Johnny Hart, one of the great cartoonists of our time–creator of “The Wizard of Id” and “B.C.” as well as an in-your-face Christian witness–died today at his home at Endicott, NY. He was 76 years old.
I think he was probably pleased to go home on Easter Day.
“Hey! Heaven got cartoonists!”
Ah. I hadn’t heard this. Thanks for posting it. I used to have a Sunday comic inside my school desk for years. B.C.–no, I think it was Peter–sat on a hillside watching a full day unfold: the dawn, flocks of birds, the ocean waves and animals, the sunset, the galaxy in the night sky. And Peter stands up at the end to clap and shout, “Author! Author!”
I love your crack quote at the end of your post. It’s something a clam would shout to the world, right? The funniest one of those I remember pictures a clam digging itself out of the sand and, once on it’s feet, ripping open its shell with a loud noise. Nearby, another clam or an ant shouts, “Clams got velcro!”
Yup. That’s the idea.
perfect epitaph, Lars. I’ll miss him too.
What he could do with a few simple lines and some genuinely witty repartee.
I, too, will miss him. Our loss is heaven’s gain. He suffered criticism for speaking out for Christ, and in a number of cases his cartoons were unfairly misinterpreted.
Johnny was a GREAT guy! I really appreciate and admire his stand for the Lord. I feel blessed to have known him personally and also feel blessed that he endorsed my cartoon book GOOD MEDICINE (religious “FAR SIDE”-type cartoons). Since he was a fellow Christian, I KNOW that he is with Jesus now in Paradise (ref. 1 John 5:13), since the Bible talks about a believer being present with the Lord when they are absent from the body (ref. 2 Cor. 5:8)! Please pray for his wife’s (Bobby) and family’s comfort at this time. He will be TRULY missed, but I look forward to the time when I can hang out with him in Heaven and reminisce about cartooning times here on earth. Johnny believed in what Jesus said in the Bible in John 3:16; “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” I feel that upon entering Heaven, Jesus may have said to Johnny something similar to “Welcome Home, thy good and faithful servant!”
Thanks for dropping by, Bruce.