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B.C. Big Wheel
A collection of B.C. comics
128 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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30 people want to read
About the author
Johnny Hart
230 books25 followersLibrarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lewis Hart, also known as Johnny Hart, was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strip B.C. and co-creator (with Brant Parker) of the strip The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including five from the National Cartoonists Society, and the Swedish Adamson Award. In his later years, he sparked controversy by incorporating overtly Christian themes and messages into the strips.
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name
John Lewis Hart, also known as Johnny Hart, was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strip B.C. and co-creator (with Brant Parker) of the strip The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including five from the National Cartoonists Society, and the Swedish Adamson Award. In his later years, he sparked controversy by incorporating overtly Christian themes and messages into the strips.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 27, 2025
B.C and his male friends are doing all they can to impress the beautiful female cavewoman...and try to avoid the puckering lips of her much stronger companion. Hart will keep fans rolling on the floor - and the rock wheel - with more jokes, more laughs, and even more death-defying antics. Somebody had better stand up for the right to love before civilization falls apart!
February 14, 2025
B.C. and his friends are cavemen living in what appears to be prehistoric times. Fire and the wheel are relatively new inventions, and humans mix with dinosaurs and animals that can talk to each other if not to humans. Their world is a bit absurdist, but livable.
This long-running comic strip began in 1958, and creator Johnny Hart kept doing it until his death in 2007, when it was taken over by a relative. Recently I came across two collections I’d picked up in my school library discard sale, Back to B.C. (1961) and B.C. Big Wheel (1969). Since like many long-running gag strips, the status quo stays the same as much as possible, I’m reviewing both here.
B.C. is our everyman character, and a bit of a patsy. When politics comes up, he is the representative of the “complacency” party. Peter thinks of himself as smarter, and is more sarcastic. He is the representative of the “progress” party. Thor is actually pretty intelligent, being the inventor of the wheel. Wiley is more grizzled than the others, and has a wooden leg. He’s afraid of women, water, woodpeckers and other “w” things. Clumsy Carp is a bespectacled klutz, able to trip over a shadow but also able to create “waterballs” that stay stable for long periods of time. Curls is a curly-haired fellow and even more sarcastic than Peter.
The only two known women are Fat Broad and Cute Chick (they would not get actual names until after Mr. Hart passed away.)
Important animal characters include Gronk the dinosaur, the anteater and his intelligent prey, clams got legs! and the pair of Old John the turtle and Dookie Bird who rides the reptile around.
Some jokes rely on anachronism, such as the cavemen playing baseball or having psychiatrists. Others have the characters bouncing off each other’s personalities or making observations on humanity and nature. And every so often there will be an absurd sight gag. In these early days, there will usually be a sequence of strips carrying a central gag for several days under slight permutations, such as Clumsy Carp getting a clam stuck on his nose.
One gag that has passed its sell-by date is the old chestnut about hitting a woman with a club and dragging her by the hair to court her.
A couple of dated references aside, this is decent enough mild humor and has aged okay. (Late in the strip’s history, it became overtly Christian which did not go over well with some audiences.)
The art is decent enough for its purpose, deliberately crude to evoke prehistoric times, and the small cast is easy enough to tell apart after a few pages.
You can probably find the old paperback collections in used bookstores and garage sales, and these are recommended to fans of gag comic humor. The newer large collections tend to be spendy, and you should check your library to see if it can be ordered for you.
This long-running comic strip began in 1958, and creator Johnny Hart kept doing it until his death in 2007, when it was taken over by a relative. Recently I came across two collections I’d picked up in my school library discard sale, Back to B.C. (1961) and B.C. Big Wheel (1969). Since like many long-running gag strips, the status quo stays the same as much as possible, I’m reviewing both here.
B.C. is our everyman character, and a bit of a patsy. When politics comes up, he is the representative of the “complacency” party. Peter thinks of himself as smarter, and is more sarcastic. He is the representative of the “progress” party. Thor is actually pretty intelligent, being the inventor of the wheel. Wiley is more grizzled than the others, and has a wooden leg. He’s afraid of women, water, woodpeckers and other “w” things. Clumsy Carp is a bespectacled klutz, able to trip over a shadow but also able to create “waterballs” that stay stable for long periods of time. Curls is a curly-haired fellow and even more sarcastic than Peter.
The only two known women are Fat Broad and Cute Chick (they would not get actual names until after Mr. Hart passed away.)
