Loyal readers of the B.C. comic strip may have noticed some things are different.

Creator Johnny Hart passed away this year.

Life After Johnny hasn't been easy for his family..

But as Action News reporter Gabe Osterhout tells us, they're preserving his comic strips with fresh eyes.

"It would have been real painful for us to see B.C. drawn and carried by someone other than Johnny Hart or Johnny Hart's family," says Hart's grandson Mason Mastroianni.

That's why the family decided to take over the comic strip after Hart passed away in April.

A risky task.

"You feel a lot of pressure. It's like if you screw this up, it's like oh you were given this great thing and don't screw it up. It's definitely a lot of pressure," says Hart's grandson Mick Mastroianni.

It's pressure the whole family feels as they work together at Hart's studio.

Johnny's daughter, Perri, took over lettering and coloring the B.C.

Grandsons Mick and Mason moved back home to write.

Mason also became the cartoonist.

"It wouldn't be an understatement to say this has been the most difficult challenge I've ever had, even trying to fill these shoes has been amazing," says Mason.

When they first took over the strip, they tried to make it look exactly like Johnny Hart's creation.

"I think we learned and realized that wasn't really that necessary, that we have our own styles," says daughter Peri Hart.

Johnny's wife, Bobby, agrees.

She hopes fans will notice the new styles.

"I'm hoping soon it'll take on a definite Mason look because over the years from the time John started this until now, the characters have probably changed 5,6,7 times," says wife Bobby.

Readers may also notice a difference in the writing.

"The writing, I'm sure, has changed some. It's getting sillier again.
But that's what we recall so much from my dad. And it'll take a little bit younger feel, a more timely around what's going on now a days," says Peri.

A younger feel the family hopes will open up the door to a new generation of B.C. Fans.

A new book looking at the life of the B.C. comic strip called "Growing Old with B.C." will be available later this month.

We'll take a look at the book, plus tell you some of Johnny thoughts before he died, Wednesday on Action News at 6:00.