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 (24) (Please sign in to comment)
simpsonfan2 said, 3 months ago
Yes, back in the days when if you wanted to read a book, you had to go to the library or bookstore.
D-squared said, 3 months ago
I still read real books from the library
Sisyphos said, 3 months ago
Sigh. Small penguin versifier intimidated by large library of unread books….
thebird55 said, 3 months ago
I think someone’s been reading Dr Seuss.
Ottodesu said, 3 months ago
Such a long, long time ago.
wcorvi said, 3 months ago
I took my TV out in the back yard, wrapped a blindfold around it, taped a cigarette to its screen, and shot it. A couple days ago, the Cox guy came by and tried to sell me cable TV. I told him what I had done, and asked him why I should buy their cable service. He told me about the low introductory offer. I asked him what I would get; he said over 200 channels. I said, no specifically what will be ON those channels? He didn’t know. By the end of our conversation I had him talked into getting rid of his TV and Cox cable.
A SAINT said, 3 months ago
Twain would have found the quitting of tv to not be difficult at all, as easy as the quitting of smoking. Something he proved over a thousand times….
bpullin said, 3 months ago
Got rid of cable about 2 years ago. Bliss !!
nazzofoggenmach said, 3 months ago
latest reports would suggest that twain did indeed refrain from watching tv.
twypsi said, 3 months ago
One of the fondest memories I have as a child was when my mom would take me to the library. Lived in a small town outside of Pittsburgh so our library was a focal point. Loved it! Introduced me to Grimm Bothers, Aesop, etal. Still use our local library, frequently, but now in Ypsilanti, MI. Hooray for libraries!
piksea
said, 3 months ago
Poor Opus. That fifth panel looked like Heaven to me!
mightaswellbe said, 3 months ago
Part of my job as a programmer is tending the University’s Library software. Gives me a chance to scan the catalog with some pretty cool search tools. :-) I am in the right place with the right job and I love reading. AND they pay me to do this. Win Win all the way around.
baldhedjer said, 3 months ago
That didn’t last very long, did it Opus!
thebird55 said, 3 months ago
All those books made me remember, “It’s not fair! There was time now! There was time…”
mightaswellbe said, 3 months ago
@thebird55
Hmm, Twilight Zone if I remember right.