1] and has been repeatedly referenced in pop music.

Publication history

Though the character was, according to Bodé, created in 1957, Cheech didn't see print until 1967, when he appeared in various publications being produced by the counterculture developing around the Syracuse University campus (where Bodé was attending school).

Cheech Wizard stories ran in the "Funny Pages" of National Lampoon magazine in almost every issue from 1971 to 1975.

The first Cheech Wizard collection was published in 1972 by Last Gasp. All the Cheech Wizard stories were later collected and reprinted in two volumes by Fantagraphics Books.

Cheech Wizard was revived by Bodé's son Mark Bodé in The Lizard of Oz (Fantagraphics, 2004), a send-up of The Wizard of Oz based on an original concept by Vaughn Bodé.[1]

Character appearance and personality

The Wizard wears a very large yellow Phrygian cap decorated with wizard symbols instead of a wizard's pointed hat, with his legs, clad in what appear to be red tights, visible underneath. His appearance and species have never been revealed. 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.

Cheech Wizard speaks in an ungrammatical sort of urban dialect. He was generally accompanied by his lizard apprentice, Razzberry (until that character was killed off). Cheech was depicted as foul-mouthed, often drunk or high on drugs, and constantly on the make. His attitude towards his fellow residents of the magic forest in which he lived (generally talking male animals and human females, the latter invariably under-dressed) was usually one of contempt. Curiously, he was referred to (often by himself) as the Cartoon Messiah, which suggested Bodé's long-standing interest in mysticism. But his general reaction to anyone who annoys him (and the list there is quite long) is to deliver a swift kick to the groin. Mark Bodé claims that the Cheech Wizard was his father's "alter-ego, . . . a bad-mouth hat with no respect for anyone, completely the opposite of Vaughn, who was charismatic but shy."[1]

Music

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frucci, Angela (2004-05-31). "Following a Wiz to a Far-Out Oz; A Son Completes the Legacy Of an Underground Cartoonist". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-22.
  2. ↑ Harmanci, Reyhan, "The Bay Citizen: In Finishing Comics, a Son Completes a Legacy," New York Times (July 1, 2010).
  3. ↑ Lucky Spin Recordings entry, MusicStack. Accessed May 12, 2014.
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