Important animal characters include Gronk the dinosaur, the anteater and his intelligent prey, clams got legs! and the pair of Old John the turtle and Dookie Bird who rides the reptile around.
Some jokes rely on anachronism, such as the cavemen playing baseball or having psychiatrists. Others have the characters bouncing off each other’s personalities or making observations on humanity and nature. And every so often there will be an absurd sight gag. In these early days, there will usually be a sequence of strips carrying a central gag for several days under slight permutations, such as Clumsy Carp getting a clam stuck on his nose.
One gag that has passed its sell-by date is the old chestnut about hitting a woman with a club and dragging her by the hair to court her.
A couple of dated references aside, this is decent enough mild humor and has aged okay. (Late in the strip’s history, it became overtly Christian which did not go over well with some audiences.)
The art is decent enough for its purpose, deliberately crude to evoke prehistoric times, and the small cast is easy enough to tell apart after a few pages.
You can probably find the old paperback collections in used bookstores and garage sales, and these are recommended to fans of gag comic humor. The newer large collections tend to be spendy, and you should check your library to see if it can be ordered for you.
May 19, 2022
Still looking for that particular strip.
This is a funnier collection than the others. It's more light-hearted and whimsical, and some clever art manages to squeak through the abysmal "four-square panel talking-head" format that destroyed most of the artistry of the comic-strip page (and which Bill Waterson took so much heat for trying to break back in the day). Golfing and psychiatry jokes notwithstanding.
I read it first many years ago and one strip stuck with me above all, because I didn't get it. You know how jokes do that sometimes? They just get stuck in the bullpen until you figure them out or die.
The gag is an ant sitting at the top of his hill saying, "I'm so humble, humble, humble." Next panel: "Humble, humble, humble." Last panel, coming from inside the hill "Are you coming to bed, Uriah?"
I was re-reading Exodus a couple of years ago and came across Uriah the Hittite, husband of Bathsheba, great warrior, whom David has killed in order to steal his wife (after impregnating her). This strip immediately clicked into place. It seems almost certain that Hart (who was not shy about incorporating Christianity into his strips) was referring to this guy.
But I still don't get it.
This is a funnier collection than the others. It's more light-hearted and whimsical, and some clever art manages to squeak through the abysmal "four-square panel talking-head" format that destroyed most of the artistry of the comic-strip page (and which Bill Waterson took so much heat for trying to break back in the day). Golfing and psychiatry jokes notwithstanding.
I read it first many years ago and one strip stuck with me above all, because I didn't get it. You know how jokes do that sometimes? They just get stuck in the bullpen until you figure them out or die.
The gag is an ant sitting at the top of his hill saying, "I'm so humble, humble, humble." Next panel: "Humble, humble, humble." Last panel, coming from inside the hill "Are you coming to bed, Uriah?"
I was re-reading Exodus a couple of years ago and came across Uriah the Hittite, husband of Bathsheba, great warrior, whom David has killed in order to steal his wife (after impregnating her). This strip immediately clicked into place. It seems almost certain that Hart (who was not shy about incorporating Christianity into his strips) was referring to this guy.
But I still don't get it.
January 23, 2020
After finishing a volume of Maugham mislabelled satire, this volume of 'B.C.' prove there was no humor in the Maugham book. This B.C. edition is really, really hilarious. I read this many times over the decades but this is the first time reading it and considering it seriously to write here.
Hart was brilliant assembling strong setups and then the punch. He uses science as his favorite playground to create his gags.
The weakest part are the strips about golf that are mostly handled with slap stick. Hart was too good to cheat with slap stick.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
Hart was brilliant assembling strong setups and then the punch. He uses science as his favorite playground to create his gags.
The weakest part are the strips about golf that are mostly handled with slap stick. Hart was too good to cheat with slap stick.
Bottom line: I recommend this book. 9 out of ten points.
October 12, 2022
Book came out in 1969 with strips from 63 and 64, so we’re still early in the strip’s run. Hart does a good job of keeping his material fresh even though he almost always works with the same small cast of characters. One of his frequent scenarios here, Peter as the head shrinker, is either homage to or a direct steal from Lucy’s pose in the same role in Peanuts, but hey, it’s still funny, and I will say he's got the right character playing the part – Peter is just as unsympathetic as Lucy.
April 2, 2020
a Continuation of the amazing humor of Johnny Hart!!!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews