# Cartoonist Johnny Hart dies **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2007, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229 "2007-04-08T23:10:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/81 "2007-04-11T15:48:25Z")
[it’s almost hard to believe it’s the same guy](http://www.linearity.org/bawden/mtt/clams-got-legs.gif)😕 ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/82 "2007-04-11T16:37:39Z")
[QUOTE=scotandrsn] And it makes it all the more sad because [his strip of the very next day (Monday, April 9)](http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20070409/cx_crbc_uc/crbc20070409) shows he still had a mild funnybone working. [/QUOTE] I don’t get it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/83 "2007-04-11T17:11:39Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] I don’t get it. [/QUOTE] In general, one does _not_ drink wine while eating tube steak. Also, it should probably be a _red_ wines since the hot dog is likely to contain beef. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/84 "2007-04-11T17:17:09Z")
I see that, by why describe it as an “eating disorder” ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/85 "2007-04-11T17:19:44Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] I see that, by why describe it as an “eating disorder” [/QUOTE] Because if he were to use the phrase “alcohol abuse” the folks at AA would be pissed? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2007, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/86 "2007-04-11T17:47:32Z")
[QUOTE=OpalCat] [it’s almost hard to believe it’s the same guy](http://www.linearity.org/bawden/mtt/clams-got-legs.gif)😕 [/QUOTE] No kidding. _This_ is funny! ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/87 "2007-04-12T03:28:12Z")
[QUOTE=Peter Morris] I see that, by why describe it as an “eating disorder” [/QUOTE] Because if you take in white wine and a hot dog at the same meal, you’re clearly eating _something_ out of order. Or, more simply, your eating is disordered. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/88 "2007-04-12T04:51:08Z")
A couple of my favorite definitions from Wiley’s Dictionary: mort-gage: the measure of one’s tolerance for guys named Mort (probably an inside joke at Mort Walker since the two were close friends) hu-mid-i-fier: an Italian oxymoron ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/89 "2007-04-12T08:13:37Z")
[QUOTE=Diogenes the Cynic] Plus, he was a creationist. That alone shows a certain shallowness of religious thought. [/QUOTE] Somehow I am not impressed. Years ago I clipped a Sunday B. C. strip in which one of the characters stands by the pillar engraved “TRVTH” and tells the others that, as for the source of all matter in the universe, “That would be God.” At this the others jeer him. So, to be fair, he asks them, “All right, where do YOU say it’s from?” And they give answers like, "It was always here! or “Aliens brought it in!” In the last panel, the one character looks up with a helpless sigh as the others, apparently satisfied with their own answers, walk away. Is this what ‘deepness of religious thought’ requires? ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/90 "2007-04-12T12:34:10Z")
[QUOTE=dougie\_monty] Somehow I am not impressed. Years ago I clipped a Sunday B. C. strip in which one of the characters stands by the pillar engraved “TRVTH” and tells the others that, as for the source of all matter in the universe, “That would be God.” At this the others jeer him. So, to be fair, he asks them, “All right, where do YOU say it’s from?” And they give answers like, "It was always here! or “Aliens brought it in!” In the last panel, the one character looks up with a helpless sigh as the others, apparently satisfied with their own answers, walk away. Is this what ‘deepness of religious thought’ requires? [/QUOTE] Was there supposed to be some sense in there? -Joe ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/91 "2007-04-12T14:12:36Z")
First, my apologies, I hadn’t read this thread and no one reported it, so I’m coming in late. However: this is a funeral thread. Criticism and disparaging remarks have no place in this thread; that’s thread-shitting. If you want to critique Johnny Hart’s work, that’ s fine: not here. Start a new thread, and anything is fair game. A funeral however is the place for nice words and kind thoughts, not for brutal criticism. A funeral thread is ditto. We mourn the loss of artists and creative talents, and the deceased is entitled to that respect in the funeral thread or death notice. No artist, no creative talent, is always perfect. Shakespeare had his _Titus Andronicus_. Threads critiquing an artist/writer/whatever and their work are certainly welcome. But keep it out of the funeral thread: that’s just polite and good manners. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/92 "2007-04-12T14:37:47Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] Shakespeare had his _Titus Andronicus_. [/QUOTE] Quick hijack- what was wrong with T.A.? It made a bitchin’ movie with Anthony Hopkins AND inspired my ex-gf’s funniest joke. End hijack. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/93 "2007-04-12T16:10:35Z")
