Johnny Hart, "B.C." Creator, 1931 - 2007

[Ed Liu]

Via Yahoo! News:

ENDICOTT, N.Y. - 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.

I can't say that I agreed with Hart's point of view very often, but he did earn some amount of my respect for continuing to have one in the ever-more-neutered newspaper comic strip pages and for refusing to back down from positions that were going to draw fire.

R.I.P. Johnny Hart.

-- Ed

 

[Cortez2301]

May he rest in Peace.I believe he is also the same creator for the "King of Id" and related comics.

 

[tucsoncoyote]

At least he died doing what he enjoyed the most .. and that was doing his cartoons.

R.I.P. Mr. Hart...

 

[Eddie G.]

I can't say that I agreed with Hart's point of view very often, but he did earn some amount of my respect for continuing to have one in the ever-more-neutered newspaper comic strip pages and for refusing to back down from positions that were going to draw fire.

Some of those strips should have came under fire for being rather hateful with very little substance behind them besides, "Islam sucks," or, "Screw the Japanese and their cars, they bombed us!" It's really hard to respect a man for refusing to back down from rather idiotic and baseless positions.

 

[PeterFries]

Johnny Hart, creator of "B.C.", "Wizard of Id" dead at 76

...

 

[Cortez2301]

May he rest in Peace.I always loved his "wizard of Id" comic strips.

 

[EinBebop]

Some of those strips should have came under fire were rather dumb and hateful with very little substance behind them besides, "Islam sucks," or, "Screw the Japanese and their cars, they bombed us!" It's really hard to respect a man for refusing to back down from rather idiotic and baseless positions.

Speaking of respect, let's spare a little for the man who just died and the people who are saddened by his passing. Time and place, sir.

 

[Eddie G.]

Speaking of respect, let's spare a little for the man who just died and the people who are saddened by his passing. Time and place, sir.

I'm positng on an internet forum, I'm not planning to run into his funeral and scream at his widow.

 

[Daniel P]

Not funny.

 

[nowlight]

That sucks, loved B.C. Iam just glad that he lived a long and good like.

 

[Ed Liu]

Merging with the Entertainment Board thread.

Some of those strips should have came under fire for being rather hateful with very little substance behind them besides, "Islam sucks," or, "Screw the Japanese and their cars, they bombed us!" It's really hard to respect a man for refusing to back down from rather idiotic and baseless positions.

I didn't say that I thought the opinions were valid, shouldn't have drawn fire, or that I agreed with them. Just that he had them and wasn't afraid to express them in a medium that is becoming more insipid by the day. There are a lot of politicians and public figures who generate the same grudging respect with me, even if I simultaneously think they're fundamentally wrong-headed.

But mostly I'm trying to remain respectful for the recently departed. I have blasted Hart for perceived silliness before anyway.

New obit, linked from Mark Evanier, which seems a bit more balanced than a lot of the others I've seen out there (including the one from the AP), noting how his faith managed to get him through an alcoholism problem and his assorted charitable and community activities.

-- Ed

 

[Oldiesmann]

Sad to hear that we've lost another great cartoonist. B.C. and Wizard of Id have been favorites of mine for years. Glad to hear that the strips will continue though.

 

[Eddie G.]

I didn't say that I thought the opinions were valid, shouldn't have drawn fire, or that I agreed with them. Just that he had them and wasn't afraid to express them in a medium that is becoming more insipid by the day. There are a lot of politicians and public figures who generate the same grudging respect with me, even if I simultaneously think they're fundamentally wrong-headed.

Yes, but the opinions were talking about involved codemning Jews for killing Jesus, saying that it's wrong to buy Japanese cars because of Pearl Harbor, and implying that Islam is crap. I don't believe in respecting a man for standing by his opinions when his opinions were hateful and baseless. I think its sort of silly to just shrug our shoulders and say, "Welp, it takes all kinds." The guy put some meanspirited stuff in his strip.

But mostly I'm trying to remain respectful for the recently departed. I have blasted Hart for perceived silliness before anyway.

Like I said before, this is an internet forum, not his funeral. I changed my original post to be a little less mean, but I don't see how it's not valid to talk about the negative aspects of the guy.

 

[Anthonynotes]

While I have to agree that "BC" got rather awful/pious in recent years, I did enjoy the strip's earlier episodes as a kid (and the occasional "Wizard of Id").

Anyone recall the animated BC ads for some car shock absorber company (or the animated Christmas(?) special?).

-B.

 

[Peter Paltridge]

Not funny.

Buuuut...but the traditional symbol on an outhouse is a crescent, and the Muslim symbol is a crescent PLUS a star. I think they were just reaching on this one; they needed another reason to hate Hart.

 

[Blue Priestess]

Buuuut...but the traditional symbol on an outhouse is a crescent, and the Muslim symbol is a crescent PLUS a star. I think they were just reaching on this one; they needed another reason to hate Hart.

How about this - it's just not funny.

I respected what he was, using non-sequiter sound effects and turning out a blithely surreal strip. I can't respect what he became and how he let his strip turn into a soapbox of the worst kind. To me, he was already gone.

 

[wonderfly]

Umm, I didn't even catch any anti-muslim commentary in that cartoon. I thought it was just a poor attempt at toilet humor. Daniel P, when you posted that, were you saying there was an anti-muslim aspect to that cartoon?

 

[Zebi]

There was a reaction by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to that comic strip; the Washington Post has an article on it. From the article:

The first public questioning of this cartoon arose in a washingtonpost.com chat Tuesday, when a reader noted that the cartoon seemed to make no sense, except metaphorically. The reader noted that the cartoon contained six crescent moons -- three in the sky, and three on the outhouse door -- and wondered if this might have been a veiled slur on the world's 1 billion practicing Muslims.

The CAIR e-mail mentioned the moons, and also noted that Hart had drawn a prominent sound effect -- "SLAM" -- between two frames to accompany the closing of the outhouse door. The SLAM was stacked vertically, in the shape of an I, and could be seen to signify "Islam." The cartoon appeared on the 15th day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.

 

[wonderfly]

The SLAM was stacked vertically, in the shape of an I, and could be seen to signify "Islam."

Okay, that's just grasping at straws, in my opinion. In the article, Hart denies he was saying anything anti-muslim in any form. *shrug* I'm prepared to take him at his word. I really thought it was just a stupid joke.

 

[Ed Liu]

Umm, I didn't even catch any anti-muslim commentary in that cartoon. I thought it was just a poor attempt at toilet humor. Daniel P, when you posted that, were you saying there was an anti-muslim aspect to that cartoon?

A common icon for Islam (if it can even have one properly, considering Islam tends to be even more strict about the "no graven images" rule) is a crescent moon, just as a common icon for Christianity is a cross. It's why the "Red Cross Society" is now the "Red Cross/Red Crescent Society" (note -- without star).

I also think perceiving an insult in the cartoon is reaching a bit, but considering some of Hart's other comments on the subject, I can't entirely rule out that it was meant as an insult.

In the end, though, I agree with Blue Priestess that the strip violates the #1 commandment of the newspaper funnies -- it's just not funny, whether you perceive the crescent as a symbol of Islam or not. It becomes significantly less funny if it is.

-- Ed