Hart Comics Launch into Licensing

John Hart Studios has tapped licensing professional Brad Bushell to develop a full licensing program for its classic comic strip properties “B.C.” and “Wizard of Id,” as new contemporized versions of the strips are launched.

Originally created more than 50 years ago by Johnny Hart, the iconic comic strips are each syndicated in more than 1,000 newspapers worldwide and are now penned by Hart’s grandsons.

“The team that works on these properties now has a unique sense of balance between the slapstick, vaudevillian roots that made these strips so iconic, and the fresh modern humor that has allowed them to continue to grow today,” says Mason Mastroianni, grandson of Johnny Hart. “We’ve received enthusiastic reactions to the work on Facebook and Twitter, enough to encourage us to extend the reach of our humor through more publishing, promotions and merchandizing.”

The brands are not new to the world of licensing. “B.C.” currently boasts 37 books, most recently B.C. Reinvents the Wheel from Willow Creek Press, and “Wizard of Id” has its own slate of 30 titles.