Johnny Hart (1931 - 2007) Pt.#1

Source: www.bcdb.com)

Johnny Hart, creator of B.C., one of the longest-running continuing cartoon strips, died on April 7th at his Nineveh, New York home. He was 76.

His Early Life

John Lewis Hart was born on February 18th, 1931 in Endicott, New York. As a schoolboy, he drew constantly "which got me in or out of trouble depending on the circumstances," he said. Although his family was casually religious, Hart attended Christian Sunday school and was obsessed with the Bible from a young age.

His ambition to become a professional cartoonist was influenced by his friend and mentor, Brant Parker. In 1964, Hart returned the favour by helping Parker develop the award-winning comic strip, The Wizard of Id. It would be Parker's first cartoon sale.

Hart's work was first published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes while he served as an enlisted man in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War. After his discharge, he worked in the art department at General Electric while selling freelance art work to The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and True.

Beginning B.C.

It was while reading Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip that Hart got the idea for creating his own strip. Given his love for caveman humour, the idea for B.C. was a natural.

"Caveman gags, for reasons which I still cannot explain, were an obsession in those days," Hart recalls. "One day, a friend jokingly suggested I create a strip revolving around prehistoric times."

After five rounds of rejection, B.C. was finally accepted for syndication, and first appeared on Febrary 17, 1958. The title was suggested by his wife Bobby Jane, and stood for "Before Christ." It was also the name of the central character of the strip, a character who was very similar to Hart's own and who played the straight man for many of Hart's punchlines. Other characters were patterned after friends and relatives: smooth Peter, one-legged Wiley, Clumsy Carp, Fat Broad, Cute Chick, the African Curls, the inventive Thor and the neanderthal Grog.

B.C. was an immediate hit. Readers loved the dry wit, blatant puns, wordplay, and occasional societal critique, that Hart injected into his comics. Hart wasn't above the occasional jab at himself. In one comic, the character B.C. talks with Curls about discovering a mysterious pump that makes the body go. When asked what he's going to call his discovery, B.C. calls it, "the Hart." "Bootlicker," replies Curls.

Awards and Citations

In 1967, Hart won the National Cartoonist Society Newspaper Comic Strip (Humour) Award for B.C., and won the 1968 Reuben Award Cartoonist of the Year, for both B.C. and The Wizard of Id. In 1973, Hart took the National Cartoonists Society Animation Award, won the National Cartoonists Society, Elzie Segar Award in 1981, and in 1989, the National Cartoonists Society, Newspaper Comic Strip Award for B.C.

In addition, Hart earned The 1970 Yellow Kid Award from the International Congress of Comics. In 1975, he received the Adamson Award from the Swedish Museum of Comic Art, and the King Features' Seger Award in 1981. Hart also received a public service award from N.A.S.A. for his contributions to the space program.

Characters from B.C. appeared on everything from drinking glasses to greeting cards. The strip was translated into five languages, and placed in several best-selling anthologies.

In 1973, B.C. hit the small screen for the rarely-seen B.C.: The First Thanksgiving. Eight years later, the prehistoric gang returned for 1981's B.C.: A Very Special Christmas.

(In Part #2, B.C.'s religious and other controversies, plus accolades from other cartoonists and industry professionals)

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds