B.C. (comic strip)
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B.C. (meaning Before Christ and also the name of one of its characters) is an American newspaper comic strip written and drawn by Johnny Hart. It is set in prehistoric 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 its original creator, having appeared daily in newspapers since February 17, 1958. It is syndicated by Creators Syndicate.
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[edit] Character inspiration
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 similar to himself, playing the "patsy". The other major characters—Peter, Wiley, Clumsy Carp, the Fat Broad, the Cute Chick, Curls, Thor, and Grog—were patterned after friends, a relative, and GE co-workers.<ref>http://www.ptm.org/JulHartofBC.htm</ref> The animal characters include dinosaurs, ants and an ant-eater, clams, a snake, a turtle and bird duo, and an apteryx (a flightless bird with hairy feathers, as it constantly reminds the reader, presented in the strip as being the sole surviving specimen and hence aware of its being doomed to extinction). Dry humor, prose, shameless puns and wordplays, 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. Example: "Rock - to cause something or someone to swing or sway, by hitting them with it!" - from an early 1967 strip.
Two other characters were recently added following an attempt by B.C. to raft his way around the world: Anno Domini and Conahanty.
B.C. also communicated with an unseen correspondent on the other side of the ocean, sending a message on a slab of low-density rock that floated across the ocean and, except in at least one instance (a loud voice), was replied to by sarcastic writing on a similar slab of rock.
[edit] Setting
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.'s friend Thor (inventor of the wheel and the comb) trying to discover a use for the wheel. Other characters attempt to harness fire or to discover an unexplored territory, while B.C. usually just tries to be helpful and friendly but is often the source of humor through his naivety. The strip also frequently mines humor from having the characters make explicit reference to modern-day current events, inventions, and celebrities which blurs the comic's supposed prehistoric setting and makes it rife with intentional anachronisms. One of the comic's early out-of-context jokes, from June 22, 1967, was this one:
- Peter: "I used to think sun revolved around the earth."
- B.C.: "What does it revolve around?"
- Peter: "The United States!"
Another example: near Christmas time, the apteryx dressed as Santa Claus and modified his usual spiel: "I'm an ApterClaus, a wingless toymonger with batteries not included!"
Recently, some comics watchers have semi-seriously suggested that "B.C." is not set in prehistoric times at all. According to this theory -- put forth most notably by Washington Post columnist and comics critic Gene Weingarten -- "B.C." is set not in the past but in a dystopic, post-apocalyptic future. This theory makes the anachronisms more easily understood as references to an ancient history the characters dimly comprehend.
[edit] Religious aspect
Beginning in the 1990s, the strip increasingly incorporated religious, social, and political commentary, reflecting the renewal of Hart's evangelical Christianity and the development of his conservative convictions. Although other major syndicated strips include sociopolitical statements, B.C. is the most prominent to routinely carry overtly Christian messages, beyond seasonal references to Christmas and, most notably, Easter. Like the juxtaposition of dinosaurs and humans, the statements of Christianity in a setting ostensibly "Before Christ" are not explained in the strip. (Of course, like many comics, the strip is intended to be satirical of modern life, not to be taken as literally historical). Certain B.C. characters' 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 initially pulled the strips it considered objectionable, and later it began placing disputed strips in the religion pages, instead of the regular comics pages.<ref>http://www.christianitytoday.com/tc/7r2/7r2018.html</ref>
[edit] Other media
The strip has been collected in various paperback books over the years, and the characters were featured in the animated television specials B.C.: The First Thanksgiving (1973) and B.C.: A Special Christmas (1981). The latter production starred the comedians Bob and Ray as the voices of Peter and Wiley, respectively.
[edit] Home town
Influences from B.C. are found throughout Johnny Hart's home of Broome County, New York. A PGA Tour event, The B.C. Open, took place every summer in Endicott, New York through 2005 (the final scheduled B.C. Open in 2006 was disrupted by flooding, prompting a change of venue to the Turning Stone Casino & Resort in central New York state.) The county parks department features a green dinosaur, and a caveman riding a wheel graces every B.C. Transit bus. In the past, Hart has also left his mark on the logos of the Broome Dusters and B.C. Icemen hockey teams.
[edit] Awards
Awards include: Best Humor Strip in America, National Cartoonist Society, 1967; The Reuben, Cartoonist of the Year, National Cartoonist Society, 1968; The Yellow Kid Award, International Congress of Comics, 1970; Adamson Award, Swedish Museum of Comic Art, 1975; the Seger Award, King Features, 1981; Best Newspaper Comic Strip, National Cartoonist Society, 1989.<ref>http://www.creators.com/comics_Shell.cfm?pg=biography.html&comicname=bc</ref>
[edit] References
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[edit] External links
- Creators.com: B.C. - official site from Creators Syndicate
- NCS Awards
[edit] Trivia
- B.C. was also turned into two video games for the ColecoVision and Commodore 64 home computer: B.C.'s Quest for Tires and B.C. 2: Grog's Revenge.
- Altporn website Suicide Girls actually refer to the termination of accounts for TOS violations as "zotting" a reference to the lightning bolts which befall irreverent or pompous characters in the comic strip on occasion.de:B.C.
