Mark Bode Shines Light Onto His Father’s Characteristics

Mark Bode, son of cartoonist legend Vaughn Bode’s work.

Vaughn Bode was a famous American cartoonist who passed away in 1975, aged only 33, Bode characters are almost synonymous with old school graffiti. A character most often chosen to be placed next to names, Cheech Wizard, wore a large yellow hat with red and black stars that covered everything but his feet. Cheech Wizard was always on the lookout for parties, women and beer. The popularity of Bode’s work around the late 1970s, in Heavy Metal, advertisements, and his on comics, may explain why his characters were so commonly painted by early graffiti writers on New York subway trains. As photographs of New York subway graffiti came to its boiling point in the late 1970’s and early 80s by photographers such as Martha Cooper and Henry Chalfant, graffiti writers around the world came to know Bode’s work, helping to make his characters a perennial staple in graffiti culture.

Vaughn’s son, Mark Bode is an accomplished artist in his own right but has never shied away from referencing his father’s work. A fine artist, a tattoo artist, and with a list of graphic novels and comics under his belt, Mark is also known for rocking with graffiti writers. Global Street Art caught up with Mark in time for his Amsterdam show at the Articks Gallery.

“My earliest memories of my Dad were sitting on his lap as he guided my hand coloring in areas of his comic strips (like the Masked Lizard, which was the first strip printed with the Bode Lizards in it in 1965). I might have been around 2; I was not old enough to hold a pen. I stuck a pencil in my forehead and started crying (I still have the lead mark just above my eye like a tattoo).

My father was a very funny and goofy guy; he never took himself too seriously. He was also always trying to get me laid - he said it would be my favorite thing when I got older! We often talked when he took a bath in the morning. I would sit by the tub and we would trade stories and talk about god and what we’re doing on the Earth.

I learned to imagine in my father’s style as he taught me his Worlds were real and that he was merely drawing what he saw on his adventures. I believed him as any young child would, and as a result I started imagining Cheech and the gang as real, walking around with us on a daily basis.”

Read more of the personal, and often hilarious, interview with Mark Bode on Global Street Art.

Source: Global Street Art