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The Opus Interview 146

Posted by CmdrTaco from the stuff-to-read dept.
Brad1138 writes "MSNBC has an interview with Opus re: his return to Sunday comics. Some interesting/funny bits of info. It was also nice to see how many people loved Bloom County/Opus, they are running a poll and currently 94% 'loved Bloom County & will read "OPUS"'." Here's another article talking about Opus's Return to the Sunday Funnies.
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The Opus Interview More

The Opus Interview

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  • But come on? Pole?

    -Peter

  • Scan of the strip? (Score:2, Informative)

    by swfranklin ( 578324 )
    I've been checking Usenet with no luck this morning for a scan of today's strip. My paper doesn't carry it :-(

    Anyone seen the strip online?

  • Was it just me... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by JayBlalock ( 635935 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:04PM (#7542428)
    Or was that "Opus" almost nothing like the one we know? And if the author can't write the character correctly, and put in things about Burke writing dialogue, why do the mock interview at all?

  • Billy the cat!!! (Score:4, Funny)

    by BWJones ( 18351 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:04PM (#7542431) Homepage Journal
    Some of the old cast for sure, but I hear the negotiations with Bill are not going well. He got a raw deal the first time around: he was paid per word, and all he usually said was "Ack!" and "Thppt!" And Berke's trying to bring in some of the mutts from his new book, "Flawed Dogs", but apparently they're in a different union than the meadow animals. I just don't get all of this legal mumbo-gumbo-rambo.

    Oh, man! Bill the cat has got to make a return. Aaaaack Thppppt!

  • Calvin and Hobbes (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Ratchet ( 79516 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:06PM (#7542445) Homepage
    A Calvin & Hobbes announcement similar to this would have made me much more happier.
    • A Calvin & Hobbes announcement similar to this would have made me much more happier.

      Absolutely, though I'm happy to have this one.

      Better yet, just like all those Practice/BostonPublic and ER/ThirdWatch crossover episodes, coming soon to the funny pages near you: Calvin & Opus.

      • Crossovers are a good opportunity for writers to demonstrate that they don't understand the narrative thrust of the originals.
        • Funny, but untrue.

          When a devotee of show X has a plot continue into show Y, there's a good chance that said viewer will venture into the community of Y to follow the plot. I did that once with a Practice episode and decided I kind of liked Boston Public as well.

          Essentially, it's a way of bridging two "universes" -- often in a way that could have been handled by having similar characters invented on the fly, but in a way that can lead one into the other universe temporarily.

          My favorite example of this so

          • My favorite example of this sort of crossover, actually, is the way the famous author Isaac Asimov combined his Robots series with his Foundation series. There, I imagine most fans of one were already fans of the other, so it wasn't a "come on" like on TV series, but more of a real sense of closure in the last years of his writing.

            We're off-topic, but while I loved the Foundation trilogy and the Robot novels, I found the linkage between the Robots, Empire, and Foundation novels to be forced. Certainly, the

    • Re:Calvin and Hobbes (Score:3, Informative)

      by Fancia ( 710007 )
      You might like Ozy and Millie, which is sometimes similar to Calvin and Hobbes, though it's not too derivative. ^.~ It's become my favourite comic strip.
    • Agreed.

      My favorite strip now is Mutts [muttscomics.com].
    • I enjoyed C & H for many years, but towards the end the strip just became monotonous with no new ideas or insights. The author quit about 2 years too late. At least Breathed knew it was time to close up shop before embarassing himself; but now from that first new strip it looks he's going to make a big mistake.
  • Wow, I must be a total weenie- I got my copy of the post today and was nearly moved to tears by the return of Opus.

    I can't wait to see what's going to happen to him...

  • Money! (Score:3, Funny)

    by dolo666 ( 195584 ) * on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:10PM (#7542467) Journal
    "Opus: Who says there's money in comics?"
    Answer: Scott Adams [dilbert.com] does, because you get to do nothing but slack off and make fun of people all day, but you are paid for it. As opposed to most people who slack off and make fun of people all day, but are paid for some other duty, like manager or peon or programmer.

