Johnny Hart

John Lewis Hart (February 18, 1931 – April 7, 2007) was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strips B.C. and The Wizard of Id. Brant Parker co-produced and illustrated The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including the Swedish Adamson Award and five from the National Cartoonists Society. In his later years, he was known (and sometimes criticized) for incorporating Christian themes and messages into his strips. Hart was referred to by Chuck Colson in a Breakpoint column as "the most widely read Christian of our time," over C. S. Lewis, Frank E. Peretti, and Billy Graham. Born in Endicott, New York, Hart published his first work in Stars and Stripes while he served in Korea as an enlisted member of the United States Air Force. Returning in 1953, he published cartoons in The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly and other magazines. His pre-cartooning employment included working in a barbecue restaurant and sign painting. Hart's biggest success, B.C., was created in 1957 and began appearing in national daily newspapers on February 17, 1958. Hart also co-created and wrote the comic strip The Wizard of Id, drawn by Brant Parker, which has been distributed since November 9, 1964. According to Hanna-Barbera animator Ed Benedict, the animation powerhouses approached Hart in 1960 pitching a prime time animated B.C. series. Talks fell through with HB retooling the concept into what eventually became The Flintstones. Hart died of a stroke on April 7, 2007. According to his wife Bobby, he was working at his drawing table at the time of his death. His co-creator for The Wizard of Id, Brant Parker, died just eight days later, on April 15, 2007. Hart was raised in a casually religious family, and he attended Christian Sunday School regularly. Although his formal education ended with high school, he was fascinated by the Bible from a young age. In 1984 there was a distinguishable shift in Hart's spirituality, and Hart and wife Bobby began attending a congregation of the Presbyterian Church in Nineveh, New York.