The Wizard of Id is a daily newspaper comic strip created by American cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. Beginning November 9, 1964, the strip follows the antics of a large cast of characters in a shabby medieval kingdom called "Id". The title is a play on The Wizard of Oz, combined with the Freudian psychological term id, which represents the instinctive and primal part of the human psyche.
In 1997, Brant Parker passed his illustrator's duties on to his son, Jeff Parker, who had already been involved with creating Id for a decade. In 2002, the strip appeared in some 1,000 newspapers all over the world, syndicated by Creators Syndicate. Hart's grandson Mason Mastroianni took over writing duties on the strip after Hart's death in 2007.THE WIZARD OF ID' TURNS 50: Here and on the comics page, cartoonists celebrate the Hart/Parker strip's golden anniversary". The Washington Post, November 17, 2014 The new byline, "B.C. by Mastroianni and Hart", appeared for the first time in another of their strips on January 3, 2010. On December 14, 2015, Jeff Parker also passed his duties on to Mastroianni.
Overview
History In the early 1960s, Johnny Hart, having already created the successful B.C., began collaborating with his friend, then-unpublished cartoonist Brant Parker, on a new comic strip. (Parker would later create or co-create the strips Goosemyer, Crock and Out of Bounds.) Having already drawn cartoons about the Stone Age, Hart advanced through time to the Middle Ages, taking the idea from a deck of playing cards.Johnny Hart Studios – Meet The Artists of B.C. and Wizard of Id at Johhny Hart Studios The Wizard of Id was first syndicated on November 9, 1964, drawn by Parker and co-written by Parker and Hart.Remembering Brant at John Hart Studios
On November 17, 2014, the strip formally celebrated its 50th anniversary, and a number of other strips, including Beetle Bailey, BC, Ballard Street, Dennis the Menace, Garfield, Mother Goose and Grimm, Pickles, Mutts, Pooch Café, The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee, and Barney Google and Snuffy Smith ran special 50th anniversary commemorative strips (e.g., Beetle called Sarge "a fink," and ended up sharing a dungeon cell with Spookingdorf). Hi and Lois ran an otherwise-ordinary strip with a portrait of the Wizard in the last panel, while Speed Bump ran a cartoon of Harry Potter in a Wizard of Id T-shirt, Family Circus put a greeting on a book (being held upside down), and Blondie showed a greeting written on a cake in the first panel.
Setting The Wizard of Id deals with the goings-on of the rundown and oppressed mythical kingdom of Id. It follows people from all corners of the kingdom, but concentrates on the court of a tyrannical, dwarfish monarch known only as "the King". The strip's humor occasionally satirizes modern American culture, and deliberate anachronisms are rampant. Technology changes to suit whatever a gag requires; a battle with spears and arrows might be followed by a peasant using an ATM.
In some strips, the king is elected to his monarchial position (albeit through rigged ballots). The aspects that stay the same, however, are that Id is in the middle of nowhere, home to a large castle surrounded by a moat. The king and his subjects run an inept army perpetually at war with "the Huns", while the unhappy, overtaxed peasants (or "Idiots") make little money as farmers and stablehands to keep modest lifestyles.
Format The Wizard of Id follows a gag-a-day format, plus a color Sunday page. There are running gags relating to the main cast, to a variety of secondary, continuing characters, and to the kingdom itself. Occasionally it will run an extended sequence on a given theme over a week or two.
Style According to Don Markstein's Toonopedia, "The strip's humor style—quite contemporary, in contrast to its medieval setting—ranges from broad and low to pure black".The Wizard of Id at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
The style in which certain characters are drawn has changed from the early years of the strip to today. For example, the old style of the King's head was more rectangular, he had a crown with identifiable card suits on it (club, diamond, heart), his mustache and beard always hid his mouth, and his beard frequently extended to a curved point when the King was shown in profile (see The Wondrous Wizard of Id, 1970, Fawcett Publications). In the new style, the King's head is more trapezoidal with a slightly smaller and undecorated crown, he has a huge nose (even bigger than Rodney's) which covers his mouth and chin, and when he opens his mouth it appears that his beard has been shaved off. Like Sir Rodney and other large-nosed characters in the comic, he often "breaks the fourth wall" and stares directly at the audience in the final frame of the strip to indicate disgust or embarrassment when the punchline is spoken, accentuating the huge bulbous shape of his nose.
On December 14, 2015, Mason Mastroianni took over the strip from Jeff Parker.
