FINISHED TOO:

'B.C.' creator Johnny Hart dies (Press & Sun Bulletin, 4/08/07)

Johnny Hart, an Endicott native whose collection of cartoon cave-dwellers amused and sometimes irritated newspaper readers for almost 50 years, died at his Nineveh home on Saturday. He was 76.

Hart is survived by his wife Bobby, and two daughters. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

Hart's B.C. comic strip was launched in 1958 and eventually appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide with an audience of 100 million. He lent his characters to promote many local agencies and activities, including the Broome Dusters hockey team, BC Transit, Broome County Parks and the professional golf tournament which became the B.C. Open.

B.C. participated in the nation's space program. In 1972, Hart received a public service award from NASA for outstanding contributions.

Later in his career, some of Hart's cartoons addressed religious themes -- a reflection of his own deepening Christian faith -- which dismayed some readers and delighted others.

Easter comic strip creates an uproar (Christian Century, May 2, 2001)

Cartoonist Johnny Hart, a popular comic-strip creator who is also a conservative Christian, typically raises religious themes in his caveman strip B.C. at Christmas and Eastertime. This season Hart sparked an outcry from some Jewish organizations for, they say, implying that Christianity replaced Judaism.

One paper, the Los Angeles Times, dropped the strip on April 9 following a God-talk comic strip that ran on Palm Sunday. A Times spokesperson, however, said the decision was made weeks earlier and based on "a lot of factors." The Times and other newspapers have in the past simply left out strips that editors felt would rankle too many readers.

The April 15 comic strip by Hart shows several panels in which the seven last words of Jesus Christ appear above a lit seven-branch menorah. In the next-to-last frame, the words "It is finished" appear above the menorah's last remaining flame. By the last frame, all seven candles on the menorah have been extinguished, and the menorah has become a cross.

Some critics say the cartoon advocates "replacement theology"--the idea that Christianity has supplanted Judaism. "This is insensitive and offensive because what it proclaims is that Judaism is finished and Christianity has taken over," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. [...]

But Hart, an evangelical Christian who lives in Endicott, New York, said that he only intended to "pay tribute" to Jews and Christians. "I sincerely apologize if I have offended any readers, and I also sincerely hope that this cartoon will generate increased interest in religious awareness," he said.

If you never offended Abe Foxman you never said anything important.

MORE:
Hogan's Interviews: Johnny Hart (Rick Marschall, Hogan's Alley)
'B.C.' Cartoonist Johnny Hart dies at 76 (Usa Today, 4/09/07)

Posted by Orrin Judd at April 8, 2007 2:28 PM