    I miss Bill the Cat, who was my fav toon when I was a kid.

  • Ack. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by OrthodonticJake ( 624565 ) <[[OrthodonticJak ... ail]}{[.][[com]]> on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:13PM (#7542485) Homepage Journal
    Pthbbbt.

  • Steve Dallas reminds me a lot of myself (Score:1, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Because we are both attorneys and we both get tons of chicks.

  • more interviews (Score:4, Informative)

    by mattOzan ( 165392 ) <vispuslo@ m a t t o zan.net> on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:17PM (#7542504) Journal
    Breathed was also interviewed in Salon [salon.com] last week, and in The Onion's A.V. Club [theonionavclub.com] in 2001. He gets to swear in these interviews, too.

    • Re:more interviews (Score:3, Funny)

      by Keck ( 7446 )
      He gets to swear in these interviews, too.

      That ought to add a lot of important detail. How inadequate those curse-free interviews look in comparison.
    • From my local rag [dailypress.com]. But I agree with later comments -- It won't be right until Bill coughs up a hairball. Bill the Cat, of course, is the most creative comic character ever. Most animals are portrayed as heroic or clever (Garfield, Heathcliff, Grimm). Bill is the dud of a pet many of us have had at some point -- a lobotomized eunich who has embarassing things in his past, and messes the carpet.

  • hype alert (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Artifex ( 18308 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:19PM (#7542513) Journal
    It's only alluded to in these articles, but Berkeley Breathed demanded that all the newspapers who carry the new strip give him a half-page slot. So we should be expecting great things, right?

    I liked both of his other Bloom County series, but today's strip unfortunately underwhelms me completely.

    • Re:hype alert (Score:3, Interesting)

      by ePhil_One ( 634771 )
      I liked both of his other Bloom County series, but today's strip unfortunately underwhelms me completely.

      I'm hoping its just a "Welcome back" gag to get past the "Oh my god whats the first strip going to be like?!" stage, I recall Outland did some similarly odd stuff when it first starteded, and after 6 months of nobody liking it more and more old characters came back.

      I also think it was a bit of self-effacing humor; his dreams of grandeur didn't quite work out.

      • I also think it was a bit of self-effacing humor; his dreams of grandeur didn't quite work out.


        Possibly so, but I just can't laugh at it, because it still feels like he wants us to feel sorry for him, and I know that his manueverings and demands were why it took him so long to get back. I'll just wait for Bill, or at least Milo, to come back.

    • Re:hype alert (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Jeremy Erwin ( 2054 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @02:19PM (#7542758) Journal
      The half page format allows Breathed to squeeze in more panels (nine this time, rather than the usual four to six.) It's well painted, but as I'm sure Frank Cho will attest, there's more to a successful newspaper comic strip than great visuals.

  • The return of Guy Berkeley Breathed (Score:4, Informative)

    by StenD ( 34260 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:19PM (#7542515)
    The Austin American-Statesman also has a story [statesman.com] about the return, recounting the incident with the Daily Texan which helped lead to the start of Bloom County.

  • Here is another interview.... (Score:5, Informative)

    by terraformer ( 617565 ) <tpb@pervici.com> on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:21PM (#7542523) Journal
    ...and this one [salon.com] is with the man himself... ;-)

  • Narrative vs. commentary (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Faust7 ( 314817 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:23PM (#7542531) Homepage
    Interesting that Breathed said he'd taken Bloom County about as far as it would go. I suppose if one looks at the comic as a linear narrative, that could be true--but it was also a running commentary on the politics of the time. Politics are always changing, new names and faces, new events, new history to be ridiculed. I see it as a tad unfortunate that he didn't consider keeping up a continuous semi-political cartoon; that part of Bloom County, having direct relevance to my world, was always my favorite. Perhaps he didn't want himself or the comic to be typecast.

