# Johnny Hart's B.C. comicstrip does it again **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 8, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697 "2003-12-08T05:11:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f07891/32.png) [@Little\_Plastic\_Ninja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Plastic_Ninja)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/201 "2003-12-16T18:47:48Z")
Thinking it out – Why would he bother to say “No, it wasn’t about Islam at all, what are you people smoking?” if he had actually gone through the trouble to make a reasonably clever and cryptic slam on their religion? Considering that he’s never bothered to deny it before. The apparently possible answer to this – that he’s afraid of what CAIR and other groups would say – is not borne out by either his former behavior or drawing the comic in the first place. Imagine Jonny Hart crouching over his comic table, cackling like a madman while adding more black ink. “It will be my masterwork!” he cries. “And only a very few people will understand it, and I will tell them they are wrong and bring more doubt into their minds!” Doesn’t seem very Jonny Hart to me. I’m certain he’s capable of being subtle, but it seems to me that for him, being subtle when it comes to one’s religious beliefs is close to being outright dishonest. Read that article in the Washington Post linked somewhere around page 1 or 2. He sounds astoundingly devout. Why would he go for the subtle slam, when the obvious one gets him just as much attention? ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/202 "2003-12-16T19:28:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slacker \* > \*\*I can’t believe this “debate” is still raging. It would be one thing if every BC comic was a laugh-riot, and all of the sudden there was one completely devoid of humor. But seriously - almost every time I read B.C. I sit there thinking, “Huh?” > > I mean, why is [this](http://www.comics.com/creators/bc/archive/bc-20031214.html) funny? > > So now we’re debating whether there was a reason to set this at night. You know what - maybe Hart _likes_ setting things at night on occasion. Maybe it’s fun to draw. I don’t know what’s in the guy’s mind, and I sure don’t know about how cartoonists come to design decisions like this. Apparently, a lot of people here do. \*\* Slacker, you’re about 3 pages behind the discussion. We explained very clearly why we’re discussing it; if it bugs you that much, go read another thread. ---
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/203 "2003-12-17T07:10:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Slacker \* > **I mean, why is [this](http://www.comics.com/creators/bc/archive/bc-20031214.html) funny** Well, see, because he’s an armadillo, but he’s _pecking_ at the birdseed, so he’s a PECCADILLO!!! Geddit? Huh? Huh? HAW! HAW! HAW! To be really serious, though, I’m amazed that no one has picked up on the obvious Australia-bashing going on in this strip. I mean, look at the way he draws the “C” in the title: clearly a boomerang shape. There has GOT to be a reason for that. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/204 "2003-12-17T20:44:26Z")
I think the comic is set at night because Hart is trying to convey that nobody else is around. Otherwise, it might be someone else’s residual fart stink in the outhouse. ---
**Author:** ![jea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a5b964/32.png) [@jea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jea)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/205 "2003-12-17T23:36:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Dijon Warlock \* > \*\*Well, see, because he’s an armadillo, but he’s _pecking_ at the birdseed, so he’s a PECCADILLO!!! Geddit? Huh? Huh? > \*\* A Peccadillo is also a misbehavior, or a small crime. Hence, eating the apteryx’s grass seed is a peccadillo. So it’s punny! ---
**Author:** ![srtallio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@srtallio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srtallio)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/206 "2013-08-08T21:59:54Z")
I think the joke is supposed to be that B.C. doesn’t know what the outhouse is for, and only equates the moon-symbol on the door with the same shape of the moon up in the sky, and then enters it (possibly as some kind of primitive rocket-ship joke or something) only to find that “it stink(s) in here”. I don’t think that there was any hateful or malicious intent on the part of Mr. Hart, with he himself not only flat-out denying it but also doing so in a way that seemed to indicate shock and disbelief at the very idea in the first place, ie: he didn’t even make the connections until it was directly pointed out to him as a result. Yes, from a certain point of view this comic certainly can be seen as an inflammatory and derogatory statement against someone else’s belief systems, IE: a shadowed, “dark-skinned” man wanders into the house with a crescent moon-shape on it in the middle of the desert, and closes the door with an “I”-shaped SLAM sound effect, only to find that “it stink(s) in here”. But taken apart piece-by-piece, each of the individual elements of this strip, from the outhouse, to the moon in the sky, to the vertical sound effect, to the usage of the sound effect itself _in place_ of visual drawn action, and yes, even the lame punchline itself, have all been previously established well within the series. And TBH, the moon _without_ the iconic star indicates Islam as much as the cross without the horizontal T-bar indicates Christianity or the star minus one of the three-pointed triangles indicates Judaism. He might be preachy or