Monday, April 9, 2007

Johnny Hart, R.I.P.



In the early years, B.C., the daily comic strip by Johnny Hart, was pure genius -- one of my absolute favourites. I also think it was what first introduced me to the notion of meta-fiction. Peter says to Curls, I think, one day: "I've discovered there's a pump inside us that makes us go! I'm going to call it a 'hart.'" The response from Curls: "Bootlicker."

Hart's Christianity came to the fore to the detriment of the strip in later years, sadly. The definition for "Science Fiction" in Wiley's Dictionary was, "Any scientific account that omits God."

Still, as the Spencer Tracy character says in Inherit the Wind of his late fundamentalist opponent, "A giant once lived in that body!"

Johnny Hart died over the weekend, while drawing. May he rest in peace.

The Robert J. Sawyer Web Site


2 Comments:

At April 09, 2007 12:20 PM , Blogger Dwight Williams said...

No arguments on quoting the Brady epitaph from Inherit the Wind. He was a giant.

And he died at the drawing table.

I hope to go the same way.

 
At April 09, 2007 1:22 PM , Anonymous don said...

Sad.

I love the old B.C. too. I even have books of his going back to 1959 (the characters looked totally different then).

I have to admit though too, that in the later years, with the inclusion of his faith, they seem to have lost their humour (for me).

 

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