B.C. (comic)
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B.C. is an American comic strip written and drawn by Johnny Hart. It is set in pre-historic times, featuring a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals from a variety of geologic eras. It is one of the longest-running strips done by their original creators, having appeared daily in newspapers since February 17, 1958. It is syndicated by Creators Syndicate.
Hart was inspired to draw cavemen through the chance suggestion of one of his General Electric coworkers and took to the idea "because they are a combination of simplicity and the origin of ideas". The name for the strip was suggested by his wife, Bobby. Hart describes the title character as a similar to himself, playing the "patsy". The other major characters — Wiley, the Fat Broad, the Cute Chick, Thor and Peter — were patterned after friends, a relative, and GE coworkers.[1] (http://www.ptm.org/JulHartofBC.htm) The animal characters include dinosaurs, ants, clams, a snake, a turtle and bird duo, and an apteryx (a flightless bird with hairy feathers, presented in the strip as being the sole surviving one and hence aware of its being doomed to extinction). Dry humor, prose, and devices such as Wiley's Dictionary (where common words are defined humorously with a twist) make for some of the mix of material in B.C.
Originally, the strip's setting was very firmly set in prehistoric times, with the characters clearly living in an era untouched by modernity. Typical plotlines for example including B.C. trying to invent the wheel, or discover an unexplored territory. However, in the 1990s and 2000s, the strip increasingly incorporated religious, social, and political commentary, reflecting the renewal of Hart's Christianity and the development of his conservative convictions. The strip now frequently has the characters making explicit reference to current events, inventions, and celebrities which blurs the comic's supposed prehistoric setting and makes it rife with anachronisms.
Although other major syndicated strips include sociopolitical statements, it is the most prominent one to routinely carry overtly Christian messages, beyond seasonal references to Christmas. Like the juxtaposition of dinosaurs and humans, the statements of Christianity in a setting ostensibly "Before Christ" are not explained in the strip. Certain B.C. character's statements around the Christmas and Easter seasons starting in the mid-1990s — especially in March 1996 — have created editorial reaction from a handful of U. S. newspapers, chiefly the Los Angeles Times, and protests from Jewish and Muslim groups. The Times pulled the strips it objected to at first, and later began placing disputed strips in the religion pages, instead of the regular comics pages. [2] (http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/7r2/7r2018.html)
External links
- B.C. (http://www.comics.com/creators/bc/)