After B.C.
cartoonist Johnny Hart died a couple
years ago, the strip didn’t wander much into the spiritual arenas that Hart
often visited. But the Hart family has produced a new book, I Did It His Way, that collects some of
Hart's best-known religious cartoons, tries to explain one of his most
controversial, and pays tribute to the cartoonist. “The book,” writes Lindsay
Perna at Religion News Service, “is packed with Christian crosses, theological
debates and Hart's unique wit. ‘He wanted people to know that God had a sense
of humor,’ said his daughter, Perri Hart, who produced the book with her father's
widow, Bobby. ‘He really always felt that this was what he was called to do,’
she said.”
Elsewhere,
in Binghamton, New York, B.C. is coming off the page and onto pavement. In early October,
the first three-dimensional dinosaur in the image of one of Hart’s creations
was unveiled. More are on the way. In the manner of the fiberglass statues of
cows and elephants and donkeys that wander the streets of Chicago and Washington, D.C.,
the Hart monsters will be painted by local artists in their own style. The Hart
family helped develop the project. Said Mason Mastrioanni, Hart’s grandson who
now draws the strip: "It's fortunate that our area is known for something
so unique and hopefully this will be a fun project because it's unique and it's
cartoon characters whereas some of the other towns [have] more realistic
looking sculpture. I look forward to seeing what the artists do with it.”
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