Cast of characters
Main characters The King: A pint-sized despot modeled after Napoleon; like many characters in the strip, the king is named simply after his role. Occasionally, his name is given as "Id". "Sire" to his subjects, he is greedy, petty and vindictive, but he maintains a sense of humor. Jokes are often centered on his height (about three feet). He wears a crown and cape that makes him look like a playing card (and in the 1960s and 1970s he did resemble the Jack card with his crown decorated with the four card suits). From his throne room he hands out terrible, Draconian punishments for crimes (executions being quite common). He is only ever looking to win votes, power and money. He has a thin skin and a short temper (especially about his height), and main characters often find themselves chained to the wall"Wizard of ID Feb 19, 1971 comic strip or the rack"Wizard of ID" 2-23-1992 comic strip if they thoughtlessly insult the king. He is hated by the peasants, who to his dismay often proclaim "The king is a fink!" On one occasion the King calls himself a "fink."The Wizard of Id December 31, 1965 However, he is occasionally shown to have a quirky softer side, and it is mentioned his only friends are the moat monsters. His "pets" are a dragon and a St. Bernard dog named Bonapart; he rides Bonapart in fox hunts - although he can ride horses as well. An ancestor of the King - who resembles his descendant - was King of Id II who was beheaded by his successor King of Id III. In regard to the King's parents: his father, who was king until his son overthrew him, is kept in a tower surrounded by "The King of Id" jack-in-the-box toys — the only gifts his son gives him; he also calls his son "A Fink". His mother works as a charwoman and routinely complains and scolds her son — the only person who ever does so. He has a brother named Cyril. His coat of arms is a picture of his head on the body of a bull. The only time the King has ever won anything honestly is when he found out he was going to be selected to appear on bubble gum "Tyrant Cards" series. When the King was unmarried, he did once ask Snow White to introduce him to the Evil Queen so he could date the Queen; however by February 2016 the King has a Queen named Fanabella and a mother-in-law as well. In a comic crossover in connection with the 75th anniversary of the comic strip "Blondie" the King and Julius Dithers were soul brothers. A running gag is that at Christmas the King tries to get presents from Santa Claus and always fails. The Wizard: The title character, he is the king's royal wielder of magic, sometimes nicknamed "Wiz". He is smart but sarcastic, good-natured but cynical, and is constantly dominated by his wife, Blanch. He wears a traditional pointed wizards' cap festooned with stars and crescent moons, like Merlin. From his basement, he works over a vat, where his spirit familiar lives. He is capable of powerful spells, but often his plans backfire on him. One time on the day of the Royal picnic a heavy rainstorm broke out. The Wizard tried to dispel the rain by repeating a spell for the rain to go away and to come again some other day; too late he remembers the last time it rained he recited this spell and that the other day is now the Royal picnic day; the angry king has him chained up in the dungeon under a perpetual shower of water! He is friendly to all the king's subjects, but like most of them, he secretly considers the king to be a creep (or a fink). Both his parents are involved with magic. His father can turn himself invisible His 800-year-old mother is also a sorceress; every Mother's Day, she receives a cat from her son. Blanch: The Wizard's worse half; his domineering, meddlesome harridan of a wife. It has been said the Wizard married Blanch for her money, for she is considered extremely ugly by everyone in the kingdom. She nags at Wiz every day, and her cooking is awful. Her mother (who is never seen) is apparently just as bad. Occasionally though, she looks to him for romance, which he is hesitant to offer. She also heads the Women's Liberation front in Id. One time the Wizard make a foolish comment to Blanch not to stand too long in an antique store else someone would hang a "For Sale" sign on her; Blanch put him into a vase; another time Gwen asked the Wizard why he did not marry a witch; he did not answer because as Blanch explained his teeth will not allow his tongue to give an answer.
Sir Rodney (Beakmeister) aka "Chicken-Hearted" : His father was Sir Francis Beakmeister. Usually just called "Rodney", he is the king's chief knight and head of the hapless royal army and the Admiral of the Kingdom's Navy. His standard is that of a yellow chicken on a white background. He is a tall, lanky man of dopey intelligence who wears blue chainmail and carries a spear. He is hopeless as a warrior, and his troops are just as incompetent. Rodney is at heart a coward; he is terrified of fighting and often pretends to be good at slaying dragons, while in fact he once bribed one, (known as "Dragy"). He has an enormous nose, the source of many jokes—and is always trying to win the King's attention. He occasionally works as a spy, wearing a tree costume with a large hole to accommodate his nose. His horse is just as much a coward as he is. Gwen: A beautiful but frustrated fair maiden who, as her blonde stereotype suggests, is quite clueless. She is adored by all but is in love only with Rodney. They sometimes date, but in his non-macho way he is usually too dense to return the romantic feelings she has for him. She often spends time commiserating with Blanch, or conversing with frogs who claim to be enchanted princes. On February 14, 2016, Rodney arranged with Cupid to give a "Love hit" on Gwen.