Noted cartoonist and raving bigot Jack Chick died and went to hell 3 years ago yesterday. I wrote this at the time (emphasis added):

I see that the old hate-monger Jack Chick has finally departed this mortal coil.

His focus was primarily religious but Chick was also one of the creators of modern conspiracy culture, helping to popularize the idea that vast, intricate, and utterly evil conspiracies could exist right under our noses for centuries on end.
The John Birch Society worked the political end, while Chick worked the religious and social angle.
The effect of this should not be discounted. Many millions of people; most of the population in fact; were exposed to Chick cartoons at one time or another. The conspiracist pattern was imprinted on millions of minds, even among the great majority who rejected Chick’s specific theology. I hear echos of Jack Chick in the ravings of Alex Jones, the Moon landing deniers, Holocaust deniers, and Flat Earthers. I also hear it more and more in mainstream politics.