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Berkeley Breathed Revives Bloom County Comic Strip After 25 Years 109

Posted by samzenpus from the blast-for-the-past dept.
cold fjord writes: Just as it was needed then, it is needed now (more than ever). NPR reports, "Fans of the well-loved comic strip Bloom County are celebrating ... cartoonist Berkeley Breathed issued the first panels of his satirical strip in decades. Breathed won a Pulitzer Prize for his work on Bloom County back in 1987; two years later, he quit producing it. ... It's unclear whether Breathed will syndicate his new work in newspapers; he recently recalled how an editorial dispute with a publisher had a direct role in his decision to quit cartooning in 2008. His Facebook postings, Breathed said earlier this month, are "nicely out of reach of nervous newspaper editors, the PC humor police now rampant across the web ... and ISIS." When Bloom County went idle in 1989, it was one of several clever and inventive comic strips, such as Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side, that were beloved by fans and yet were also comparatively short-lived. Today, devoted fans are treating its return as a small miracle." — The Washington Post adds, ""Honestly, I was unprepared for it," Breathed tells me of the public outpouring. "It calls for a bit of introspection about how characters can work with readers and how they're now absent as a unifying element with a society. "There is no media that will allow a Charlie Brown or a Snoopy to become a universal and shared joy each morning at the same moment across the country," Breathed continues. 'Maybe the rather marked response to my character's return is a reflection of that loss. A last gasp of a passing era.'"
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Berkeley Breathed Revives Bloom County Comic Strip After 25 Years More

Berkeley Breathed Revives Bloom County Comic Strip After 25 Years

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  • Given that the last strip ended with Opus being put down at the animal "shelter" and Berkley making some very definite statements about this being the end of Opus and how we should all know that he wasn't coming back, it is interesting to see that Opus is back from the dead. Like a religion I guess we are expected to overlook the details.

    Good to think that it might be coming back though.

  • Ack! (Score:5, Funny)

    by jfdavis668 ( 1414919 ) on Sunday July 19, 2015 @05:21PM (#50141369)
    Pear Pimples for Hairy Fishnuts!

  • I *loved* Bloom County and read it from when I first discovered it in 1982 while I was in university. It was funny, relevant and smart.

    It continued to be right up until Mr. Breathed ended the strip. But it ended, I've (and I think most people have) moved on and, now that it's 25 years later, Mr. Breathed should be looking at new avenues for his considerable talents.

    Now, having said that, the example panel is pretty vintage but I still think it's time for Mr. Breathed (and us) to move on.

    • Re:Should have left the crypt unopened (Score:4, Insightful)

      by PsychoSlashDot ( 207849 ) on Sunday July 19, 2015 @06:42PM (#50141611)

      I *loved* Bloom County and read it from when I first discovered it in 1982 while I was in university. It was funny, relevant and smart.

      It continued to be right up until Mr. Breathed ended the strip. But it ended, I've (and I think most people have) moved on and, now that it's 25 years later, Mr. Breathed should be looking at new avenues for his considerable talents.

      Now, having said that, the example panel is pretty vintage but I still think it's time for Mr. Breathed (and us) to move on.

      It's traditional to include some sort of reason for your opinions so people can debate and discuss them. You've said what you think, but not why you think it, or even why you think you think it.

      • Good point. Can I say simply that I believe that once something is over, it should stay that way?

        • Good point. Can I say simply that I believe that once something is over, it should stay that way?

          You can, you have, and I respect and thank you for it.

          Now comes the discussion and debate. I'd counter by pointing out meals are an excellent thing to revisit once they're over. To never order pizza again because the first box is emptied is a sad, sad thing. I'd point at orgasms as another excellent thing to strive towards recreating as soon as one is done.

          All I'm saying is that there are exceptions to your guideline. Some artistic works shouldn't see sequels, remakes, or revivals. I think we can a

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by bhhenry ( 83946 )

      ... I still think it's time for Mr. Breathed (and us) to move on.

      See ya later, then ... I'll be here reading the new strips.

    • The far side was hilarious and works wherever the English language is spoken, Bloom county has never made me chuckle, I find the points it makes obvious rather than clever. Perhaps it is cultural, after all Bloom County is squarely aimed at an American audience.
    • Tell that to the Rolling Stones and Hollywood that wants to regurgitate every movie they've made.....
  • Did you know Kennedy's been shot?

  • I read Bloom County throughout the eighties. It was a brilliantly funny comic, nothing like Doonesbury which was highly political. Yes, Breathed obliquely dealt with political issues ("caucus raucous!") but in an evenhanded fashion, which was unusual for back then. I'm amazed Breathed is bringing this back. I'm really looking forward to it and hope he has a long and humorous run.

  • Bill the Cat (Score:4, Informative)

    by dryeo ( 100693 ) on Sunday July 19, 2015 @07:03PM (#50141683)

    Maybe this time Bill the Cat will win the Presidency. It would be an improvement compared to all the current candidates.

    • Re:Bill the Cat (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Areyoukiddingme ( 1289470 ) on Sunday July 19, 2015 @07:18PM (#50141721)

      Maybe this time Bill the Cat will win the Presidency. It would be an improvement compared to all the current candidates.

      Probably Bill the Cat with Donald Trump's brain in his head will win.

      I figure the Trump campaign is the reason Bloom County is coming back. So much new material, for free.

  • What took him so long?

  • I would pay for the strips (Score:5, Interesting)

    by NitroWolf ( 72977 ) on Sunday July 19, 2015 @08:10PM (#50141955)

    This is one of the few strip I would pay to access. While I wouldn't be paying to access the strip itself, I would be paying to support Breathed and to encourage him to continue the strip. I can't really think of many other comic strips, modern or otherwise that I would do this for.

  • Meanwhile.... (Score:3)

    by Rick Zeman ( 15628 ) on Sunday July 19, 2015 @10:19PM (#50142517)

    ...Bill Watterson says, "Self...I still have my integrity."

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by hondo77 ( 324058 )
      How exactly is Breathed starting up Bloom County again and posting the strips for free on his Facebook page damaging his integrity?

  • I loved Bloom County in the 80s. I was sad to see the strip stop. However I moved on and now there are a ton of quality comics to take its place. Do you want sharp, pointed humor? Try Non-Sequiter (ex http://www.gocomics.com/nonseq... [gocomics.com]). There is xkcd.com, userfriendly.org (yeah, I know the comic is semi-mostly-retired), and PhD (Piled Higher and Deeper) http://phdcomics.com/comics.ph... [phdcomics.com].

    I'm sorry Bloom County, you were great in the 80s but now it is the 2010s. It might be interesting to read the new strips

  • ... after 25 years. Berkeley Breathed's first decision is whether or not to syndicate his new work in newspapers. Opus isn't the only one who has been asleep for 25 years.

    Hey Berkeley. Remember hearing about that thing called ARPANET?

  • Unfortunately.

  • I was ~10 in the mid-80s, remember reading Bloom County every Sunday in the Boston Globe. I didn't get half of what it was about at the time, like why arming a bassalope with a warhead was funny, why Ed Meese didn't want them to say "snugglebunnies!", why Steve sued the camera company when Sean Penn broke his back, or why the gang wanted to visit a "wild, spunky, chunky planet of Mary Lou Retton clones". But things gradually made sense, from reading top looking up things to listening to one of the Big 3 n

  • In the immortal words of Mikhail Gorbachev and Pravda:
    "SLASHDOT SINGS TRACTORS! TURNIPS! BUTTOCKS!"

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