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Das Kampf

Vaughn Bodē
Vaughn Bode.jpg
Born (1941-07-22)July 22, 1941
Utica, New York
Died July 18, 1975(1975-07-18) (aged 33)
San Francisco, California
Nationality American
Area(s) Cartoonist
Notable works
Cheech Wizard
Awards Hugo Award, Best Fan Artist, 1969
Yellow Kid Award (), 1974
Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame, 2006
Spouse(s) Barbara Hawkins (m. 1961, divorced 1972)
Children Mark Bodé
http://www.markbode.com/site/vaughnbode.html

Vaughn Bodē (/bˈd/; July 22, 1941 – July 18, 1975) was an 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 the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame for comics artists in 2006.

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 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 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. Characters pressing the issue generally are rewarded with a swift kick to the groin by Cheech. After an initial run in the The Sword of Damocles, the strip continued for a few more years in The Daily Orange, the student-written newspaper at Syracuse University.


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