[QUOTE=cochrane] mort-gage: the measure of one’s tolerance for guys named Mort (probably an inside joke at Mort Walker since the two were close friends) [/QUOTE] I believe it is- in his book _Backstage at the Strips_, Walker reprinted a letter he received after the strip was published filled with Mort-definition gags. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/94 "2007-04-12T16:23:40Z")
[QUOTE=Der Trihs] I do recall Larson saying that he didn’t want to be one of those cartoonists that runs out of things to say and just keeps cranking garbage out; I don’t recall if he said anything specifically about Hart. [/QUOTE] Watterson specifically mentioned Garfield in an interview with the Onion A.V. Club. That’s another horse beaten far beyond death and well into zombie-land. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/95 "2007-04-12T17:12:57Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] AND inspired my ex-gf’s funniest joke. [/QUOTE] All right, spill. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2007, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/96 "2007-04-12T22:30:37Z")
Based on the current discussion on whether “funeral threads” should have criticism of the deceased allowed: as Hart’s comments in his strip in later years were the subject of controversy and are as such an important part of his history, as starter of this thread, I hereby allow criticism of Johnny Hart and/or his work. I agree with many that Johnny Hart was overly preachy in his later years and hit you over the head with his beliefs, often sacrificing humor to do so, as opposed to, say, Charles Schulz, who was able to mix humor and religion without turning it into a religious message. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/97 "2007-04-13T00:57:20Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Also, it should probably be a _red_ wines since the hot dog is likely to contain beef. [/QUOTE] Well, beef by-products. Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2007, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/98 "2007-04-13T06:17:46Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven] First, my apologies, I hadn’t read this thread and no one reported it, so I’m coming in late. However: this is a funeral thread. Criticism and disparaging remarks have no place in this thread; that’s thread-shitting. If you want to critique Johnny Hart’s work, that’ s fine: not here. Start a new thread, and anything is fair game. A funeral however is the place for nice words and kind thoughts, not for brutal criticism. A funeral thread is ditto. We mourn the loss of artists and creative talents, and the deceased is entitled to that respect in the funeral thread or death notice. No artist, no creative talent, is always perfect. Shakespeare had his _Titus Andronicus_. Threads critiquing an artist/writer/whatever and their work are certainly welcome. But keep it out of the funeral thread: that’s just polite and good manners. [/QUOTE] Point well taken, Mister Moderator. I confess that the controversy you have alluded to belongs in a BBQ-pit thread. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/99 "2007-04-14T14:29:35Z")
[VF-114 patches](http://www.ljmilitaria.com/3327a5f40.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229/100 "2007-04-14T16:23:05Z")
[QUOTE=dougie\_monty] Somehow I am not impressed. Years ago I clipped a Sunday B. C. strip in which one of the characters stands by the pillar engraved “TRVTH” and tells the others that, as for the source of all matter in the universe, “That would be God.” At this the others jeer him. So, to be fair, he asks them, “All right, where do YOU say it’s from?” And they give answers like, "It was always here! or “Aliens brought it in!” In the last panel, the one character looks up with a helpless sigh as the others, apparently satisfied with their own answers, walk away. Is this what ‘deepness of religious thought’ requires? [/QUOTE] Oh, I dunno. I never saw that one, but you know what? From your description, I would bet that every single character in the last panel was thinking the exact same thing. Certainly you could read it as a “I’m right and how sad it is that all these other people are wrong” religious commentary, certainly the evangelical atheists here are going to read it that way, but to my mind, it works on another level as well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cartoonist-johnny-hart-dies/399229.md?page=6)