Vaughn Bodé's Junkwaffel was ostensibly launched to compile his obscure or unpublished early stories, and for that reason it is an essential title for Bodéphiles. The initial four-issue series was published by the Print Mint from 1971 to 1972 and includes Bodé's anti-war "Machines" and the ominous "Cobalt 60." In 1983, Last Gasp and Bodé's former wife, Barbara, published the magazine-sized Junkwaffel #5, which featured more early work, including Bodé's unpublished newspaper strip "Zooks!" At the same time, Last Gasp also reprinted the first four issues in the Junkwaffel series. The series was later compiled in two trade paperbacks by Fantagraphics.

Some of the comic stories in Junkwaffel are excellent, or at least quite interesting, and some of the writing is amongst the best Bodé ever produced, but there's also plenty of stuff that does not rank with his finest work. But it's not possible for everything to be terrific with any artist, so there's no reason that any of the content in Junkwaffel should not have seen the light of day. Vaughn Bodé is one of the most intriguing comic book creators from the underground era and his contributions to graphic art are iconic to both the '60s counterculture and the hip hop community of the '90s. So almost anything he produced is going to have some value to someone.

Cherry pick the gems that litter the series and you'd have a couple of amazing comic books. As it is, there's good stuff in every issue of Junkwaffel and fans of Vaughn Bodé are glad to have them all.