The Checkered Demon is a fictional character created by S. Clay Wilson, one of the leading

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

artists of the 1960s. The character debuted in 1967 in ''Groulish'' magazine;Fox, M. Steven
"The Checkered Demon"
ComixJoint. Accessed June 8, 2018. his comix debut was in ''

Zap Comix ''Zap Comix'' is an underground comix series which was originally part of the Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture of the late 1960s. While a few small-circulation self-published satirical comic books had been printed prior to this, ''Zap' ...

'' #2, in 1968.

Publication history

Checkered Demon stories — many of which were one-pagers — ran in many issues of ''Zap'', and then occasional issues of Robert Crumb's '' Weirdo'' anthology. Stories also ran in Wilson's own comics, such as ''Pork'' (1974), and the Demon's own title (mostly collecting a strip which ran in an

alternative weekly An alternative newspaper is a type of newspaper that eschews comprehensive coverage of general news in favor of stylized reporting, opinionated reviews and columns, investigations into edgy topics and magazine-style feature stories highlighting ...

), of which three issues were published in the late 1970s. Checkered Demon stories were collected in the book ''The Collected Checkered Demon: Volume One'', published by

Last Gasp (The) Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) Last Gasp is a San Francisco–based book publisher with a lowbrow art and counterculture focus. Owned and operated by Ron Turner, for most of its existence Last Gasp was a publisher, dis ...

in 1998. He also frequently appears in ''The Art of S. Clay Wilson'', published by

Ten Speed Press Ten Speed Press is a publishing house founded in Berkeley, California, in 1971 by Phil Wood. It was bought by Random House in February 2009 and became part of their Crown Publishing Group division. History Wood worked with Barnes & Noble in 196 ...

. He appears as a signature on the cover of ''Wilson's

Grimm Grimm may refer to: People * Grimm (surname) * Brothers Grimm, German linguists ** Jacob Grimm (1785–1863), German philologist, jurist and mythologist ** Wilhelm Grimm (1786–1859), German author, the younger of the Brothers Grimm * Christia ...

'' (Cottage Classics, 1999).

Characterization

A portly, shirtless being generally seen wearing checkered pants, the Demon emerged from Wilson's experience of watching

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

's 1965 film ''

Juliet of the Spirits ''Juliet of the Spirits'' () is a 1965 fantasy comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini and starring Giulietta Masina, Sandra Milo, Mario Pisu, Valentina Cortese, and Valeska Gert. The film is about the visions, memories, and mysticism ...

'' while on

LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...

. The Checkered Demon's gap-toothed grin was inspired by '' Mad'' magazine's mascot

Alfred E. Neuman Alfred E. Neuman is the fictitious mascot and cover boy of the American humor magazine '' Mad''. The character's distinct smiling face, gap-toothed smile, freckles, red hair, protruding ears, and scrawny body date back to late 19th-century ad ...

.Knudde, Kjell
S. Clay Wilson profile
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed June 8, 2018. The Checkered Demon is frequently called upon to kill the various demented bikers, pirates, and rapists who populate Wilson's universe. The Demon is unbeatable in combat, but prefers to copulate with rapacious women—such as Star-Eyed Stella, Ruby the Dyke, or Lady Coozette—or to sit around drinking Tree Frog beer. He has no concern for human life. Although the Demon is generally shown as having red skin and black and white checkered pants in color illustrations, Wilson has claimed that the character can actually make himself any color. He generally turns green on Saint Patrick's Day.''The Art of S. Clay Wilson'', Ten Speed Press, 2006

In other media

The song "The Checkered Demon", inspired by the character, is part of the American hardcore band

AFI AFI may refer to: * Actual flip-angle imaging, a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) * ''Address-family identifier'', a 16 bit field of the Routing Information Protocol * AFI (band), an American rock band ** ''AFI'' (2017 album), the tenth ...

's debut album, ''

Answer That and Stay Fashionable ''Answer That and Stay Fashionable'' is the debut studio album by American punk rock band AFI. It was released on July 4, 1995, through Wingnut Records and rereleased on April 22, 1997, through Nitro Records. Background ''Answer That and Stay F ...

'' (1995).

List of appearances (selected)

* "The Hog Ridin' Fools", ''Zap Comix'' #2 (Print Mint, 1968) * Untitled The Fat Demon sitting in the broken throne was chatting with the recently captured female pirate, ''Zap Comix'' #4 (Print Mint, 1969) * "Thumb and Tongue Tales", parts I and II, ''Bent'' (Print Mint, 1971) * "The Unsolicited Brochure with Dumpy & the Grenade Hearted Broccoli", ''Zam-Zap Jam'' (Print Mint, 1974) * "The Swap", ''Zap Comix'' #8 (Print Mint, 1975) * ''The Checkered Demon'' (3 issues,

, 1977–1979) — collected from a ''Checkered Demon'' comic strip which ran in the ''

L.A. Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' * Untitled I'm gonna get some pussy and I don't mean maybe, baby!!" '' Weirdo'' #14 (Fall 1985) * ''Zap Comix'' #12 (Last Gasp, 1989) ** "The Girl" ** "Picnic in Hell / Devil's Table Top Model #666" * "Bus Stop! #666", ''Zap Comix'' #13 (Last Gasp, 1994) * "Ruby the Dyke Enters Rotting Zombiesville", ''Zap Comix'' #14 (Last Gasp, 1998) * ''The Collected Checkered Demon'' (Last Gasp, 1998)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Checkered Demon, The 1968 comics debuts Checkered Demon Checkered Demon Checkered Demon Last Gasp titles Checkered Demon Checkered Demon