{"id":307,"date":"2011-04-17T06:54:00","date_gmt":"2011-04-17T12:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/"},"modified":"2011-04-17T06:54:00","modified_gmt":"2011-04-17T12:54:00","slug":"sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunday Funnies — the Cartoonist and the Creator"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the \u201cB.C.<\/a>\u201d cartoon strip and the\u00a0<\/span>\u201cWizard of Id<\/a>.\u201d He died of a stroke four years ago, ironically, on Easter Day. This is a long post, but once you read it, you\u2019ll realize why I choose this time to honor such a man.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/div>\n
Hart had a wry sense of humor that made millions laugh since 1958. \u201cB.C.<\/a>\u201d was considered the most widely read\u00a0<\/span>comic strip\u00a0<\/span>on the planet.\n<\/b>

<\/p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\nJohnny\u2019s conversion to Christianity is an interesting story and came about because of the faithfulness of someone who brought their beliefs to the workplace.<\/span>

<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Although a churchgoer as a child, he left the faith and eventually found fame and fortune as a cartoonist.\u00a0\n<\/b>

<\/p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
In 1977, he bought a 158-acre property in Nineveh, New York. He couldn\u2019t get cable and a neighbor introduced him to a father-son pair of satellite TV dish salesmen who agreed to wire his place up.\n<\/b>

<\/p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\nA complicated job, it took the pair over 2 months. As believers, they used Christian television channels on as \u201ctest stations\u201d while they triangulated satellites. When Hart commented, the two offered to change the channel, but he didn\u2019t take them up on the offer.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>He began to watch \u2026 and listen.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One Sunday, he and his wife drove by a local church that reminded him of his childhood. He leaned over and asked, \u201cWould you like to go to church?\u201d His wife Bobby said, \u201cNo, not really.\u201d Johnny prayed that God would change her heart; and in just two weeks, she asking Johnny to go to church. They began to discover a relationship with God. Johnny later even served as a children\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Sunday school teacher<\/a>.\n<\/b>

<\/p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n
<\/span><\/span>
Hart\u2019s faith began to infect his comic strips.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>During Christmas and Easter, he was always blatant about his beliefs.\u00a0<\/span>They worked their way into many other strips \u2013 since his faith defined his work. But it wasn\u2019t without\u00a0<\/span>controversy<\/a>.<\/b><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>\n

<\/p><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

In fact, in 2001, the Jewish Anti-defamation league\u00a0<\/span>chastised<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>him for his strip that showed a seven-branch menorah. Each panel featured one of the Last Seven Words of Jesus. The cartoon concludes with the menorah transformed into a cross.\n<\/b>

<\/p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

That\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>bold stuff\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/a>to put on newspaper strips.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u201cI wanted everyone to see the cross in the Menorah,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a revelation to me that has tied God\u2019s chosen people to their spiritual kin, the disciples of the Risen Christ,\u201d<\/span>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\nHe took on abortion and evolution in ways that were simply masterful.<\/b><\/span>\n<\/b>

<\/p><\/span><\/span>A simple argument to tear through the walls of ignorance<\/span>.<\/b><\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\nTo Hart, the most gratifying thing he ever did professionally was to turn his work into ministry.\u00a0<\/span>\u201c<\/b>I was almost beginning to get tired of my work until that happened,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\nI think it most fitting that God would choose Easter Day to take him. \u00a0Here is his final<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Easter strip that ran while still alive.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/a><\/div>\n

\n<\/p><\/div>\n

He told\u00a0<\/span>Plain Truth, \u201cI realize the value in being subtle.\u201d<\/span>\n<\/b>

<\/p><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Subtle, indeed. Johnny, we miss you.\n

<\/p><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

Comment on your memory of Hart\u2019s work<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>here<\/span><\/a>\n

<\/p><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\nInterviews with Hart,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>1<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>2<\/a>,<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>3<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>4<\/a>,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>5<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/b>Here\u2019s a list of other Christian cartoonists<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/i><\/b>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/span><\/a>\n

<\/p><\/span><\/i><\/b><\/span><\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n\"Enhanced<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the \u201cB.C.\u201d cartoon strip and the\u00a0\u201cWizard of Id.\u201d He died of a stroke four years ago, ironically, on Easter Day. This is a long post, but once you read it, you\u2019ll realize why I choose this time to honor such a man. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125,152,153,238,239,461,462,975],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian-cartoonist","category-comic-strip","category-comic-strips-and-panels","category-easter","category-easter-cartoon","category-johnny-hart-christian","category-johnny-hart-easter","category-wizard-of-id"],"yoast_head":"\nSunday Funnies -- the Cartoonist and the Creator<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the "B.C." cartoon strip and the\u00a0"Wizard of Id." He died of a stroke four years\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sunday Funnies -- the Cartoonist and the Creator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the "B.C." cartoon strip and the\u00a0"Wizard of Id." He died of a stroke four years\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-04-17T12:54:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Fg6NActfrpA\/TamSyY8b4oI\/AAAAAAAABXo\/-1m_JJcnrLA\/s200\/HartFaith+copy.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@rupzip\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/\",\"name\":\"Sunday Funnies -- the Cartoonist and the Creator\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-04-17T12:54:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-04-17T12:54:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\"},\"description\":\"This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the \\\"B.C.\\\" cartoon strip and the\u00a0\\\"Wizard of Id.\\\" He died of a stroke four years\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sunday Funnies — the Cartoonist and the Creator\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Rupert\"},\"description\":\"I am a communication professional who has a passion for people. I dream big and with that comes even bigger prayers.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.redletterbelievers.com\",\"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/rupzip\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/author\/drupert\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sunday Funnies -- the Cartoonist and the Creator","description":"This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the \"B.C.\" cartoon strip and the\u00a0\"Wizard of Id.\" He died of a stroke four years","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sunday Funnies -- the Cartoonist and the Creator","og_description":"This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the \"B.C.\" cartoon strip and the\u00a0\"Wizard of Id.\" He died of a stroke four years","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/","og_site_name":"David Rupert","article_author":"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert","article_published_time":"2011-04-17T12:54:00+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/-Fg6NActfrpA\/TamSyY8b4oI\/AAAAAAAABXo\/-1m_JJcnrLA\/s200\/HartFaith+copy.jpg"}],"author":"David Rupert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@rupzip","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Rupert","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/","name":"Sunday Funnies -- the Cartoonist and the Creator","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-04-17T12:54:00+00:00","dateModified":"2011-04-17T12:54:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81"},"description":"This is a Holy Week tribute to Johnny Hart, the creative cartoonist behind the \"B.C.\" cartoon strip and the\u00a0\"Wizard of Id.\" He died of a stroke four years","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/sunday-funnies-the-cartoonist-and-the-creator\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sunday Funnies — the Cartoonist and the Creator"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/","name":"David Rupert","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81","name":"David Rupert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Rupert"},"description":"I am a communication professional who has a passion for people. I dream big and with that comes even bigger prayers.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.redletterbelievers.com","www.facebook.com\/davidrupert","https:\/\/twitter.com\/rupzip"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/author\/drupert\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2375"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}