seemingly-proselytizing at times (though not as deliberate as some cartoonists), but Johnny Hart is not a one-track mind (or at least doesn’t seem to be), with “God” sometimes being a periphery to the joke-at-hand (“Wal-Mart having a sale on vistas”), if not an afterthought or even a punchline itself. And when he _does_ start preaching, it’s usually very out-there-in-the-open and overt, like almost everything else that he does 😛 On the flip-side of the coin, this comic could even be taken as _pro_-Islamic, with the commentary being that Man (as symbolized by B.C. himself) is in a dark and smelly shithole of circumstances called Life, and that Islam (represented by the light of the Moon shining through the Moon-shaped hole in the doorway) is there to show us the way out…no? In the end, crude, ego-centric and/or ignorant humour has always been at the heart of B.C. with strips on everything from the sun “revolving around the United States” to a tepee-living Indian giving Peter “wampum” to _ahem_…“wampum” a bear…over the head…with (yeah, that hurt as much to explain in print as you’d expect it to); cue rim-shot. Sideline: Oddly enough, the controversy over the ‘infamy’ storyline-gag involving Toyota was pulled more for the fact that it made light of the American losses at Pearl Harbour than for the fact that it could be taken as anti-Japanese…which is exactly the _wrong_ of those two reasons why it should pulled, imo :S ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/207 "2013-08-08T22:18:41Z")
Dude, it was ten fucking years ago. Let it go. And buy a calendar while you’re at it. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2013, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/208 "2013-08-08T22:31:18Z")
A joke doesn’t get funnier if you have to explain it. A decade later, even less so. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/209 "2013-08-08T22:38:33Z")
Let’s look at the checklist: 1. Signup date = this month? Check 2. Zombie thread resurrected? Check 3. Subject matter inconsequential? Check 4. Post is overly complex? Check Hey! Welcome to The Dope, **srtallio**! ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/210 "2013-08-08T23:06:47Z")
Oh come on! Citing and linking [World Nut Daily](http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a562/ChimeraPic/Hazelnut_zps3efd482d.jpg)??? Talk about low hanging fruit. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/211 "2013-08-09T00:18:41Z")
Johnny Hart has been gone for 6 years now, for those keeping score at home. ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/212 "2013-08-09T00:21:51Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Johnny Hart has been gone for 6 years now, for those keeping score at home. Oh. I hadn’t missed him. Sure wish Walt Kelley had been around for the last 20-30 years, though. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/213 "2013-08-09T00:34:25Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > Sure wish Walt Kelley had been around for the last 20-30 years, though. Rawrbazzle!! And it’s “Kelly.” We have met the enemy and he is us. ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/214 "2013-08-09T00:40:52Z")
I Go Pogo ---
**Author:** ![srtallio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@srtallio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/srtallio)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/215 "2013-08-09T02:46:33Z")
In my defense, I just discovered this today and it seemed interesting…worth my time to research and post about, anyways 😛 That, coupled with the fact that almost everyone seemed to immediately vilify Mr. Hart (not just on this site) warranted a posting from me, tbh (I _did_ see how long ago the last post was before mine, but said “Ehh, fug it”). ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/216 "2013-08-09T02:48:33Z")
Ah, that mam’selle Hepzibah! Don’t you think she is just perfect for Pepe Le Pew? ETA: I’m one who believes that Hart intended that strip to be a slam at Islam. Note how the frame that divides the panels widens at the top and bottom, to form a letter “I.” He doesn’t do that in any other strip. However… Does anyone else remember “Peter’s Voyage?” A lengthy story arc – over a year, if memory serves – where Peter voyages on a raft, and even goes into the future? (He encounters styrofoam!) I wish the Hart estate would re-publish that as a collection. ---
**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:** [August 9, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/217 "2013-08-09T15:01:07Z")
I remember Curls, inventor of sarcasm. He was very pleased to meet you. And when the eatanter fell in love with an armadillo. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/218 "2013-08-09T20:12:15Z")
In the early days of the strip, he was even willing to make gentle fun of evolution, in a way that didn’t ridicule it or dismiss it. B.C. (the character,) having learned the idea that man is descended from apes, is appalled, and finds he can’t sleep. So he goes outside and sleeps in tree. Later, his (Hart’s) moral arteries hardened and he stopped being able to be friendly to ideas he disagreed with. Still, the world owes him much for the joy and laughter he gave us. Clams got legs! ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/219 "2013-08-09T20:19:53Z")
I thought it was gams… ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2013, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697/220 "2013-08-09T22:05:23Z")
Do you ever get the sense that some people join SDMB and just start reading from the beginning? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/johnny-harts-b-c-comicstrip-does-it-again/217697.md?page=12)