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34-472: Published by Walter Bowart , EVO was among the first countercultural newspapers to emerge. EVO was one of the founding members of the Underground Press Syndicate , a network that allowed member papers to freely reprint each other's contents. The paper's design, in its first years, was characterized by Dadaistic montages and absurdist, non-sequitur headlines, including regular invocations of

68-401: A "cartoon messiah") 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. Cheech Wizard is constantly in search of a good party, cold beer, and attractive women. Usually depicted without arms, it is never actually revealed what Cheech Wizard looks like under the hat, or exactly what kind of creature he is, although in

102-619: A circulation of 65,000 copies. As 1971 drew to a close, publication of EVO became more and more sporadic. It faced mounting financial difficulties, along with increasing staff losses, and the paper ceased publication completely in March 1972. Early EVO issues featured the work of Bill Beckman, Shelton, and Rodriguez, soon adding other artists. The popularity of these strips led to the publication of separate comics tabloids, beginning with Zodiac Mindwarp by Rodriguez. Comics historian Patrick Rosenkranz recalled his reaction to EVO : I'd never seen

136-412: A devastated post-nuclear land, seeking to avenge the murder of his parents. Cobalt-60 debuted as a ten-page black-and-white story in the science fiction fanzine Shangri L'Affaires (a.k.a. Shaggy ) #73, published in 1968. Bodē won the 1969 Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist largely on the strength of Cobalt 60 , but he never did anything else with the character. ( Cobalt-60 was later "completed" in

170-600: A few more years in The Daily Orange , the student-written newspaper at Syracuse University. In 1968, Bodē illustrated the cover & interior art for R. A. Lafferty 's science fiction novel Space Chantey , published by Ace Double . In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he illustrated covers and interior art for the science fiction digests Amazing Stories , Fantastic , Galaxy Science Fiction , Witzend and Worlds of If . Discovered by fellow cartoonist Trina Robbins , Bodē moved to Manhattan in 1969 and joined

204-665: A newsprint medium for the rants, artwork, poetry and comics of such 1960s icons as Timothy Leary , Allen Ginsberg , Abbie Hoffman , Robert Crumb , Marshall McLuhan , Spain Rodriguez , and The Fugs . In 1966, Bowart testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency about banning LSD . He drew national attention with his recommendations. Through his connection with ex-Harvard professor Timothy Leary , Walter met his second wife, Peggy Hitchcock. They moved to Tucson , Arizona in 1968 where Bowart founded Omen Press,

238-417: A profound impact on Bowart and he later published various articles under the names of his biological parents. During this period Bowart wrote the book that was to become his seminal work, Operation Mind Control . Published by Dell in 1978 with a foreword by The Manchurian Candidate author Richard Condon , Operation Mind Control was a 317-page investigative report into government mind control through

272-446: A publication like this before. It was full of wild accusations and bawdy language and doctored photographs. It had President Johnson 's head in a toilet bowl. It had naked Slum Goddesses, truly bizarre personal ads, and a whole different slant on the anti-war movement than my hometown paper upstate. But best of all, it had the most outrageous comic strips. The continuing saga of Captain High ;

306-432: A publishing house for metaphysical books. Among other books, Omen Press published This Is The New Age In Person by "Sufi Sam" , for which Bowart wrote the foreword. Bowart and Peggy Hitchcock had two daughters, Sophia and Nuria. In 1973, Bowart located and reconnected with his biological parents, Thomas J. Kirby and Patricia J. Dooley, and discovered he had three younger sisters, Janet, Nancy and Kathy. His adoption had

340-551: A studio in Woodstock, New York ) led Bodē to cross-dressing , transvestism , and even a short-lived experiment with female hormones. Bodē described his sexuality as "auto-sexual, heterosexual, homosexual, mano-sexual, sado-sexual, trans-sexual, uni-sexual, omni-sexual." Bodē's death was due to autoerotic asphyxiation . His last words were to his son: "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." Thirty-three years old at

374-450: Is about a caveman who accidentally makes important observations about life. Beginning in 1972, 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 (in a performance similar to a chalk talk ). The first of these "Cartoon Concerts" was presented in October 1972 at

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408-638: The Detroit Triple Fan Fair in front of 80 people. He next did the Concert at Bowling Green State University , and eventually performed it at several comic book conventions , including the November 1972 Creation Con in New York City. Observing the crowd reaction, The Bantam Lecture Bureau immediately signed him on, and the show became very popular on the college lecture circuit. Bodē even performed it at