    Still, a pity. I can only imagine what he could do with our current administration. ;)

  • Riight. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by cjpez ( 148000 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @01:23PM (#7542532) Homepage Journal
    they are running a poll and currently 94% 'loved Bloom County & will read "OPUS"'
    Well duh... The poll is on the article's page, and who's going to bother reading the article unless they were already Breathed fans? Well, six percent would, apparently, but meh.
  • I for one would like to offer a 34 armpit fart salute. Man the dandelions!
  • I looked at the comics section of my newspaper (The Boston Globe) this morning, and Opus was in the middle of the front page. This wounldn't have frightened me, except that that's where Doonesbury usually is.

    I was like "those bastards, they finally cancelled it!" Then I found it on another page, read Opus and was slightly confused and amused.

  • Opus the screensaver (Score:2, Interesting)

    by wo1verin3 ( 473094 )
    The Opus and Bill (by Delrina at the time) screensaver brough me hours of joy while they shot the little Toasters flying by with a shotgun.... The toasters had wings until Berkley complained/sued, and the toaster wings were changed in to helicopter toasters. :)

    Berkeley Systems v. Delrina Corp., U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (1993). Represented Delrina in copyright and trademark infringement action arising from its "Opus 'n Bill" computer screensaver and parody of Berkeley's "flying
  • It's not my favorite strip. It's the Simpsons of the comics I suppose. Crude & rude, and sometimes funny.

    I guess I much prefer the fun and gentleness of strips like Mutts [muttscomics.com]
  • I'm glad you're back, Opus. I've missed you and the whole woodland critter crowd.

    Too bad the Hawaiian babe thing didn't work out.

    Chip H.
  • Bloom County made the '80s tolerable for me, and I sure could have used it for the last three years of Dubya. Welcome back, Berke! Let's keep it up for a while this time, m'kay? Your legions of fans have waited a loooong time for this.

    • Re:It's about TIME!!! (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      " Bloom County made the '80s tolerable for me, and I sure could have used it for the last three years of Dubya."

      Well, here's hoping it brings a little levity to the next five...

  • A sort of footnote to Opus (Score:3, Interesting)

    by spidergoat2 ( 715962 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @02:18PM (#7542757) Journal
    Several months back I spoke with a friend, Suzie, that works in the comics section at the Washington Post. She ran into Breathed at a conference. Since they were both new parents, they talked about their kids. Suzie suggested that a new strip might be a great way to express his views about this new phase in his life. He agreed. Thus Opus

  • Oliver Wendell Jones (Score:4, Funny)

    by Bob Cat - NYMPHS ( 313647 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @02:23PM (#7542775) Homepage
    ... was the best character, and the hacking storylines the only ones I still find funny.

    Banana Junior 6000 4ever!!!

    Apple Open Firmware Home Page
    http://bananajr6000.apple.com/

  • "America's Favorite Penguin?" (Score:4, Funny)

    by grnchile ( 305671 ) * on Sunday November 23, 2003 @02:24PM (#7542780)
    Shouldn't that be "America's Second-favorite Penguin?"
  • that I've no clue what slashdot is talking about. Usually I can decipher it somewhat, but this has me stumped.

    Who is 'Opus'? The article goes on like I should have a clue who/what he/she is, but I've never heard of him/her.

    • Re:This must be the first time.. (Score:5, Informative)

      by ctid ( 449118 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @02:37PM (#7542840) Homepage
      Opus is a leading character from a 1980s comic-strip called "Bloom County". The author of Bloom County is Berkeley Breathed. Opus is a penguin, a naive innocent in a crazy world. Arguably he has himself to blame for this, having been a tuba player in a heavy metal band called Deathtongue (later renamed to Billy and the Boingers) and twice run as a candidate for Vice President of the United States. On both occasions, his co-runner was a dead cat called Bill (he of the Boingers, and indeed the tongue).

      Hope that's cleared it up for you!

      • Hey! (Score:3, Informative)

        by RedCard ( 302122 )
        ...his co-runner was a dead cat called Bill...

        Bill wasn't dead! (just brain dead)

        • Re:Hey! (Score:4, Informative)

          by mikerich ( 120257 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @04:50PM (#7543494)
          Bill wasn't dead! (just brain dead)

          He was - occasionally.

