Comments on: Johnny Hart passes away from stroke at age 76 (UPDATED, again)

By: The Daily Cartoonist | News and blog about comic strips, editorial cartoons, cartoons

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 08:40:03 +0000

[...] giant in the industry died. Johnny Hart, creator of B.C. and co-creator of The Wizard of Id passed away at the drawing board at the age of 76. Two weeks later Brant Parker, the other co-creator of Wizard of Id, passed away as well. [...]

By: Ann Asbury

Ann Asbury — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 13:42:25 +0000

Each morning it was a toss between my husband and
myself to see which one got to read B.C. first.
May it continue forever……………
I was visiting a grandson in Kansas City and
I was disappointed to learn that they do not
have B.C……..
Hart’s life with young people will be missed too.

from Oklahoma City………

By: Danny Burleson

Danny Burleson — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:44:11 +0000

Rest in Peace, Johnny, you had a great run. B.C. and Wizard of Id were never my favorites, but I always read them when I got the chance.

@Monty: I said something similar to my wife. It’s poetic that he died at the drawing table, but then, he was probably always at the drawing table {insert inappropriate ‘deadline’ joke here}. And now we’ll never know, but I bet he actually spent more time at the table than in bed. What I really wonder is if he got to finish his last cartoon.

By: Monty

Monty — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:45:14 +0000

Eh, I guess I’m not the kind for sentimentality. 76 years is a good long full life and I’ll consider myself lucky if I reach 50. Nor is it all that surprising that he died at the drawing board. Considering how many hours he probably spent at the drawing board the only place he had a higher percentage chance of dying is in his bed. For those who were touched by him personally I can understand how his passing is a great loss. You can never replace the people who have been part of your life. However for a lot of people his death is just another reminder of the passage of time.

Regardless of what you thought of his work, time and again it has been proven that creative works are best left in the hands of their original creators. If you want to honor someoneâ€™s memory there are a million better ways to do it than piecing together new strips in Photoshop.

By: Mark

Mark — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 14:23:27 +0000

Mr. Hart will be missed by this cartoonist.

On other matters, I have to agree with those comment makers in favor of discontinuing his strips. If comics continue in perpetuation beyond the creators life, there will never be room for new creators or creations. My local paper alone hasn’t changed the comics roster in over 10 years, and many continue to run repeats of past greats. This would be like Hollywood continuing to make John Wayne movies because they can digitize him. I’m sure this will offend some, but there are some strips currently being continued by the creator’s progeny that should have been buried with them. With the collections available in book form for the nostalgic fans, there is no need to keep these going. Let Johnny’s creation go with him to the great beyond – he may need the company.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 23:43:46 +0000

This is incredibly tragic. Johnny Hart was one of the great cartoonists, one whose work is instantly recognizable to many.
“B.C.” could often be hilarious. Hart’s artistic style was sort of minimalist like Schulz, in that he only needed to use a few lines to get the reader to understand a lot (for example, the characters’ body language). I admittedly got kind of uncomfortable reading all of the religious stuff, although I too am a Christian, but I will miss Hart’s work nonetheless.
I only regret that his strip will be perpetuated after his death by his ghostwriting family, but if that was his wish then so be it.
Rest in peace, Mr. Hart.

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:32:19 +0000

B.C. has been one of my favorites comic strips since I was a kid and still is.

I for one will be glad the strip will continue. As a Dad or a Mom, you hope you and your kids have something in commom when they grow up and something you can pass along down the line. Johnny Hart has that. His two daughters and two grandsons, all of whom have been involved with the comic strips over the years.

And although Johnny Hart wrote and drew the strip, I think his family was just as much part of B.C. as Johnny Hart was.

Here’s to more good laughs with B.C.
Rest in Peace Johnny Hart. You’ve done good.

By: josh

josh — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 03:37:54 +0000

I hate to sully such a positive comment trail, but I have to say that the quote, from Kathy Kei at Creators, is one of the most depressing I’ve seen. We read BC and Wizard of Id for the cartoonist, not the characters. Charles Schultz made the right decision to let Peanuts end. Mickey Mouse, her other example, has become nothing more than a corporate logo. It saddens me to think that vibrant, creative comic strips are being continued for the sake of commerce, not art.

By: MJ

MJ — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 02:35:45 +0000

Another loss to the comic kingdom. I always read these strips wherever I found them. Serious funny material. I can see the point of others hoping the strips are put to rest, but I feel that they should continue I would miss reading the antics of the casted characters.

By: Guy Gilchrist

Guy Gilchrist — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 21:36:20 +0000

When I first got my job doing The Muppets for King and Henson, Bill Yates, my Editor at King, told me how to write and illustrate a comic strip. He told me to read every paperback by Mort Walker, Johnny Hart, and Dik Browne….then, try to do THAT.
THAT, folks, is a full course in how to be funny in a comic strip.
Johnny Hart was funny.
I have too many memories of Johnny to share them here, but, he was always generous with his art, his talents, his time. He was never, ever rude, or ever to my knowledge did he ever say anything critical of anyone else’s strip, or work. Johnny took the criticism that came his way graciously.
Johnny was real.
I knew him before he found the Lord, and after. He was always himself. Thoroughly comfortable in his own skin, with who he was and how he did things.
I think that being real, being honest, and natural when your at the board drawing and writing is certainly what is the hardest struggle.
Some call it finding your style. Finding your voice.
Johnny’s seemed effortless. Like Wllie Mays catching a fly ball. Effortless. You don’t realize how much work that is until you try to play Center…or do a comic strip. It takes a lot of work to make it look that easy.
I will always treasure the talks we had and the notes passed between us. In the later years, there were good wishes for my own faith based strip. Johnny didn’t have to tell me that it was worth it…but he did. Johnny is with the Lord now, and the Lord has quite a bullpen up there….and the king of the one liners is now cracking that bullpen up.
Johnny Hart was funny.