Circles of Influence

Back on August 12th, I very happily posted a screenshot from the Facebook feed of cartoonist, animator and painter Bill Wray (Mad Magazine, The Ren & Stimpy Show), who'd shared my article on Vaughn Bode. But what I didn't realize until sometime much, much later (after revisiting his page) was that the second comment down below was from Bob Camp–which had me geekin' out  all over again! 😅 

Bob Camp is a former Marvel Comics comic book artist and a giant in animation with credits on TV shows like ThunderCats, Silverhawks, The Ren & Stimpy Show and many, many others. Camp is also the guy who illustrated the artwork on the 12-inch single of Afrika Bambaataa and Soul Sonic Force's Renegades of Funk, a piece that was  a big influence on me as a young hip-hop kid. 

The aforementioned is a piece of record cover artwork that was also being included in a listicle that I was actually in the middle of outlining at the time!

Oh, artist Denys Cowan (Black Panther, The Question) had also liked the piece in Wray's feed, but we're actually Facebook friends, so it wasn't that much of a surprise. He's liked pieces that I've shared in my own feed, including this article when I first shared it there. 

In addition to that uber goodness, I realized that my article had also been shared on Facebook by Ron Turner, the founder of underground comics publisher Last Gasp. And the first person to comment there was cartoonist/tattoo artist Mark Bode–the son of Vaughn Bode. 

I'd always wanted Mark to see my piece, so it was super cool to get confirmation that he'd seen it–and read it. Even if he very clearly missed the point a little. 😇

Excelsior!

Ode to Underground Cartoonist Vaughn Bode

"The desire to reinterpret Vaughn Bode’s distinctive cartoon style was hardly limited to the underground realms of graffiti. In 1977, Bode’s work also inspired the production of the animated fantasy film Wizards, directed by Lord of the Rings animator Ralph Bakshi." 

Note: "Ode to Underground Cartoonist Vaughn Bode" was originally published in Kung Fu Grip!#2. The text has recently been reformatted for publication on Medium. To check out the remixed and remastered director's cut, click here. 

[Bookshelf] The Collected Works of Vaughn Bode

In the early days of Ebay, I flipped this super vintage poster of a sexy centaur woman by the late comic book artist Vaughn Bode (1940-1975) that I'd found in a local bookstore. But I'll probably never part with the five trade paperbacks in my collection that feature Bode's collected comic book works. Published by Fantagraphics Books, these stellar trades contain classic strips by Bode culled from various self-published underground comix as well as comic strips that the cartoonist produced for several magazines, including National Lampoon's, Heavy Metal, and Witzend. Some of the trades from Fantagraphics' Bode Erotica series (4 volumes) are a little harder to find now for a reasonable price, but the Cheech Wizard, Deadbone and Junkwaffel trades can usually be found for around retail price. A must have for underground comix historians and students of old school graffiti art. Collect 'em all if you're cool like that, or just stick with the two Cheech Wizard volumes to get a sample of Bode's genius.  

Letters to Vaughn Bode

 As is true for many, the late cartoonist Vaughn Bode was a big influence on me artistically. In the second issue of Kung Fu Grip! zine, I published a biography on the artist as well as a comic strip that I wrote and illustrated which featured some of Bode's better known cartoon characters.

A few days ago, I received an e-mail from a gentleman by the name of Dan Osterman who found my zine on Etsy. Apparently Dan was a hardcore collector of sci-fi fanzines back in the '60s and '70s, and a lot of those publications frequently featured the cartoons of Vaughn Bode.

Dan had written to tell me about a handwritten letter than Bode had sent him back in '68. At the present time, he has it posted for sale on his Etsy page.

For a fan like myself, it was really cool to see, and I'm glad that he told me about it. But I really think that Ebay would be a much better venue to sell such a rare missive.

Frankly, I also think that the price on it is a little bit on the steep side (ten Benjamins) -- even for a handwritten letter. Bode's artwork on the other hand, can command that price with ease.

Too bad he doesn't have any of Bode's sketches.

Or maybe he's actually holdin' on to those.