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So what if their creators' died, we still like BC and Wizard of Id
Sound Off for May 13, 2007| Saturday, May 12 2007 8:45 PMLast Updated: Saturday, May 12 2007 8:50 PM Reader: I see The Californian has done it again. You went and pulled two popular comics and replaced them because the creator, Johnny Hart, passed away. The two comics I am talking about are "B.C." and "The Wizard of Id." This is not the first time you have done this. You did it when Charles Schulz passed away. It would be nice if the editor took a poll first before removing popular comics (or at least to me) and replacing them without notice. I don't have a clue what the two new comics are about. Maybe the editor can find time and explain it. -- William Weigel Reader: How could you pull two of the best daily comics? It is true that the original creator died, but his family and syndicate are still carrying on the strip. One of the replacements, we've seen before, and was rejected. The other is boring so far. If you feel you must introduce a new comic, I would rather see "Mutts" go. -- Mike Ardis Reader: I have a big problem with The Californian when it comes to picking new comics. They are never funny and show no talent. They seem like just like the Los Angeles Times, politically correct but never funny. I do know Johnny Hart died and if no one is taking over, it is the end of a very funny strip. His partner is not dead and Brant Parker is still doing "The Wizard of Id," a funny strip. "Hagar the Horrible" is so funny, but his writer died in 1989, and the son took over and, of course, Chic Young died in 1973, but "Blondie" is still a popular comic strip. Do you ever ask the public for opinion like the Fresno Bee? I'd like to know who picks such no talent and never funny. Can't we ever get a new cartoon that's funny? -- Curtis Easton Jenner: Johnny Hart died April 7. Brant Parker, his partner in "The Wizard of Id," died a week later. When Hart died, he had produced about a month's worth of "B.C." strips in advance. The syndicate told me that some of Hart's family members were interested in taking over "B.C.," but I don't believe anyone but Hart himself could do them in the same way. He was one of a kind. When all the strips that had been produced in advance ran their course, we began running other strips. We're not wedded to them, and we'll ask readers for their input on them and all our comics. Eye Street Editor Jennifer Self plans a comics survey later this year. In the meantime, if there are other comics you'd like to see us consider, please tell us about them and we'll consider running them in our test position and offering them in our survey. 15 comments from 11 users
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posted by
marcus29fan
on May 18, 2007 at 09:27 AM
Just admit it. They were eliminated because of their Christian values and Christian meanings in their strips, and there is no place for that in this PC world. Too bad it was replaced by some stupid strips with a robot and a rocketship. These strips (Brewster and the robot one ) are so dumb I don't even let my children read them for fear of lowering their IQ. Sure it was sad that both creators died so close, but how about running their old Sunday strips in the weekly Religion section? Just a suggestion to keep everyone happy. posted by
GrpThink
on May 18, 2007 at 09:31 AM
were eliminated because of their Christian values and Christian meanings in their strips What a crock. If that were true, explain why the strips were carried for all the years after Hart found religion and it started showing up in his cartoons. Some people just have to find some way of injecting a "persecution of Christians" into the debate. posted by
anonymous
on May 18, 2007 at 09:34 AM
Hey maybe they can be born again in the ton of Bakersfield churches, they all have news letters, wait they already have too many comics in the business.
posted by
nooneisabovethelaw
on May 18, 2007 at 09:34 AM
As noted, The Californian also stopped running 'Peanuts' upon Charles Schulz's death. And 'Hagar the Horrible' isn't funny. Comic strips come and go. I loved 'Calvin and Hobbes' and 'Foxtrot' but both creators said they'd had enough. Maybe 'Id' and 'BC' were eliminated because they weren't very good comic strips in the opinions of some. Like yours truly. Comedy, like art, is subjective. The Californian's roster of comics is decent but not great. Why 'Fred Basset' is still given any space is beyond me. 'Dilbert' was relegated to the so-called business section and don't even get me started on what they did to 'Doonesbury,' which would be a real breath of fresh air nowadays. Fortunately, it's available online, and free. I always thought it rather ironic that a strip called 'BC' was actively proslyetizing. Not to mention moronic. posted by
randomfactor
on May 18, 2007 at 09:42 AM
The Californian stopped running Doonesbury so you might not know that the Deciderer's helmet has a few screws loose: posted by
GrpThink
on May 18, 2007 at 09:51 AM
You can get all your comics, and editorial cartoons at www.ucomics.com. I don't even bother with the comic pages in the Californian because they're so lame. posted by
mattloch
on May 18, 2007 at 10:10 AM
We don't like those two strips, not because they were "Christian" and proselytized, but because they weren't funny. BC and Wizard of Id were not "funny", by almost any objective or subjective criteria. Peanuts, Family Circus, Hagar, Cathy, Blondie, et. al. are barely higher on the "funny" meter. I grew up reading Bloom County, Far Side, Calvin and Hobbes; strips which are actually funny in every way. Brilliantly imaginative, deeply philosophical, touchingly human, and intensely funny. If you laugh at the "fat" jokes in Cathy, you shouldn't be operating machinery any more dangerous than a soup spoon. If you still giggle at the "dashed line wandering" bits in Family Circus, you also start drooling whenever you hear a bell ring. If you thought BC and Id were funny, you should go and watch this year's Correspondent's Dinner- that wacky Rich Little will slay you.
posted by
TomW
on May 18, 2007 at 10:21 AM
So they were eliminated because of their Christian content in a paper that has a religion section?
posted by
GrpThink
on May 18, 2007 at 10:25 AM
Matt, well said. Tom, quite the paradox he created for himself. Do you think Marcus will respond to your or my posts? posted by
TomW
on May 18, 2007 at 10:31 AM
Well, Grpthink, I just thought it was funny is all. Especially the part about it not being PC to express religion, despite the paper having a whole secion devoted to it.
posted by
GrpThink
on May 18, 2007 at 10:59 AM
despite the paper having a whole secion devoted to it I wish I would have thought of that when I responded to him. I'll admit, once in a while there's a story in the section that interests me. posted by
Hardliner4freedom
on May 18, 2007 at 11:02 AM
You really shouldn't be surprised. Marcus probably also thinks there's a "liberal bias" in the mainstream media. God does send some people powerful delusions, so says the Bible. posted by
kingpen
on Jun 10, 2007 at 06:18 PM
I think that there are plenty of talented cartoonists out there now. While I enjoyed those cartoons, I look forward to viewing some of the new stuff. Kingpen77 posted by
LordofToast
on Jul 9, 2007 at 03:27 PM
Brewster Rocket Spaceguy rocks harder then you ever could. As much as I liked B.C. it was unfunny and I never liked Wizard of I.D. to begin with. I suggest you get rid of the Mother Goose and Grimm and bring Spider-Man back. posted by
Vortexx
on Jun 3, 2008 at 02:42 AM
Retail is pretty enjoyable - far better than the others you have tried. (I think I know some of these people.) Brewster and Mutts you can just leave blank as far as I'm concerned. Vortexx
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