Bloom County, a 1980s cartoon-comic strip that dealt with socio-political issues as seen through the eyes of highly exaggerated characters (e.g. Bill the Cat and Opus the Penguin) and humorous analogies.
Creator Berkeley Breathed's first regularly published strip, Academia Waltz, appeared in the Daily Texan in 1978. The strip attracted notice from the editors of the Washington Post who recruited him to do a nationally syndicated strip. On December 8, 1980, Bloom County made its debut and featured some of the characters from Academia Waltz, including former frat-boy Steve Dallas and the paraplegic Vietnam War veteran Cutter John.
Bloom County earned Berkeley the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning in 1987. The strip eventually appeared in over 1,200 newspapers around the world until he retired the daily strip in 1989, stating, "A good comic strip is no more eternal than a ripe melon. The ugly truth is that in most cases, comics age less gracefully than their creators". The comic continues in recirculation on GoComics!
© Berkeley Breathed - All Rights Reserved.
Bliss by Harry Bliss
Bo Nanas by John Kovaleski
Comments (21) (Please sign in to comment)
simpsonfan2 said, 5 months ago
The funniest Garfield strip in years, huh?
Morgil Ravenswing said, 5 months ago
Sheer brilliance.
Sisyphos said, 5 months ago
When cartoonists let their characters (as Opus, here) talk back to cartoonists….
[Nowadays, Pastis and Tatulli do it well.]
chithing said, 5 months ago
Atomic Mary looks like fun. I wonder if she likes truffles…
vwdualnomand said, 5 months ago
there should be more cartoon strips. like manga.
Omnius said, 5 months ago
Wow Berkeley Breathed was way ahead of his time. How prescient was he in predicting Sarah “Honey Boo Boo” Palin with his Atomic Mary cartoon?
ott70
said, 5 months ago
Always loved that part. “Why HEL-LO big nose!”
djmalloy said, 5 months ago
Atomic Mary: The Simpsons meets Brenda Starr.
Vonne Anton said, 5 months ago
Lessee…Ziggy, Mary Worth, Garfield, and Doonesbury, right?
Penny Robinson Fan Club said, 5 months ago
@Omnius
Run away, little troll. Shoo. Shoo!
Gamer2k4
said, 5 months ago
Wow, he nailed those comic impressions.
Sturmmi14 said, 5 months ago
@Penny Robinson Fan Club
It does no good to talk to a troll, they don’t speak American English anyway.
The Left is just envious of Palin, which is why they are so acrimonious towards her. She is smart, pretty and successful, while still being married,(to her first husband) and raising a family. YOU KNOW, all those things the left says women can be. What do they have? H. Clinton, yeah, not so much to look at(couldn’t keep Bill from wandering) and she had to ride his coat tails. (how many times has Todd had to come to Sarah’s rescue) Nancy Pelosi? (cringe)
Night-Gaunt49 said, 5 months ago
@Sturmmi14
Who would be envious of a quitter like Palin?
brewwitch said, 5 months ago
@Sturmmi14
Speaking of trolls….
Redkaycei Repoc said, 5 months ago
@Night-Gaunt49
Just a matter of taste I guess but Palin isn’t very attractive… must take a lot of work just to look sort of plain in my view. And Penny calling anyone a troll is fall on the floor funny.