'B.C.' cartoonist Johnny Hart dies

[krispos42]

Source: CNN.com

ENDICOTT, New York (AP) -- Cartoonist Johnny Hart, whose award-winning "B.C." comic strip appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, died at his home on Saturday. He was 76.

"He had a stroke," Hart's wife, Bobby, said on Sunday. "He died at his storyboard."

"B.C.," populated by prehistoric cavemen and dinosaurs, was launched in 1958 and eventually appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers with an audience of 100 million, according to Creators Syndicate Inc., which distributes it.

<snip>

Besides his wife, Hart is survived by two daughters, Patti and Perri. He was a native of Endicott, about 135 miles northwest of New York City, and drew his comic strip at a studio in his home there until the day he died.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/08/obit.hart.ap/index.html

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A fond memory from my youth...

Farewell, Jonny Hart, even if I didn't really get the religious stuff...

<Edit: had to replace quotes with apostrophes>

[dweller]

1. i wonder what the last strip was about?

or if we'll ever see it.

RIP,bc, John Hart.
dp

[jaysunb]

2. RIP

lots of fond memories here too.....

[JeffR]

3. The religious & rightwing political stuff aside...

I grew up with BC, and I still admire his ability to tell a story with amazing visual economy. It's a hallmark of the cartoonist's art, and he was a master.

[Monkeyman]

4. RIP

[tularetom]

5. I grew up with that strip and it used to be great until

somewhere along the line Hart began to inject religion into it. In recent years it has been almost unreadable because of the heavy emphasis on christian mythology and symbolism. Not as bad as say Mallard Fillmore, but definitely not up to previous standards. Although I won't mourn the loss of BC my condolences go to Johnny Hart's family.

[Hissyspit]

6. He turned into quite the close-minded bigot there toward the end.

His strip was innovative and entertaining, although, even when I was a kid, the sexist stuff bothered me.

He's gone to his god now and here is what God is likely to say to him: "Gee, Johnny, you turned into a close-minded bigot toward the end there. Funny stuff at the beginning, though."

[tularetom]

9. Sexist? You mean all the references to the "fat broad"?

My sister hated that! She wasn't fat but she always thought that was demeaning. Ironically she died 20 years ago tomorrow in an "equestrial mishap" as my mom always referred to it (thrown from a horse).

[Kolesar]

17. Even as a preteenager, I knew "fat broad" was cruel

Does anybody remember the animation that Johnny Hart did for the government's "Action Corps"?

A...we're the Action Corps
C...we contribute more
T...is for the teamwork in our crew
I...our ideals are high
O...ought not you apply
N...is now that we need you

[Cassandra]

7. In the seventies, I had one of his strips on my dorm room...

door. It was one for Thanksgiving in which one of the women is trying to kill the turkey with an ax but she just can't bring herself to do it. The man says, "It's just a dumb bird" and looks over at the turkey and asks, "Any last words?" and the turkey says, "E=MC squared." :-)

[truthisfreedom]

8. RIP Jonny. You gave me a lot of laughs as a kid.

[Ken Burch]

10. I wonder if the Aperthx, the wingless bird with hairy feathers who always gave the full description

of himself in every appearance he made, will now be put on the Endangered Species List.

I have the mixed feelings everybody else has about this strip. It was great when it was simple and based on character comedy, it got creepy when Hart when heavy-duty Christian on us(I even remembered strips with blood-soaked crucifixion imagery...IN THE SUNDAY FUNNIES!).

Johnny, "BC" was great when you kept it humble and human. Be at peace. Your family will find meaning in the fact that you died on Easter.

[Flirtus]

24. "Apteryx"

Wikipedia: Another example: near Christmas time, the apteryx dressed as Santa Claus and modified his usual spiel: "I'm an ApterClaus, a wingless toymonger with batteries not included!"

[Ken Burch]

25. Brilliant.

n/t.

[Big_Mike]

11. Rest in Peace, Mr. Hart.

I've read your comics my whole life. Whether or not I liked each panel, they helped form my humor.

I always wanted someone to float a message to, and see what they said in reply.

[ChazII]

12. RIP n/t

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. His Sunday strip can be found here:

http://www.creators.com/comics/bc.html?comicname=bc

Preachier than I've ever seen him. Maybe he knew it would be his last...

[Kelly Rupert]

14. My absolute favorite was pretty recent.

I mean, that's just insane.

[struggle4progress]

15. As a kid, years ago, I adored BC and Wizard of Id

Some of the old strips are still fun

[regnaD kciN]

16. Isn't it ironic...

...that a man who always made such a big deal about Easter in his strips died the day before it? Almost as odd as Charles Schultz (who was far less heavy-handed about his Christian beliefs) passing on a few hours before his final strip before "retirement" was to run in Sunday papers.

[non sociopath skin]

18. I always thought it a little odd that guys who were born BEFORE Christ ...

... spent so much time in the strips talking about him!

Have to say that I always preferred the Wizard of Id myself.

The Skin

[Thothmes]

19. Thanks

for untold numbers of grins and chuckles. They always added a bit of light to a somber day. RIP

[Vidar]

20. RI{ Mr. Hart.

[KansDem]

21. I didn't follow Hart and "BC" after the 1960s...

...so I'm not familiar with the references to his religious and right-wing stances that I read here, but I did read him nightly during the 1960s when I was in school.

I remember my favorite "BC" comic (I'll have to describe it):

BC is walking along and encounters a sign that reads, "Grand Canyon ahead." He continues walking until he comes to a small stream.

It took me a few seconds...

[Orangepeel]

22. RIP. I hope he goes to the Heaven he proselytized so much about.

I hope that my paper puts something funny in place of BC instead of running "classics" (I don't mind it with Peanuts, because Peanuts is good), but I've got nothing but good wishes for his afterlife (should there be one).

[MissB]

23. RIP, Hart.

He created some really funny panels in his day. I usually avoided his cartoons around easter and christmas, tho.

[AnneD]

26. The Fat Broad will never club another snake...

no more BC letters form the other place, no more elixirs, no more Peg Leg thoughts, no more magic. BC was a tried and true friend for many years. Hart was a giant, not many cartoonist have such long careers.

[Zhade]

27. At least he died doing what he loved.

Sure, what he loved doing was making religious propaganda thinly disguised as an unfunny strip, but hey - what a way to go!

[slackmaster]

28. My stepfather was an amateur cartoonist

He often ranted about the poor quality of the artwork in the Wizard of Id (however funny it may be from time to time - I do read it).

[Decruiter]

29. I liked his art plenty

...but his social commentary is brilliant and uniquely American! It was great run...

Here's one for DUers everywhere

[sofa king]

30. I heard he laughed to death at John 1:46

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Now that's a punchline!

If only B.C. and Wizard of Id had risen to such heights of humor.