Berke Breathed Gets The Lead Out

September 9, 2003 1:46 PM

Back In the Funny Business. "After eight years away from newspapers, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed is creating a new comic strip called Opus, starring his beloved penguin of the same name." (Washington Post)
posted by LinusMines (29 comments total)

yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, YES!!!
posted by vito90 at 1:52 PM on September 9, 2003

What vito90 said, only with an additional exclamation point.
posted by Ljubljana at 2:00 PM on September 9, 2003

What vito said. This makes my day. It was a sad, sad day when Bloom County left.
posted by Shane at 2:01 PM on September 9, 2003

We SO need Breathed and all those guys and gals. . .. more than ever . ..

I read old strips of his. .and the way he framed the first Bush administration were funny and brutal. . . and I would LOVE to have his take on Bush II.

This is very good news
posted by Danf at 2:13 PM on September 9, 2003

I am going to celebrate this news with a nice dandelion snort.
posted by brownpau at 2:14 PM on September 9, 2003

Cool! Outland died with a whimper, not a bang, though. Still, even whimpers are pretty dang loud on the comics page as long as they have detectable opinions, and we can count on Berke Breathed for at least that much.

Brownpau, that has always been one of my very favorites.
posted by furiousthought at 2:16 PM on September 9, 2003

This is excellent news, and I'm real pleased and all, but best cartoonist of this era is still absent from the drafting table.
posted by mojohand at 2:18 PM on September 9, 2003

*pictures Opus flapping wings and saying "WapoWapoWapo!"*
*tries not to picture quonsar's take on the sound effect*
*snorfs dandelions*
posted by Shane at 2:18 PM on September 9, 2003

yesssssssssssssssss!
posted by mcsweetie at 2:18 PM on September 9, 2003

Huzzah! The only comic strip I've ever saved is this one. Happy news.
posted by lobakgo at 2:29 PM on September 9, 2003

There is now reason for hope again. Seriously.
posted by mooncrow at 2:32 PM on September 9, 2003

but best cartoonist of this era is still absent from the drafting table.

Nuts to that! Watterson's strip was beautiful to look at and pretty consistently funny, but it was never as relevant as Bloom County. Maybe if it had an Anxiety Closet...
posted by Mayor Curley at 2:35 PM on September 9, 2003

This is, indeed, fantastic news.

I discovered Bloom County by chance during junior high. It kept me company throughtout high school and then into college. I cried when it died. Outland was fine, but really wasn't quite the same, you know?

I think I'll go home and watch the always-glorious A Wish For Wings That Work! :)
posted by jdroth at 2:40 PM on September 9, 2003

This is exciting.

Bloom County kicked so much ass. I hope the new strip is similar in tone. Wonder if it'll have any/all of the familiar characters back in play.
posted by nath at 2:52 PM on September 9, 2003

No mere words could express my joy but here's a try. Prayer pimples for hairy fishnuts.
posted by m@ at 3:12 PM on September 9, 2003

OK, was Opus a penguin or a puffin? I don't know the difference really, but I swear I remember a strip where he insisted on his puffin-ness. Or was that a different comic entirely?
posted by GaelFC at 3:14 PM on September 9, 2003

That, of course, should have been "Pear Pimples..." but my excitement excuses me from brain-checking.
posted by m@ at 3:16 PM on September 9, 2003

I don't know why, but there is an odd synchronicity between the death of Warren Zevon and the return of Berkley Breathed. The joy I feel about the latter matches the sorrow I felt about the former.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:16 PM on September 9, 2003

GaelFC: Opus insisted on his penguiness, but it was demonstrated that he, in fact, looked more like a puffin.
posted by Joey Michaels at 3:17 PM on September 9, 2003

The truth is Joey Michaels, you look more like a carrot.
posted by yerfatma at 3:20 PM on September 9, 2003

I was always seriously unimpressed by Outland, but it's hard to follow a home-run like Bloom County. The Sunday-only format makes me worry that it will be more like the former than the latter but, here's hoping...
posted by Windopaene at 3:47 PM on September 9, 2003

Pear pimples for hairy fishnuts!!!!

This is the first unqualifiedly positive pop-culture news I've heard since...
uh...
hmmm...

Come to think of it, it's the first unqualifiedly positive news period since...
ummmm...
welllll....

I'll just sit here in the corner and sulk until November 23rd.
posted by wendell at 4:07 PM on September 9, 2003

Fans might look back at this MeFi thread, about a company that's currently running the entire bloom county series at the excelerated pace of a week's worth of strips every two days. $10 a year, and that includes access to a large number of current and discontinued strips, including Calvin & Hobbes.
posted by GeekAnimator at 4:30 PM on September 9, 2003

Opus insisted on his penguiness, but it was demonstrated that he, in fact, looked more like a puffin.

Except when he briefly turned into an egglant!

I've missed the political astuteness of Berke and his wonderful characters of Bloom County. Good news, indeed.
posted by ashbury at 5:03 PM on September 9, 2003

but as an Austin resident that sees Harry everywhere, why in the heck was HE contacted about a newspaper comic?! I read his site all the time but I don't recall seeing anything about Berke ever. why not a comment from Daryl Cagle?
posted by supershauna at 5:58 PM on September 9, 2003

Breathed: "It was painful to sit through the war without a public voice."

This is the quote that gives me particular hope that this will be more like the old Bloom County and less like the good-but-not-quite-as-good Outland.

This is wonderful news, in any case! Welcome back, Berke.
posted by eyebeam at 7:29 PM on September 9, 2003

I think "A penguin and his boy" settles the argument.

This is indeed great news, but I have to agree that Outland was comparatively weak.

Breathed, Watterson and Larsen all allegedly quit because they didn't want the strips to get tired (IOW, the cartoonists were tired). I hope that that - instead of the Sunday only format - explains said weakness.

In any event, it's gotta be better than 99% of what's available in mainstream papers.

Thank you Mr. Breathed.
posted by coolgeek at 7:29 PM on September 9, 2003

The truth is, Joey Michaels, you look more like a carrot.

Ut!
posted by Shane at 5:57 AM on September 10, 2003

i think something also worth discussing is how bath-house sanfrancisco 80s era disturbing is that photo of him with the mustache, plotting hands and feathered hair?
posted by Peter H at 10:32 AM on September 10, 2003