Johnny Hart – May light perpetual shine upon him.

A great cartoonist and a humble Christian died today. He was not without controversy and I didn’t always appreciate his style of humor, but he was an icon and his influence will be missed.
‘B.C.’ cartoonist Johnny Hart dies – CNN.com

ALBANY, New York (AP) — Cartoonist Johnny Hart, whose award-winning “B.C.” comic strip appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, died Saturday while working at his home in Endicott, New York. He was 76.”He had a stroke,” Hart’s wife, Bobby, said 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.

“He was generally regarded as one of the best cartoonists we’ve ever had,” Hart’s friend Mell Lazarus, creator of the “Momma” and “Miss Peach” comic strips, said from his California home. “He was totally original. ‘B.C.’ broke ground and led the way for a number of imitators, none of which ever came close.”

After he graduated from Union-Endicott High School, Hart met Brant Parker, a young cartoonist who became a prime influence and co-creator with Hart of the “Wizard of Id” comic strip.

Hart enlisted in the Air Force and began producing cartoons for Pacific Stars and Stripes. He sold his first freelance cartoon to the Saturday Evening Post after his discharge from the military in 1954.

Later in his career, some of Hart’s cartoons had religious themes, a reflection of his own Christian faith. That sometimes led to controversy.

A strip published on Easter Sunday in 2001 drew protests from Jewish groups and led several newspapers to drop the strip. The cartoon depicted a menorah transforming into a cross, with accompanying text quoting some of Jesus Christ’s dying words. Critics said it implied that Christianity supersedes Judaism.

Hart said he intended the strip as a tribute to both faiths.

A November 2003 strip featuring an outhouse and several crescent moons was seen as an attack on Islam. Hart denied the accusation, telling the Washington Post that the strip was nothing more than a “silly” bathroom joke.

His color strip published Sunday, the day after he died, featured dialogue from the Bible.

The Comics Curmudgeon has more thoughts and a good discussion of Hart here. I agree that the strips should be allowed to end.

An example of Johnny Hart’s later work with a clear and obvious Christian message.

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