          He first died when his Ferrari crashed into a cactus at high speed, but thanks to the wonders of modern science he was cloned from his own tongue. Whereupon he embarked on a successful career as a Soviet spy before being jailed, executed and then exchanged for Cutter John who had landed in the USSR after his wheelchair - no, this is getting too weird...

          Welcome back Opus, now when do we get to see it in the UK? Come on America! You sent us your President last week (honestly, you really didn't have to), now send us the penguin!

          Best wishes,
          Mike.

  • Straight from the author. [berkeleybreathed.com] [berkeleybreathed.com]
  • My local paper isn't carrying it, though I can swing by the newsstand later and grab one from somewhere else. I see it's being distributed by the Washington Post Writers Group; is it appearing in the Washington Post? Any other nationally-distributed papers?

    Thanks!

  • Gates and Ballmer are gonna have conoraries once they read about this...

    I always saw Opus and Tux as cousins... :)

  • Spoiler (Score:2, Interesting)

    by pyrrho ( 167252 )
    For those of your that don't have time to read the article, it's an essay on why it won't be funny.

    I liked Bloom County the first few years, it go really bad and then to make it official they called it Outland, and every silly over the top idea was cast as precious, every joke an inside joke.

    I think Breathed is a great talent, but maybe too full of himself? Or maybe I just don't get him.

    On the bright side, newspaper comics are in such a sorry state he can't possibly hurt.
    • It all went down hill (pardon the pun) after he broke his back in a hang gliding accident. It was about the same time he got married to (if memory serves) a truly grasping, condescending, politically correct "intellectual" snob wife who radically influenced his strip.

      His strips started losing their innocent anarchy. They got progressively more and more nasty, then they started getting weird, although his subconcious seemed to be screaming for help via the Steve Dallas character: Steve had his brain inve
      • I liked Bloom County the first few years, it go really bad and then to make it official they called it Outland, and every silly over the top idea was cast as precious, every joke an inside joke.

      How much did you read of Outland? It was definitely very very strange at first, but after a while it changed and was basically a Sunday only version of classic Bloom County.

      • Or maybe I just don't get him.

      Not to sound condescending or anything, but this is very possible. It seems that with Bloom County pe

  • my newspaper publishes the sunday funnies on saturday. I have to say I have never been much of a fan of breathed's sunday strips. To me he was at his best when he was doing serial stuff during the week in black and white. thats why Im disappointed that Opus is pretty much the same thing as Outland. In fact, if you go by the first comic, it seems worse, but I'll reserve judgement. When Bloom County left I eventually took solace in what was then called Robotman. (Its now called Monty, and the innocent ch

  • Opus vs Tux (Score:4, Funny)

    by Archangel Michael ( 180766 ) on Sunday November 23, 2003 @04:32PM (#7543405) Journal
    Personally, I think that Opus is coming back to remind us of penguins before Tux. Opus thought that he was the "be all" and "End all" of penguin mascots. That all changed right after Opus Retired.

    At that point in time, hardly anyone knew who Tux was, let alone that he was a Penguin. Fast forward 7 years or so, and all of a sudden (HA) Tux is the penguin mascot of the day.

    Opus realizing that Tux has overtaken him has "America's favorite penguin", and now seeks to be reinstated.

    Which leads us to the grudge match of the century. Geeks everywhere are going to have to pick their favorite penguin in the next Slashpoll.

    Opus vs Tux in "Mascot wars"
  • Now I don't feel so odd explaining my Bill tattoo to anyone, now I can say RTFSP! Happy, happy day!
  • I remember being about eight years old and looking through my parent's bookshelves, and finding two compilation books of Bloom County. I remember that even when I had no idea what the hell they were talking about, being eight years old at the time, I still knew, somehow, that people who knew the stuff they were talking about would find them funny as hell. I'm eally looking forward to this strip coming back, in a way, because he'll be talking about the issues that I wonder about as a 21 year old in college
  • Went to get some items at the store today and by miracle remembered this was coming out so I bought the first paper I've bought in about 8 years.

    A little pricy for one comic, but I liked it!

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