# The lamest cartoon gets lamer: Pitting Johnny Hart & B.C. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 2, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036 "2005-05-02T06:35:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/1 "2005-05-02T06:35:03Z")
It’s probably never been anybody’s favorite cartoon strip, but generally Johnny Hart’s [BC](http://www.creators.com/comics_show.cfm?comicname=bc) is as inoccuous as it is uninspired. But in recent years he’s been managing to have his “cavemen” become progressively more vocal in his Fundie viewpoint, even having them trash Bill Clinton and gay marriage over the past few years (how cavemen know about these things… but that’s another story). But now he’s officially thrown down the gauntlet: [B.C. on Darwin](http://www.comics.com/creators/bc/archive/images/bc2005050209261.gif) I won’t even go into the myriad of factual errors- I’ll just stop with “aren’t the Sunday comics supposed to be funny?” In fact didn’t they used to be called “The Funny Papers”? If I wanted real statements and viewpoints I’d lobby to get a weekly Neil Gaiman or Alan Moore strip. And how the hell do cavemen living in the time **B.C.** know about Darwin and Jesus anyway? Oh well, joining in Johnny’s conceipt I’ll just say _There was a mediocre cartoonist, whose work had neither genius nor newness, quite pissed off when he couldn’t get a tie-in at Wendies he threw in with the Fundamental loonists._ (Speaking of Fundamentalist cavemen cartoon, I didn’t realize until recently that [Alley Oop](http://www.unitedfeatures.com/ufsapp/viewFeature.do?id=73) is now a Fundamentalist Muslim who goes by the name Alley Akhbar. Found via my friend Andy’s[Worldwiderant](http://worldwiderant.com), promoting atheism, intellectualism and gals with big yabos since 2001 (or thereabouts). ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/2 "2005-05-02T06:44:32Z")
Apes moron, apes! We’re higher primates. Darwin couldn’t make a monkey out of you because they have tails and you do not! Ahem. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/3 "2005-05-02T06:44:38Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > It’s probably never been anybody’s favorite cartoon strip, Actually, it was pretty good at one time (70s/80s). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/4 "2005-05-02T07:06:38Z")
Yeah, _B.C._ still kicked ass in the mid-70s, and the older collections were brilliant, too. It makes its current debased state that much sadder and angry-making. Johnny, get a talk radio platform. Throw in your lot with Jack Chick. Use fingerpaints. Whatever. For Grog’s sake, though, remove the poor strip’s feeding tube. It’s dead. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/5 "2005-05-02T07:30:30Z")
I have an old B.C. collection from the 70’s, and a lot of those strips were hilarious. What a huge waste of ink it is now. Sad. It makes me like Charles Schulz, who seems to have gone in the opposite direction, all the more. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/6 "2005-05-02T07:41:34Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Apes moron, apes! We’re higher primates. Darwin couldn’t make a monkey out of you because they have tails and you do not! > > Ahem. Troy(The Human) McClure: “I hate every ape I see, from Chimpan-a to chimpanzee. No, you’ll never make a monkey out of me.” _sees statue of liberty rise up_ “Oh my God, I was wrong! It was Earth all along! Guess you finally made a monkey…” Apes:“Yes, we finally made a monkey…” All:“Guess/Yes you/we finally made a monkey out of me/you!” ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/7 "2005-05-02T07:54:37Z")
I love you, Dr. Zaius! ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/8 "2005-05-02T08:15:19Z")
I want a second opinion! You’re also lazy. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/9 "2005-05-02T08:16:19Z")
Actually, BC has had fundie views for a long, long time. Early 1980s at least. There were trips just as stupid as that one for the same reason back then. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/10 "2005-05-02T09:43:52Z")
If the Sunday comics are supposed to be funny, how do you explain Mallard Fillmore? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/11 "2005-05-02T11:29:29Z")
Credit where credit is due: liberals have the market about sewed up on clever humor. _Mallard Fillmore_ isn’t funny. _B.C._ isn’t funny. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 12:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/12 "2005-05-02T12:07:56Z")
I’ll agree with what’s been said – **B.C.** certainly used to be funny, from the 1960s through the 1970s and beyond. I haven’t read it for years (it hasn’t been in any of the papers I get), but from what I hear, Johnny Hart has gone off the deep end. The thing is, you’d never guess this from the early stuff, or from the guys who did it. In the book **Backstage at the Strips** cartoonist Mort Walker describes a “creative session” at Hart’;'s house – a bunch of guys sitting around a tapwe recorder, drinking beer and calling out possible setups and jokes, from which unlikely source comic strips would later be distilled. It’s hard to see Hart doing that nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/13 "2005-05-02T13:30:46Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Credit where credit is due: liberals have the market about sewed up on clever humor. _Mallard Fillmore_ isn’t funny. _B.C._ isn’t funny. Have you read _Prickly City_ yet, **Bricker**? It’s a new conservative strip that even I get a frequent chuckle from. ---
**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:** [May 2, 2005, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/14 "2005-05-02T13:53:47Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > Darwin couldn’t make a monkey out of you because they have tails and you do not! I do. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/15 "2005-05-02T14:06:20Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Credit where credit is due: liberals have the market about sewed up on clever humor. _Mallard Fillmore_ isn’t funny. _B.C._ isn’t funny. Heck, Gary Trudeau does a far better job of skewering liberals than that damned duck. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/16 "2005-05-02T14:40:13Z")
Satanized for your protection! ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/17 "2005-05-02T14:52:42Z")
I used to like B.C. But not since Hart’s gone Fundie. The funniest one I can recall had B.C. and Peter doing cave drawings. In the first few frames it was antelope and bison and stick men chasing them with spears. In the last frame they drew a pic of the shuttle craft launching. The caption baloon read, “Some day, this is going to put an archeologist in the mental institution.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/18 "2005-05-02T15:22:13Z")
“Clams got legs!” ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/19 "2005-05-02T15:24:24Z")
Does Hart have any idea how stupid he makes himself look with a strip like that? Amazing. The thing is, religious sensibilities _can_ be injected into humorous media like comic strips without hurting its entertainment value and can even enhance it. I’m thinking of Charles chultz in particular who often injected Christian mesages into his strips but somehow he did it in a way that never seemed smug or judgemental or stupid and he could be touching even to non-believers. The ending of the Charlie Brown Christmas special is probably the classic example of this (not a strip, I know, but Schultz wrote it and refused to let the network cut the scene of Linus reading from the gospel of Luke). I think a large part of the reason it worked for Schultz is that he never made his religious commentary divisive. He didn’t create the angry “us vs, them” dynamic that Hart does. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2005, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036/20 "2005-05-02T15:27:51Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I think a large part of the reason it worked for Schultz is that he never made his religious commentary divisive. He didn’t create the angry “us vs, them” dynamic that Hart does. True. There was one Sunday strip in which Sally had a huge secret to impart to Charlie Brown: “We prayed in school today!” No matter how many people asked, Schulz declined to state whether he was for or against prayer in school. He was just acknowledging what was, at the time, a hot topic, without taking sides himself. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-lamest-cartoon-gets-lamer-pitting-johnny-hart-b-c/302036.md?page=2)