Cheech Wizard

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Cheech Wizard was a cartoon character created by artist Vaughn Bode and appearing in various works, including the National Lampoon, from 1967 until Bode's death in 1975. Though the character was, according to Bode, created in 1957, Cheech didn't see print until 1967 when he appeared in a Syracuse University pamphlet.

Characteristically, this panel features discussion on the search for God.
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Characteristically, this panel features discussion on the search for God.

The Wizard wears a very large yellow wizard's hat, with his legs, clad in what appear to be red leotards, visible underneath. His face and indeed his species has never been revealed. He speaks in an ungrammatical sort of urban dialect. He was generally accompanied by a nameless lizard apprentice, until that character was killed off in a well-remembered storyline. Cheech was depicted as foul mouthed, often drunk or high, and constantly on the make. His attitude towards his fellow residents of the magic forest in which he lived (generally talking male animals and human females, the latter invariably under-dressed) was usually one of contempt. Curiously, he was referred to (often by himself) as the Cartoon Messiah, which suggested Bode's long-standing interest in religion. But his general reaction to anyone that annoyed him (and the list there is quite long) was to deliver a swift kick to the groin.


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