The Best of B.C.: 58 Years of Pithy Prehistoric Puns and Fun

by Johnny Hart

Featuring 627 of the very best daily and Sunday B.C. comic strips specially selected by the Hart family and a foreword from Jim Davis - creator of Garfield.

B.C. is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Johnny Hart. Set in prehistoric times, it features a group of cavemen and anthropomorphic animals from various geologic eras in lives that strongly correspond with the world of today.

Genres: Comics, Humor, Cartoon

240 pages, Hardcover

Published November 29, 2016

About the author

Librarian 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.

Reviews

[Troy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a soft spot for this strip, which taught me that you don't have to be detailed or overwrought when telling a story, especially a funny one. His characterization of his subjects, with small physical differences, were expressed with words, with dialogue. I got this for my dad, and ended up reading it myself after he tore through it in less than a day.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is what it says it is, and such a joy to read!

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of B.C. comics about a group of prehistoric men, women, a couple dinosaurs, some ants, an ant eater, and the apteryx featuring humor punny, slapstick, silly, philosophical, and poignant by turns. The selection was chosen by Hart's family and organized by decades.

There were several strips in here that had me laughing out loud. Others just made me snicker. The marriage or man-woman jokes were often just sad (they always seem to be about relationship issues, never really tender). I don't remember ever seeing the dinosaur before in B.C. comics but most of the ones it appeared in were funny. I wanted more dino. In all, a fun collection.

Notes on content: Very occasionally a minor swear word may not even register in some cultures. Some violence but everyone is always ok by the next strip.

[Darcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading B.C. since I was a little boy. I have loved Johnny Hart's wit that entire time and have seen my appreciation for him evolve as I aged. This collection left me wishing for compilations of each year's worth of work that he did. Until then I will make do with what I can get. If you are a collector of Hart's other books there is enough material hear that is not published that makes it worthwhile. If not, the buy this book and introduce yourself to a wonderfully irreverent world.

[Tavia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Includes some interesting written items. I've liked this strip since the 1970s -- before Hart started showing his ass.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading the collections my dad had in the family library as a kid. Some of my favorites from back then showed up in this collection - which is apparently a collection of family favorites.

Fun and silly, some edges of Hart's conversion to Christianity show up in his poetry. Fun, light weekend reading.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the late 1950s and Early 1960s, the funny papers were generally bland , conservative, and status quo.(Even “Peanuts” did not become wacky, with Snoopy and the Red Baron, until the late 1960s). Only Walt Kelly’s “ Pogo” aspired to more, but that strip was almost too erudite.

Then “B.C.” Appeared. Ostensibly set in Prehistoric times, the strip was redolent of mid 20th Century America as seen through a funhouse mirror. Equal parts gentle social commentary and Looney Tunes surrealism, the strip was laugh out loud funny, and remained so for over forty years.

The strips presented in this collection were chosen by the late Jonny Hart’s family as being the most representative, and they are not far wrong. For those of us who were there, this is a terrific walk down memory lane.

[Sem · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was a considerable falling off in quality after the 60s. This strip, in its prime, was one of the best. It might have become controversial in later years due to the overtly Christian content but my primary complaint about the later work is its general striving for relevance and the introduction of subject matter that dates it (such as mention of the 128k disk drive). On the whole, I'd rather read every strip from the 60s and leave the rest.

[Nancy M Aleksey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best of BC

I've been reading B.C. comics since I was first able to read. I had a huge collection of paperback books that was lost in a move. It was great fun to read some of those old comics again and to see how the comic changed over time. I'd still like to have my old collection but this was the next best thing. Certainly worth the price.