442-592: The Louvre , in Paris. Bodē was born in Utica, New York , the son of Kenneth and Elsie Bodé. Vaughn was one of four children, including his older brother Victor and younger siblings Vincent and Valerie. Vaughn's father was an alcoholic; he started drawing as a way of escaping a less-than-happy childhood. Bodē's parents divorced when he was around ten years old, and he was sent to live with an uncle near Washington, D.C. After joining

476-539: The University of Oklahoma . In the early 1960s Bowart moved to New York City to pursue his interest in painting, there he met his first wife Linda Dugmore, daughter of abstract expressionist Edward Dugmore , with whom he had his first son Wolfe . In 1965, Bowart, along with Ishmael Reed , who named the paper, Sherry Needham, Allen Katzman, and Dan Rattiner founded the East Village Other (EVO). EVO offered

510-562: The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame for comics artists in 2006. He was born Vaughn Bode on July 22, 1941. In 1963, at age 21, and while living in Utica, New York , Bodē self-published Das Kämpf , considered one of the first underground comic books. Created after Bodē's stint in the U.S. Army, Das Kampf has been called "a war-themed spoof on Charles Schulz 's 1962 book Happiness Is a Warm Puppy ." With money borrowed from his brother Vincent, Bodē photocopied about 100 copies of

544-542: The animated film adaptation of Crumb's strip Fritz the Cat . Bodē has been credited as an influence on Bakshi's films Wizards and The Lord of the Rings . Bodē has a huge following among graffiti artists and his work can often be seen replicated in the world of street art. As the original New York graffiti train writers (such as DONDI ) chose to replicate his characters, images from his work have remained popular throughout

578-469: The " Intergalactic World Brain ." Later, the paper evolved a more colorful psychedelic layout that became a distinguishing characteristic of the underground papers of the time. EVO was an important publication for the underground comix movement, featuring comic strips by artists including Robert Crumb , Kim Deitch , Trina Robbins , Spain Rodriguez , Gilbert Shelton and Art Spiegelman , before underground comic books emerged from San Francisco with

612-569: The 52-page book and (mostly unsuccessfully) attempted to sell it around the Utica area. In the mid 1960s Bodē was living in Syracuse, New York , attending classes at Syracuse University and contributing to The Sword of Damocles , a student-run, though not university-sanctioned, humor magazine similar to The Harvard Lampoon . It was here that Bodē's most famous comic creation, Cheech Wizard , first saw publication. Cheech Wizard (sometimes characterized as

646-530: The Army at age 19, Bodē went AWOL but later received an honorable discharge due to a psychiatric diagnosis. Bodē married Barbara Hawkins at age 20 in 1961. Their son Mark was born in 1963. Barbara divorced Bodē in 1972, and he moved to San Francisco in 1973 (with some of his underground contemporaries, including Robbins and Spain). Around 1970–1971, conversations with the guru Prem Rawat and fellow cartoonist Jeffrey Catherine Jones (with whom Bodē shared

680-575: The early 1980s by Bodē's son Mark Bodé , with stories by Larry Todd , who was Vaughn's friend and collaborator in the 1960s on projects for Eerie , Creepy , and Vampirella magazines.) Beginning in 1968 and continuing until his untimely death, Bodē entered a prolific period of creativity, introducing a number of strips and ongoing series, most of which ran in underground newspapers or erotic magazines: Print Mint published four issues of Bodē's solo series Junkwaffel from 1971 to 1974. Bodē's graphic novel The Man , published by Print Mint in 1972,

714-452: The episode entitled "The Unmasking of Cheech Wizard", when he "doffs the hat", it is evident that underneath was a low-rent Oz man all along (in an interview, reference is made to the frontal lump in the hat caused by crossed arms). Characters pressing the issue generally are rewarded with a swift kick to the groin by Cheech. After an initial run in The Sword of Damocles , the strip continued for

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748-480: The first issue of Zap Comix . The East Village Other was co-founded in October 1965 by Walter Bowart , Ishmael Reed (who named the newspaper), Allen Katzman, Dan Rattiner , Sherry Needham, and John Wilcock . It began as a monthly and then went biweekly. Starting in 1969, Coca Crystal would write about politics, women's issues, and personal events for the East Village Other , many of which earned her

782-438: The history of graffiti. His son Mark Bodé is also an artist, producing works similar to the elder Bodē's style, and further cementing his father's legacy. In 2004, 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. The Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist was bestowed upon him in 1969, and he was nominated for Best Professional Artist

816-427: The late 1980s, Walter moved to Palm Springs , California to become the editor of Palm Springs Life Magazine where he published articles under the name Thomas Kirby, Tom Kirby, and Tom J. Kirby as well as W.H. Bowart. In Bowart's later years, he researched and wrote prolifically. He created The Freedom of Thought Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the education of the public about mind control . He

850-690: The premise. Beckman contacted his buddy Gilbert Shelton from back at the University of Texas at Austin, who mailed in an occasional strip called Clang Honk Tweet! ; Hurricane Nancy Kalish contributed a spacey, Aubrey Beardsley-style comic called Gentle's Tripout . Others came and went without much notice until Walter Bowart commissioned Manuel "Spain" Rodriguez to draw a 24-page all-comic tabloid, which he published as Zodiac Mindwarp in 1966. During 1969, EVO published eight issues of Gothic Blimp Works , an all-comics tabloid with some color printing, billed as "the first Sunday underground comic paper". Vaughn Bodé

884-470: The psychedelic adventures of Sunshine Girl and Zoroaster the Mad Mouse; Trashman offing the pigs and scoring babes left and right. While I enjoyed many aspects of EVO , I liked the comics the most. Bill Beckman was one of the first cartoonists with his counterculture crusader Captain High, whose main mission was to get high and stay high. Beckman didn't draw very well, but EVO ' s readership could relate to

918-484: 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 the East Village Other , he helped found Gothic Blimp Works , an underground comics supplement to the magazine, which ran for eight issues, the first two edited by Bodē. Bodē's post-apocalyptic science fiction action series Cobalt 60 featured an antihero wandering

952-437: The time of his death, Bodē's ashes were dropped from a Cessna airplane over the waters off the coast of Point Reyes . 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, mostly from Fantagraphics . Bodē was a friend of animator Ralph Bakshi , and warned him against working with Robert Crumb on

986-528: The title "slumgoddess". The paper published another short-lived spin-off title, Kiss, a sex-oriented paper that was designed to compete with Al Goldstein 's tabloid Screw . There were several other spin-off titles published at the same time, including Gay Power (a New York–centric gay liberation paper which survived for about a year), and a brief-lived astrology paper. In 1968, Bowart departed, moving to Tucson, Arizona , where he founded Omen Press , publishing metaphysical books. In 1970, EVO had

1020-670: The use of drugs such as LSD , behavior modification , hypnosis , and other "psycho-weapons". Following a European promotional tour, Bowart moved to Aspen , Colorado , where he continued his research, became a contributor to the Aspen Daily News , and met Margo Jordan, his third wife. In the early 1980s, Bowart created and published the Port Townsend Daily News in Port Townsend , Washington , where he met and married Rebecca Fullerton and had his fourth child, Wythe. In

1054-509: Was a frequently invited guest speaker at forums and conferences around the country. Bowart died of colon cancer at his sister's home in Inchelium , Washington on December 18, 2007. At the time of his death, Bowart was working on several screenplays and novels, including The Other Crusades , which was about New York City in the early 1960s. Vaughn Bod%C3%A9 Vaughn Bodē ( / b oʊ ˈ d iː / ; July 22, 1941 – July 18, 1975)

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1088-412: Was an American underground cartoonist and illustrator known for his character Cheech Wizard and his artwork depicting voluptuous women. A contemporary of Ralph Bakshi , Bodē has been credited as an influence on Bakshi's animated films Wizards and The Lord of the Rings . Bodē has a huge following among graffiti artists, with his characters remaining a popular subject. Bodē was inducted into

1122-572: Was an American leader in the counterculture movement of the 1960s , founder and editor of the first underground newspaper in New York City , the East Village Other , and author of the book Operation Mind Control . Born as Walter Howard Kirby in Omaha , Nebraska , Bowart was adopted as a newborn by Walter and Fenna Bowart. He was raised in Enid , Oklahoma , and won a McMahon Scholarship in journalism to

1156-465: Was the founding editor, with early issues featuring work by Bodé, Crumb, Deitch, Robbins, Rodriguez, Spiegelman, Joel Beck , Roger Brand , Ron Haydock , Jay Lynch , Larry Hama , Michael Kaluta , George Metzger , Ralph Reese , Steve Stiles , Robert Williams , S. Clay Wilson , Bernie Wrightson and Bhob Stewart (who became Gothic Blimp Works ' second editor). Walter Bowart Walter Howard Bowart (May 14, 1939 – December 18, 2007)

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