The Wizard of Id (Vietnam War Era Copylore)

Brant Parker & Johnny Hart’s The Wizard of Id syndicated comic strip was often reprinted or redrawn in underground and anti-war newspapers during the Vietnam War era. Two Wizard of Id strips focusing on protestors in the army were particularly popular, for obvious reasons.

The strip from 19 June 1967 shows the King, hearing rumblings outside his castle window, asking the Duke, “What’s that noise?” The Duke responds, “It’s a group of peace demonstrators marching on the castle!” “Call out the army!” the King commands. The Duke, looking out the window, says, “I don’t think that would help.” “Why not?” “The group demonstrating is the army.”

 

The above strip, unchanged, appeared in these underground papers: Task Force (Berkeley, CA), 10 August 1968, p. 7; Fun Travel Adventure (Fort Knox, KY), no. 4, Oct. 1968, p. 3; Flag in Action (Fort Campbell, KY), no. 2, December 1968; Vietnam GI, Stateside Edition (Chicago), Jan. 1969, p. 4; NOLA Express, vol. 1, no 21, Jan 17-30, 1969; Top Secret (Cambridge, MA), vol. 1, no. 1, 14 Feb. 1969, p. 1; P.O.W. (Fort Ord, CA), no. 2, April 1971, p. 11; Veterans Stars and Stripes for Peace (Chicago), vol. 2, no. 2, April 1969, p. 2; Final Flight, 1969; Shakedown (Fort Dix, Wrightstown, NJ), vol. 1, no. 9, 24 Sep. 1969, p. 2; OM (Washington, DC), vol. 1, no. 4, Oct. 1969, p. 10; Truth Instead (San Francisco)¸vol. 1, no. 1, Nov. 1969, p. 1; Your Military Left (San Antonio, TX), 1970, p. 2; Potemkin (New York), vol. 1, no. 1, January 1970; We Got the Brass (Tokyo, Japan), no. 2, 1970, p. 5; Where Are We? (Sierra Vista, AZ), Sep. 1971; Veterans Voice (Kansas City), vol. 1, no. 3, Oct. 1971, p. 1. 

The crude version below appeared in Fatigue Press (Fort Hood, Austin, TX), no. 14, 1969, p. 7.

This version appeared in The Short Times (Columbia, SC), vol. 1, no. 3, March 1969, p. 7.

This version comes from Napalm (Fort Campbell, KY), vol. 1, no. 3, Sep. 1970, p. 13.

O4B Notes (Heidelberg, Germany), vol. 1, no. 1, April 1976, p. 1. Here the king demands that ASA be called out to deal with “demonstrators marching on Arlington Hall.” At the time this appeared, Arlington Hall, in Virginia, was the headquarters of the U.S. Army Security Agency (ASA).

Harass the Brass (Chanute AFB, Champaign, Illinois), vol. 1, no. 1, (May 1969?). “Air Force” replaces “Army.” Note in bottom right hand corner: “Redrawn with apologies.”

Friends of M.D.M. (Winnetka, IL), 1970 (M.D.M = Movement for a Democratic Military); Navy Times Are Changin’ (North Chicago), vol. 1, no. 4, July 1970, p. 4; Street Journal (San Diego), vol. 2, no. 34, issue 62, July 31-August 6, 1970, p. 3; On the Beach (Virginia Beach, VA), vol. 1, no. 1, Sep.-Oct. 1970, p. 2. “Navy” replaces “Army.”

 

The theme is revisited in the strip for 19 April 1969. The King: “What’s going on?” The Duke: “Protesters, sire.” The King: “What’s their beef?” The Duke: “They’re against your sending the army off to fight.” The King: “Where do peasants get off telling the king what to do?” The Duke: “It’s not the peasants…it’s the army.”

 

The strip above, unchanged, appeared in these underground papers: The Ultimate Weapon (Fort Dix, PA), no. 2, 15 Jan. 1969, p. 1; Where It’s At (West Berlin), vol. 2, no. 1, June 1969, p. 4; Gigline (Fort Bliss, TX), vol. 1, no. 3, Oct. 1969; Madison Kaleidoscope (Wisconsin), vol. 1, no. 10, Dec 1969, p. 6; Your Military Left (San Antonio, TX), vol. 2, no. 4, Sep. 1970, p. 5; Rising Up Angry (Chicago), vol. 2, no. 5, 1 Jan. 1971, p. 13; People Emerging Against Corrupt Establishments (UK), vol. 1, no. 8, March 1971, p. 10; Rage (Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC), vol. 3, no. 2, Feb. 1974, p. 5.

Semper Fi (Marine Corps Air Station, Iwakuni, Japan), vol. 4, no. 23, 15 December 1973, p. 5. The graffiti added to this redrawn version are F.T.M.C. (Fuck the Marine Corps) and Free Brother Lawrence, which refers to the scheduled court-martial of Pfc. Edward V. Lawrence, Jr., for his alleged attempt to kill an officer in Nam Phong, Thailand, in July, 1973. A pre-trial agreement led to his release with an Honorable Discharge. See Semper Fi, vol. 4, no. 24, 30 Dec. 1973, 4-5.

Travisty (Travis AFB, CA), vol. 1, no. 5, 1971, p. 7; Cry Out (Clark AFB, Philippines), vol. 1, no. 2, March 1972, p. 5; Up From the Bottom (San Diego), vol. 2, no. 4, 1972, p. 2. “Air Force” replaces “Army.”

Offul Times (Offutt AFB, Omaha, NB), no. 1, 28 April 1972, p. 5; The Rag (Chicago), Spring 1973 (“Newsletter for and by Reservists and National Guardspeople,” not to be confused with The Rag out of Austin, Texas). Another version in which “Air Force” replaces “Army.”

Liberty Call (San Diego, CA), vol. 1, no. 1, 12 May 1971, p. 2. “Navy” replaces “Army.”

Navy Times Are Changin’ (North Chicago), vol. 2, no. 2, May 1971, p. 2. “Nav!” replaces “Army.”

Fed Up! (Fort Lewis, Tacoma, WA), 1 Jan. 1972, p. 5. The “crew (of the Coral Sea)” replaces “Army.” 

The theme of soldiers unable to disrupt anti-war protests because they themselves were taking part in those protests also appeared in this comic strip (title and artist unknown to me), reprinted in The Short Times (Columbia, SC), vol. 4, no. 3, 1 April 1971, p. 11.

 

It also featured in a skit in the “Free the Army Tour” (also known as “The USSF Show”), in which Jane Fonda and Garry Goodrow played Pat and Richard Nixon, respectively.

“The U.S.S.F. Show.” About Face!, vol. 1, no. 1, May 1971, p. 1.

All the periodicals featured in this post can be accessed at Independent Voices. 

Rage (Fort Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC), vol. 3, no. 4, April 1974, p. 2.