posted April 10, 2007 12:48 AM               

Johnny Hart, creator of the comic strip B.C., which appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, died at his home on on Saturday (April 7) at 76. His wife, Bobby, said he died at his storyboard after suffering a stroke. In addition to creating B.C. in 1958, Hart also co-created the strip Wizard of Id with Brant Parker. He is survived by Bobby and their two daughters, Patti and Perri. He drew his comic up until the day he died at a studio in his home in Endicott, NY, about 135 miles northwest of New York City.

posted April 10, 2007 01:18 AM               

On September 25, 2002, Hart ran a B.C. comic strip that included reference to Sally Ride as the first woman in space. The error was noted by Mike Quinn, who wrote about it on the Yahoo Astronauts Group.

Prompted by Quinn's post, I e-mailed Hart through the Creators Syndicate website, not really expecting a reply. Three days later, waiting in my inbox...

Re: Johnny Hart's BC comic strip - Sept. 2002 - "Sally Ride" error.

Looks to me like little Johnny forgot to do his homework and so did big Johnny (Hart that is).

The teacher has an obvious bias against the U.S.S.R. — which no longer exists — so I guess nobody did their homework. But what's important is — you did, and that's what keeps this ship on an even keel.

Thanks for paying attention but mostly for bringing it to to mine.