Bodé’s Cartoon Concert PB (Dell, 1973).

§ August 7th, 2011 § Filed under paperbacks § 6 Comments

Recently acquired in a collection, a somewhat rough copy of Vaughn Bodé’s Bodé’s Cartoon Concert:


Reprints, in black and white, strips from the adult magazine Cavalier (but different Cavalier strips from the ones reprinted in the Purple Pictography one-shot from Fantagraphics/Eros Comix, as far as I can tell).

The back cover:


And yes, it’s very naughty. The stories are short, presented one panel per page, kind of like some of the Mad Magazine paperbacks, only with more nipples. Kind of amusing to think this paperback was published under the same company name that once was emblazoned on every Disney and Warner Brothers cartoon comic book.

When this book was published, I was only four years old, and my interest in underground comix was still at least, oh, two or three years away from coming into full bloom. So, I don’t know how this was marketed, or displayed, or what. I presume this was an attempt by an established publisher to capitalize on the underground comix movement (much like Marvel’s Comix Book), but I have a hard time seeing this racked along with popular fiction in supermarket bookracks. I’m supposing it was targeted at bookstores near colleges, or maybe just shelved in whatever “adult interests” category your larger bookstores had.

Then again, this was the early seventies, and maybe people just weren’t so, you know, uptight, maaaaan. Basically, I’m picturing that the streets were filled with naked people, flowers in their hair, smoking dope, and freely sharing their underground comix with their whole families. …Please don’t tell me if I’m wrong.

6 Responses to “Bodé’s Cartoon Concert PB (Dell, 1973).”

  • booksteve says:

    I bought it at a rather prestigious downtown Cincinnati bookstore when it came out, displayed alongside PEANUTS, MAD and ANDY CAPP paperbacks. I was about 15 at the time.

  • Dave Mac says:

    I had a copy of this years ago, I don’t know where it got lost, probably during one of my many moves. I am pretty sure that most if not all of the pieces in this book is in one of the Fantagraphics Anthology, I think most are in Erotica.

  • A penpal sent me a box of comics he was giving away before joining the Navy several years ago, including a copy of Vaughn Bode’s Cheech Wizard. Unfortunately, it vanished with most of the other stuff.

    Bode was stone cold genius.

  • He was a pretty good creator for a guy who masturbated himself to death.

    (I think the only comics death more fitting would be if Crumb was smothered by large buttocks.)

  • buzz says:

    I have a copy of this book, which is a nice artifact of the era; to appreciate the art itself one needs to get the Fantagraphc reprints.

    Prior to this, Bantam books published a slightly oversized/horizontally formatted book called DEADBONE EROTICA in 1971. Better quality paper, larger image sizes (typically 2 panels per page), focusing on the first 3 years of the DEADBONE strip when it was b+w. Due to a warehouse error, most of the print run was prematurely pulped, making it one of the rarer mass market Bode’ items out there.

    And I got one I bought off the rack in ’71(BWAHAHAHAHAHA!)

  • Dr. Freex says:

    You are not wrong about the early ’70s. At least, when I revisit them in my head.

    What? Why isn’t Matlock on yet? NURSE!