Johnny Hart Dies At Age 76

Johnny Hart, Creator of BC Comics Strip Dies At Age 76 

It is hard to ignore the irony, of Johnny Hart's death on Easter Sunday, while working at his drawing table. This was a time each year when Hart's work was at its most controversial, and often its most powerful.

Hart is best known as the creator and writer/artist of BC, which has run continuously since 1958. Hart also co-created The Wizard of Id with Brant Parker.

For the last few years, BC has been one of a few strips I read on a daily basis (For Better or For Worse and Foxtrot round out my top three), which might seem odd for a liberal like myself. But then, I was never turned off by things just because they sometimes express opinions I disagree with.

True, I wish Hart had shown a better grasp of Darwin's theory of evolution, and it would be nice if they guy could have given the poor snakes a break once in a while, but he still managed to put together a strip that was insightful, clever, and damn funny.

He also had the guts to put his own faith and spirituality out there in a medium where those kinds of expressions are not always welcome, among a set of peers that tended to lean in the opposite political direction for the most part.

In doing so, he created some real moments of beauty, reverence, poetry, and reflection. All in a strip about cartoon cavemen, dinosaurs, turtles, and ants.

And when you think about it enough, you can get past the irony. Johnny Hart died today, on the day he reserved for his most heartfelt work each year, doing the thing he loved to do. It's as good an end as one could hope for.

Rest in peace.