Schizophrenia (The Bod? Library) by Vaughn Bode

by Vaughn Bodē

The eleventh and final volume in Fantagraphics' acclaimed "Bodé Library" (produced with the cooperation of the Bodé estate and collectors around the world) focuses on Bodé's introspective, personal stories. Presented in a smaller, more intimate format than earlier volumes, it will reprint his long out-of-print early caveman masterpiece "The Man," as well as the autobiographical title strip "Schizophrenia" (in full color for the first time anywhere, shot from the original art!), plus a wealth of rare and hard-to-find illustrations, strips, and other goodies—including at least a few surprises for even the most hardcore Bodé collector. Bodé (pronounced "bo-dee") is considered the king in the world of graphitti/aerosol art. His vast imagination gave birth to entire universes and characters, including Cheech Wizard, Junkwaffel, and many more. Although he passed away in 1975, before the graffiti scene even took off, Bodé's legacy was cemented when graffiti greats like Kel 139 and Dondi actively borrowed from and paid tribute to the underground great. More recently, his work has been referenced in song by hip hop legends like the Beastie Boys. As such, Bodé occupies a truly unique niche in the world of underground comics, embraced by both the hippie counterculture of the 1960s as well as the hip hop community of the 1990s.

Genres: Comics

Mass Market Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Vaughn Bodē 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.

Reviews

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you haven't read any Vaughn Bode before, this is not a good place to start. Go find a collection of Cheech Wizard strips and begin there. This is definitely worth checking out if you are a Vaughn Bode fan, and have already read Deadbone, Junkwaffel, the Erotica series, etc. I enjoyed the inclusion of the essays written by Bode, which gave some insight into his creative process.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 2 out of 5]

Prose fills about 1/3 of the pages
->which I skipped because, after all, I'm Strictly Sequential and it's totally scatterbrained and frequently not even in proper sentences. About half is typed but the rest is in barely legible handwriting that is sometimes in all capitals in which the lines above/below overlap annoyingly. That seems to be the main reason for the title.

Story: **
The description calls "The Man" a masterpiece but it is, in fact, 90% terrible. The art is horrendous -the worst I've ever seen from him- and the only interesting part of the story is his mildly heartwarming relationship with a pet that he acquires. Other than that, it is a dumb waste of time. Quite simply, a caveman talking to his sharpened stick.

The middle bunch of "stories" are throwaways, frequently war themed, that only a die-hard fan would care about. For example, you can tell by the name that "Super Jap" is super stupid.

Then there is a prose with art that was short enough for me to tolerate about God and racial relations that was barely interesting.

It finishes with 31 full page panels where Vaughn, who was totally androgenous in the pictures scattered about, is in full drag with jewelry and flowers in his long hair. He is on the moon in a sort of revelatory dance with the earth behind him. It's total drug-induced-style raving about how he feels and who he perceives himself to be. "Mama, you made me a transvestite...I was robbed of choice" and "I was: auto-sexual, heterosexual, homosexual, masso-sexual, sado-sexual, trans-sexual, uni-sexual, omni-sexual" type of stuff that is an outpouring of bombastic pathos. It's very revealing and a great way to frame the man in your mind but ultimately depressing and too awkward in its manic delivery to his mother.

Art: ***
His work is a unique acquired taste that I highly enjoy when he uses his skill in a polished manner that looks finished. The problem is that the last section mentioned above is the only art that isn't amateur, scratchy or blatantly hurried. It's all just a mess when he's not in a dress!

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird, underground comic - much of it is puerile shit but also contains moments of painful autobiographical insight.